Living with attention challenges doesn't require a formal diagnosis to start implementing helpful strategies. I was diagnosed with ADHD ten years ago and while medication helped with focus issues, it came with significant side effects.

Instead, I adopted these practices: - Creating daily schedules

- Preparing essentials (clothes, lunch, gym gear) the night before

- Regular exercise

- Meditated daily

- Quitted weed

- Quitted porn

- Reducing screen time

After a while I didn't need medication for my studies and later my work. I believe that if I had continued on medication I would still believe that it was something wrong with me, which I don't anymore. I'm just a person that functions well when there is structure in my life (which I had not learned in my youth), and that's not a disability.

There have been huge advancements in specific life strategies for ADHD- many of them organically from the community, but they aren’t the same things that work for people without ADHD to add structure and discipline- they are adapted to require less executive control. You don’t need a professional diagnosis to try them- but it helps you know what is more likely to actually work, and can be helpful for some people to take it more seriously and deeply investigate and try ADHD specific strategies.

For me, the "Hacking Your ADHD" podcast has been life changing- after trying a number of productivity advice books and not knowing why I couldn't get any to work, this podcast mentions ones that work for me.

Moreover, while not everyone with ADHD does well on or needs medication, for a lot of people it is absolutely life changing... and people end up suffering needlessly for years because of preconceptions that prevent them from trying it. It’s worth trying and finding out. Personally, I think more people would benefit from the less used non stimulant medications and/or lower doses of milder stimulants- most people that have bad side effects are taking heroic doses of amphetamines. I think a lot of doctors are just incompetent when they are starting people out like that.

I do all of the things you listed above plus an extremely low dose of ritalin, and neither would work for me without the other. Structure, discipline, and habits are life changing for anyone- but a lot of ADHD people try the regular advice for implementing them unsuccessfully for years.

> There is no test- they interview you and other people in your life to see if you have the symptoms or not.

This isn't universally true. Over here the evaluation lasts around 6 hours spread over 4 appointments with a specialist (a clinical psychologist) and consists of interviews, questionnaires, and a number of (stress) tests of your focus, impulsivity, and short term memory.

and the test is, try ritalin, if it helps you concentrate, it works. If not, no.

I'd think hard about the possible consequences of doing this. It could be challenging to explain if you're ever asked about it when undergoing official diagnosis, you might be forced to lie or risk being labeled a drug seeker.

And I don't think looking out for whether it "helps you concentrate" is a valuable metric. Healthy people also abuse stimulants because it helps them concentrate.

Perhaps a more valuable effect to pay attention to is whether it calms you down? This is a counter-intuitive effect common in people with ADHD.

All people increase their ability to concentrate when on Ritalin.