Why is it that traditional advice like, “just try harder” or “stay focused” doesn’t seem to work for people with ADHD?
If self-discipline feels like an elusive skill despite your best efforts, you’re not alone.
The answer lies in your brain’s chemical makeup, where the drive to persevere and resist temptations is not as simple as flipping a switch. Neuroscience shows that ADHD isn’t a lack of motivation or willpower, but a difference in the way that the brain processes and manages tasks.
So what’s really going on in the ADHD brain, and how can we use this knowledge to develop self-discipline? Let’s dive in.
The Science of Self-Discipline
Self-discipline is the ability to regulate and direct one’s actions, thoughts, and behaviors to achieve a goal even with distractions or other challenges present. Self-discipline is very similar to self-control as it requires regulation, focus, and effort to complete tasks. However, self-discipline is more of a long-term process, whereas self-control is about resisting urges in the moment.
Self-discipline is an important determinant of academic and personal success. According to Duckworth and Seligman, self-control predicts academic success including procrastination, studying habits, and school attendance, even more so than general intelligence. This demonstrates the importance of developing habits and using strategies that help us achieve our goals.
The Role of Dopamine in Self-Discipline
Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter in the brain. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers in your brain and nervous system that allow the brain and body to communicate with each other. Dopamine can affect many different processes in the brain, such as motivation, mood, movement, attention, sleep, memory, and learning. Brains make dopamine naturally. However, some people don’t make enough dopamine. Some people with ADHD make dopamine but have more dopamine receptors than dopamine. Because of this difference in the effectiveness of Dopamine, it runs out more quickly and this chemical cannot finish the job it set out to start.
Lower dopamine levels can make everyday tasks feel less rewarding, increasing the urge to find instant gratification. This makes it difficult to stay motivated.
Dopamine & Motivation
Dopamine plays a very important role in motivation. Dopamine is the chemical that helps us feel rewarded and satisfied when we complete a challenging task. Dopamine is believed to be the chemical that makes connections in our brains stronger. When we engage in something we enjoy, like playing video games or enjoying a huge bowl of ice cream, Dopamine is released and we feel pleasure. This reward encourages us to play video games or eat ice cream the next time we have the chance.
The reward system in the brain heavily influences behavior. For those with ADHD, this system tends to favor short-term rewards over long-term goals. This is why traditional advice like “just push through” often doesn’t work. People with ADHD are wired to seek out activities that produce dopamine. Tasks that do not produce dopamine or take substantial effort to feel the same effects are much harder for people with ADHD to complete. The ADHD brain is wired to prioritize immediate stimuli over delayed benefits.
Motivation & Self-Discipline
Motivation is the inspiration or the “why” behind your actions. It’s the force that drives you to start and complete tasks and activities. In comparison, self-discipline is the ability to persist towards your goals despite the challenges that arise. We need a balance of both motivation and self-discipline to complete long and laborious tasks. For people with ADHD, being self-disciplined can be challenging since so many long, difficult tasks are not inherently motivating.
Why is Self-Discipline So Hard?
For individuals with ADHD, self-discipline can be challenging because it requires using various executive functioning skills to persist in challenging tasks. Self-discipline can be negatively impacted by difficulties controlling impulses, problem-solving in the moment, and delaying gratification.
Instant Gratification
Individuals with ADHD often prefer instant gratification. Instant gratification is when we choose quick, small rewards immediately rather than waiting for a bigger, long-term reward. An example of this would be opting to scroll through social media, rather than start working on a school project that has a deadline. It feels great to get the project done, but that reward requires other executive functioning skills to complete and significant effort. Someone who prefers instant gratification might procrastinate on their tasks, making it hard to stick to tasks that lack immediate payoff.
Impulse Control
Some individuals with ADHD experience difficulties with impulse control. Impulse control is a set of behaviors that help us “think before acting.” People with difficulties managing impulses may make decisions without thinking about the pros and cons. Difficulties in this area of executive functioning may make it much more difficult to stay focused and resist temptations that would get you off-track.
Problem-Solving
Another potential area of executive functioning difficulty is problem-solving. When someone struggles with problem-solving, they may have a harder time figuring out how to overcome obstacles or identify effective steps to reach a goal. People who have self-discipline often face the challenges that arise and determine creative solutions to persist on the task until it is complete. Difficulties in this area can make it harder to generate solutions needed to maintain long-term effort.
Executive function challenges make it harder to maintain consistency and control impulses, both of which are crucial for self-discipline.
6 Tips for Becoming Self-Disciplined
Tip #1: Set Clear, Obtainable Goals
The very first step should be defining specific goals to focus your efforts on. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve makes it easier to stay disciplined and track your progress. You can use SMART goals to help you establish a clear vision of what steps you need to take in order to reach your goal.
Tip #2: Create Routines
It’s incredibly important to establish daily routines and habits that align with your goals. When you create routines, you reduce the mental effort needed to make decisions and stay on track. It may be helpful to make external reminders like visuals that help remind you of the routine and help you stay on track. An example of this might be a visual schedule that depicts your daily routine, timers or alarms, and to-do lists.
Tip #3: Create a Productive Environment
Creating a distraction-free environment will help prevent temptations from arising while working through tasks. It’s important to identify and eliminate any temptations from your working environment. If you know that your phone might grab your attention, don’t even have it in the room with you. Make sure any drinks or snacks are already in your workspace, so you won’t have to disrupt your workflow.
Tip #4: Break Tasks into Chunks
If the task feels overwhelming, try breaking it down into more manageable parts. This can be done either by breaking a task into chunks that have a clear beginning and an end or by scheduling chunks of time to work hard and taking a break when that time is up. This makes the process less overwhelming and gives you a feeling of accomplishment as you finish each step of the process. In this way, you are experiencing gratification more frequently, rather than pushing it all off until the very end.
Tip #5: Schedule in Rewards and Breaks
After you have broken tasks into smaller, more manageable steps, you can intentionally build in breaks and rewards. Brainstorm some things you like to do, like taking a walk, having a snack, or spending time with pets. When you have finished a “chunk” of your task, give yourself a break to refresh yourself. This break can also serve as a short-term reward for your efforts in completing the smaller task. This better aligns with the brain’s reward system by providing more frequent, achievable successes.
Tip #6: Engage in Self-Care
Just as you’re learning how to become more self-disciplined, make sure you are practicing self-compassion in the process. Make sure you are taking care of your body by getting enough sleep, nutrients, and physical activity.
Additional Resources and Tools
Many of the tips above and more can be found at the Executive Functioning 101 Resource Hub. Resources are organized by area of executive function so you can identify which strategies will work best to support your goal setting and attainment.
If you are finding it challenging to build self-discipline on your own, executive function coaching is an option to consider. EF coaching can help you develop the skills and strategies needed to stay focused, manage distractions, and achieve your goals with greater confidence. Our coaches have lived experience in neurodivergence and can help you build the practical habits you need to thrive.
TL;DR – (Too Long; Didn’t Read)
For people with ADHD, traditional advice like “just try harder” doesn’t work because their brains handle dopamine and executive functions differently. People with ADHD may underproduce Dopamine, which affects the brain’s reward system. This makes it challenging to have the self-discipline to persist on tasks and instead seek out immediate rewards. Challenges with executive functioning further complicate this process, as people struggle with impulse control, problem-solving, and planning skills to see the task through to completion.
Even though the reward system is wired to find more immediate rewards, there are some strategies to implement to help focus on long-term goals and outcomes. Strategies such as goal setting, making routines, creating a productive environment, chunking tasks, scheduling breaks and rewards, and self-care are all important components of making long-term goals more achievable.
Further Reading
- Life Skills Advocate (2021) – Executive Functioning 101: All About Impulse Control
- Life Skills Advocate (2020) – Executive Functioning 101: Problem-Solving
- Life Skills Advocate (2021) – How To Use SMART Goal Setting to Teach Daily Living Skills
- Life Skills Advocate (2024) – Life Skills Coaching for Neurodivergent Minds
- Life Skills Advocate (2024) – Welcome to the Executive Functioning 101 Resource Hub
- Bromberg-Martin, Matsumoto, & Hikosaka (2011) – Dopamine in Motivational Control: Rewarding, Aversive, and Alerting
- Duckworth & Seligman (2017) – The Science and Practice of Self-Control
- MTNTOUGH – What Is the Difference Between Self-Discipline and Motivation?
- WebMD (2024) – ADHD and Dopamine: What’s the Link?