It's important to evaluate what you or your child would like to improve or achieve, and set goals.

You're probably excited at the possibility of seeing symptom improvement. In this excitement, you or your child may have the desire to improve everything at once. But it's better in the long run to set goals, achieve them, and set more goals. You might want to see improvement in schoolwork, more social invitations, or improved focus and organization. But it's unrealistic to expect everything all at once.

Here are 5 tips to get started with goal-setting for yourself or your child:

Begin with a quick success

Choose a goal that you feel can be accomplished quickly. This quick success can help feed the cycle of success. Don't tackle the toughest goals first. Instead, "practice" first on some of the easier goals to help build self-confidence.

Identify motivations

What is it that your child or you really want to work on? It's difficult to strive for goals unless the motivation is there, so choose something that your child or you truly want to achieve.

Prioritize goals

It's great to be enthusiastic and excited about the goals that have been outlined. Just be sure to prioritize goals, choosing what's most important or what makes sense chronologically, keeping motivation in mind.

Reduce expectations

Be sure that you don't set expectations too high. If you or your child reach too high and come up short, there may be disappointment. However, if you lower your expectations somewhat, and reach the goal, you or your child will be much happier. Perspective is important.

Take small steps

Break down goals into smaller, more manageable steps. Remember, even the largest, most overwhelming changes are made only one step at a time.

Also, develop an action plan, listing the steps needed to reach the goal, including a timeline. Be sure to build flexibility into your action plan. If, for instance, your child or you don't do what's in the action plan on one particular day, don't let that be a reason to fall off the action plan completely. Have a plan B, and a plan C, if necessary.

Evaluate progress regularly, and be sure to reward early and often as progress is made. Don't save all the rewards for when the entire goal is reached, but spread out praise and positive reinforcement, even with yourself, all along the way.

ADHD coaching may be a tactic that you might consider adding to your treatment plan. Understand what an ADHD coach might offer, and get tips for finding a coach.

More Tips for Goal-Setting: Set SMART Goals

When setting goals, you may find it helpful to define SMART goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Agreed-upon, Realistic and Timely.

Specific:

Develop specific goals that are clearly stated.

Measurable:

It should be easy to determine if a goal is reached. A goal is measurable if you can clearly determine if progress is being made towards reaching the goal.

Agreed-upon:

Talk about the goal with your child, or if it's your own goal, with a friend—this way, you can agree and commit to it.

Realistic:

The goals should be within reach.

Timely:

A timely goal is one that can be achieved within a timeframe that is meaningful — not too far ahead in the future.