Using Choice in Your Productivity Strategy: Choice Boards for ADHD

Do you design a routine, or make a plan, and then don’t follow it?

How do you progress towards a goal if you resist following a plan?

I like to check in on blogs and podcasts from teachers, and I recently came across a post about using Choice Boards. The teacher uses a choice board to give the students freedom to choose an activity from among a given set of possibilities. In the classroom, a choice board might be used during transitions between group activities or instruction.

Using a choice board is like “freedom break” that is still a productive use of time, because the freedom is contained within boundaries.

How could you use the choice board concept to help you with your own productivity?

Having a set of equal choices to choose among is a way to incorporate freedom and choice into your planning process. Choice gives you the latitude to change your mind based on your level of energy and interest, without having to defend your decision — or feel bad about yourself for not sticking to the plan. It’s a way to add interest - and fun!

You might think this way already and not even realize it. Having a name for your strategy will help you be aware of when you are using it, and that it is helping you be productive!

During your “thinking ahead” times, having the concept of a choice board can help you see more clearly what has a firm deadline and needs to be scheduled, and what can go on the choice board.