Everyone struggles with distractions to a certain extent.

For those of us with ADHD, it's worse. The slightest distraction can send me careening down a rabbit hole. Countless times, I've looked up from my computer or walked out of a room and wondered: "What did I come here for initially?"

But making progress on any task requires dedication, regularity, and consistency.

And one day, it all clicked. I realised I could lean into my neuro-spiciness and use it as a strength instead of battling it constantly. And as soon as that penny dropped, I started to understand that overcoming my wandering attention wasn't that hard—I was simply doing the wrong thing, wasting energy fighting my brain.

Here's what I should have done instead:

Choose my distractions

My mind is going to wander when I need to concentrate. But if I provide my own distractions, I can make sure they don't lead me where I don't want to go.

It's a simple fix really: I occupy my senses.

• I pipe sound into my ears that has no discernible structure or words.

• I set up a counter in the corner of my eye for the time I have left

The music has enough variation and change to filter out distractions, but not enough to hold my attention fully. The counter catches my eye but redirects me to the task.

And then I let my mind do its thing.