If you have ADHD, you might feel like your mind never stops racing, bouncing from one idea to the next or going back to re-do the steps in projects you’ve gotten distracted from.

It can be very hard to stay “grounded”. Our minds are always flying, looking down at all of the things all at once. And just like flying, we only get to pay attention to any one of those things for a fleeting moment before we’ve flown over it and onto the next horizon.

The good news? I have some tricks to help you learn the skills you need to land that plane. Here’s how we get started:

1. Find a place you want to land. (Take a moment, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths)

I always thought this was silly. I’m always breathing and that’s never helped me be present. But I learned it does actually work for us ADHD’ers, if we choose to let all of our senses pay attention to this one very powerful tool.

Close your eyes (after reading this). Take a deep breath in through your nose. Listen to the sound it makes. Feel the air flow into your nostrils and down to your lungs. Picture your breath flowing in and out (mine is usually blue). I have no idea how to incorporate smell into this one.

Do this 5 times. Yes that feels like a lot of time for us. But it really isn’t. Yes, you will get distracted at first. That’s the thing with practising new things. You aren’t always perfect at it. And that’s ok. When you open your eyes, you’ll be prepared to find a nice quiet spot to land.

2. Make a list.

Hopefully, like most flights, there will be a checklist of things that need to be done before the plane lands.

Slow down. Drop the elevation slowly. Deploy the wheels.

To other people those seem like common sense. To us, it is incredibly overwhelming. What if we forget something? We’re definitely going to forget something. What if we do it out of order? We’re definitely going to do it out of order.

So write a list. Pick whatever is the smallest, easiest thing to do on that list. Do what I do, add “wake up” and “put clothes on” and even “write list” on that list. That way when you’re done you have at least one or two things to scratch off to make it feel like you’re already on your way.

MAKE THIS LIST BEFORE YOU PUTTER.

3. Use a Timer to Refocus.

Timer’s can be helpful for creating a sense of urgency while also lighting up our instinctively competitive nature. A plane can only land when it’s on schedule. So set up a chunk of time to keep you on schedule. Plus, if you have “take a break” on your list of things to do, that’s another thing you can scratch off the list!

4. Fail

That isn’t what it sounds like. Your plane can’t crash. It can veer off to go look at something else, but it can’t crash. Know that it’s OK if your mind wanders or if you forget where you put your list. As long as you remember where you were planning on landing, you can circle as many times as you need.

There is nobody but you on that plane. The only person that can get upset with your use of time is YOU. So please be nice to yourself. You deserve that.

5. Celebrate the wins

If you were able to get to 3 breaths instead of 5, good for you! You made progress! It will be easier the next time. Didn’t make the timer? That’s OK! The next time you have a time to beat. I know you can do it.

Maybe your plane didn’t get to exactly where you wanted it to, but it got off the ground and had a bit of an adventure. That’s a win!

Presence isn’t something you can achieve and then scratch off your list. It’s a habit. Learning to just be HERE and NOW is incredibly difficult for us. Your mind will wander, but every time you actively choose to come back, look at your list, and scratch something off, you are solidifying the knowledge that you actually CAN.

So buckle up, check your pre-flight checklist and see how your day goes. At the very least, you’ll have an adventure.

You’re awesome. Start your journey today!