What is a Recess List?

In her book Chart Spark1, information designer Alli Torban offers a number of practical and effective exercises to help data visualization practitioners exercise their creativity “muscle” in order to create more effective graphics. One of my favorites is the Recess List, a strategy that may sound familiar to my fellow ADHDers. ADHD bloggers, coaches, and influencer types usually call their similar approach a “dopamine menu.”2

The idea is to come up with a list of activities that will take you out of whatever headspace you’re in and help you feel refreshed and revitalized enough to continue your work. Make sure to include options of short, medium, and longer duration so you have choices that fit the amount of time you have.

Why does it work?

The Recess List works especially well for folks with ADHD because it’s a tool you’ve created for yourself in advance of the acute, in-the-moment struggle with boredom, procrastination, or lack of motivation. It helps you avoid the overwhelm of coming up with an activity on the fly, and it even holds up well against rationalizations like “I don’t have enough time” and “I’m too tired,” (or whatever specific flavor of task avoidance you like).

There’s also some psychology behind it. It’s an implementation intention, which James Clear describes in Atomic Habits as “a plan you make beforehand about when and where to act.” A study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology found that 91% of participants who planned their intention to exercise by writing down when and where they would exercise each week ended up actually exercising, versus 38% of the control group and 35% of the “motivation” group (these participants were given some materials about the benefits of exercise).

Some of the activities on the list also call for a change in one’s physical environment, a factor also associated with positive behavior change.3

Let me know in the comments or in a DM if you decide to try this strategy and how it worked out for you. Here’s my list in case you’d like to use it for inspiration or as a Twos template.