ChatGPt is a Game-ChanGer for aDhD aDults

By Winema Martinez

However, a new digital knight in shining armor — artificial intelligence (AI) — is promising to revolutionize ADHD management. AI, with its capacity to automate tasks, offer personalized assistance, and make future predictions, brings immense potential for individuals with ADHD.

How AI Can Help Adults with ADHD

There are many ways that AI can help adults with ADHD. Here are a few examples:

Personalized Assistance

AI can act as a personalized assistant in various ways:

1. Creating To-Do Lists and Setting Reminders: AIpowered tools can help individuals with ADHD stay organized by creating to-do lists and setting reminders. They can even prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance. They can also provide reminders for routines and habits that an individual wants to develop, like taking medication or regular exercise.

2. Breaking Down Tasks: Often, people with ADHD can be overwhelmed by large tasks. AI can help by breaking these down into smaller, more manageable steps. The AI can present these steps one at a time to help the individual focus and reduce overwhelm.

3. Learning and Adaptation: Through machine learning algorithms, AI can learn and adapt to an individual's behavior, making suggestions and reminders more personalized and effective over time. This could involve learning the best times of day to schedule tasks or understanding which types of tasks are more difficult for the individual.

Automating Tasks

Automation can be especially helpful for people with ADHD by reducing the mental load associated with certain tasks:

1. Routine Tasks: AI can automate routine tasks such as paying bills, scheduling appointments, or sorting emails. This helps individuals with ADHD focus their attention on tasks that require more cognitive effort.

2. Task Initiation: One common issue for people with ADHD is difficulty initiating tasks. AI can help here by automatically starting a task at a scheduled time. For example, an AI could start playing a workout video at a predetermined exercise time, making it easier for the individual to begin.

Making Predictions

AI's ability to analyze patterns and make predictions can be beneficial in several ways:

1. Predicting Distractions: Based on past behavior, an AI might predict when an individual is likely to be distracted and suggest strategies to manage this.

2. Potential Problems: The AI could analyze behavior patterns and predict potential problems, such as noticing a pattern of missed medication and alerting the individual.

3. Decision Support: By analyzing past decisions and outcomes, AI can help individuals with ADHD make more informed decisions in the future.

Personalized Scheduling

AI can help individuals with ADHD manage their time more effectively through personalized scheduling: Smart Scheduling: AI can learn the individual's routines, habits, and preferences over time and use this data to create a personalized schedule. For instance, if the individual is more productive in the mornings, the AI can schedule more demanding tasks during this time.

1. Adaptive Scheduling: People with ADHD often struggle with time estimation and keeping track of time. AI can help by dynamically adjusting the schedule based on real-time progress and interruptions. If a task is taking longer than anticipated, the AI can adjust the schedule accordingly, reducing stress and anxiety associated with falling behind.

2. Predictive Scheduling: AI can predict potential disruptions to the schedule based on past patterns and incorporate these predictions into the schedule. For instance, if the individual typically receives a high volume of emails in the afternoon that disrupts their work, the AI could schedule a specific time in the afternoon for handling emails.

3. Activity Variety: AI can ensure that the schedule includes a variety of activities throughout the day to help prevent boredom and maintain engagement, a common challenge for adults with ADHD. This can include a mix of work tasks, breaks, physical activity, and leisure time.

4. Reminders and Prompts: AI can provide reminders for upcoming tasks and transition prompts to help individuals move from one task to another more smoothly. This can be particularly helpful for individuals with ADHD who might struggle with transitions.

5. Health and Wellness Integration: AI can integrate health and wellness activities into the schedule, such as reminders to take medication, scheduled breaks for relaxation or exercise, and ensuring sufficient time is set aside for sleep.

How to Get the Most Out of AI

To make the most of AI, providing detailed and clear prompts is essential. Here are a few tips to make your interaction more effective:

1. Use Positive Language: Frame your prompts in a positive manner, which aids in establishing a constructive conversation.

2. Keep It Simple: Start with simple and concise prompts that are easy to comprehend. This ensures the AI accurately understands your request.

3. Stay on Topic: Initially, maintain your prompts within the context of the current conversation. This allows for a more focused and relevant dialogue.

4. Build on Prior Information: Feel free to refer back to previous statements, asking the AI to clarify or delve deeper into those topics.

5. Check for Understanding: At the end of a prompt, ask if the AI understands your request. This ensures that it will address your question accurately before proceeding with assistance.

By following these guidelines, you'll be able to interact with AI in a more efficient and helpful manner. One of my own tricks is to ask at the end of the prompt if AI understands, “Do you understand?” It will reply and begin working on your prompt.

Getting started with easy and basic prompts for ChatGPT

For organization: "Please help me stay organized by creating a to-do list and setting reminders for the following tasks: [list of tasks]. Please ask me questions to better assist in creating the best plan for me."

For time management: "Please help me manage my time by creating a schedule for the following tasks: [list of tasks]. Please ask me questions to better assist in creating the best plan for me."

For task completion: "Please help me complete the following tasks by breaking them down into smaller steps and providing instructions: [list of tasks]. Please ask me questions to better assist me in completing the tasks."

BONUS prompt that I use: “Act as an ADHD specialist. Assist me in creating a daily plan complete with a schedule for five days. I workout every morning from 8 to 9 am. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I write articles and on Thursdays and Fridays I work on writing my book. Sometimes I spend days researching and forget to write. Block time to research. Saturdays are self care days - give me healthy ideas. Sundays I plan goals for the weekgive me great ideas based on the info here. Mondays I am overwhelmed so help me start my day and week off great here. Ask questions to help you better personalize this. Do you understand?” Yes, this is what I do each week and it has been a life changing experience! For example, here is the feedback from ChatGPT:

ChatGPT reply: Yes, I understand your requirements and I'm here to help you create a daily plan for your week. To better assist you, I have a few questions:

1. How many hours do you typically work in a day, and when do you prefer to start and end your work?

2. Do you have any regular commitments or activities that must be included in your schedule?

3. How much time do you prefer to allocate for research each week?

4. What kind of self-care activities do you enjoy or want to try on Saturdays?

5. Are there any specific areas you want to focus on for your weekly goals?

6. What activities help you to feel less overwhelmed and start your week positively?

Once you provide these details, I'll be able to create a more personalized and effective schedule for you. By providing AI with more detailed prompts, it can better understand your needs and create a more personalized plan for you. This personalized assistance, tailored to individual needs, can be particularly beneficial for people with ADHD who often struggle with instructions or task completion. And, honestly, not make us feel like a freak and lazy. Personal opinion, of course.

It's important to note that AI is not a cure for ADHD. It's a resource that can help make life more manageable, successful, and fulfilling for people with ADHD. If you're an adult living with ADHD, it's well worth exploring the potential benefits AI can offer. A wealth of resources are available online and within your community to help you get started on this digital journey. Embracing AI could well be a game-changer, elevating your quality of life and adding a powerful tool to your ADHD management toolkit.

Remember that while ChatGPT can provide a lot of useful information and suggestions, it's not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional for ADHD management strategies tailored to your specific needs.

At this time, I do use both Bard and ChatGPT but not any AI apps. ChatGPT excels in my opinion. It provides more detailed information, doesn’t “feel” robotic, and expands most of the time without being told.

Are you using AI to assist with your ADHD?