How to Externalize Your Brain

Despite all-around increases in productivity, efficiency, and convenience, the world feels like it’s asking us to do more than ever. This is especially true for those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Even though some people with ADHD think of it as a superpower, they might also experience difficulties with organizing, planning, problem solving and time management.

These mental processes fall under the category of executive functions. Executive function broadly refers to the ability to regulate thoughts, actions, and emotions – usually in pursuit of a goal.

What do issues with executive function look like in real life? A few common examples are frequently forgetting things you’re supposed to do, feeling disorganized, never having enough time, or having lots of unfinished projects.

Wouldn’t it be nice if your brain was like a computer and you could just add some extra hardware to boost your processing power?

If you learn how to externalize your brain – or at least some of what it does – you can achieve a similar effect.

What exactly does it mean to externalize your brain? Another way to think of it is outsourcing some of the work your brain does. This is done by using visual, auditory, or tactile representations of brain-based processes, which can help make them feel more real to your senses.

If this sounds a little weird, think of the ways you are already outsourcing some of your brainpower. If you have ever used a calculator, sketched a rough map, or written something down – you have externalized your brain. Not to mention the AI assistant you’re using to help you draft all those emails.

An obvious issue with thought is that it is naturally intangible and invisible. And in a brain with ADHD, the thoughts might be moving really fast. Externalizing thoughts forces them to slow down and makes them more manageable.

Consider how hard it is to solve a complex math problem in your head versus writing it out. Carrying the 2 is much easier when you can see it on paper.

The overall goal in learning how to externalize your brain is overcoming any potential gaps in executive functioning by increasing the work you are doing outside your head. There’s no shame in this – no one’s brain can do everything. These strategies can make doing tasks, solving problems, and remembering things easier, whether you’re someone with ADHD or not.

The following are possible solutions to the executive function “problem areas” many people with ADHD identify as patterns.

Inside Your Brain: Memory

Externalized: There are many tried and true ways people use to externalize their memory. The first one is relatively simple, might be obvious, but potentially life changing. This is journaling, or intentionally writing your thoughts down in any form.

Just like your phone or keys, make a journal one of the essentials you grab before heading out for the day. Or get a journaling app on your phone to cut down on multiple items to manage. Jot down your brilliant thoughts. Record the time it takes to do things (more on this later). If someone tells you something that’s important, write it down.

Beyond static memory, journaling also offers a chance for you to see your thought process on paper. In this sense, journaling can be a practical tool for externalizing memory, but also might provide bonus insights to understanding how you think and feel.

There are many types of journals and a lot of specific ways to journal. Using an app can absolutely work, but not if you forget to do it in the first place – or forget to review it later. Despite taking up more space, many people with ADHD prefer a physical journal because it’s more tangible and therefore more externalized. Ultimately, whatever is sustainable and works for you is best. Almost anything beats tattooing cryptic reminders to yourself on your own body.

Adjacent to journaling, for the more artistically inclined, is using photos, images, or drawings. These can be collected in a sketchbook, scrapbook or as standalone reminders for yourself.

Another way to “journal” is recording yourself speaking out loud. Some people will do this in an interview style, asking themselves questions and then answering. Or you can discuss issues with yourself, describe what you’re seeing in your mind. Speaking something aloud, even quietly can make it feel more real. This form of externalization, vocalization, can be a powerful path towards greater self-control. It is probably best to use this one while you’re alone.

Another way to make your memory physical is to create a to-do list, which brings us to our next topic.

Inside Your Brain: Organization

Externalized: Another widely practiced form of externalization is the to-do list. They’re popular because they work. But not just any to-do list will do when you’re struggling with ADHD.

First, you’ve got to put the to-do list where you can’t miss it. Next, it’s helpful to prioritize the importance of certain tasks over others. If you skip this step, all the fun and easy things have a way of getting done first. Prioritizing tasks is easier when you see them all together. If your to-do list becomes to-do lists or expands into multiple volumes, consolidate. If you’re having issues with prioritizing, asking someone close to you to review your list might be helpful.

The long term version of a to-do list is a calendar or planner – which leads to the next phase in how to externalize your brain.

Inside Your Brain: Time Management

Externalized: Humans have been tracking the passage of time in one form or another for millennia. From ancient stone structures to smart watches, making time external is useful. When it exists as a feeling in your brain, time is abstract and subjective.

If you ask a few people to count to ten in their heads and raise their hand when they’re done, those hands will not go up like clockwork. If one of those people has ADHD, they might struggle with what is known as “time blindness.” In other words, it’s harder for them to internally keep track of time.

The solution is to externalize time in whatever way you can in both the short and long term: planners, calendars, clocks, timers, and other periodic physical reminders.

Setting timers is especially useful on smaller time scales or when you need to get a lot done. Planning to spend ten minutes cleaning the fridge can turn into a four hour kitchen reorganization if you’re not careful.

Without timers, tasks can balloon beyond your expectations. If you time how long it actually takes you to complete tasks, or hold yourself to spending only a certain amount of time on a given task, you can use that information to make your to-do lists more effective. Even with a to-list in hand, sometimes time blindness plus procrastination can push important tasks aside indefinitely.

Long term tools like calendars can be indispensable for getting things done whether you have a jam packed schedule or just don’t want to forget your mom’s birthday. Calendars have similar pros and cons to journals. Digital might be more convenient but a physical option can feel more real when it comes to externalizing your brain. Choose what works for you.

Combining all the previous strategies for externalizing your brain can help you achieve your goals – but sometimes problems are so big, it’s hard to know where to start.

Inside Your Brain: Solving Problems

Externalized: A common technique for problem solving is called chunking. This refers to breaking tasks or problems into smaller, more manageable pieces. For complicated problems that feel too big to start, chunking outside your head makes finding the first step much easier.

Try writing each separate chunk of the problem on a notecard or sticky note, then arrange them into a flowchart. Now only focus on the first chunk. You can also apply chunking directly to to-do list tasks, or map things out in a diagram or model on paper.

Any external 2D or 3D representation of a problem can make solving it easier. This is true for reminders or cues as well. Write notes to yourself, make a sign, or use a picture to remind yourself to tackle whatever needs doing.

What good is chunking a problem when you don’t want to solve the problem in the first place?

Inside Your Brain: Motivation

Externalized: For many people with ADHD, motivation to do things can be the biggest hurdle. You can have all the tips, tricks, and strategies in the world – but they don’t do much good if you aren’t motivated. How do you use externalization techniques above and actually get things done? Go beyond executive functions and outsource even more brainpower! Specifically: emotions, rewards, and accountability.

Emotions: Look for ways to attach feelings to completing tasks to remind yourself of the emotional payoff you will get in the future. Think about what it will feel like to get “the thing” done. Future satisfaction can be easily eclipsed by present moment discomfort. Bringing the ‘internal future feeling’ into the ‘external present moment’ can create a spark of motivation. Write down the positive emotions that you’ll feel right next to the task and time it takes on your to-do list.

Here’s an example of the full externalized brain to-do list:

· Laundry. 2 hours. – pride, self-satisfaction.

· Make a doctor’s appointment. 15 minutes. – relief, reduced anxiety.

· Clean room. 1 hour. – you can see the floor again!

Rewards: Positive emotions are one form of reward. In an ideal world, we would act mainly on intrinsic motivation. That means doing things you naturally want to do. Unfortunately, some of adult life requires extrinsic motivation to get us moving. Your boss refers to this form of monetary motivation as a paycheck. You can apply the same basic principle for yourself. Linking rewards, beyond positive emotions, to completing challenging tasks can give you the extra boost you need to get the job done. Just make sure your self-rewards are sustainable (for your health and your wallet) and proportionate to the task.

Accountability: Being accountable to someone else can be incredibly motivating. When we are accountable to someone we respect, we don’t want to let them down. Good teachers hold students accountable. Managers hold their employees accountable. But what about in your life more generally? Ask a trusted friend, family member, or partner to help keep you on track. Externalizing accountability can be one of the most effective tools in your kit.

Final Words

If you’re still at a loss about how to externalize your brain in your own life, the first step is figuring out where you actually need help. To apply these strategies where they’ll have the most impact, ask yourself questions like:

What do I always seem to forget?
What tasks never get done?
Where are these issues most prominent? At work, at home, or somewhere else?

Once you have a sense of your patterns or recurring problem areas, the next step is working towards minimizing distractions. If something in your environment is more interesting than the thing you’re supposed to be doing, you’re going to be tempted to switch to it. If you struggle with impulse control, like many people with ADHD, staying focused becomes even harder. Removing distractions makes it easier to do what you think is truly important.

Another piece of advice that applies across all the strategies is to put the external component where the problem exists, in the moment it exists. The journal won’t work if it’s not in your pocket or bag when you need it. A to-do list buried in a drawer isn’t going to help you get anything done. A timer in the kitchen doesn’t stop you when you’re doom scrolling on the couch.

The different methods of externalization can address any one or more of the executive function “problem areas.” For some people a trusty to-do list is enough. For others, journaling can do most of the heavy lifting. If you have ADHD, it can be helpful to mix and match a few of these externalizing strategies to maximize their power and let your brain focus on whatever it does best.

Start with one strategy. Put it where you’ll actually use it. And give yourself credit for the effort, your brain is already doing a lot.

Posts by Center for Growth Therapists

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