Free ADHD self-help guides
62 free, plain-language guides for the ADHD (and anxious) brain, for adults, teens and the parents helping them: procrastination, overwhelm, rejection sensitivity, routines, sleep and more. Each one comes with a matching free tool or worksheet, so you can actually do something with it today.
Updated
Quick answers
Does ADHD cause procrastination?
It can make starting much harder. One of the DSM-5 signs of ADHD is often avoiding, disliking or being reluctant to start tasks that need sustained mental effort, and difficulty organising tasks is another. So ADHD procrastination usually isn't laziness: the task feels too big, too vague or too boring for the brain to get going. Shrinking the first step is often what helps.
How to stop procrastinating with ADHD →How can I help my child with ADHD?
Small, visual, predictable routines tend to help more than reminders and nagging: a picture chart for mornings, one step at a time, with lots of noticing what went well. Keep expectations kind and the steps tiny. If you're wondering whether your child has ADHD, your GP or your child's school SENCo is a good first conversation.
ADHD routines for kids that actually stick →How do you help someone with rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD)?
Rejection sensitive dysphoria is a widely used term, popularised by Dr William Dodson, for intense emotional pain in response to perceived rejection or criticism. It is not a formal DSM-5 or ICD-11 diagnosis. To help, take the feeling seriously, avoid arguing with it in the moment, give clear and kind feedback, and leave space before problem solving.
RSD explained, gently →How do I calm ADHD overwhelm?
Get it out of your head first. A quick brain dump empties the swirl onto paper, then you pick just one small thing and let the rest wait. Lowering the stakes (good enough, not perfect) matters as much as any technique.
How to calm an overloaded ADHD brain →How do I switch off my ADHD brain at night?
Give your thoughts somewhere to go before bed with a short brain dump, keep a simple wind-down routine at roughly the same time each night, and make the last half hour low-stimulation. If sleep problems carry on, it's worth talking to your GP.
ADHD and sleep: how to switch off →Is there a free ADHD self-help guide?
Yes, every guide on this page is free, with no sign-up. There are 62 of them, covering starting tasks, procrastination, overwhelm, time blindness, rejection sensitivity, routines, sleep, burnout and parenting, and each comes with a free tool or worksheet so you can try the idea today. They're gentle self-help, not medical advice. If you're ever struggling to keep yourself safe, please call Samaritans free on 116 123 (UK) or your local crisis line.
Try the free ADHD tools →Every guide
Free ADHD tools that actually help (no sign-up)
When 'just do it' doesn't work, a tiny tool can. Three free ones, no login, made for the ADHD brain.
Read the guide →3 minHow to use a focus timer for ADHD (the right way)
A timer can be the gentlest way to coax a stuck brain into starting. Here's how to use one without it backfiring.
Read the guide →2 minHow to do a brain dump for ADHD (step by step)
Too many open loops in your head? Get them out. Here's how to brain dump so it actually helps.
Read the guide →2 minFree ADHD brain dump template (printable and PDF)
Want it on paper? Here is a free ADHD brain dump template to print, plus a tool to do it on your phone.
Read the guide →3 minBrain dump trigger list: free prompts for when your mind goes blank
Sat down to brain dump and gone blank? A trigger list asks the questions for you, one life area at a time.
Read the guide →6 minBrain dump for students: classroom activity, revision and homework
Books closed, three minutes, write everything you remember. Here is how a student brain dump works in class, for revision and before homework.
Read the guide →7 minHow to break a task down when it feels impossible (ADHD)
'Do my taxes' is unstartable. 'Open the website' isn't. Here's how to shrink any task down.
Read the guide →2 minWhy does self-care feel stressful? (and what to do instead)
When the bubble bath becomes another chore on your to-do list, the problem isn't you, it's the framework.
Read the guide →2 minHow to start a task when your ADHD brain won't
Starting is the wall, not the work. Here's how to get over it without willpower.
Read the guide →2 minADHD overwhelm: how to calm an overloaded brain
Overwhelm flattens everything into one giant emergency. Triage un-flattens it.
Read the guide →2 minRejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD): what it is and how to ride the wave
That sudden, crushing reaction to (real or perceived) rejection has a name, and tools.
Read the guide →9 minFree ADHD worksheets that actually help (2026)
A hand-picked set of free, fill-in-or-print worksheets for the ADHD brain, for every age.
Read the guide →2 minHow to calm anxiety fast: a 90-second reset
Your body leads, your mind follows. Here's the fastest way to bring the volume down.
Read the guide →2 minADHD time blindness: why time slips away (and how to fix it)
If time runs on 'now' and 'not now', you're not lazy. You're time-blind. Here's the fix.
Read the guide →3 minHow to function on a bad mental health day
On a depression day, surviving gently IS the win. Here's a plan for the floor, not the ceiling.
Read the guide →2 minADHD routines for kids that actually stick (a parent's guide)
For grown-ups: short, visible, child-led routines beat nagging every time.
Read the guide →2 minColouring pages for anxiety and calm (free)
A few minutes of colouring is a real, gentle reset. Here are free ones for every age.
Read the guide →2 minHow to stop procrastinating with ADHD
ADHD procrastination is a feelings problem, not a willpower problem. Here's the way around it.
Read the guide →2 minWhat is executive dysfunction? (in plain English)
The brain's 'manager' going offline: explained simply, with tools that help.
Read the guide →6 minHow to overcome executive dysfunction: strategies that help, and what treatment looks like in the UK
You can't think your way out of executive dysfunction, but you can build around it. Ten strategies, plus what the NHS and work support actually offer.
Read the guide →9 minBody doubling for ADHD: what it is and how to start
Working next to someone, in person or on a call, makes starting and staying possible.
Read the guide →5 minADHD focus music: does it work, and what kind actually helps?
White noise, brown noise, lo-fi or binaural beats? What the research actually says about ADHD focus music, and how to use it well.
Read the guide →5 minHow to plan your week when you have ADHD
Plan around the brain you have, not a fantasy version. One big rock a day.
Read the guide →2 minHow to build a routine that survives a bad day
Design for your worst day, not your best: that's the day a routine has to hold.
Read the guide →2 minHow to quiet your inner critic
The cruel narrator is a habit, not a fact. Here's how to turn the volume down.
Read the guide →2 minDecision fatigue: why small choices exhaust you
When every tiny choice costs the same as a big one, the day grinds to a halt.
Read the guide →2 minADHD and money: managing the boring admin
The most-avoided task because it's boring and scary. Here's how to make it doable.
Read the guide →2 minHow to set boundaries without guilt
Guilt after a boundary doesn't mean you did something wrong. Here's the script.
Read the guide →2 minTeens with ADHD: how to actually do homework
A no-lecture system for teens to get unstuck and get it done.
Read the guide →2 minAnxiety vs overwhelm: what's the difference?
They feel alike but need different fixes. Here's how to tell which one you're in.
Read the guide →2 minHow to actually use a planner when you have ADHD
The graveyard of abandoned planners is real. Here's how to keep one alive.
Read the guide →2 minADHD and sleep: why you can't switch off (and a gentle wind-down)
The 'tired but wired' bedtime brain: why it happens and how to land it gently.
Read the guide →2 minADHD burnout: signs and gentle recovery
The crash after masking and pushing too long. Here's how to spot it and recover gently.
Read the guide →2 minADHD and shame: why you feel like you're failing
The 'I'm failing' feeling is learned, not true. Here's where it comes from and how to loosen it.
Read the guide →2 minHow to remember things with ADHD (working-memory hacks)
Stop relying on a memory that leaks. Externalise everything. Here's how.
Read the guide →2 minPerfectionism and ADHD: choosing done over perfect
Perfectionism isn't the opposite of procrastination. It's the cause. Here's the way out.
Read the guide →2 minHow to declutter when you have ADHD
Clutter is delayed decisions. Here's how to clear it without drowning in choices.
Read the guide →2 minSelf-care ideas for ADHD that aren't bubble baths
Real self-care for ADHD: tiny, low-friction, and matched to the energy you actually have.
Read the guide →2 minHow to ask for help (and why it feels so hard)
Asking isn't weakness, but it can feel like it. Here's how to make it easier.
Read the guide →2 minHow to start your day with ADHD (a gentle morning)
Mornings melt down when there are too many invisible steps. Make them few and visible.
Read the guide →2 minHyperfocus: the other side of ADHD attention
ADHD isn't too little attention. It's attention you can't always steer. Here's how to ride hyperfocus.
Read the guide →2 minADHD colouring pages: why they calm the brain (free printables)
Why a colouring page quietly settles a racing ADHD brain, plus free ones to colour on screen or print.
Read the guide →3 minADHD task paralysis: why you freeze, and how to unfreeze
Staring at the thing you need to do, unable to move? That's task paralysis, and it's not laziness.
Read the guide →9 minADHD and anxiety: why they go together, and what helps
ADHD and anxiety so often travel together. Here's why, and what actually helps calm the spiral.
Read the guide →3 minHow to make a dopamine menu for ADHD
A ready-made menu of feel-good things for when your ADHD brain is bored, flat, or doom-scrolling.
Read the guide →8 minADHD workbooks: guided workbooks that actually get finished
Why most workbooks gather dust, and what a guided workbook built for an ADHD brain does differently.
Read the guide →2 minADHD charts & visual tools: routines, habits and reward charts that stick
Visual charts turn invisible routines into something an ADHD brain can actually see and follow.
Read the guide →2 minFree ADHD printables that don't feel like homework
Free ADHD printables you can use right now, on screen or on paper, no sign-up, no homework vibes.
Read the guide →2 minADHD worksheets: interactive vs printable, free vs paid (a complete guide)
What ADHD worksheets are for, which kind actually helps, and how to pick ones you'll genuinely use.
Read the guide →3 minRejection sensitive dysphoria worksheets: gentle tools for the RSD wave
Worksheets for the moment RSD hits, so you can ride the wave instead of acting on it.
Read the guide →3 minADHD cleaning planner: a cleaning checklist and schedule that actually works
A room-by-room cleaning checklist and a gentle weekly plan for brains that hate housework.
Read the guide →5 minADHD chore chart: a simple chore chart for adults and kids that actually gets used
Fewer jobs, smaller steps, one fixed time: how to build a chore chart an ADHD brain will actually use.
Read the guide →7 minADHD meal planning: a simple meal planning sheet that takes the decisions out
A 7-meal rotation, one shopping list and a bad-day backup plan, so dinner stops being a daily decision.
Read the guide →6 minADHD daily planner: what to put on it so you actually use it
One page, three must-dos, and room for the day you actually get, not the one you planned.
Read the guide →5 minFree mental health worksheets for adults, teens and kids
An honest guide to free mental health worksheets: what they are, how to use them, and what's free for adults, teens and kids.
Read the guide →5 minMental health worksheets for kids and teens: by age, for home, school and groups
Which mental health worksheets suit which age, and how to use them kindly at home, in the classroom or in a youth group.
Read the guide →5 minAnxiety worksheets for adults, teens and kids
The four kinds of anxiety worksheet that actually help, and which to choose for adults, teens and kids.
Read the guide →5 minADHD emotional regulation: why feelings hit harder, and how to steady them
Why ADHD feelings arrive so big and so fast, and gentle, practical ways to steady them, for you or for your child.
Read the guide →8 minExecutive functioning activities for teens (that don't feel like homework)
Twelve everyday ways for teens to practise planning, starting and focus, without a lecture in sight.
Read the guide →7 minExecutive function in children: what it is and how to help it grow
For grown-ups: why little ones forget, fidget and melt down at transitions, and the playful ways to help.
Read the guide →6 minRejection sensitive dysphoria examples: what RSD looks like in real life
Fifteen everyday moments where rejection sensitivity takes over, and the calmer story underneath each one.
Read the guide →6 minADHD calm down strategies: 16 ideas for kids, teens and adults
Body first, words later: sixteen calm down techniques for ADHD brains, plus how to build a calm down box.
Read the guide →7 min