My name's Jock Matthews. I work as the clinical director at Rosierly Clinic, and I'm going to talk about increasing your productivity at work with brain hacks. Try and increase your productivity with these work strategies designed to manage symptoms of ADHD, such as procrastination, distractibility, and impulsivity, and they may impact your success at work. You can also hack your brain from the outside through diet changes, exercise, and better sleep. There's a great audio book called Brain Rules. It's about brain chemistry and brain function, but have a listen, you won't regret it. Here are some more favourite brain hacks that that have been successful. Complete your to do list by d w y d n or DWERDEN. This brain hack was inspired.

By a line I saw from a productivity guru called David Allen. Much of the stress that people feel doesn't come from having too much work. It comes from not finishing what they've started. DWERDEN or DWYDEN stands for do what you're doing now. Do what you're doing now. I finally realised I could finish what I sat down to work on, what I'm doing now. My to do list would get shorter, fast. It also leads to greater reported levels of self efficacy in people. I'm sure you know the universal ADHD truth. Too often we jump out of a task and pick up another task that seems easier or more interesting, and we never come back to the original task. Or we do a little of this and a little of that and get nothing done completely.

This is why our to do lists stay so long. Finishing the thing we've started is easier said than done for us, but here's how how to use this hack. Next time you're working on an intensive task, start by declaring, this is what I'm doing now. This is what I'm doing now. By saying that, you'll build this fence around the task to keep out potential distractions. When you get that text from your best friend, you'll be equipped to say to yourself, I'd love to reply to my friend, but it's not what I'm doing now. This important task is what I'm doing right at the moment. This hack has been responsible for the upward trajectory of many people more than any other. Switching off notifications on your devices can be very useful as well.

But hard to do. It's all about managing your desire for that dopamine hit. The second brain hack, get a fresh mental start with p p four seven eight. So what is PP four seventy eight? It stands for pause and plan with a four seventy eight breathing technique. It's a way to recover from the feeling of never having enough time and way too much to do, The debilitating stress that goes with those two things. You may have heard of the four seven eight technique, which comes from the ancient practice of yoga. It's got plenty of twenty first century scientific support in reducing stress as well. So you breathe in through your nose for four counts, hold your breath for seven counts, then slowly release your breath through your pursed lips.

For eight counts. Repeat three times and you will achieve what is called heart rate variability. Practice it, you will need to practice it. Now you're able to do what ADHD is really able to do, and that is pause and plan, think clearly calmly about what you're doing and what you should do next. Another hack, ignite your ADHD brain with a venue change. Thinking about your typical workday, how many hours are you able to work on tough important tasks with confidence and calm? Not many, right? Okay. Science says we can reboot our brain with pattern interruption. You can interrupt the pattern of your day by changing your venue or your position. Some people work in five or more different locations around their home or office on any given day.

This can be constantly reenergising by changing your venues. Even if you work in a tightly controlled physical environment, you can vary your workplaces. Change the way you're positioned at your desk, work in a conference room for a couple of single tasking sessions, and sit at a desk that is not being used by anyone. Another hack, fuel your brain, by feeding it right. Too many ADHDers fuel their brain using sugary snacks and drinks that are almost pure glucose. You get spurts of mental energy, but you crash a few minutes later as your brain begs for more sugar. If you were to get your glucose saved from dried fruit, a food in which glucose is still attached to its fibre, the delivery curve for the fuel is extended.

Add to your snacks some protein like raw nuts or jerky, and you extend the delivery of that curve even further. Try a few pumpkin seeds, and these, almonds are also great at delivering, more protein bang for its buck. And of course dried apricots. Another hack, reclaim your ADHD brain with a recovery ritual. Try using this occasionally in your day to day. Experts say the length of the renewal recovery process is less important than the quality. Here are a couple of tips. A mini meditation while you're sitting at your desk for two minutes. A stretch for sixty seconds. It brings in fresh oxygen to the brain. Whenever I do it, I often yawn, which actually is a way of grabbing oxygen into your brain.

Tidy up, reset your environment and reset your mind and body. Take a short walk, or hit the staircase. This is something I regularly encourage people to do, and it and it discharges some of that kinetic energy that can make a difference. We do have more control over our thoughts and actions than we've been led to believe. Most of what I've shared are classic brain hacks. Tweaking your thoughts can change the way you view something, or tweaking your diet or breathing to alter your brain chemistry. Try them and see if your productivity increases at home or at work. Good luck.