What is a dopamine menu?
A dopamine menu is a list of activities that make you feel better, grouped like courses on a restaurant menu. The idea comes from the ADHD community.
When your brain wants stimulation, it is hard to think of a good option on the spot, so the easiest one wins. A menu you wrote in advance gives you better options to pick from.
The five courses
Starters: quick lifts, 5 to 10 minutes
Small things you can do right now, when you need a lift to get going again.
Mains: bigger things that leave you feeling better
Activities that take longer and leave you better off afterwards, not just distracted.
Sides: add these to a boring task
Things that make a dull job easier to start and stay with. They go alongside the task, not instead of it.
Desserts: enjoyable, and easy to have too much of
The quick hits that are fine in small amounts and hard to stop. Set a timer before you start one.
Specials: treats for now and then
Bigger, planned treats. Having them on the menu gives you something to look forward to.
Dopamine menu ideas
These are the 56 ideas in the maker above. Use them as a starting point and add your own: the best menu is made of things that work for you.
Starters
- Dance to one song
- Step outside for fresh air
- Make a hot drink
- Splash cold water on your face
- Stretch for five minutes
- Text a friend
- Eat a piece of fruit
- Pet the dog or cat
- Do ten jumping jacks
- Water the plants
- Look at photos you love
- Sing along to something loud
Mains
- Go for a walk
- Go to the gym or a class
- Cook something new
- Call someone you like
- Work on a hobby project
- Play an instrument
- Read at a cafe
- Do some gardening
- Draw or paint
- Go for a swim
- Play a sport
- Bake something
Sides
- A favorite playlist
- A podcast or audiobook
- A fidget toy
- A nice drink
- Body doubling with a friend
- Brown noise
- Working from a cafe
- A timer to race against
- Chewing gum
- Standing up to work
- A cozy blanket
- Lighting a candle
Desserts
- Social media
- Video games
- YouTube
- One TV episode
- Browsing online shops
- A snack
- Mobile games
- Group chats
- Reading the news
Specials
- A concert
- A day trip
- A massage
- Dinner out
- A new book
- A movie at the theater
- A weekend away
- A class or workshop
- Visiting a friend
- A theme park
How to use your menu
- Put it where you will see it: the fridge, your desk, or your phone's lock screen.
- Pick a starter when you cannot get going.
- Pair a side with a boring task, such as a podcast while you do the dishes.
- Set a timer before dessert.
- Change it when something stops working. Novelty wears off, and that is normal.
Printable dopamine menu template
Build your menu above and press Print my menu. It prints on one page with only the menu, ready to put on the fridge.
Questions
- Is a dopamine menu only for ADHD?
- No. Anyone who gets stuck choosing what to do can use one. It is popular with people with ADHD because boredom and low energy hit hard, and the easiest option in reach, often the phone, tends to win.
- How many things should I put on it?
- Three to five per course is enough. A long menu is harder to choose from, which defeats the point.
- What goes in desserts?
- Things you enjoy that are hard to stop: social media, games, TV. They belong on the menu because you will do them anyway, and naming them makes it easier to set a timer first.
- Does a dopamine menu change my dopamine?
- The name is shorthand for things you find rewarding. It is a planning tool, not a treatment, and nothing on it is measured.
- Is my menu saved?
- Yes, in this browser on this device, so you can come back and change it. Print it or copy it as text to keep it somewhere else.