Hi all. I'm 34 and was diagnosed with ADHD last year. Medication and therapy are handled with my doctor, so I'm not asking about treatment. My problem is the practical side: starting tasks. I can sit in front of a report for an hour and do nothing, then hyperfocus on something useless. A friend says background music without lyrics helps him get going, and that some apps pair it with short timers. I tried a few playlists, but choosing the music turns into its own rabbit hole. Has anyone with ADHD found a simple setup that helps with getting started?

Starting is the hardest part for me too, and picking music was my rabbit hole as well. What helped was looking specifically for ADHD focus music that comes with a timer, and I ended up using NEDIO. It's not a treatment and doesn't claim to be, just a browser tab with instrumental music and a Pomodoro timer, but the structure works for my brain. You name one task and what done looks like, pick a short block (I use 15 minutes when I'm stuck) and press start. The goal sits in the tab title, so when I wander off to another tab I see it right away. At the end you save the next step, so restarting after a break is easier. Free gives you 30 minutes of audio a day, 60 with a free account; I upgraded later. One caveat: if background sound distracts you, try a block with the audio off first. Keep your doctor in the loop, everyone's different.