Adult ADHD Tips – Why Tracking Works

Podcast: Adult ADHD ADD Tips and Support
Host: Michael Joseph Ferguson
Date: October 17, 2024

Episode Overview

In this episode, Michael Joseph Ferguson explores the powerful role of tracking in managing Adult ADHD. Drawing from personal experience and his coaching practice, he explains why tracking habits, moods, and routines can help adults with ADHD understand what works for them, maintain motivation, and foster consistency. Michael also introduces a new, customizable tracking sheet, available for free download, and provides a detailed walkthrough on how to use it effectively.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Tracking for ADHD

• Purpose: Tracking is presented not simply as an organizational technique but as a critical feedback tool for those with ADHD—helping clarify what strategies yield positive results and support sustained habit change.
• Why It Matters: Without tracking, it's easy to lose sight of what's working, forget commitments, or become discouraged after missing a day or two.

2. Personal Backstory—Discovering Tracking

• Michael shares his initiation into tracking in the late 1990s to establish yoga and meditation habits, long before ADHD and habit tracking tools were mainstream.

  "If you asked me what were my most prized possessions during that time, that sheet was definitely one of them because that sheet represented a lot of effort and focus and intention." (13:52)

• Achievement and Motivation: The act of recording his progress became a "sacred object" and source of motivation, making the process tangible and reinforcing continued effort.

3. Why Tracking Works

• Feedback Loop: Tracking gives immediate feedback—seeing progress visually supports motivation and highlights the effectiveness of specific strategies.
• Celebration and Dopamine: The act of checking a box or writing a date provides a mini “dopamine hit.”

  "Just that little celebration, that little dopamine hit of checking the box... that can keep you going." (12:52)

• Clarity & Consistency: By monitoring what activities precede good (or bad) days, tracking helps identify cause-and-effect relationships in mood, energy, and focus fluctuations.
  • Key Metrics to Track: Michael emphasizes three core areas:
    • Mood
    • Energy
    • Focus
  • Each is rated daily from 1 to 5 (with 5 being optimal).

4. What to Track

• Physical Health: Cardio, yoga, weight training, sleep (hours).
• Nutrition: Protein intake (suggested: 20-30g per meal), supplements.
• Productivity: Planning routines (like morning planning or mind mapping), meditation, use of techniques like Pomodoro.
• Customization: Michael encourages listeners to start with a few basics (cardio, protein, sleep), then add more as they become comfortable.

5. When and How to Track

• Best Time: After dinner, to leverage a natural increase in dopamine and before evening focus lapses.
• Recommended Practice: Track for at least seven days, especially when implementing new routines, but monthly sheets are provided for ongoing use.

6. The Ultimate Tracking Sheet—Detailed Walkthrough

• Download: Available at drummerinthegreatmountain.com, episode 111.
• Features:
  • Monthly Layout: Days of the month along the top, list of habits/metrics down the side.
  • Flexible Input: Numbers for metrics (mood, energy, focus), checkboxes or filled boxes for activities, quadrants for tracking things multiple times a day (e.g., protein).
  • Customization: Users can add personal habits or categories.

  "For the bare minimum, I would recommend maybe cardio, I would recommend protein, I would recommend sleep. Start there." (18:55)

7. Visual Feedback and Pattern Recognition

• Benefit: Quick visual review highlights streaks and lapses, making it easier to correlate actions with changes in mood, focus, and energy.

  "It makes it really easy for you to say, here's what I did today. And then as you look back, you've got a really nice visual..." (21:32)

• Advice: Start with a couple of printed sheets, using a high-quality printer setting to ensure all lines are visible.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the intrinsic value of tracking:

  "That sheet represented a lot of effort and focus and intention." (13:52)

• The emotional power of simple tracking:

  "That little dopamine hit of checking the box or scratching it out or writing the date, that can keep you going." (12:52)

• On the flexibility of the tracking method:

  "It's super flexible... it can track just about anything." (20:02)

• On why simple tracking matters:

  "All you're doing is saying each column is one day and you're tracking on that day. What did you do or what didn't you do? That's basically it. And at the end of the day you say, okay, what was my mood from 1 to 5, what was my energy level from 1 to 5 and what was my focus from 1 to 5?" (21:05)

Important Segments & Timestamps

• Backstory & Motivation for Tracking: 10:40 – 14:00
• Key Metrics Explanation (Mood, Energy, Focus): 14:25 – 16:47
• What and How to Track: 16:47 – 20:11
• Tracking Sheet Walkthrough: 20:00 – 22:00

Final Thoughts

Michael encourages listeners to view tracking not as a rigid chore, but as a supportive tool for recognizing achievements and discovering what strategies uniquely work for them. He stresses simplicity, suggesting starting small and building up. The episode closes with a reminder about the upcoming ADHD Mind Mapping Workshop and an invitation to download and experiment with the free tracking sheet.

Download the Ultimate ADHD Tracking Sheet:
Visit drummerandthegreatmountain.com/episode111
Mind Mapping Workshop Info: ADHDMindMapping.com