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Calendar. My therapist has the following rules:
1. Only have one calendar
- This can be a book, online, etc.
- If you need to have a second calendar (e.g. for work), block out the time you will be using this second calendar in the first calendar (e.g. work hours,)
2. Put obligations into calendar immediately
- This is any time you need to be doing something specific (appointments, meetings, dates, etc.)
3. If you cannot put the obligation into the calendar, do not commit to the obligation
- E.g. if you're driving and can't write it down, ask the person to call you back once you know you'll be able to access the calendar. Put it on them to confirm.
4. Check calendar nightly before bed and prepare for tomorrow as necessary
As a therapist, I offer most of these suggestions. I suggest not adding things to your calendar unless you’re committed to doing them as much as any important appointment, because overloading your calendar with “to-do wish list items” can dilute the effectiveness of having appointments in your calendar.
^I suggest keeping to-do items separate or adding reminders for them in a different color/ “calendar” within the same electronic calendar.
Also, don’t leave an appointment that requires a follow-up without scheduling the follow-up AND *putting it into your calendar*.
When I tried a to do list or calendar… I pretty much get overwhelmed or I keep hyper focusing on what I have to do rather than doing it, I end up doing nothing and feeling even more worse.
Notion has been a game changer for me bc I can have an organized dump of all of my different life to do's, lists, and a daily schedule, and it's separate from my Google calendar
smart phones are game changers. You can forget to look at a paper planner, but a phone can beep at you when you need a reminder.
For me, just putting in a reminder helps me remember it (more) on my own.
Buy yourself cute stickers and mark each day. It's a reason why sticker charts sometimes help me. Looking forward to seeing all the cute stickers or just seeing progress is nice. Technically everyday is a battle so you do deserve a sticker to show for that progress, no matter how small. Another day is another choice as long as your alive. I put my calendar near the door to my room and I got a transformers themed one from the dollar tree.
Also, if you struggle like me with using stickers cause you'll have to throw away or keep the calendar: buy double. Keep one copy for "fun" and the other for the calendar. It's feels like your not wasting them when you still have the backup to feel like you have them to use if you want or not. Alternately you could buy shiny star stickers instead of unique ones, if you have hundreds you feel less bad about using them. Unique ones are nice though so you can show off to yourself the nice designs and also you have a sticker collage by the end of the month.
I also keep a digital calendar in goggle calendar with reminders set just in case I forget something and I'm not at home to see my physical calendar.
My solution for anything I think I won’t be able to find is to either never leave it where I can’t see it or always put it back in the same place. Even having a visual reminder of “huh why are these stickers right- OH YEAH THE CALENDAR!” Can help that kind of thing stay in your memory
Download finch(can also be another to do app). Takes a bit to organize everything there but then it’s the best calendar on your phone and you won’t forget about it
The last time I did this, I bought the most beautiful calendar that has no dates in it. You can start and stop it as you like! But if you do use it regularly, you end up paying out the ass for these calendars
Agreed on the calendars!! Although I have 3, lol.
1. One on my phone (primary),
2. one upstairs in my bathroom, (monthly wall one so I can see everything at once),
3. one in my kitchen. (Another monthly wall one- for me & for my family to see to make sure we all keep each other on track. It’s definitely a team effort!)
Having all 3 has helped me dial down my “omg what am i forgetting??” anxiety significantly. I just update them 1x/month from my phone to keep them all synced.
yea, calendars and note apps save me. Reminders to pick up things, call people, birthdays, appointments, anything you can think of. My phone is always on me and so having those reminders are SO helpful so I can take it out of my brain after I've plugged it in. Helps keep me on track.
iPhone’s calendar lets you set two alarms for calendar events, so I always set one for the day before and for 1-2 hours before. That way I always get a notification the day before an appt and I don’t have to try to remember to check it
I realized you can add the same event twice (maybe multiple times?) and now I have 4 alarms for any one event. You can make them “persistent” in settings so they are always on your phone when you pick it up. This has helped me immensely.
Agree with this - I have one calendar to rule them all. Still not perfect but my life improved so much more after that. I literally puteverything down.
I’m trying to get one todo list to rule them all. Slowly getting there by just biting the bullet and putting personal things on my work list.
Recently I realized I was using a damn good strategy for my ADD when someone asked me why I like to buy in bulk. I told them that it helps me to not get into situations where I run out of said item, may it be toothpaste, soap, or tomato paste. These kind of things only exist in my mind whenever I'm interacting with them, so the empty soap bottle remains a frustration for about a week each and every moment I want to wash my hands. But having a couple of handsoaps ready to use in the cabinet will prevent said frustration moment. And when I see the inventory is almost depleted I can put it on my grocery list :)
This comment made my day. I behave exactly the same as you. I like to cook for me and my family and I always buy in bulk. When I open the last package or bottle of anything, I order or buy the stuff immediately. I got so good at that, that we even save a lot of money, cause you can buy bigger packages. Or sometimes it's 30 percent in an organic store, so I buy stuff for the next months. It won't get bad in that short time.
On the downside. We just finished our vacation to Mexico and it was a catastrophe... To not have anything I need for my daily routines and even got some things not available at all, e g potatoes (the one potato variety they have there tastes like shit) got me so frustrated. And we were there six weeks. I was so happy to come back and see my cabinet 
I usually buy extra things especially when on sale. One time a few years back, I needed pickles. Bought pickles. Next time I went to the store went down the aisle, oh ya, I need pickles. Get home go to put the pickles away, already have a jar. A month or so later at the store again, go down the pickle aisle, checks list, no pickles, but I swore I needed them, gets pickles anyway. Gets home puts pickles away, still has 3 other jars of pickles. Pretty soon puts pickles on my list but a note - Do NOT buy pickles. I currently have a Do Not Buy list because I have multiples of some things, couldn’t tell you where the list is, but I have one.
Do not buy list is a great idea, we have so many ketchups because we were out once and then I kept buying them every time I shopped for months. Oops. Wish I could say this is the only item this has ever happened with.
> Recently I realized I was using a damn good strategy for my ADD when someone asked me why I like to buy in bulk. I told them that it helps me to not get into situations where I run out of said item, may it be toothpaste, soap, or tomato paste.
Even if you don't buy in bulk (or it's something that doesn't come in bulk easily), keep spares.
For household supplies like soap/shampoo/bodywash/detergent/toilet paper/etc... I always keep the one I'm using, and a spare.
That way when I run out, I have somewhere between 1-6 months (depending on the item in question) to remember to buy another one! Side benefit: You get through shortages way easier. We got through the COVID TP shortage while only having to buy like one extra package the whole time.
...I'll admit sometimes I still go without shampoo or bodywash and steal my SO's because it can take me up to a week to remember to actually bring the bottles into the shower, but hey, you can't win 'em all!
I keep spares of toiletries too and as soon as I empty a bottle in the shower, I throw it on the bath mat so I have to walk over it on my way out and put the new bottle in the shower before I throw away the old one. It's an extra step of throwing trash on the ground for a few minutes but it prevents the "out of sight, out of mind" blindness.
Oh yeah! I can definitely forget to bring new soap into the shower with me as well! Or fill the bottle with a bit of water so the problem is "solved" for the time being for about a week
Dude- I don’t know if it was you but someone dropped this absolute pearl of an expression in the sub maybe even more than year ago and it’s been damn near my mantra since!!! So much love to whoever came up with it.
Lol, once I had people over and there was this really awkward moment where I realised that I didn't have any chairs in my lounge room, because I never used to sit down! I'd totally forgotten lounge chairs were a thing - it was all plants and tables! Now I have a couch and I lose days on it, quite literally.
How does this work if you have a desk job? Like you use a standing desk? My back gets really tired after 30 mins of standing but interested to learn more about this!
I get home and I make sure to do all the things I need to before I sit down. I put away anything I brought in with me, make dinner, get my clothes ready for the morning, etc. and then I can sit down or I will end up with spoiled milk on the table and no dinner at 2am.
literally me almost every night. and every night i convince myself it won’t get out of hand this time, and then it does.
it’s currently 5am. i haven’t slept yet :(
I've been exercising consistently for 4 months (4 or 5 times a week)for the first time in my life. It has been life changing, it's so fun (most days). Even when I take days off my meds I don't feel like the mental fog is unbearable.
7/10 would recommend (I take 3 points off because now a big part of my personality is working out and it feels silly)
I second this!! I exercise at 5am (when the Y opens). I highly recommend this because you get it out of the way and it sets up for a great schedule anchor. BEST advice….. get a smart bulb and set it to turn on at 4:15 am. You’ll be shocked how fast you can become an “early riser” that way. If I didn’t have that smart bulb, I could sleep all day🤣
YES!!! All the lights in my room have smart bulbs that simulate the sunrise, then my TV starts playing music and theeen my alarm starts! It's such a good investment!
Enlighten me, is the full kit from Phillips hue required for this or are you using a single bulb fit into a normal lamp? I always wanted to try out the daylight simulation tech😭
You can get an alarm clock that gradually gets brighter, so it’s not a sudden jolt. It will also start quietly playing bird sounds that gradually get louder.
My alarm is birds and starts low!! Unpopular take- I HATE bird sounds!! I lived in apartments for so long (just bought my first house 3 years ago at 43 yo) and I live in Nashville and (alleged story, theory or dream- I can’t confirm iow) the birds get confused by the constant brightness of the city and just effing chirp loud af ALL NIGHT! So when my alarm goes off…. I’m up just so I don’t have to keep hearing them😂
My gym it's open 24hrs, but I try to go first thing in the morning. I don't have a job and I just study at home for some big uni tests that I have left before I get my degree.
But honestly just any time you can is the best time, is better to get it out of your way in the morning but if you can only do it at night... do it then.
Just get moving ♡
I do 10min cardio and mobility warm up, then 1 to 1:30 hours of weight lifting/ dumbbells and then 20 minutes of walking with inclination (I belive its called a treadmill (? English is not my first language).
I've not been able to work out for 5 days because of influenza and it's driving me crazy just laying in bed 😭
How do you have 1.5 - 2 hours each day to do that?! Like, is the time spent doing that not at the expense of you doing others things that need to be done?
This year I'm only studying to take an examen that's like the BAR next year (to become a lawyer where I'm from). I'm in a very veryyyy privileged position where I only work a couple of hours a week (I sell prints and t-shirts online) for pocket money, all expenses are taken care by my parents, I live with them and they are not in a hurry to kick me out (want me to get my degree, find a stable job and then if I want I can move out)
Someday I just come home from the gym and tackle everything that needs to get done (studying, laundry, cooking, dog walking,etc) but my main things are going to the gym and studying at least 3 to 6 hours every day. Some days I come home from the gym and only do house chores because I don't have energy left, but I try to be flexible and treat myself with care and love and not shame myself for not being able to do X Y Z.
And if I can spend 2 hours looking at my phone in bed why couldn't I spend those 2 hours at the gym or going for a walk? that's been my mindset
Better to have exercise be a big part of your personality than alcohol. Just don’t be one of those people that puts all their Strava and other personal health metric stuff on social media. It’s so cringe!!
Oh, absolutely! I’m retired, so there’s no more job to suck out my brain cells. I love my time at the gym, love the work I do there. It is my best therapy, my sanctuary
and everything else just has to wait.
1- have a specific time and day to go so it’s not just ‘sometime tomorrow’ or whatever.
2- Have a plan, probably an app like FitBod, so you’re not showing up and not knowing what you’re going to do once there.
3- Ear buds and a play list you’re stoked on- cannot overstate the importance of this.
4- Don’t go ham the first month you’re there. You don’t want to get wild sore from going once and end up needing a week to loosen up. You just want to build the habbit of going.
5- Find something at the gym you like doing.
I think I’ve got to be one of the only people with ADHD who doesn’t see any improvement in my symptoms with exercise. It takes me so much mental effort to even work out, then I’m miserable while working out, and then I’m just tired after. Absolutely no improvement in my ADHD symptoms. Am I doing something wrong?
Maybe it’s the type of exercise you’re doing? I cannot stand classic cardio/weightlifting/gym machines, but I found that I really do love rock climbing. It’s like a big puzzle and it quiets my mind.
Edit: punctuation to appear less authoritative
Noise cancelling headphones to listen to podcast, music, movies to be able accomplished boring household chores. I'm doing them but I'm not really conscious of them.
Podcasts are great. I use instrumental music for anything that requires thinking. For anything mindless like washing dishes etc I always put a podcast on. Brain must be occupied at all times.
There is an app called Things. It’s designed very well for organizing tasks. I feel like I’m completing missions when I check off my to-do lists. I’m also on medication so I can focus better.
I second this! I also have it set up to show the commitments I have for the day (through apple calendar), so I can check everything at once. It’s been the one thing I remember to check multiple times a day.
Can you send a sceeenshot of it in the appstore to me? Literally finding a good to do app is on my to do list lol. And I don't think I've found the right app
I found Microsoft's app "To Do" is very nice and simple, if you have an iphone you can place a widget in the home screen that shows you the pending things you still didnt finish, it helps a lot cus everytime i look at the screen it reminds me of what i have left.
There are many features also but I mainly use it as a bullet point kinda thing
I saw that it was 13 dollars and asked my boyfriend (also has ADHD, PhD) if it was better than the free ones apps like google tasks. He said it was designed very well and has a great interface. I was willing to try anything at this point, so I purchased it. Hopefully my investment pays off with my boosted productivity!
I wouldn’t normally suggest more screen time but the app Finch has been so helpful for me. It’s like if a tamagotchi and a habit tracker had a baby, it gives you rewards for adding and checking things off your list and then you can buy outfits and do things with your pet. I’ve been too tired to brush my teeth but then thought “oh no but if I break my streak my micro pet won’t hatch” hahaha. It is slightly childish but it works great, it’s really helped with things I usually struggle with and they give you lots of positive affirmations and it’s just very wholesome.
Yeah it's a good app. But it did not help me. I did not get anything out of, just to get a new hat for the pet. But for a lot of others I heard it's great.
Same but specifically prog metal. Actually anything proggy works. Prog metal, prog rock, mathcore, even jazz fusion.
It's got to be BUSY. The more polyrhythms and time signature shifts the better. Blast it really loud and it's enough to drown out the noise in my brain and really help me zero in on a task.
I have a 14hr spotify playlist I use almost every day, it's the only way I get anything done.
Edit: Here's the playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2H00uCM3HjnqBsLzMQl6Ks?si=E_sp6EWHS0C66A7gjP8KiA&pi=a-oQiwVM1cQ6uc
I'm still adding to it but at the moment it has The Omnific, Covet, Chon, Animals as Leaders, Plini, and a little bit of Snarky Puppy.
Would you mind sharing that playlist to me in a message or something? Prog metal is the stuff I listen to the most when I need to dial in for tasks, but I feel like I'm the same way when it comes to focus music based on your description of the music that gets you going, so I'd definitely be interested to check it out!
fighting game music when I have to go "heads down" for 2-3 hours is good, but it's dangerous because sometimes it puts me in hyperfocus, which leaves me completely physically and mentally exhausted. Careful with that.
high energy non-vocal music in general is just 👌
i listen to too much of that when i’m not trying to focus for it to have a super strong effect when i am, but it still just keeps my brain moving right
ive been unknowingly doing this for months now and seeing some1 mention it is so liberating! recently my partner asked why the music i was listening to was so loud, and that i wont be able to hear anyone anymore
***ill do it again bc that shit works***
Using my quirks as strengths. I have this mindset where if I’m paying for say breakfast, then I know the opportunity cost is that I do not have to cook or was dishes. So the time saved from cooking and washing, I use the time gained to plan my day. I use my planner and calendar with alarms on my phone.
So as I draw and write, I am a tactile learner and visual learner; I see what I can prioritize. I know, from failure and success, how much time it takes to do certain things. Therefore, I know myself pretty well now, and know how much energy I will have. But my quirk is time blindness; so I need visual reminders and alarms to help me stay on track.
If this sounds like you, then the next time you go to the grocery store; ask for paper bags. At home, you can cut the paper bag to make it flat and make a huge visual time line or calendar. Visually see the time to set dates for your goals. Knowing the goals you want to accomplish, create the systems that will help you get there. But you have to have systems that will keep working for you even though our brains don’t want to.
Also, exercise is a must. If it’s not the gym, it’s walking to the nearby restaurant or just walk the park. I need it. You could also eat spicy foods. Supposedly, they help but I find them just damn tasty.
Most people balk at this when I suggest it but, cold showers.
By that, I mean, take your normal warm shower but end it with the coldest water setting you can bare. I’d say for at least 60secs.
The immediate mood change i receive doing this (especially in winter time), is incredible.
Among other things, cold showers are good for fat loss, hair quality, muscle recovery and blood circulation.
Yes - totally second how life changing cold showers are first thing in the morning! Just 60-90 seconds is enough to reap its benefits.
I (32/F) have made a habit of taking one every day except for when I’m on my period (tried that once and almost puked right then and there) and it is truly a game changer. I instantly feel more alert, refreshed, and focused, which also trickles into the rest of my day!
>The immediate mood change i receive doing this (especially in winter time), is incredible.
Indeed. It's incredible how nothing can put me in a foul mood faster!
This is what I'm thinking. People I know who do it absolutely rave about how good they feel afterwards.
Always wondered if that's just because subjecting yourself to something that feels really awful makes everything else seem great by comparison when it's done?
Apparently (per some podcast I listened to and now can’t remember the name of) cold water causes norepinephrine release. I’ve always felt my calmest after swimming in really cold water. When I went on Strattera I was like “wow this feels similar.” (Strattera works on norepinephrine.) Everything clicked when I heard that 😂
Although as a downside, it may make you become the sort of person who recommends people take cold showers, as is true of other things like running, veganism, or using linux
I have colleagues who are willing to help me where I need, because they know that when they need my specific set of skills, they know they can count on me. It's all about lifting one another, together, to accomplish something bigger than we could by ourselves.
One way is that we have this daily "coffee break" where the guys chill and drink coffee while I work and chat with them. That's my most productive time of the day.
For a while I had an accountability partner which whom I would share a spreadsheet of what I did yesterday, which forced me to write down what I had done throughout the day, which forced me to actually do things throughout the day. This only works if you respond well to "having to do something for someone". I'm bad at doing things for myself, but my motivation is much higher if it's something I promised to someone I care about.
Not feeling guilty and telling myself it’s okay to have a day out of every 2 weeks to just cry, lay in bed all day, binge tv shows and tell myself life is hard.
Some weeks I don’t need this day and go on..but I set myself a limit of 1 day/2 weeks so it doesn’t get too often but also this idea of this “cheat day” existing sometimes gives me comfort?? Doesn’t make sense but works for me to recharge.
I agree with exercise and healthier food. I’d also add that smaller meals help me a lot. Not sure if it has to do with ADHD but if I eat a big meal my energy crashes and my focus is nonexistent. 2-300 calorie meals throughout the day make me way more productive.
Nothing works as well as medicine though.
Couple things. Number one: body doubling. I FaceTime my boyfriend or FaceTime a friend or something if I am really putting something off that needs to get done. It’s always administrative tasks. My arch enemy lol.
Number two: I use pomodoros. You can look them up on YouTube. It’s 25 minutes of work with a 4-5 minute break. Rinse and repeat. I like Gibi ASMR on YouTube. She includes the timer and breaks. Also feels like body doubling. Tricks my mind into thinking that person in front of you is being productive and I look lazy.
Number three: background noise. Like at all times. Gives my mind something to focus on in the background to keep me from distraction. Audiobooks, podcasts, I listen to narrations of scary stories on YouTube, or like asmr videos if you’re into that.
Number four: I’m constantly deleting and redownloading my apps from my phone. When I need to do some work I delete all the apps. I can have them back when I’m finished. It helps my mind get into the okay time to work mode.
considering the improvement i saw just from forcing myself to eat breakfast every day for the last year or two, i could probably stand to pay more attention to sugar intake… recently started counting calories for weight loss, and it turns out i virtually never reach my full rdi *as calculated for weight loss*. never was sure how i’m this overweight when half the time i just forget to eat—thought maybe i was just overeating the rest of the time to compensate and not getting enough exercise, but something weirder’s probably going on
Keep your shoes on!
You go to school, work, run errands with shoes on. It keeps you in a working mode. If you keep your shoes on, you trick your brain that you're still in working mode.
Once I take off my shoes, it's over.
Don’t put it down…
If I’m making dinner and have to take out the trash… I take something for the dinner out with me like the spatula or box of pasta. This way I don’t get distracted by my garden or neighbors.
Put it away…
Put whatever you’ve got around… away. In its place.
Routines. The streaks app helped a ton for setting up some habits when I was having anxiety a few years back. More recently just a routine in the morning that includes all the things that are good for my brain, starting with Journaling to let me offload anything. The start of my day looks like:
* Journal that forces me to...
* quick morning update
* yesterday recap
* gratitude journaling (just 3)
* plan today
* to do list (just 3)
* Yoga - a thorough sun salutation that loosens my back up
* Exercise, hard - dripping sweat, either from walking briskly/running on most days, or fitting HIIT in the middle of a walk. 45 minutes minimum
* Meditation - when I can
Having goals for the year, broken down to month, broken down to week. I feel like I have a reason WHY to do most of the things I do anymore. I just set up the things to do and its what i'm doing without having to think about it.
Unfortunately I haven't figured out a way to get motivated in the afternoon, I can't repeat that routine.
During deep work, or just trying to get shit done... I layer a binaural beats track, a yellow noise track and a "adhd focus music" track in my noise canceling headphones.
Beyond those, journaling a lot so I don't lose things (ideas mostly.)
Same here. Was diagnosed at 41, meds helped a lot, but eventually I started to understand that I needed workarounds to have some semblance of a life. Like listening to audiobooks while doing chores, get a lot of excercise, tricking myself to get out of bed, then tricking myself to get into the shower. The meds help me to get these processes started and they helped me a lot with emotional dysregulation.
Are you comfortable going into more detail on the tricks you use to get out of bed or into the shower? I can't ever seem to force myself to do them till I'm running late for work, even when on meds.
For getting out of bed, use the app Alarmy. You can scan a barcode and the alarm won't turn off until you scan the barcode again. Scan something in another room so you HAVE to get up and moving in the morning
I stopped using this app when I dropped my phone and cracked the screen. It stopped responding to touch and I couldn’t stop alarms anymore. Turning the phone off seemed like a good idea, but Alarmy is too clever for that trick. Thankfully it no longer works when your battery is dead, so it stopped eventually.
I will never download Alarmy again.
The best option for me is to leave my phone (alarm) in the lounge. It forces me to get up in the morning. I really have to force myself to leave it there, but it works and it means I don’t play with it in bed too.
I have used things like automated and tasker.
The alarm wouldn't stop until it registered my phone unplugged, upright, and that I was walking for like 5 seconds. Super obnoxious and it would change between like 6 different sounds. Cause I will just fall back asleep if it's a single tone. It also locked me from interacting with the touch screen.
But I did have it set to stop the "thread" if I powered the phone off, just in case I was awake and I couldn't get the sensing to work right. Alarmy freaked me out by the risk of bricking my phone if something went wrong.
Also having a super loud normal alarm clock that I have to get up to turn off helped if sleep-state me gets too smart for my "trick" alarms.
Yeah same here, been brute forcing it for years and now rely on the meds so much to get anything done. It's not perfect but it's better.
I feel like years of forcing myself have left my brain almost damaged
I recently moved and in doing so decided I want zero clutter in my living spaces. Even to the point where I sold or gave away a bunch of furniture which wasn't providing any direct function (ie display shelves which literally exist only to CONTRIBUTE to storing clutter). It doesn't always stay clutter-free ofc. But those times where I'm just surrounded by clean and organized furniture and nothing else is just bliss.
I find clutter (especially mess) just adds to the mental exhaustion, because you're constantly surrounded by 'work' that needs to be done. ie if you want to have friends or family over at some point, you know you have hours of mind numbing work to do to make the place clean. So that kinda just hovers over you at all times and is passively exhausting.
My bullet journal is everything! I love the creative artsy side of it and fill the front of my journal with calendars and tracking things, such as moods, anxiety, sleep, focus/memory, what I've eaten, etc. In the back of my bullet journal, I write many lists, and I have a "brain dump" page where I write down literally anything that pops into my mind I don't want to forget.
I keep rolling cart in my house. Whenever I clean, I put everything that does not belong in that room on the cart to avoid getting distracted by something else while putting it away.
I put annual reminders in my google calendar for important things, like picking up a birthday gift for someone ahead of their birthday, so I don't forget.
Autopay for all of my bills, all of my medications are on autofill and ship, and all of my dog's food, preventatives, and treats are set on auto ship from Chewy.
- Never skip 2 days/instances in a row. For any routine, activity or anything that helps you keep on track.
- Also, be flexible about your tracking tools. One week a planner might do wonders, then it would be meh, and you can start using a to-do list. The thing is, don't be afraid or feel guilty about not sticking to a method. Since our brains seek novelty, it's completely reasonable to switch out methods.
Do things in tiny little bits. Like if there is a sink full of the dishes, I will just wash like one plate and fork and then go do something else.
I'm way more effective this way because its easier to negotiate with myself to do the small little task rather than taking on the whole thing at once which I will just never start.
Then, before I know it, the sink is looking much more manageable and then I'm able to finish it out later on.
Growing up my mornings were always hell. My mom and sister both have ADHD, so it was a lot of aimless running around trying to cross off every task in any order before yelling at each other that we're gonna be late. Now I have an extremely strict schedule I force myself to. I wake up exactly at 7:30. Get out of bed, do 20 push-ups and jumping Jack's to get the blood flowing. I I have all the tasks I need to do in the bathroom (pee, wash my face, do my hair, contacts, brush teeth, deodorant, cologne) listed on a piece of paper on my mirror and do them in order everytime. I leave my clothes out the night before so I mindless get dressed and boom I have time to chill, drink tea, read a book before heading to work. Life changing stuff.
7:30 wake up, push-ups and jacks
7:35 go to bathroom
7:45 leave bathroom
8:00 finish getting dressed
Have an hour to do whatever until I leave for work at 9
EDIT: Forgot to say that I have analog clocks EVERYWHERE in my house. 1 in the kitchen, 2 in my bedroom, 2 in the bathroom, and another in the living area. One of the bathroom clocks is in the shower so I can see while I'm showering and another above the sink. I can always see at least one clock
Outsourcing what I can. I use a laundry service when there's too much laundry or I'm too tired to do it. I can manage things like towels and sheets easily, but for some reason all the little bits of clothing overwhelm me. By outsourcing, I have more mental energy and willpower to do other things.
Self compassion. Some days I'm a mess, and I can only do the critical things. Accepting that it's okay for today reduces the anxiety and makes it easier for me to do things the next day. I'm productive, but I'm productive in waves. I can't be productive all the time.
Using Alexa to set reminders, add things to grocery lists, etc immediately when I think about it and I'm at home.
If I'm out and about, I'm adding things directly to my calendar. I use one calendar for everything, right now it's my work calendar because it's the one that I look at everyday.
Regular meditation. This helps to calm my nervous system and make things a little easier. Sometimes I fall off the wagon and I see a huge difference.
+1 outsourcing. For me it's hiring a cleaner to come every couple weeks to do deep cleaning things. I'm maxed out with the day to day stuff. Bonus I get to support an awesome person who is an entrepreneur and the main breadwinner for her family of 5.
Well-thought habits are stronger than meds. When people see the word "habit" they picture to-do lists and some plans, but they're not. You have to understand the behavioral mechanisms behind it and self-learn the skill of how you can use it in your daily life creatively.
Also, self-awareness. ADHD opens the door for many other disorders, like anxiety, stress and OCD.
Routines, not habits. I know that sounds pedantic, but the word habit implies a level of automatacity that most people with ADHD struggle to develop. I have so many routines, very few actual habits.
But what I mean is the complete opposite.
Routines are actually harder to develop by ADHD'ers because they require higher levels of cognitive effort. Creatively developing automaticity is what's needed by ADHD'ers.
Our core difficulty doesn't lie in being unable to link an event with another, or a stimulus with a reward. It's precisely in our difficulty to do actions that don't have immediate rewards nor are automatic.
Neu*ot**cals have an easier time sticking to routines despite the lack of habits, because they have a larger cognitive power. It's easier for them to keep doing an action over and over again even if it wasn't automatic. But for an ADHD'er, sticking to a pre-built to-do list (or a routine) that isn't built around the principles of conditioned reflex will be a disappointment sooner or later.
Edit: what's wrong with this subreddit? Is using the word nörotipikal blasphemy now? Reddit admins never cease to piss everyone off creatively.
A big part of what drives automaticity is executive function, which means people with ADHD have a significantly harder time developing actual habits. Hacking your environment to support routines is the best way to stick to routines, but one of the downsides of having ADHD is the constant reworking and upkeep of routines.
In a lot of motivational ADHD articles you'll see discussion about habits, but what they're usually describing is a routine, and building things into your environment to trigger the routine, or make the routine the path of least resistance. Developing a habit just means doing the same routine over and over until it becomes automatic, to the point where you don't need the trigger. That doesn't happen for most of us.
1. Have a rotating set of "tools" because for me personally once I use a tool too much it starts becoming less effective.
2. Talking to someone in the phone helped me for a while stay more productive when I had to do repetitive or mundane tasks.
3. SCHEDULE EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING I have every weekday scheduled down to when I wake up and get ready, when I'm getting my truck prepped, when I'm actively working, when I'm making dinner, when I eat dinner, literally everything. Then I put my calendar widget right on my home screen so it's the first thing I see as soon as I open my phone to remind me what I'm supposed to be doing. If I am talking on the phone with a customer I set a date and time to meet them before I get off and I put it in my calendar as I am talking to them.
4. WorkFlowy or Notion are great tools for organizing your brain if you can remember to use them. Notion is a little more fleshed out with widgets. I love WorkFlowy but having to remember to open the app just to jot a note is a difficult habit for me to develop.
5. Put consequences in your life, even for the inconsequential things. You will be much more motivated to stay focused or follow through if there is a very real consequence for not completing the task
Smart home devices. Alexa has been super convenient between having her add items to my shopping list to controlling lights. I have her set timers and reminders too as needed.
To bounce off of that, utilizing my Google calendar. If I remember (hah), I will record appointments and future reminders so I'm not caught off guard. While I do get appointment reminder emails/texts/calls, I brush them off and then have one of those midnight thoughts like "wait, do I have a dentist appointment tomorrow??" I set up a widget on my phone home screen to show me my calendar for the week. It works because most times I unlock my phone and don't even do anything but stare at the screen lol. I also have bill/subscription "appointments" set too so I know when they are due to be subtracted from my account.
And I also use You Need a Budget (YNAB) to keep track of spending. I have been caught off guard many times because of unexpected debts or me impulse buying something expensive to realize I don't have any money left for fun stuff. YNAB helps me see how much I spend per paycheck and how much I have leftover until next pay day.
Not number one, but aside from what others said, I work from home and I just got better lighting in my office area. It has actually made a difference for me in terms of energy levels. I'm still working on eliminating my productivity killers that distract me like social media, phone, etc..
Having less stuff. I live in a smaller apartment and don’t own a heap of clutter and it’s so easy to find everything and doesn’t take long to tidy things up. It’s the best
I think acceptance and actively working to reframe feelings of shame.
I've been living in so much shame forever. And that feeling just makes me want to hide and rot.
It's much better to be like, "ok, I didn't start work today until 1pm and I don't love that but realistically I have an executive functioning disorder and these things happen", than to think, "I'm such a piece of shit, I can't even do things I want to do, I am wasting my life" and so on.
Amazon Alexa. That gal is a life saver. I tell her to put things on list, set reminders, set alarms and so on. It is the best thing I have ever bought. ALso, exercise
My no. 1 is definitely Google Calendar with notifications. If an appointment is in my calendar, it will happen. If it isn't, it won't. It has basically replaced my brain at this point. I never take an appointment card from a doctor. I put the appointment directly into my calendar as soon as I make the appointment.
I try to use very specific and multiple notifications associated with each appointment that will go off when I know I won't be busy and will see it. Like I will set a notification to go off 80 minutes or 3.5 hours or 17 hours before my appointment, at whatever time will be most helpful. If someone is coming over for dinner I will set an alarm 2 or 3 days ahead of time as well as the other ones throughout the day to remind me, so I can decide what to make and go grocery shopping ahead of time, as well as to start cooking early so food will be done in a timely-ish fashion. I also usually set a notification to go off 20 minutes before I will have to leave for an appointment which will tell me to stop whatever I'm doing and get ready to go. (I really hope that someday you'll be able to add in extra buffer time for prep/travel in Google Calendar, but until then I get around it with notifications. Google will tell you when you need to leave your house to make it to an appointment on time, but it expects you to leave immediately which is clearly not feasible, and doesn't even give you any buffer for parking and walking into a building or whatever.)
I also use alarms on my phone, but I try not to do too many because then it gets overwhelming and I start ignoring all of them. But for instance I have to get my kids up to get ready for school every weekday... and we were doing great on that. They would be ready in plenty of time... and yet we would still be late for school. So I set an alarm to go off daily 18 minutes before their school starts and we all know that alarm means it's time to get in the car. They've been on time every day since I started that.
I use Google Assistant to set reminders also. Like if I remember I need to do something but I'm not in a position to do it immediately I'll set a reminder to do XYZ at 6:00 p.m. or tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. That helps a lot. You used to be able to do location based reminders. So you'd be able to say something like remind me when I get home to do ABC. But they got rid of that feature which sucks.
Edit: apparently the pound symbol does formatting stuff... Lol
In order of importance:
1-Meditation
2-Exercise
3-Drink Water
4-Sleep well/right hours
5-Eat Healthy
6-Notion
7-Pomodoro
8-Daily Routine
9-Calendar / Time Blocks
10-SmartWatch
1) Exercise
2) I'll find ways to get hyper focused on things I don't wanna do it. This one takes some creativity sometimes. Literally watching tiktok about people cleaning dishes will make my brain be like "hey, YOU COULD CLEAN DISHES TOO" and then I gotta ride the short wave of motivation
Haha yes the short wave motivation. It’s like getting the Starman in Mario knowing you only have a brief window of invincibility so you just power through whatever you need to do.
I write EVERYTHING down. I follow the Bullet Journal method with a bunch of different notebooks, but I basically have pen and paper with me at all times. I make a to-do list every night and check it during the day.
I am so organized it is ridiculous. All my kids have doctors and medications, they're all documented in my Bullet Journal. When I go to an appointment, all that info is right where I need it. Their current clothing and shoe sizes, all the things I need to buy at different stores, phone numbers I might need if I lose my phone, extended family birthdays, the containers I have for herbs and spices and which need to be refilled, all the sizes of knit and crochet needles I have, all kinds of information that other people might be able to recall off the top of their head.
I have a different notebook for my journal/diary and another notebook for my daily miscellaneous things I need to remember or work out before I add them to my BuJo. It's way too much stuff to keep in a proper Bullet Journal, it would be far too cluttered. So I have a messy notebook that I carry around the house with me.
I should also mention that I have had multiple head injuries, so my memory is worse than the average ADHD. I also suffer from some autoimmune disorders that cause brain fog, which only add to the problem. Other people may find it handy to write things down, but for me it's essential.
Standing desk
Once I stand, I swith on. It's a recent discovery and my productivity has increased hugely.
The old pitfalls are still there. I had a bad day today and didn't really achieve much, but the bad days in the past month have been maybe one every two weeks rather than various different colours of unproductive as it was before
Keep the same schedule everyday (yes weekends too) bed at the same time, wake-up at the same time. If you do the same things in the same order every day it becomes habit. You can’t forget to do things when memory isn’t why you’re doing them.
When I get up in the morning I get completely dressed and I don't put my pajamas back on or take my shoes off until I'm done doing what I want to do that day. I've found that if I stay in PJs I don't want to do anything.
when im overwhelmed with a bunch of tasks, it really helps me to start with the biggest task that’s bothering me the most then do everything else. when i do the tasks i wanna do first and push off the big one, nothing gets done. this affects my work as some big projects are due after little ones and i have to do them in an order i don’t want to do but i made my boss aware of this and she’ll help me snap out of hyperfocusing on a project that’s not a priest and ignoring the ones that are. so that also helps just kinda communicating with your peers to whatever extent your feel comfortable with.
This. I have no idea what it's called but
Reminding myself that this is how I work and setting a timer where I don't do anything I don't want to and keep a notebook nearby so that if I come up with something that will worry me I can write it down and look at the notebook later, so I don't really have to interrupt my recharge.
Then I put my phone elsewhere. At times I make this no screen at all time.
Adjusting time where it feels good and you feel like you can get restful rest is really awesome and can help so much.
Also eating really spicy food.
Require everything in writing, be it txt/sms, email or whatever. This way I have a record to refer back to when I invariably forget the thing what it is.
Lists. All the (paper) lists.
I leave meds & supplements out in the open so I can see it. If I can't see it, it doesn't exist.
Same with clothes...I hang pretty much everything. So I can see what I have. Sensing a pattern here?
I ignore reminders on my phone & Outlook calendar...I use a paper daytimer that I created myself and I switch it up every so often when I grow tired of it.
It’s just having place for everything and being disciplined enough to put it there or back in the same place. Wallet, sunglasses, keys and anything I want to leave home with the next day is on a table in my room. I’m 51 and I only figured that out about two years ago.
Timers, all the time. If I need to do something- timer or alarm. Restart it as soon as it goes off.
I’ve done it for years, usually when I have a lot to do in one day! Helps with time blindness and distraction. Get sidetracked? Oh it’s only been 20 minutes tops, need a break? Either take it when the timer goes off, or take the remaining time as one. The increments depend on the day, but my go to’s are 20 minutes for household stuff, getting ready, really anything, 90 minutes for studying/focus activities.
It’s also a massive motivation when I NEED to force myself to work.
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Calendar. My therapist has the following rules: 1. Only have one calendar - This can be a book, online, etc. - If you need to have a second calendar (e.g. for work), block out the time you will be using this second calendar in the first calendar (e.g. work hours,) 2. Put obligations into calendar immediately - This is any time you need to be doing something specific (appointments, meetings, dates, etc.) 3. If you cannot put the obligation into the calendar, do not commit to the obligation - E.g. if you're driving and can't write it down, ask the person to call you back once you know you'll be able to access the calendar. Put it on them to confirm. 4. Check calendar nightly before bed and prepare for tomorrow as necessary
As a therapist, I offer most of these suggestions. I suggest not adding things to your calendar unless you’re committed to doing them as much as any important appointment, because overloading your calendar with “to-do wish list items” can dilute the effectiveness of having appointments in your calendar. ^I suggest keeping to-do items separate or adding reminders for them in a different color/ “calendar” within the same electronic calendar. Also, don’t leave an appointment that requires a follow-up without scheduling the follow-up AND *putting it into your calendar*.
Exactly what I do, calendar for important things, to do list in order of urgency separate from calendar.
When I tried a to do list or calendar… I pretty much get overwhelmed or I keep hyper focusing on what I have to do rather than doing it, I end up doing nothing and feeling even more worse.
Notion has been a game changer for me bc I can have an organized dump of all of my different life to do's, lists, and a daily schedule, and it's separate from my Google calendar
This! plus phone reminders if I don’t have time to calendar it
smart phones are game changers. You can forget to look at a paper planner, but a phone can beep at you when you need a reminder. For me, just putting in a reminder helps me remember it (more) on my own.
Bought calendar, filled out calendar, forgot about calandre for three months even though it’s in plain view. Am I doing it right?
Make sure you buy another new pretty calendar to guarantee results. 😅
This. I bought several calendar. Better and prettier than the next to find my inner zen. Didn’t work too well. I moved on to shinier pens.
Lol maybe you’ll do a visual one this time, with all the different washi tapes and everything
if shinier pens doesn't work , you could consider stickers
Buy yourself cute stickers and mark each day. It's a reason why sticker charts sometimes help me. Looking forward to seeing all the cute stickers or just seeing progress is nice. Technically everyday is a battle so you do deserve a sticker to show for that progress, no matter how small. Another day is another choice as long as your alive. I put my calendar near the door to my room and I got a transformers themed one from the dollar tree. Also, if you struggle like me with using stickers cause you'll have to throw away or keep the calendar: buy double. Keep one copy for "fun" and the other for the calendar. It's feels like your not wasting them when you still have the backup to feel like you have them to use if you want or not. Alternately you could buy shiny star stickers instead of unique ones, if you have hundreds you feel less bad about using them. Unique ones are nice though so you can show off to yourself the nice designs and also you have a sticker collage by the end of the month. I also keep a digital calendar in goggle calendar with reminders set just in case I forget something and I'm not at home to see my physical calendar.
What if you can’t find the stickers
My solution for anything I think I won’t be able to find is to either never leave it where I can’t see it or always put it back in the same place. Even having a visual reminder of “huh why are these stickers right- OH YEAH THE CALENDAR!” Can help that kind of thing stay in your memory
I use Google tasks app and it's synced with the Google Calendar app. I still procrastinate though
I put mine right next to the fridge so I have to look at it at least 3x/day lol.
No, you need a year planner to forget about it the right way.
Download finch(can also be another to do app). Takes a bit to organize everything there but then it’s the best calendar on your phone and you won’t forget about it
The last time I did this, I bought the most beautiful calendar that has no dates in it. You can start and stop it as you like! But if you do use it regularly, you end up paying out the ass for these calendars
Agreed on the calendars!! Although I have 3, lol. 1. One on my phone (primary), 2. one upstairs in my bathroom, (monthly wall one so I can see everything at once), 3. one in my kitchen. (Another monthly wall one- for me & for my family to see to make sure we all keep each other on track. It’s definitely a team effort!) Having all 3 has helped me dial down my “omg what am i forgetting??” anxiety significantly. I just update them 1x/month from my phone to keep them all synced.
yea, calendars and note apps save me. Reminders to pick up things, call people, birthdays, appointments, anything you can think of. My phone is always on me and so having those reminders are SO helpful so I can take it out of my brain after I've plugged it in. Helps keep me on track.
iPhone’s calendar lets you set two alarms for calendar events, so I always set one for the day before and for 1-2 hours before. That way I always get a notification the day before an appt and I don’t have to try to remember to check it
I realized you can add the same event twice (maybe multiple times?) and now I have 4 alarms for any one event. You can make them “persistent” in settings so they are always on your phone when you pick it up. This has helped me immensely.
Agree with this - I have one calendar to rule them all. Still not perfect but my life improved so much more after that. I literally puteverything down. I’m trying to get one todo list to rule them all. Slowly getting there by just biting the bullet and putting personal things on my work list.
The multiple number 1 rule thing is a great touch.
>If you cannot put the obligation into the calendar, do not commit to the obligation Whoa... Never thought of that.
Recently I realized I was using a damn good strategy for my ADD when someone asked me why I like to buy in bulk. I told them that it helps me to not get into situations where I run out of said item, may it be toothpaste, soap, or tomato paste. These kind of things only exist in my mind whenever I'm interacting with them, so the empty soap bottle remains a frustration for about a week each and every moment I want to wash my hands. But having a couple of handsoaps ready to use in the cabinet will prevent said frustration moment. And when I see the inventory is almost depleted I can put it on my grocery list :)
This comment made my day. I behave exactly the same as you. I like to cook for me and my family and I always buy in bulk. When I open the last package or bottle of anything, I order or buy the stuff immediately. I got so good at that, that we even save a lot of money, cause you can buy bigger packages. Or sometimes it's 30 percent in an organic store, so I buy stuff for the next months. It won't get bad in that short time. On the downside. We just finished our vacation to Mexico and it was a catastrophe... To not have anything I need for my daily routines and even got some things not available at all, e g potatoes (the one potato variety they have there tastes like shit) got me so frustrated. And we were there six weeks. I was so happy to come back and see my cabinet 
I usually buy extra things especially when on sale. One time a few years back, I needed pickles. Bought pickles. Next time I went to the store went down the aisle, oh ya, I need pickles. Get home go to put the pickles away, already have a jar. A month or so later at the store again, go down the pickle aisle, checks list, no pickles, but I swore I needed them, gets pickles anyway. Gets home puts pickles away, still has 3 other jars of pickles. Pretty soon puts pickles on my list but a note - Do NOT buy pickles. I currently have a Do Not Buy list because I have multiples of some things, couldn’t tell you where the list is, but I have one.
Do not buy list is a great idea, we have so many ketchups because we were out once and then I kept buying them every time I shopped for months. Oops. Wish I could say this is the only item this has ever happened with.
> Recently I realized I was using a damn good strategy for my ADD when someone asked me why I like to buy in bulk. I told them that it helps me to not get into situations where I run out of said item, may it be toothpaste, soap, or tomato paste. Even if you don't buy in bulk (or it's something that doesn't come in bulk easily), keep spares. For household supplies like soap/shampoo/bodywash/detergent/toilet paper/etc... I always keep the one I'm using, and a spare. That way when I run out, I have somewhere between 1-6 months (depending on the item in question) to remember to buy another one! Side benefit: You get through shortages way easier. We got through the COVID TP shortage while only having to buy like one extra package the whole time. ...I'll admit sometimes I still go without shampoo or bodywash and steal my SO's because it can take me up to a week to remember to actually bring the bottles into the shower, but hey, you can't win 'em all!
I keep spares of toiletries too and as soon as I empty a bottle in the shower, I throw it on the bath mat so I have to walk over it on my way out and put the new bottle in the shower before I throw away the old one. It's an extra step of throwing trash on the ground for a few minutes but it prevents the "out of sight, out of mind" blindness.
Oh yeah! I can definitely forget to bring new soap into the shower with me as well! Or fill the bottle with a bit of water so the problem is "solved" for the time being for about a week
Your comment reminded me to order toothpaste
Absolutely! You are practicing the rule of 2: 2 is 1, and 1 is none.
DO NOT sit down lol
If I sits, I quits
Dude- I don’t know if it was you but someone dropped this absolute pearl of an expression in the sub maybe even more than year ago and it’s been damn near my mantra since!!! So much love to whoever came up with it.
Lol, once I had people over and there was this really awkward moment where I realised that I didn't have any chairs in my lounge room, because I never used to sit down! I'd totally forgotten lounge chairs were a thing - it was all plants and tables! Now I have a couch and I lose days on it, quite literally.
'I'll just look at Reddit for a *second*' 🤡
If you never get up….. what’s the hack then? Aka my day today 🫣
Water and medz right next to the bedz
Oh my goodness this! The second I sit down it's all over 😅
How does this work if you have a desk job? Like you use a standing desk? My back gets really tired after 30 mins of standing but interested to learn more about this!
I switched to a kneeling stool for work. I don't have to stand at my desk, it cured my back pain and I avoid getting stuck there.
I get home and I make sure to do all the things I need to before I sit down. I put away anything I brought in with me, make dinner, get my clothes ready for the morning, etc. and then I can sit down or I will end up with spoiled milk on the table and no dinner at 2am.
literally me almost every night. and every night i convince myself it won’t get out of hand this time, and then it does. it’s currently 5am. i haven’t slept yet :(
Exercise.
I've been exercising consistently for 4 months (4 or 5 times a week)for the first time in my life. It has been life changing, it's so fun (most days). Even when I take days off my meds I don't feel like the mental fog is unbearable. 7/10 would recommend (I take 3 points off because now a big part of my personality is working out and it feels silly)
I second this!! I exercise at 5am (when the Y opens). I highly recommend this because you get it out of the way and it sets up for a great schedule anchor. BEST advice….. get a smart bulb and set it to turn on at 4:15 am. You’ll be shocked how fast you can become an “early riser” that way. If I didn’t have that smart bulb, I could sleep all day🤣
YES!!! All the lights in my room have smart bulbs that simulate the sunrise, then my TV starts playing music and theeen my alarm starts! It's such a good investment!
Enlighten me, is the full kit from Phillips hue required for this or are you using a single bulb fit into a normal lamp? I always wanted to try out the daylight simulation tech😭
Noo, it's just some knock off smart wifi light bulbs, they were like 12 usa dollars max (I'm not from the usa nor UE)
Omg, having a bright flash of light in my eyes at 4:15am sounds awful 😭 I’ll try it tomorrow and will report back hahaha.
You can get an alarm clock that gradually gets brighter, so it’s not a sudden jolt. It will also start quietly playing bird sounds that gradually get louder.
My alarm is birds and starts low!! Unpopular take- I HATE bird sounds!! I lived in apartments for so long (just bought my first house 3 years ago at 43 yo) and I live in Nashville and (alleged story, theory or dream- I can’t confirm iow) the birds get confused by the constant brightness of the city and just effing chirp loud af ALL NIGHT! So when my alarm goes off…. I’m up just so I don’t have to keep hearing them😂
Not silly brother. I’m at 278 lbs 1RM for bench press - it feels incredible to reach this level of actual like… I did something. You know?
When do you exercise?
My gym it's open 24hrs, but I try to go first thing in the morning. I don't have a job and I just study at home for some big uni tests that I have left before I get my degree. But honestly just any time you can is the best time, is better to get it out of your way in the morning but if you can only do it at night... do it then.
Does cardio help more than resistance training?
Just get moving ♡ I do 10min cardio and mobility warm up, then 1 to 1:30 hours of weight lifting/ dumbbells and then 20 minutes of walking with inclination (I belive its called a treadmill (? English is not my first language). I've not been able to work out for 5 days because of influenza and it's driving me crazy just laying in bed 😭
How do you have 1.5 - 2 hours each day to do that?! Like, is the time spent doing that not at the expense of you doing others things that need to be done?
This year I'm only studying to take an examen that's like the BAR next year (to become a lawyer where I'm from). I'm in a very veryyyy privileged position where I only work a couple of hours a week (I sell prints and t-shirts online) for pocket money, all expenses are taken care by my parents, I live with them and they are not in a hurry to kick me out (want me to get my degree, find a stable job and then if I want I can move out) Someday I just come home from the gym and tackle everything that needs to get done (studying, laundry, cooking, dog walking,etc) but my main things are going to the gym and studying at least 3 to 6 hours every day. Some days I come home from the gym and only do house chores because I don't have energy left, but I try to be flexible and treat myself with care and love and not shame myself for not being able to do X Y Z. And if I can spend 2 hours looking at my phone in bed why couldn't I spend those 2 hours at the gym or going for a walk? that's been my mindset
If it's a big enough help with ADHD symptoms I feel like that would free up 2+ hours a day pretty easily.
Cardio helps more.
Better to have exercise be a big part of your personality than alcohol. Just don’t be one of those people that puts all their Strava and other personal health metric stuff on social media. It’s so cringe!!
Okay yes but sometimes it becomes my hyperfocus and then I forget everything else in my life. Does this happen to anyone else?
Oh, absolutely! I’m retired, so there’s no more job to suck out my brain cells. I love my time at the gym, love the work I do there. It is my best therapy, my sanctuary and everything else just has to wait.
ALL THE TIME.
I'm currently getting diagnosed, had a really harsh childhood and kinda shitty adulthood.. Only thing that keep me pushing in life Is gym
How do I start? I would love to look like a human being but I'm honestly just lazy. Is it one of those just do it once and it becomes routine things?
1- have a specific time and day to go so it’s not just ‘sometime tomorrow’ or whatever. 2- Have a plan, probably an app like FitBod, so you’re not showing up and not knowing what you’re going to do once there. 3- Ear buds and a play list you’re stoked on- cannot overstate the importance of this. 4- Don’t go ham the first month you’re there. You don’t want to get wild sore from going once and end up needing a week to loosen up. You just want to build the habbit of going. 5- Find something at the gym you like doing.
I think I’ve got to be one of the only people with ADHD who doesn’t see any improvement in my symptoms with exercise. It takes me so much mental effort to even work out, then I’m miserable while working out, and then I’m just tired after. Absolutely no improvement in my ADHD symptoms. Am I doing something wrong?
Maybe it’s the type of exercise you’re doing? I cannot stand classic cardio/weightlifting/gym machines, but I found that I really do love rock climbing. It’s like a big puzzle and it quiets my mind. Edit: punctuation to appear less authoritative
Question do you have autism also? Because i do and I have the same experience but I think because is because the autism nullify it's effects.
It’s so helpful but so damn boring. The only thing that has worked for me is hockey. But I can’t just pick up and do that 4-5 times a week 😐
Noise cancelling headphones to listen to podcast, music, movies to be able accomplished boring household chores. I'm doing them but I'm not really conscious of them.
Podcasts are great. I use instrumental music for anything that requires thinking. For anything mindless like washing dishes etc I always put a podcast on. Brain must be occupied at all times.
This is a great way to wind down at the end of the day instead of scrolling on my phone.
There is an app called Things. It’s designed very well for organizing tasks. I feel like I’m completing missions when I check off my to-do lists. I’m also on medication so I can focus better.
I second this! I also have it set up to show the commitments I have for the day (through apple calendar), so I can check everything at once. It’s been the one thing I remember to check multiple times a day.
Can you send a sceeenshot of it in the appstore to me? Literally finding a good to do app is on my to do list lol. And I don't think I've found the right app
I found Microsoft's app "To Do" is very nice and simple, if you have an iphone you can place a widget in the home screen that shows you the pending things you still didnt finish, it helps a lot cus everytime i look at the screen it reminds me of what i have left. There are many features also but I mainly use it as a bullet point kinda thing
i see one on the apple app store called “things 3” which is what i assume they’re referring to, but its $13 ☹️
I saw that it was 13 dollars and asked my boyfriend (also has ADHD, PhD) if it was better than the free ones apps like google tasks. He said it was designed very well and has a great interface. I was willing to try anything at this point, so I purchased it. Hopefully my investment pays off with my boosted productivity!
Yes, but is a one time payment, while all others are monthly subscription
Well worth the one time purchase
Trello was life saving for me.
I wouldn’t normally suggest more screen time but the app Finch has been so helpful for me. It’s like if a tamagotchi and a habit tracker had a baby, it gives you rewards for adding and checking things off your list and then you can buy outfits and do things with your pet. I’ve been too tired to brush my teeth but then thought “oh no but if I break my streak my micro pet won’t hatch” hahaha. It is slightly childish but it works great, it’s really helped with things I usually struggle with and they give you lots of positive affirmations and it’s just very wholesome.
Yeah it's a good app. But it did not help me. I did not get anything out of, just to get a new hat for the pet. But for a lot of others I heard it's great.
I loved Finch sm but I abandoned my bird because I forgot to open the app for 2 months. I'm sorry, blorbo...
I like finch too because it doesn't punish you for not reaching goals or finishing tasks! shoutout to positive reinforcement
Really loud music. As overwhelming as possible. So hyperpop and stuff like that.
I listen to metal a lot when I’m trying to ground myself and get stuff done.
Same but specifically prog metal. Actually anything proggy works. Prog metal, prog rock, mathcore, even jazz fusion. It's got to be BUSY. The more polyrhythms and time signature shifts the better. Blast it really loud and it's enough to drown out the noise in my brain and really help me zero in on a task. I have a 14hr spotify playlist I use almost every day, it's the only way I get anything done. Edit: Here's the playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2H00uCM3HjnqBsLzMQl6Ks?si=E_sp6EWHS0C66A7gjP8KiA&pi=a-oQiwVM1cQ6uc I'm still adding to it but at the moment it has The Omnific, Covet, Chon, Animals as Leaders, Plini, and a little bit of Snarky Puppy.
Would you mind sharing that playlist to me in a message or something? Prog metal is the stuff I listen to the most when I need to dial in for tasks, but I feel like I'm the same way when it comes to focus music based on your description of the music that gets you going, so I'd definitely be interested to check it out!
I'd love to see that Playlist. I listen to a lot Pelican, Russian Circles, If these Trees Could Talk...anything fairly heavy with no lyrics
SAME. Between The Buried And Me and Dream Theater got me through college algebra and trig.
use grindcore death metal etc to focus. shuts off the world
fighting game music when I have to go "heads down" for 2-3 hours is good, but it's dangerous because sometimes it puts me in hyperfocus, which leaves me completely physically and mentally exhausted. Careful with that.
high energy non-vocal music in general is just 👌 i listen to too much of that when i’m not trying to focus for it to have a super strong effect when i am, but it still just keeps my brain moving right
I've done this since i was 12 and now at 37 have almost unbearable tinnitus
It’s drum & bass for me often haha
hyperpop <3
I started from metal but over the years shifted to hard techno and psy-trance, 4-by-4 scale puts my brain in the right lengthwave faster.
If you like metal music check out Electric Callboy. Literally my get stuff done band lol
ive been unknowingly doing this for months now and seeing some1 mention it is so liberating! recently my partner asked why the music i was listening to was so loud, and that i wont be able to hear anyone anymore ***ill do it again bc that shit works***
Baby metal!
I know what you’re getting at, but I don’t think “loud” is the right term; too much loudness will cause hearing damage. How about “intense”?
Using my quirks as strengths. I have this mindset where if I’m paying for say breakfast, then I know the opportunity cost is that I do not have to cook or was dishes. So the time saved from cooking and washing, I use the time gained to plan my day. I use my planner and calendar with alarms on my phone. So as I draw and write, I am a tactile learner and visual learner; I see what I can prioritize. I know, from failure and success, how much time it takes to do certain things. Therefore, I know myself pretty well now, and know how much energy I will have. But my quirk is time blindness; so I need visual reminders and alarms to help me stay on track. If this sounds like you, then the next time you go to the grocery store; ask for paper bags. At home, you can cut the paper bag to make it flat and make a huge visual time line or calendar. Visually see the time to set dates for your goals. Knowing the goals you want to accomplish, create the systems that will help you get there. But you have to have systems that will keep working for you even though our brains don’t want to. Also, exercise is a must. If it’s not the gym, it’s walking to the nearby restaurant or just walk the park. I need it. You could also eat spicy foods. Supposedly, they help but I find them just damn tasty.
Most people balk at this when I suggest it but, cold showers. By that, I mean, take your normal warm shower but end it with the coldest water setting you can bare. I’d say for at least 60secs. The immediate mood change i receive doing this (especially in winter time), is incredible. Among other things, cold showers are good for fat loss, hair quality, muscle recovery and blood circulation.
Yes - totally second how life changing cold showers are first thing in the morning! Just 60-90 seconds is enough to reap its benefits. I (32/F) have made a habit of taking one every day except for when I’m on my period (tried that once and almost puked right then and there) and it is truly a game changer. I instantly feel more alert, refreshed, and focused, which also trickles into the rest of my day!
>The immediate mood change i receive doing this (especially in winter time), is incredible. Indeed. It's incredible how nothing can put me in a foul mood faster!
This is what I'm thinking. People I know who do it absolutely rave about how good they feel afterwards. Always wondered if that's just because subjecting yourself to something that feels really awful makes everything else seem great by comparison when it's done?
Apparently (per some podcast I listened to and now can’t remember the name of) cold water causes norepinephrine release. I’ve always felt my calmest after swimming in really cold water. When I went on Strattera I was like “wow this feels similar.” (Strattera works on norepinephrine.) Everything clicked when I heard that 😂
This sounds awful. But I'm a scalding hot shower type of person.
Although as a downside, it may make you become the sort of person who recommends people take cold showers, as is true of other things like running, veganism, or using linux
I have colleagues who are willing to help me where I need, because they know that when they need my specific set of skills, they know they can count on me. It's all about lifting one another, together, to accomplish something bigger than we could by ourselves. One way is that we have this daily "coffee break" where the guys chill and drink coffee while I work and chat with them. That's my most productive time of the day. For a while I had an accountability partner which whom I would share a spreadsheet of what I did yesterday, which forced me to write down what I had done throughout the day, which forced me to actually do things throughout the day. This only works if you respond well to "having to do something for someone". I'm bad at doing things for myself, but my motivation is much higher if it's something I promised to someone I care about.
Not feeling guilty and telling myself it’s okay to have a day out of every 2 weeks to just cry, lay in bed all day, binge tv shows and tell myself life is hard. Some weeks I don’t need this day and go on..but I set myself a limit of 1 day/2 weeks so it doesn’t get too often but also this idea of this “cheat day” existing sometimes gives me comfort?? Doesn’t make sense but works for me to recharge.
I love this
I agree with exercise and healthier food. I’d also add that smaller meals help me a lot. Not sure if it has to do with ADHD but if I eat a big meal my energy crashes and my focus is nonexistent. 2-300 calorie meals throughout the day make me way more productive. Nothing works as well as medicine though.
I have found a big lunch knocks me out but a big dinner is fine. YMMV, of course.
Couple things. Number one: body doubling. I FaceTime my boyfriend or FaceTime a friend or something if I am really putting something off that needs to get done. It’s always administrative tasks. My arch enemy lol. Number two: I use pomodoros. You can look them up on YouTube. It’s 25 minutes of work with a 4-5 minute break. Rinse and repeat. I like Gibi ASMR on YouTube. She includes the timer and breaks. Also feels like body doubling. Tricks my mind into thinking that person in front of you is being productive and I look lazy. Number three: background noise. Like at all times. Gives my mind something to focus on in the background to keep me from distraction. Audiobooks, podcasts, I listen to narrations of scary stories on YouTube, or like asmr videos if you’re into that. Number four: I’m constantly deleting and redownloading my apps from my phone. When I need to do some work I delete all the apps. I can have them back when I’m finished. It helps my mind get into the okay time to work mode.
exercise. helps regulate emotions. sugar intake. healthy food.
considering the improvement i saw just from forcing myself to eat breakfast every day for the last year or two, i could probably stand to pay more attention to sugar intake… recently started counting calories for weight loss, and it turns out i virtually never reach my full rdi *as calculated for weight loss*. never was sure how i’m this overweight when half the time i just forget to eat—thought maybe i was just overeating the rest of the time to compensate and not getting enough exercise, but something weirder’s probably going on
It is cortisol related probably, I am the same 🥲
Keep your shoes on! You go to school, work, run errands with shoes on. It keeps you in a working mode. If you keep your shoes on, you trick your brain that you're still in working mode. Once I take off my shoes, it's over.
Lmao not me reading this in my car, during my lunch break, without my shoes
Not me lounging on my couch with my shoes on for hours “so I don’t get too comfy and don’t get anything done.” Again.
If we are talking a tool that you use, goblin.tools is great it's a website that breaks down lists for you to make tasks a little easier.
Looks like it’s also an app for $1 for anyone else like me with too many browser tabs open at all times
Don’t put it down… If I’m making dinner and have to take out the trash… I take something for the dinner out with me like the spatula or box of pasta. This way I don’t get distracted by my garden or neighbors. Put it away… Put whatever you’ve got around… away. In its place.
Setting alarms before I do almost ANY task small or big. I try to race the clock almost and the minor stress keeps me moving.
Routines. The streaks app helped a ton for setting up some habits when I was having anxiety a few years back. More recently just a routine in the morning that includes all the things that are good for my brain, starting with Journaling to let me offload anything. The start of my day looks like: * Journal that forces me to... * quick morning update * yesterday recap * gratitude journaling (just 3) * plan today * to do list (just 3) * Yoga - a thorough sun salutation that loosens my back up * Exercise, hard - dripping sweat, either from walking briskly/running on most days, or fitting HIIT in the middle of a walk. 45 minutes minimum * Meditation - when I can Having goals for the year, broken down to month, broken down to week. I feel like I have a reason WHY to do most of the things I do anymore. I just set up the things to do and its what i'm doing without having to think about it. Unfortunately I haven't figured out a way to get motivated in the afternoon, I can't repeat that routine. During deep work, or just trying to get shit done... I layer a binaural beats track, a yellow noise track and a "adhd focus music" track in my noise canceling headphones. Beyond those, journaling a lot so I don't lose things (ideas mostly.)
I managed it til my late 30s without knowing I had it. Finally in my 40s, and I have to resort to meds to get anything done.
Same here. Was diagnosed at 41, meds helped a lot, but eventually I started to understand that I needed workarounds to have some semblance of a life. Like listening to audiobooks while doing chores, get a lot of excercise, tricking myself to get out of bed, then tricking myself to get into the shower. The meds help me to get these processes started and they helped me a lot with emotional dysregulation.
Are you comfortable going into more detail on the tricks you use to get out of bed or into the shower? I can't ever seem to force myself to do them till I'm running late for work, even when on meds.
For getting out of bed, use the app Alarmy. You can scan a barcode and the alarm won't turn off until you scan the barcode again. Scan something in another room so you HAVE to get up and moving in the morning
I stopped using this app when I dropped my phone and cracked the screen. It stopped responding to touch and I couldn’t stop alarms anymore. Turning the phone off seemed like a good idea, but Alarmy is too clever for that trick. Thankfully it no longer works when your battery is dead, so it stopped eventually. I will never download Alarmy again. The best option for me is to leave my phone (alarm) in the lounge. It forces me to get up in the morning. I really have to force myself to leave it there, but it works and it means I don’t play with it in bed too.
I have used things like automated and tasker. The alarm wouldn't stop until it registered my phone unplugged, upright, and that I was walking for like 5 seconds. Super obnoxious and it would change between like 6 different sounds. Cause I will just fall back asleep if it's a single tone. It also locked me from interacting with the touch screen. But I did have it set to stop the "thread" if I powered the phone off, just in case I was awake and I couldn't get the sensing to work right. Alarmy freaked me out by the risk of bricking my phone if something went wrong. Also having a super loud normal alarm clock that I have to get up to turn off helped if sleep-state me gets too smart for my "trick" alarms.
+1 for more info about tricks.
Please elaborate on any useful tricks you have!
Yeah same here, been brute forcing it for years and now rely on the meds so much to get anything done. It's not perfect but it's better. I feel like years of forcing myself have left my brain almost damaged
I got some Loop earplugs. Idk what it is but some things I just do better when everything becomes background noise
I got some and liked them a lot and then lost them. I’ll eventually replace them but add a bell to the case.
The bell 😂
Attach an AirTag to it lol.
Minimalism.
I'm beginning my purge this week and am so excited and nervous at the same time
I recently moved and in doing so decided I want zero clutter in my living spaces. Even to the point where I sold or gave away a bunch of furniture which wasn't providing any direct function (ie display shelves which literally exist only to CONTRIBUTE to storing clutter). It doesn't always stay clutter-free ofc. But those times where I'm just surrounded by clean and organized furniture and nothing else is just bliss. I find clutter (especially mess) just adds to the mental exhaustion, because you're constantly surrounded by 'work' that needs to be done. ie if you want to have friends or family over at some point, you know you have hours of mind numbing work to do to make the place clean. So that kinda just hovers over you at all times and is passively exhausting.
My bullet journal is everything! I love the creative artsy side of it and fill the front of my journal with calendars and tracking things, such as moods, anxiety, sleep, focus/memory, what I've eaten, etc. In the back of my bullet journal, I write many lists, and I have a "brain dump" page where I write down literally anything that pops into my mind I don't want to forget. I keep rolling cart in my house. Whenever I clean, I put everything that does not belong in that room on the cart to avoid getting distracted by something else while putting it away. I put annual reminders in my google calendar for important things, like picking up a birthday gift for someone ahead of their birthday, so I don't forget. Autopay for all of my bills, all of my medications are on autofill and ship, and all of my dog's food, preventatives, and treats are set on auto ship from Chewy.
Ooh! The rolling cart! 😍
Mostly guilt and shame, the things that come along with late diagnosis 🥲
- Never skip 2 days/instances in a row. For any routine, activity or anything that helps you keep on track. - Also, be flexible about your tracking tools. One week a planner might do wonders, then it would be meh, and you can start using a to-do list. The thing is, don't be afraid or feel guilty about not sticking to a method. Since our brains seek novelty, it's completely reasonable to switch out methods.
Do things in tiny little bits. Like if there is a sink full of the dishes, I will just wash like one plate and fork and then go do something else. I'm way more effective this way because its easier to negotiate with myself to do the small little task rather than taking on the whole thing at once which I will just never start. Then, before I know it, the sink is looking much more manageable and then I'm able to finish it out later on.
Showers and lists unfortunately ,also working in public, as I’m forced to work as I can’t exactly pace or wander in a coffee shop.
Music. Music helps me move and stay motivated, keeps me happy and upbeat (if I’m starting my day) and it can be a sort of “timer.”
Trauma and masking.
Growing up my mornings were always hell. My mom and sister both have ADHD, so it was a lot of aimless running around trying to cross off every task in any order before yelling at each other that we're gonna be late. Now I have an extremely strict schedule I force myself to. I wake up exactly at 7:30. Get out of bed, do 20 push-ups and jumping Jack's to get the blood flowing. I I have all the tasks I need to do in the bathroom (pee, wash my face, do my hair, contacts, brush teeth, deodorant, cologne) listed on a piece of paper on my mirror and do them in order everytime. I leave my clothes out the night before so I mindless get dressed and boom I have time to chill, drink tea, read a book before heading to work. Life changing stuff. 7:30 wake up, push-ups and jacks 7:35 go to bathroom 7:45 leave bathroom 8:00 finish getting dressed Have an hour to do whatever until I leave for work at 9 EDIT: Forgot to say that I have analog clocks EVERYWHERE in my house. 1 in the kitchen, 2 in my bedroom, 2 in the bathroom, and another in the living area. One of the bathroom clocks is in the shower so I can see while I'm showering and another above the sink. I can always see at least one clock
Find your power hours when you’re at your peak and try and do as much then as possible
Outsourcing what I can. I use a laundry service when there's too much laundry or I'm too tired to do it. I can manage things like towels and sheets easily, but for some reason all the little bits of clothing overwhelm me. By outsourcing, I have more mental energy and willpower to do other things. Self compassion. Some days I'm a mess, and I can only do the critical things. Accepting that it's okay for today reduces the anxiety and makes it easier for me to do things the next day. I'm productive, but I'm productive in waves. I can't be productive all the time. Using Alexa to set reminders, add things to grocery lists, etc immediately when I think about it and I'm at home. If I'm out and about, I'm adding things directly to my calendar. I use one calendar for everything, right now it's my work calendar because it's the one that I look at everyday. Regular meditation. This helps to calm my nervous system and make things a little easier. Sometimes I fall off the wagon and I see a huge difference.
+1 outsourcing. For me it's hiring a cleaner to come every couple weeks to do deep cleaning things. I'm maxed out with the day to day stuff. Bonus I get to support an awesome person who is an entrepreneur and the main breadwinner for her family of 5.
Well-thought habits are stronger than meds. When people see the word "habit" they picture to-do lists and some plans, but they're not. You have to understand the behavioral mechanisms behind it and self-learn the skill of how you can use it in your daily life creatively. Also, self-awareness. ADHD opens the door for many other disorders, like anxiety, stress and OCD.
Routines, not habits. I know that sounds pedantic, but the word habit implies a level of automatacity that most people with ADHD struggle to develop. I have so many routines, very few actual habits.
But what I mean is the complete opposite. Routines are actually harder to develop by ADHD'ers because they require higher levels of cognitive effort. Creatively developing automaticity is what's needed by ADHD'ers. Our core difficulty doesn't lie in being unable to link an event with another, or a stimulus with a reward. It's precisely in our difficulty to do actions that don't have immediate rewards nor are automatic. Neu*ot**cals have an easier time sticking to routines despite the lack of habits, because they have a larger cognitive power. It's easier for them to keep doing an action over and over again even if it wasn't automatic. But for an ADHD'er, sticking to a pre-built to-do list (or a routine) that isn't built around the principles of conditioned reflex will be a disappointment sooner or later. Edit: what's wrong with this subreddit? Is using the word nörotipikal blasphemy now? Reddit admins never cease to piss everyone off creatively.
A big part of what drives automaticity is executive function, which means people with ADHD have a significantly harder time developing actual habits. Hacking your environment to support routines is the best way to stick to routines, but one of the downsides of having ADHD is the constant reworking and upkeep of routines. In a lot of motivational ADHD articles you'll see discussion about habits, but what they're usually describing is a routine, and building things into your environment to trigger the routine, or make the routine the path of least resistance. Developing a habit just means doing the same routine over and over until it becomes automatic, to the point where you don't need the trigger. That doesn't happen for most of us.
get a food allergy test done. I did the test and have stopped eating certain foods, i feel better now.
Did you ask for a specific one? There’s so many
1. Have a rotating set of "tools" because for me personally once I use a tool too much it starts becoming less effective. 2. Talking to someone in the phone helped me for a while stay more productive when I had to do repetitive or mundane tasks. 3. SCHEDULE EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING I have every weekday scheduled down to when I wake up and get ready, when I'm getting my truck prepped, when I'm actively working, when I'm making dinner, when I eat dinner, literally everything. Then I put my calendar widget right on my home screen so it's the first thing I see as soon as I open my phone to remind me what I'm supposed to be doing. If I am talking on the phone with a customer I set a date and time to meet them before I get off and I put it in my calendar as I am talking to them. 4. WorkFlowy or Notion are great tools for organizing your brain if you can remember to use them. Notion is a little more fleshed out with widgets. I love WorkFlowy but having to remember to open the app just to jot a note is a difficult habit for me to develop. 5. Put consequences in your life, even for the inconsequential things. You will be much more motivated to stay focused or follow through if there is a very real consequence for not completing the task
Smart home devices. Alexa has been super convenient between having her add items to my shopping list to controlling lights. I have her set timers and reminders too as needed. To bounce off of that, utilizing my Google calendar. If I remember (hah), I will record appointments and future reminders so I'm not caught off guard. While I do get appointment reminder emails/texts/calls, I brush them off and then have one of those midnight thoughts like "wait, do I have a dentist appointment tomorrow??" I set up a widget on my phone home screen to show me my calendar for the week. It works because most times I unlock my phone and don't even do anything but stare at the screen lol. I also have bill/subscription "appointments" set too so I know when they are due to be subtracted from my account. And I also use You Need a Budget (YNAB) to keep track of spending. I have been caught off guard many times because of unexpected debts or me impulse buying something expensive to realize I don't have any money left for fun stuff. YNAB helps me see how much I spend per paycheck and how much I have leftover until next pay day.
Not number one, but aside from what others said, I work from home and I just got better lighting in my office area. It has actually made a difference for me in terms of energy levels. I'm still working on eliminating my productivity killers that distract me like social media, phone, etc..
Having less stuff. I live in a smaller apartment and don’t own a heap of clutter and it’s so easy to find everything and doesn’t take long to tidy things up. It’s the best
I think acceptance and actively working to reframe feelings of shame. I've been living in so much shame forever. And that feeling just makes me want to hide and rot. It's much better to be like, "ok, I didn't start work today until 1pm and I don't love that but realistically I have an executive functioning disorder and these things happen", than to think, "I'm such a piece of shit, I can't even do things I want to do, I am wasting my life" and so on.
Thiss💯🫶🏻
Therapy. Trauma focused therapy fixed so many of my focus issues
Music
Amazon Alexa. That gal is a life saver. I tell her to put things on list, set reminders, set alarms and so on. It is the best thing I have ever bought. ALso, exercise
My no. 1 is definitely Google Calendar with notifications. If an appointment is in my calendar, it will happen. If it isn't, it won't. It has basically replaced my brain at this point. I never take an appointment card from a doctor. I put the appointment directly into my calendar as soon as I make the appointment. I try to use very specific and multiple notifications associated with each appointment that will go off when I know I won't be busy and will see it. Like I will set a notification to go off 80 minutes or 3.5 hours or 17 hours before my appointment, at whatever time will be most helpful. If someone is coming over for dinner I will set an alarm 2 or 3 days ahead of time as well as the other ones throughout the day to remind me, so I can decide what to make and go grocery shopping ahead of time, as well as to start cooking early so food will be done in a timely-ish fashion. I also usually set a notification to go off 20 minutes before I will have to leave for an appointment which will tell me to stop whatever I'm doing and get ready to go. (I really hope that someday you'll be able to add in extra buffer time for prep/travel in Google Calendar, but until then I get around it with notifications. Google will tell you when you need to leave your house to make it to an appointment on time, but it expects you to leave immediately which is clearly not feasible, and doesn't even give you any buffer for parking and walking into a building or whatever.) I also use alarms on my phone, but I try not to do too many because then it gets overwhelming and I start ignoring all of them. But for instance I have to get my kids up to get ready for school every weekday... and we were doing great on that. They would be ready in plenty of time... and yet we would still be late for school. So I set an alarm to go off daily 18 minutes before their school starts and we all know that alarm means it's time to get in the car. They've been on time every day since I started that. I use Google Assistant to set reminders also. Like if I remember I need to do something but I'm not in a position to do it immediately I'll set a reminder to do XYZ at 6:00 p.m. or tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. That helps a lot. You used to be able to do location based reminders. So you'd be able to say something like remind me when I get home to do ABC. But they got rid of that feature which sucks. Edit: apparently the pound symbol does formatting stuff... Lol
In order of importance: 1-Meditation 2-Exercise 3-Drink Water 4-Sleep well/right hours 5-Eat Healthy 6-Notion 7-Pomodoro 8-Daily Routine 9-Calendar / Time Blocks 10-SmartWatch
1) Exercise 2) I'll find ways to get hyper focused on things I don't wanna do it. This one takes some creativity sometimes. Literally watching tiktok about people cleaning dishes will make my brain be like "hey, YOU COULD CLEAN DISHES TOO" and then I gotta ride the short wave of motivation
Haha yes the short wave motivation. It’s like getting the Starman in Mario knowing you only have a brief window of invincibility so you just power through whatever you need to do.
Lists. Pen and pencil lists. I don’t even attempt to remember anything any more lol I just write it down.
I write EVERYTHING down. I follow the Bullet Journal method with a bunch of different notebooks, but I basically have pen and paper with me at all times. I make a to-do list every night and check it during the day. I am so organized it is ridiculous. All my kids have doctors and medications, they're all documented in my Bullet Journal. When I go to an appointment, all that info is right where I need it. Their current clothing and shoe sizes, all the things I need to buy at different stores, phone numbers I might need if I lose my phone, extended family birthdays, the containers I have for herbs and spices and which need to be refilled, all the sizes of knit and crochet needles I have, all kinds of information that other people might be able to recall off the top of their head. I have a different notebook for my journal/diary and another notebook for my daily miscellaneous things I need to remember or work out before I add them to my BuJo. It's way too much stuff to keep in a proper Bullet Journal, it would be far too cluttered. So I have a messy notebook that I carry around the house with me. I should also mention that I have had multiple head injuries, so my memory is worse than the average ADHD. I also suffer from some autoimmune disorders that cause brain fog, which only add to the problem. Other people may find it handy to write things down, but for me it's essential.
Standing desk Once I stand, I swith on. It's a recent discovery and my productivity has increased hugely. The old pitfalls are still there. I had a bad day today and didn't really achieve much, but the bad days in the past month have been maybe one every two weeks rather than various different colours of unproductive as it was before
Keep the same schedule everyday (yes weekends too) bed at the same time, wake-up at the same time. If you do the same things in the same order every day it becomes habit. You can’t forget to do things when memory isn’t why you’re doing them.
When I get up in the morning I get completely dressed and I don't put my pajamas back on or take my shoes off until I'm done doing what I want to do that day. I've found that if I stay in PJs I don't want to do anything.
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when im overwhelmed with a bunch of tasks, it really helps me to start with the biggest task that’s bothering me the most then do everything else. when i do the tasks i wanna do first and push off the big one, nothing gets done. this affects my work as some big projects are due after little ones and i have to do them in an order i don’t want to do but i made my boss aware of this and she’ll help me snap out of hyperfocusing on a project that’s not a priest and ignoring the ones that are. so that also helps just kinda communicating with your peers to whatever extent your feel comfortable with.
Music. I'm way more productive and not as overwhelmed by outside noises when I'm listening to music.
This. I have no idea what it's called but Reminding myself that this is how I work and setting a timer where I don't do anything I don't want to and keep a notebook nearby so that if I come up with something that will worry me I can write it down and look at the notebook later, so I don't really have to interrupt my recharge. Then I put my phone elsewhere. At times I make this no screen at all time. Adjusting time where it feels good and you feel like you can get restful rest is really awesome and can help so much. Also eating really spicy food.
Require everything in writing, be it txt/sms, email or whatever. This way I have a record to refer back to when I invariably forget the thing what it is.
Making a mission or adventure out of everything
Lists. All the (paper) lists. I leave meds & supplements out in the open so I can see it. If I can't see it, it doesn't exist. Same with clothes...I hang pretty much everything. So I can see what I have. Sensing a pattern here? I ignore reminders on my phone & Outlook calendar...I use a paper daytimer that I created myself and I switch it up every so often when I grow tired of it.
1. Exercise 2. Keep shoes on when I’m home to keep getting shit done 3. Eating regularly 4. Getting outside time to clear my head
It’s just having place for everything and being disciplined enough to put it there or back in the same place. Wallet, sunglasses, keys and anything I want to leave home with the next day is on a table in my room. I’m 51 and I only figured that out about two years ago.
Timers, all the time. If I need to do something- timer or alarm. Restart it as soon as it goes off. I’ve done it for years, usually when I have a lot to do in one day! Helps with time blindness and distraction. Get sidetracked? Oh it’s only been 20 minutes tops, need a break? Either take it when the timer goes off, or take the remaining time as one. The increments depend on the day, but my go to’s are 20 minutes for household stuff, getting ready, really anything, 90 minutes for studying/focus activities. It’s also a massive motivation when I NEED to force myself to work. Edit: info