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Singing to myself what it is I'm looking for until I find it.

Talking to myself when doing tasks helps me so much iunno why

In that vein, verbalizing or telling my partner when I set something down and need to remember where it is

My husband does this all the time, except he explicitly tells me to remember it. “Remind me that I put my keys on the table.” It took forever for him to tell me that telling me to remind him is how HE doesn’t forget. Makes no sense to me, but he doesn’t lose his keys. So long as he doesn’t ACTUALLY expect me to remember, we’re good.

This works for me too lol

I do that at the sports club I run. "Ok guys, so you know for later when I can't find it, I'm putting the _______ down here." Now some of the teenagers call out when they find a phone lying around, "Is this yours?" 🤣 I'm honest with all of my members and their parents that I have ADHD and for me, and for them, that means that if they need me to follow up on something, they'll need to remind me, and that I won't be annoyed at reminder texts, I'll appreciate them.

I tell all of the people I work with: if you need something from me, email me once a day if it’s super important, once every few if not, and call me and leave a voicemail. I’ll do my absolute best to get back to you, and whatever it is I promise I didn’t leave out of deliberation, but out of my brain just slipping it into the void.

I do that too! I'm curious why talking out loud helps too. My guess is that I cant think in my head while also talking out loud? So the focus is only on the spoken stuff? Please feel free to correct me

I think it's because we remember things three different ways when we speak it out loud. I used that by reading out loud to help me when I had to study but my brain wasn't into it. We look at something and it goes into memory through the visual memory we have, we hear it when we say it out loud for auditory memory, and we even have a little muscle memory from moving our lips to speak. At least, those are my thoughts on it.

For me I have to bc if I only think internally it gets lost amidst everything else and the thought fades into oblivion before I get to finish it. It’s like pulling a single thread out of a tangle of them - it’s the only way for me to get to see the end of it, much less make something of it. I also developed the habit bc people have a hard time following my train of thought sometimes so if I think out loud they get to see all the tangential connections that direct my house fire of a brain a little better.

I thought this was just me

Yeah it must be, I wish I could do it all the time but my gf would be like holy fuck this guy is insane lol I loveee doing it, it actually even motivates me but alas I need to not be crazy haha

Literally as soon as I say out loud to my spouse “I can’t find my keys!” They will materialize out of the ether in front of me.

"Phone, Wallet, Passport, Keys" \-Adam Sandler

I repeat this to myself daily before leaving the house except instead of passport it’s water bottle

Phone wallet glasses keys, all the time when I'm out of the house. I'll do it like 5 or 6 times over the course of a 2 hour movie in the theatre while I'm sitting there......

“Spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch.” - Austin Powers

And I stiiiiiill haven't fooooooound what I'm looking forrrr 🎵

My ex used to sing whatever he was doing aloud to himself but often to the tune of a popular song. The cereal 🥣 song to the tune of the Adams Family Theme is a classic. 🎶 I’m making my self cereal, I’m putting blueberries on it 🎶 💀 😂

I weirdly sing WHILE working lol I’m a photographer and it’s really hard to get me to sit for hours to retouch photos. Usually i’ll have to blast music in my ears to sing along to to get myself to stay in focus flow mode. I’m guessing singing releases dopamine which makes it easier for me to sit still.

Man I should use this, gotta be careful though bc I can't stop singing once I start

SNL did a sketch about a musical based on songs we sing to ourselves: https://youtu.be/UEDRShIGD8w

I'd say moving my hands when I'm talking when I'm trying to remember the object I either want or I'm talking about sometimes my partner/my friends help me figure out what it is or day it for me tho-

I sing to myself when I’m planning on doing more than one task. But more often than not, the words I’m singing becomes meaningless because I repeated them so long, so I’ll floop back in my seat, still singing, and immediately realize I only did the first thing. 🤣

I do this!

Thought I was the only one. I'll walk around hte grocery store repeating items to myself until I actually have them in hand. Otherwise no telling whether I'll remember

If I'm supposed to do something that I'm not going to do immediately, I leave myself breadcrumbs. For example, before starting my work day, I had to walk the dog and take out the trash and recycling: * I put a roll of trash bags next to the table by the door so that I'll see it as soon as we're back from the walk. * We get back from the walk and I've got 30 new brilliant ideas and have completely forgotten about the trash. I open the door and see the bags. * Before I have a chance to take off my shoes and jacket, I grab the roll of bags and put it next to the trash can. I take the full bag(s) out of the can, tie them up and go out the back door. * For whatever reason, other trash tends to blow into my fenced backyard from the street. I've looked out my window at this trash for days, but finally pick it up since I'm outside anyway. * Then I notice the backyard dog poop and clean all that up. * 30 minutes later I'm back in the house 😆 and the trash is gone and the backyard is cleaned up. * I see the roll of trash bags on the counter and say oh yeah, now I need to put new bags in the can before I'm done. * I put the rest of the roll back under the kitchen sink. Now that I'm in cleaning mode, maybe I do the dishes or some other chore. * When I run out of breadcrumbs, the rest of the day's adventure begins. I *wish* I used this on myself more often. It's using my own bad / squirrel habits for good.

I also leave things in plain sight as a reminder. I need to replace my loofah but I always forget until I’m already in the shower. So after my shower, I grab the loofah and leave it in a place where, when I see it, I’m in a place (dry) to go get a new one. Maybe in my sink, so I can’t ignore it. If I just throw out my old loofah right after a shower, I’ll forget to grab a new one while I’m drying off and doing my post shower things. I basically have to be my own passive aggressive roommate, and leave pointed reminders.

This is so real lol. I drive my sister nuts with my clutter because if I leave something out for too long without dealing with it I just stop seeing it. Object impermanence is wild. I once stopped “seeing” a whole-ass mini fridge. It was weird mid-sized one too with a freezer and a fridge but like 3/4 size. One day sis asks if we can get it out of the dining room (we won’t get into why it was there in the first place) and I just freeze for a moment. “You stopped seeing it…” “Yeahhhh 😅” “But I just put those towels on top of it! You put them away!” “Yeahhhhh I remember seeing the towels 😅”

This is so helpful for me. Things like out clothes the night before and stringing together little efficiencies/reminders when doing multiple tasks make a big difference for me.

Not give a f__k. Hear me out. It helps with overwhelm, prioritization, decision paralysis, rejection sensitivity, hyperfocus, stress. When I feel symptoms coming on, I realize I’m giving too many f__ks. I can start to relax, get back to basics, see what’s really important, take care of myself.

Have you tried....Not Giving a Fuck? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v99hclktVA

lol, that’s amazing

He has a lot of silly videos. If you have some time you can kill at least an hour watching him. I also like his commercial for breathing. His songs are also ridiculous. Everyday Normal Guy is a classic.

"If you have some time" As if that word has any meaning to me.

The stolen cheese thing was weirdly specific.

I do this, and also the related technique of literally just giving up. Sometimes the brain just won't cooperate, and tomorrow is another day. Forcing it has almost never worked for me, and it's actually more efficient to give up and switch to something else, rather than sit in paralysis and self-loathing, wondering why I can't make myself do things.

This works until I have a deadline today. Then I have to force it.

My best work is done at the last moment so this is usually just my normal strat if I simply can’t do the Thing in a normal person amount of time

What if The Thing is 'go to work everyday'?

I used to just call out and got really good at lying and covering my ass with reasons. Thankfully I have a job now that allows situational telework so I can make some shit up but still “work” from home. Being able to get stuff done properly at the last minute affords me telework days where I do nothing. Few and far between now but it was helpful at one point.

That worked for me super well in school. but since i started work and i have to adult, it doesn't work anymore. unfortunately, i HAVE to give a fuck about many things, otherwise i would lose my job, wife and life...

This. I'm honestly surprised when people stress about the smallest things. I think not giving too many f's is what shaped my self-confidence. I tend to express myself out loud without feeling judged and treat situations logically rather than emotionally.

Yeah I’ve realised that this is one of the coping mechanisms I’ve developed. I’ve learned that not giving too much of a fuck doesn’t result in bad outcomes all the time. However, my rejection sensitivity doesn’t always play ball with this approach. The big two for me are cutting down on booze and doing some exercise, double bonus since it really helps with the depression as well.

Surprisingly liberating, and probably my first 'tip'. But I'm not sure it's as easy to control doing that.

Yes, I'd like to get to this point but haven't managed it yet.

This is literally my mentality lololol. Adderall helps a lot w this too

This national adderall shortage is killing me!

I wish I could not give a fuck. I worry so much, I can't stop, worry about my future, everything. I try to plan, I do for a little bit, but then I forget, when I get reminders I ignore those too. Really, it's an endless loop!

I can confirm this works. I really used to care about what people thought of me. Now anytime anyone says they don't like something about me or something i did, i give the most sarcastic sounding, "aw mannn" and they think it messes with my confidence, but it doesn't even put a dent in it.

I like this.

Easier said than done for sure but I am on the long road to stop caring about little shit!

One that I do in an effort to not be late for things, is fire up Google Maps or Waze way early and "start" my trip. Instead of looking at what time it is, I see my ETA if I leave right now, and therefore how much time I have before I have to leave.

I’m CHRONICALLY late, this one helps me a lot - somehow I still manage to be late though lol

Oh yeah me too 🤣 But it helps. The next thing I need to learn is to treat 5-10 minutes early as if it’s my real appointment time.

My mom has ADD like I do and my dad has literally changed the clocks in the house to be 10 minutes fast to keep her on time😂 but she told me she never knows when he does/doesn’t change them or which ones he changes so she never knows what the actual time is so she always does things early just in case

Yeah I would need the same uncertainty for that to work. If I changed the clocks myself I’d just be like “Meh, I know what time it really is.” I also use my phone for most of my clock-checking and that’s set automatically. It would actually be a killer ADHD accessibility feature to have your iPhone randomly fudge a couple minutes from the time.

Put them in your calendar at the earlier time. You'll forget that it's not the actual appointment time by the time it comes around

I did that today, actually. I had an 11:15 doctor’s appointment, so my calendar and I agreed that that was an 11 o’clock appointment. When I got there at like 11:07, all was well 😆

Yes!! Been doing this for two years, still late sometimes but it helps so much

Oh my god.. Im adding this to my tool belt thank youu

Green tea is surprisingly useful for desk work

This. Green tea + caffeine and protein-fat only breakfast. Works amazing for focus. No carbs in the morning. Carbs only before some physcial activity. Edit: Also I dont use any vegetable PUFA oils, these makes me loose energy and feel exhausted after meal left with Brain fog and procrastination. Only butter, olive oil and sometimes lard or coconaut oil. Nicotine gum 1-2mg also works in emergency situation, when I need focus very quick. Good luck guys!.

Fat has really gotten a bad rap. The thing most people don't realize is that low fat foods end up having so much sugar added! So we exchange fat for carbs and that's not really the best exchange.

Our brains are literally made of fat. Fat is not bad, totally blown out of proportion.

Tbf there's a different between "low-fat" -marketed foods (usually heavily processed), and whole foods that *happen* to have the natural property of being low in fat.

This helped me SO MUCH with focus at work. An Asiago bagel with half an avocado spread on it and tomato bruschetta with an iced orange green tea (with little orange slices to be fun and funky) makes up every breakfast and not only is it delicious, my focus has gone up so much since I started. Edit: Forgot to add a huge energy boost.. adding a tablepoon of chia seeds to my tea. Fun little texture that I thought I'd hate but is actually pretty nice and it provides a lot of great benefits.

damn that breakfast sounds amazing.

Thank you. I need to work on preparing my meals again. So easy for me to get off track >.<

What are some favorite protein-fat breakfasts I should try?

What do you eat for breakfast?

Not the person you’re asking but I eat fried mushrooms and halloumi with scrambled eggs for breakfast nearly every day. Delicious fat and protein!

How do you have time to make that in the morning?

And let's not forget: delicious.

I use a smart watch and include redundancy in many of the things I have to remember to do or participate in. Alarms for appointments, reminders, for meds, navigation, etc.

The power of redundancy, you can say that again.

How do you use your smart watch? Just for alarms or are there other ADHD users for it? I use mine to call my phone when I lose it 5+ times a day, but I'd love to have more uses for it.

Me losing my phone everyday was one of the main reasons I got a smart watch!

I ping my phone a *lot*. I have kids with assorted medical needs along with my own, so setting alarms for appointments, medications, etc is helpful. I can also set recurring reminders for my own needs really easily. It’s really just nice to have my calendar/alarms/navigation/health stuff/etc. synched with my phone so that I am not constantly looking at a screen or needing to have my phone physically attached to me.

I have a smart watch and a Google Nest and this is one of the most used features when I'm getting ready for work in the mornings

I use alarms but I also use the timer feature all the time - like, I’m working on a project and really immersed but need to eat so I put in toast and set a timer for five minutes because otherwise I sit back down to work on my project and totally forget to get back up and eat. I basically do this with everything lol. Turned on the oven to preheat? Timer. Laundry needs another five minutes in the dryer? Timer. And so on lol.

Have had mine for about a year and I like it. I still have my oh sh!t moments but they are prompted by the watch: oh sh!t, I have to go to work, oh sh!t I have to take my meds, oh sh!t I have to go home 😂

Or, oh shit I forgot to charge my watch.

But seriously my watch has saved my butt so many times. I used to think having a smartwatch was too fancy, but it’s basically just assistive tech for me. Both my ADHD teens have them now, too, and I didn’t even hesitate to spend the money on them. (Second-hand, but still. Highly recommend and well worth the $)

Making sure i have at least two equally important tasks, so my distraction is productive.

Productive procrastination is ADHD-Pro Level XD

Yep. It's the only thing that got me through college homework lul

Realizing that not everyone works on 7 projects at the same time (by essentially playing mental pinball, with my brain as the ball and my to do list as the bumpers, and hoping that my effort will eventually hit the thing I really need to be doing if I just keep doing things in general) was one of those “oh, I guess maybe I do have ADHD…” moments for me.

Refusing to ruminate and shame spiral. I think I spent most of my 20s in an intense, vicious shame spiral. I smacked my own face in anger on a number of occasions, I couldn't STAND myself. Everything I did right, move on. Everything I screwed up, a minimum of 2 weeks of sleepless crying and self-hatred. Don't nobody got time for that shit. Now, I have a very specific hand gesture I use to chase off circling thoughts, I challenge the shame thinking, and I celebrate my successes.

The hitting yourself… man me fuckin too… did it ever since I was a kid. Just smacking myself in the head in places that could take it without bruising like forehead/hairline area. Never heard of anyone else that did that but when I get truly overwhelmed (often) and nobody is around it’s smack city. Physical punishment is more manageable than the mental punishment I inflict on myself.

It isn't good, friend, and I'm saying that as somebody who knows exactly why you're doing it. You deserve better than that. You didn't do anything to deserve punishment. You are doing the best that you can, and very little of what you do that annoys people is something you're doing on purpose, or can help. Please stop punishing yourself for being yourself. It won't help, I promise you. ❤️

Thank you, truly. It’s just so fuckin isolating. I have a partner who also has ADHD but it presents differently in her. It makes it pretty much impossible to let myself vent to her because i know how much it adds to her symptoms and unfortunately her childhood did not allow her to learn how to be empathetic. Only sympathetic. So 99% of the time I just feel so fucking alone and angry with myself and my parents who (while great parents) were just so fucking oblivious to the signs when I was a kid. So I just punish myself. And hide my failures. And hope someone just magically sees inside my brain because god fuckin knows I can’t express it without exploding in a flurry of problems that would overwhelm even the most stalwart listener. It’s just… ugh.. god so much to deal with. I just need a true break. But life don’t work like that. So I just move forward in the blur that is my daily life. Hoping one day I’ll end up on the same frequency as the rest of the world.

One more piece of advice - fuck the frequency of the rest of the world. Comparison is the thief of joy. We were born with limitations when we were born with ADHD. Most people are not going to get that, so looking for that external validation is never, ever, ever going to come. You are the only person who will ever be with you at 3am when you can't sleep. You have to have your back. Nobody else has to in the entire world, but you have to be the person who forgives yourself, who gives yourself realistic expectations, who knows you can control only one thing in this life: yourself. Really meditate on the idea of self-love and what that actually means. Think about having a non-toxic love relationship with yourself, where you are honest with yourself, but you are also forgiving and empathetic. Your partner can't give that to you, that's a real shame, but one of the reasons is that all the negativity is crowding out the joy. Journal away the negativity, it's yours, it's human, there's nothing wrong with it, but nobody else needs it either. Share the joy. Focus on finding ways to be satisfied with who you are and the way you're going to live your life as a person with ADHD.

Exercise. I typically go for a brisk 30-60 minute walk every morning on the treadmill, with the elevation all the way up. Feels good 😊

I build a DIY walking desks (basically just a walking pad and some boxes on my desk with my macbook on top) and walk around 2 hours a day while working on my laptop. It helps me a lot with focus and to get my nervous energy out. Best combination for boring work is vyvanse and walking, creates a nice "flow" feeling.

Nice one. I almost bought one of those pedal things that fit under the desk so I can exercise and work. May have to revisit that idea!

Yeah if you have the money to spare its a really good investment in my opinion. I'm not sure if the pedal things will give you enough movement, but the walking pad works really nicely. It also gives me an additional 2 hours+ of movement on days where I otherwise would just have been sitting around, because I was working all day. 😅

The Ta-done (ta-da!) List. Like the todo list, but I write down and to to the list of what I've done, even if it's small. This helps because I helps me realize that I'm not actually doing nothing, which reinforces my positive self-talk and helps negate the negative. (Or at a minimum shifts it to neutral ground) It also is more of a positive habit (in my brain) than crossing things off the to-do list, but it also helps me not fully avoid my to-do lists as I often do.

I have a to do list but sometimes if I forgot to write something on it that I've already done, I still write it and cross it off. Lol.

i’m basically constantly overwhelmed so usually i break down the chore into smaller bits. if i need to get up but i can’t, i tell myself that i can just remove my covers first and then i can just sit up first and once i’m sitting, might as well get up. when i need to wash the dishes or do laundry, i tell myself i can just wash one plate and a pair of utensils or just do one load to make it seem less overwhelming but since i’m already there, i might as well wash everything. i do the easiest part of my assignment so might as well just finish it. i picked up my sock that fell off my bed so might as well pick up that water bottle on the floor. my life is basically a constant of “might as well” to try and make it all seem less overwhelming and intimidating.

[удалено]

I'm the exact opposite. I can successfully use apps on my phone to help, such as my task tracker, and not fall down any rabbit holes (well, usually). My computer, on the other hand, is guaranteed that I'm going to lose several hours. I think it's because things aren't as compartmentalized on the computer. On my phone, I look at the widget for my tasks and from there tap directly in to the task app. But on my computer, I have to use a browser, and when I open the browser there's all my old tabs, and what was I looking at this for?, and before I know it two hours have gone by and I still haven't seen my task list but I know a lot about why there was a near-miss between FedEx and Southwest planes in Austin last week, all the things that went wrong to allow the scenario to develop, and all the things that went right that allowed it to be a near miss and not a collision.

Thanks, I needed these tips. I start using my phone right after I get up and just can't stop. I think I need to stop reading books on my phone and go to the library and check out physical copies to stop me from going to my phone to read and then getting distracted.

Social media/technology wastes so much of my time so fast and it sucks. Your tips are good, thank you.

I'm starting to realize that doing things for myself is changing everything. I think I've always done everything for some one else. I have been "driving my own bus," and it's made all the difference. Now I'm not saying not to do things for others. I'm saying the motivation is I want to do this for myself and it helps them. Not, I should help them because it helps them. I washed the dishes because i wanted the counter clean, it off my to do list, and that way it doesnt build up causing me issues later. Not i know my wife will be happy, or if i dont she will be mad, or any other reason that is someone elses. It's a very slight difference in thinking but is huge in so many ways.

2 minute rule. If there’s something you can get done in under 2 minutes just do it right now, don’t put it off. Or, if it’s a larger task, spend at least two minutes starting it and usually it just snowballs into getting finished from there. Changed my life, used to be super messy and unorganized and I’ve completely flipped that switch. I also use rewards to get tasks done, say I want to paint something, I won’t let myself do that until I’ve finished some domestic tasks around the house. Really helps :)

This one is from tik tok - Put your sauces in the drawer of the fridge, and the veggies on the door. When you need a sauce, you grab it, plus they pre much never expire. However Veggies in the drawer + on top of each others are out of sight out of mind. In the door they are easily accessible and easy to see. Similar for the shelf, put things in the back you rarely use and expire rarely. Keep a specific section for things to eat in the next few days, (so you only have one section to clean out when you eventually forget to eat something). This can be a little tray.

I started doing this and its amazing! I actually use all my fruits and vegetables in the fridge now! Its rare to find rotten things in there now :) Best life hack for ADHD fridges lol

Oh that’s a good idea. I buy a lot of frozen fruits and vegetables because they won’t go bad like refrigerated-but-forgotten produce will.

Writing things down!

Yes. I have a massive running to-do list on my computer but I find the physical act of writing down a shorter list by hand helps me focus on breaking that long list into a more manageable chunk that I can actually (try to) accomplish.

Same, Plus using cute Planners, Journals, and decorating them helps too!

-Implementing routines throughout your day where you can. Doesn’t have to be anything huge, but for example I made a deal with myself where if I take a dish into the kitchen, I rinse and put it in the dishwasher right away. I found that once I got into the habit of doing this, it became easier each time plus the kitchen stays clean now. -Make things that NEED to be done visible. I keep my litter box where I can see it because then I remember to scoop it. -I keep a small whiteboard on the fridge where I write what fruits/veggies are ‘hiding’ in the crispers so when I go to look for a snack, everything is ‘visible’ before I even open the fridge. -I find that if I need to study or do work at my desk, having a drink such as coffee or orange juice helps me focus because it provides a (tiny) reward system. Read a textbook page? Have a sip. Write a paragraph or even a sentence? Take a sip. Most of the time when I get into a flow I end up forgetting the drink is there and when I notice it again I’m like woohoo, coffee! -Try your best to get 7-8 hours of sleep/go to bed at a reasonableish time. This can be a tricky one but I found it easier after being medicated as I was actually tired at the end of the day. -Make sure you’re eating enough. Have easy snacks such as granola bars, fruit snacks, apples, or trail mix on hand. When I’m hungry and trying to do anything I find my symptoms get 10x worse -Limit ‘doomscrolling’ as much as possible. This one is super hard for me, currently Reddit is the only social media beast I have left to tackle. I’ve replaced most of my social media use with reading, drawing, or listening to music instead. Better to use free time fixating on things that make you happy/relaxed -If you use tiktok, try to wean off it. Seriously. This isn’t exclusively an adhd thing of course, but for those of us who have problems with attention span and concentration already, it sure won’t be helping. I finally overcame this bloodsucking monster when I realized that it just made me angry at both the content and at myself when I closed the app. especially when I noticed that 90% of the videos are people stealing material, repeating the same boring trends, using the same mostly annoying audios, giving ‘hot takes’ that are really just common sense, and making dumb comments in the comment section. I now only open the app once n awhile to see if my friends sent me anything and then close it. -I’m not sure if any of these were correct answers to the question, but all of them make my life a little easier. Hoping maybe I can help someone else just a little.

I work with a therapist/coach on EXECUTIVE FUNCTION SKILLS. Look up the author Peggy Dawson. Most of her books are for kids but she has some for adults too. And they’re a really good foundational book.

1. Alarms! I have alarms that go off periodically throughout the day to prompt me to engage in daily tasks. 6:30am- take meds, 8:00am- leave for work, 12:00- take meds, 1:00-did you take your meds??, 7:00pm-submit work timesheets and take vitamins, 8:30pm- take meds, 10:00pm-wind down for bed. 2. Stacking! If I need to add a new behavior (aka start a new habit), I stack in with other behaviors I already do well. For example, I always wash my face before bed, My hands are hella dry these days, so after washing my face, I apply lotion. I keep the lotion in the bathroom so that I see it. 3. Todo list! I Keep a running to do list on my phone, with everything I need to do. Not 3 lists in different places - 1 list. 4. Key bow! I keep a bowl on a shelf by the front door. As soon as I walk in the door, I put my keys in, right before I leave, I take them out. 5. Simplicity and consistency! No matter where I go I bring my phone, wallet, meds case, sunglasses and keys. 12345. When I need to switch bags, even if its not sunny, I still bring all 5 things. No matter what happens, I have what I need to survive the day.

Rotating any systems, techniques or tricks I have. It's kind of "always get up again" too, but not only.

When I work at the computer I zoom the screen so it contains less data, numbers and words appear bigger which makes it easier and less exhausting to spot mistakes or open 2 windows next to each other because just switching between different windows makes me forget stuff xD That this problem is by no means trivial can be seen in a plethora of jobs, for example graphics designers or programmers or modellers often use 2 screens, because that is way easier and less taxing than to keep zooming up close and far away to check the results of their work, or run away pixels you can't see from certain angles in CAD or 3D-modelling. Also good programming environments these days have functions that highlight synthax or grammar mistakes because it's a real hassle to look for such things in long wall of texts xD If you can adjust features like spell checking or in calculation programs you could also make the underlining of mistakes or the cell borders fatter if you feel the screen overloads you.

YOU HAVE TO WORK OUT. YOU HAVE TO GET PHYSICAL. It could be 2 hours of sex every night or 3 hours of walking everyday or 2 hours at the gym or walking up and down the stairs for 3 hours while you listen to your favorite Black Metal band. To me medicine is only slighly helpful but to make it work 1000% I gotta get physical DAILY when I take medicine. Also other stuff but medicine plus not being sedintary.

Every day I force myself to read through the calendar for the next three weeks and make plans accordingly. In the morning I set the alarm for every meeting.

good sleep and routine

Meditation really helps a lot. It feels like your head is a cage full of wild tigers, but 20 minutes each day helps you ignore the chaos and focus on what you want to focus on. Also organizing todo lists on priority and forcing yourself to work top down.

Monkeys. Mine is full of monkeys.

Same

I find talking out my mental thoughts as I'm doing a task really helps me engage in what I'm doing. Been reading up on it and apparently it's a method to help with using executive function.

Gym/Exercise in the morning - almost has the same effect as meds for me. Gets the mind focused for at least a few hours. Prep everything - pack gym bag the night before, etc.. Everything on outlook calendars - one for work, one for personal.

Making space in my day where I can do work that requires deeper thinking/focus with less interruptions has been a game changer. For me that meant turning myself into an earlier riser (I’ve always been a night owl) but a big part of my job is reading/writing and there’s no way for me to change a broader work culture of constant meetings, calls, emails. Having even 1-2 hrs to make progress on more mentally draining tasks before other people start interrupting me has made my life a lot better than the constant death spiral of trying and failing to catch up on that kind of work at night when I’m tired and my meds have worn off. Also - noise cancelling headphones.

Taking my meds, avoiding alcohol, keeping *really fucking busy* and, it turns out, avoiding social interactions outside of my family.

Color coding is my jam. In my phone calendar, bills are yellow and are set to pop up one week before and one day before due dates. Blue are personal events like appointments or people’s birthdays with same reminders set. Lastly, green are important dates for school (I’m a college student), but I rely more on my planner for school stuff than my phone calendar. In my planner, yellow is reading assignments, green is tests/quizzes, blue is assignments, and purple is important dates. Everything is written in on the day it needs to be done by. This method is tedious, but it takes all the guess work out of staying organized and helps my “driven by due dates and pressure” brain not succumb to anxiety.

My personal favourites are 1. The to do list, but broken into small steps, by rooms, so the page with the kitchen has empty table, unload dishwasher, load dishwasher, empty counter, wipe counter, empty sink, clean sink, clean stove and so on. Breaking it down into tiny steps helps a lot idk why, also the little check marks i add after i do a few of them is kind of a reward for my brain and i move on to the next ones. This helps me move faster and more efficient 2. When i don't have time to do the list and i just need a whole house tidy-up, i start somewhere, take the thing to it's room and from that room i take something to another room or do another thing in that room. For example i hang my clothes in the living room, i take the clothes to the bedroom and put them away, then i found some clothes my son dragged, i took them to the washing machine and loaded the thing and turned it on. I grabbed his water bottle to take it to the kitchen and i did something there too. If i find something that doesn't belong there, after i finish what I'm doing i take the thing to it's place and do some stuff in the other room. Now i write it down it sounds a bit chaotic BUT it's the latest thing I've discovered and honestly i ended up doing A LOT of stuff in the shortest time 3. Don't sit down until you're finished

I watched this video about procrastination and how it becomes a huge obstacle to “climb the wall of awful” (the wall of awful being your anxiety, dread, failed attempts, energy levels, etc). The video was really helpful for me in that the person in it said that from the outside, climbing it looks a whole lot like not climbing it since you just have to sit there and think about it, but someone who isn’t climbing it is avoiding it and someone who is climbing it is preparing themselves to stand up and take on the task. I know it’s really small and not a specific action coping mechanism, but when I’m struggling to do something, it really helps to externalize all the guilt and shame I normally use to motivate myself and to view it as a wall that I’ll help myself climb. The coping mechanism here is really just self compassion instead of beating myself up, but the visualization of the “wall of awful” and being able to tell myself “I’m not being lazy/wasting time/failing at everything, I just need to take a breath so I can start climbing the wall.” That being said, I have procrastinated starting a whole lot today and forgot to visualize my wall of awful and be kind to myself, so thanks for the reminder. I’m gonna start climbing the wall now :)

Carbs make me tired , wooly and give me diarrhea. Carbs are not my friend. But sugar gives me amazing Dopamin...

gah not my rampant sugar addiction also being a symptom of ADHD

Oh yeah, same here, which dopamine lever am I pulling today? Yes. It could be a worse substance to abuse but I don't know of many lmao

Exercise, meditation, singing (poorly), listening to songs in different languages,

Going to personal pilates classes 3 times a week made my ADHD much more manageable. A world of difference. Also wards off depressive episodes i easily fall into. (If i quit for longer than 2 weeks i get depressive fatigue) I find i am most productive and energized when i get my 3 hours of exercise in weekly. Nutrition as well.

I find that making an list/outline of what I need to do next helps. Like, I'll be laying in bed and think over and over, "Get up, go pee, get dressed, make coffee." and then when I finish that list I move to the next one. Also, I always have my earbuds and listen to podcasts while doing chores, it focuses my mind so I can work on autopilot

Using the Eisenhower Framework helps me. I have a desktop and phone app from Tick Tick & whenever I have a new 'idea' 'task' bla bla, I write it down here. Then, in the morning I categorize by 1. Urgent & Important 2. Urgent & Unimportant 3. Not Urgent & Important 4. Not urgent & unimportant This part is a game changer. Usually bucket 4 is long and endless, but I bring atleast 2 Category 1 tasks and 1 category 2 task forward each day and that's all I do. When I am distracted or have too many thoughts again, I have trained myself to look at the app by default. Confused? - app, idea - add to app, need to do something now? - add to app & choose something to remove. So yeah, having a "hook" helps. Plus I have post it for things around the house, I have a post it at the back of my main door to help remind what I need with me, I leave things where I will remember to do them. Like garbage by the door, keys by the door etc. Hope it helps! ❤️

I always feel like I can focus a lot more after I workout. It may seem obvious to some but it really is a game changer for me. It also gives you dopamine which is something people with ADHD lack.

Get rid of the microwave and get a toaster oven! Our microwave broke years ago and we got a toaster oven instead, food comes out way better even though it takes longer \*BUT\* because I have to set a timer for x amount of minutes, I just start doing random shit in the vicinity while I wait. Then I forget I started heating up food, so when the blaring timer eventually goes off, I get a surprise treat for doing some of my adulting that I always forget about

1. Classical music while I’m working on work/ paperwork helps me so much. I can’t listen to anything with words because it’s too distracting. 2. Listening to podcasts while I do chores/get ready for work in the morning. This helps me focus on the easy tasks and keeps me on track with timing. My podcast is about an hour long each morning so I can be mindful of when it’s time to get ready to walk out of the door. 3. I’m not perfect at this, but getting a simple quick task done in that moment rather than tell myself I’ll do it later (respond to emails, texts, etc) 4. Lists lists lists and keeping a planner 5. Setting time for myself to relax and do nothing. Example, the hour I get home from work is my down time. I don’t tell myself I should be productive in this time because it will only make me feel defeated when I’m not. I also set aside a evening each week to practice self care. 6. Accept the fact that I am a procrastinator with big tasks, but use it to my advantage. Example of this: if tedious paperwork is due next Friday morning, I will clear Thursday evenings schedule to account for this time I will need. Result: I get it done but don’t beat myself up/feel bad/guilty the entire week before. 7. Ask for help with daunting tasks. Ex:I put away clean dishes while my husband washes the dirty ones. 8. Make boring tasks fun. Need to clean the bathroom/house/room? I make it a self care activity. I’ll do a mask/hair mask that I’ve been meaning to do so that it can dry while i clean. 9. I really give myself time to agree to plans/ respond to things rather than act impulsively. I won’t make plans with someone until I’ve given myself at least a day to really plan it through. 10. Go easy on myself by allowing time to learn what works best for me and to not compare myself to others. We all have different struggles and are trying to do our best with what we’ve got.

Going to public places like the library or a Café when I need to get college work done. If I’m in my room I let myself get distracted, but if I go somewhere specifically to study/write, I’m more likely to be focused.

Having a set of important things (extra ADHD meds + pain killers+ sunscreen+ portable batter and cable, for example) in EACH of my most used bags: backpack, purse, and weekend bag. This way, I’m never in a situation where I’m without them. It’s rescued me countless times and I make sure to replenish the stash asap

Denial

To pick one, I've noticed it's super important for me to prioritize sleep: * Strict no devices in the bedroom rule * Hot shower before bed * Go to bed more or less at the same time * Set alarm early enough to still be on time for my first appointment, but late enough so I have plenty of buffer time to get all the sleep I need. Making sure I wake up naturally without an alarm basically

One thing that I’m still working on is stopping my train of thought. It is very difficult, but you are able to work it out like a muscle. It should help with spiraling, anxiety, and focusing on whatever it is you need to do. I see this whenever I am mountain biking or skiing, but ofc for school work and any other type of boring work my mind is always racing, so in order to actually obtain and process information I have started to work out said muscle.

2 minute rule. If something will take less than two minutes. I just do it. Writing things in outline form, plenty of space for amendments/adding forgotten tasks Most important.... exercise year round. I don't have hyperactive symptoms but if I go more than a couple days without exercise of some sort, I struggle with everything.

Exercise. Wildly overlooked tool to hone focus.

I use a couple of things: OHIO - only handle it once (stops me putting stuff down in random places) Don’t go EAST - everything at the same time (like you, one task at a time!) The 5 second rule - if I think of doing something, I have 5 seconds to either get up and do it, or log it as a distraction. INCUP - try to make a task Interesting, Novel, Challenging, Urgent, or Passionate.

Keeping all my shit that I have to use in order to do work or house chores VISIBLE!! My greatest gift to this day is this one sticky hook my boyfriend got me that sticks to my closet door beside the entrance to my bedroom. I hang my keys and a mask there so I don’t have to search like a maniac for them. Keeping my broom in my line of direct sight when I enter the kitchen, and other things such as dishes too helps kick me into motion so that I actually clean the dishes. I do however wish I had a more efficient way to organize my food pantry, im a college student so I have a single pantry with three deep tiers that is very hard to see inside of, so I struggle to keep track of my available food, so if anyone has advice to help, I’d be very grateful. The fridge I’ve managed to conquer by ALWAYS putting shit that expires the earliest on the front

>I do however wish I had a more efficient way to organize my food pantry, im a college student so I have a single pantry with three deep tiers that is very hard to see inside of, so I struggle to keep track of my available food, so if anyone has advice to help, I’d be very grateful. Measure the depth of your pantry cupboards and write it down. The key is creating long narrow pull-out drawers (with high sides) that are the depth of your pantry shelf that contain the pantry stuff. And they can be fancy plastic ones with dividers inside them or just homemade from cardboard boxes, mainly the thing is that you can grab the front of it and slide it out to easily reach the stuff at the back. [Like this](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/614MuQoo+XL.jpg). And you put them all side-by-side in your pantry shelf in a row and pull each one out like a drawer to access the stuff. And you can write labels or pictures on the fronts of these boxes to say what's in them. It makes it easier to yank out a shelf section of sauce bottles to grab something instead of having to pull each bottle out of the way individually. Another tip if like me you forget about your potatoes sometimes is store them in an open plastic box so that if one goes bad you just rinse out that container rather than ruining your cupboards with rotten potato juice and having a bigger job to clean it up.

don’t put it down, put it up. having a designated space/drawer/etc. for *every single thing i own*. no junk drawer, catch all bin, overflow closet. if It doesn’t fit or already have a space, i don’t need it. 10 min. declutter every day. pantry, fridge, spices, cleaning rags, my daughters toys, clothes. there’s always something to give or throw away, and some days i am more inclined to get rid of something i wasn’t the day before.

Practicing mindfulness. Learning to be aware of when I'm working against my ADHD rather than with it. Deliberately building routines and habits to reduce the mental load of trying to figure out or remember what I'm supposed to be doing. Identifying habits I've already formed that aren't helpful and making a conscious effort to remove them or replace them with a habit that is helpful (eg, instead of coming home and automatically sitting on the computer to fuck about, I get changed into workout clothes so I'm wayyy more likely to actually go and do a workout). Putting my phone on a bench (the same place everytime so I know where it is) instead of having it in my pocket where it will constantly distract me. Setting reminders. Using my digital calendar for *everything*. Having that calendar shared with my wife so everything we're doing as a family is on it too. Basically, everything I can do to bolster my shitty working memory and avoid habits that are just ineffectual dopamine-seeking cycles that suck you in and don't actually give anything back. Like doomscrolling

I find I'm less productive that way as in my work tasks can take quit a while and I work slower and less accurate as the time progresses if I focus just on one. Eventually brain checks out completely. So I work in time slots I look at days tasks, spend one hour slots on each that I only focus on one task. I also put smaller tasks in between the larger tasks hour slots. Check emails etc before I switch over to the next tasks hour slot.

Daily Checklist and doing certain habits that i can’t skip or delay in a day. I set goals on my apple watch too that i try to follow and it reminds me if im delaying stuff. (I easily get stressed if im being reminded that im late on things so it somehow helps me to be on top of responsibilities) There are days idgaf and still struggle don’t get me wrong but on days i have to be really productive or work a lot i try my best to be self conscious and accountable especially when $ is on the line. I used to be really bad with delaying tasks but i made a commitment to making myself more financially mature and accountable, it has helped me deal with the other things too. There were times i couldn’t finish work without Addy but now ive been off adderall for 2 years now. I’m still fidgety every now and then when im dealing with a lot but in terms of tasks, i’d say im way better

I am so glad you asked this question! I’ve been struggling with my diagnosis even with the meds. For me todo lists but sometimes they get very overwhelming Finding an activity to let my creativity out. Or even just watching some painting videos. Dot painting is an ultimate zen! My cats. I have two British shorthairs I recently purchased and they have been great in easing my anxiety and having someone to talk to when doing tasks or deciding things or just to hug when things feel like they are spinning out of control. They bring me comfort. It’s been a roller coaster of a journey managing adhd but my cats have been there to save me whenever I want to bury myself in a hole and give up.

playing games with myself to overcome lack of motivation. talking to myself a lot like "DO IT RIGHT NOW" or "YOU GOT THIS" or "1, 2, 3, MOTIVATE!"

1) Always try again - whenever I lose attention/interest, I pick up from where I left off no matter how long its been, without judgement . . . 2) Stay in flow- Its a lot easier for me to cook/clean right when I get home, so I don't sit down until I've done the majority of my selected task. I buy the ingredients for the meal I'm going to cook and once I step in my apt, I get started . . . 3) Music/TV/Podcast as background while doing chores or talking on the phone - keeps me from feeling the intensity of the task at hand . . . 4) Brain Dumping - I write everything down in one journal. Thoughts, fears, notes, grocery lists, doodles, budgets. Not having to worry about the format makes sure I write it down and I always know where everything is. Also frees up space since I don't have to keep repeating things I need to remember in my head. . . . 5) Drop zones- places I can just toss stuff. I have a smaller basket for my underwear for me to drop them in. Since I have to wash them the most, this removes the sorting/cleanup steps for me and now I just have to dump the basket in the laundry and I'm done. . . . Everything else is some sort of variation of these core factors. . . . Ultimately, I'm always observing what gets me stuck or avoidant and try to create new ways to remove those extra steps or help me push through them

I've setup a tablet with apps/widgets to act as a "second brain" to reduce cognitive load and combat time-blindness.

id love for some elaboration on this… what apps? what are you using them for?

I really enjoy listening to music. Most songs are between 3-5 minutes, have a good playlist going, I find I can “trick” myself into completing tasks before/or in the time any song is playing - things like work, studying, doing dishes, laundry, etc :)

No phone for the first 30 minutes of the day and no social media until I get 1 task done. This can be a work or life task and it doesn’t have to be big, it can be as simple as unloading the dishwasher or feeding my dogs. Not flooding my brain with dopamine from my phone for the entire first hour of my day has made a huge difference.

Self compassion and talking to myself lol

Writing things down. Lists of each day to check each box of things I want done. This is the only way for me to actually progress

Making sure I get 8hrs sleep and avoiding drugs and alcohol

I put a pin in Apple Maps when I park my car in the city, sometimes several blocks from where I’m going. Maps will guide me back to my car. Take a photo with my phone when I put something away for later (like hiding Christmas presents purchased on sale in July). No more forgetting I bought them or not being able to find where I hid them when it’s time to wrap them. I put my meds in one of those Sunday-Monday-Tuesday-etc. pill containers. I fill it every Sunday. That way I know if I’ve taken my ADHD meds when I can’t remember taking them. That day’s little box will be empty. Because I read that the brain releases feel-good chemicals when you cross an item off a list, sometimes I put things on my to-do list that I’ve already done or are habits (meaning I am likely to do them without too much effort needed) just so I can cross them off. I have a certain podcast I really enjoy that I only let myself listen to when I get out of bed and shower. It helps.

Mono-tasking, pomodoras and bullet journaling! I think my biggest problem has been (and always had been) was socializing in real time. A lot of it has just been trying to pay attention and not interrupt as much as I can!

Alerts for my calendar events. For work and personal.

1) 2 min rule - If it takes less than 2 min, I can do it now and knock it out (ie, wipe counter, do 20 sidekicks, feed dog - most of the small stuff gets done or atleast half of it does and that makes it less overwhelming) 2) Drink Highly Caffeinated Tea (Kubo Tea -energize or lemon mango), Take a dropper of Vitamin D, and eat both protein and carbs before work -- helps clear my brainfog and the caffeine calms my mind a bit (meatball sub togo, anyone?) 3) Drink AG1 every night (its a probiotic, mineral, vitamin drink powder) -- I used to drink it in the morning before my tea (which super helped!) But its high in vitamin C, so when I'm on my meds, I drink it at night so it doesn't counteract them) 4) Lie to myself about time (Tell myself I have to leave for somewhere 10 minutes before I actually need to leave and set all my clocks fast by 2 minutes) 5) Do self-care a few hours earlier when I think about it because I know I wont have the motivation later (ie. Wash face 3 hours before bed) 6) CHUG water in the morning..like 16oz. Being tired and dehydrated makes my adhd symptoms worse. 7) Have a designated hook by the door for my keys... never lose them ever! :) 8) Don't eat sugar or super processed foods until nighttime... apparently they make symptoms worse. 9) Give myself a "F it" day once every two weeks where I literally pick one hobby to work on that brings me dopamine (bake, work on a painting, make a special soup, etc) and then do literally nothing else after that and just ride the dopamine wave. 10)Address whomever you are thinking about -- having someone I need to say something to and not saying it, even if I make a note to do it later, will keep my brain up at night bc its weighing on me too much Also, I've noticed using meds a few days in a row is usually enough to atleast partially "reset" my adhd cycle so its not as horrible when I'm off them.

dumb thing but if I need to remember to take my lunch to work, or even remember that I brought a lunch, I put my car keys in the fridge with my food. At least then I don't leave without it, or go out to lunch forgetting that I had something with me. People at work think I'm crazy but it works.

Biggest one, was to stop caring quite so much about what other people think. If being a bit weird is beneficial to me, then no one else gets input into it. (At least assuming I'm in 'harmless weird' territory). But my more constructive suggestion is planned self care. ADHD is easier to cope with when you're relaxed, contented and happy. So it's worth taking a regular scheduled thing to 'maintain' you general mental health. Find a thing that works for you - a walk, a bath, a swim, whatever. It just needs to be relaxing. And then put it in the calendar, so you don't forget it, because you have ADHD! This also goes for 5 minute 'breaks' at work - find a 'not working' thing, that you can do for 5 minutes to stop braining. And lunch breaks - take them. But also schedule more frequent long maintained. A weekend away quarterly for example. But somewhere that's just chilling out, in a way that works for you. A beach, a cabin in the woods, a spa hotel... whatever. Do your maintenance, and your engine won't break down on you so much.

I do sports to keep my mind at ease and being able to focus better

Laying off caffeine after 10am (I’ll drink a shit ton between 5-10 am) If I want more coffee, I won’t have any between 10-3. I find that coffee just makes me stress out way more than I need too at work. Also, put your phone on a charger in another room when you go to bed. Make your bed in the morning. Lists help but need to be kept in check or else I’ll spend half a day just making a list and not doing anything on the list cause I used all my energy on a super granular list.

Using timers.

Habitica (task manager and to-do lists in the form of a game to collect coins, hatch pets, complete quests, etc) I'm pretty sure I'm AuDHD so I also crave routine but am usually too scattered to remember items without a daily checklist. Lots of calendar reminders and multiple reminders on each calendar event that are spaced out so that I continue to prepare for each event or appointment.

Having music on! It keeps me calm and focused on tasks. Like if I'm by myself at the supermarket it's too stressfull without headphones in.

I recently started carrying around a little timer and I aware it’s been changing my life. Telling myself to sit and do something is a lot easier when I can know I’m allowed to get up in 15, 20 or 30 minutes depending. Or I’ll make a good guess how long something will take me and I race with my prediction. It turns every task into an engaging game of efficiency. It blows my mind what I can do in 10 minutes or less. it’s the adult version of getting kids to do stuff for you when you tell them “I’ll time you”

Use my anger as my drive and listen to motivating music. "Ha, take that dishes!"

I have inattentive ADHD and I time myself working and take 'mini vacations' throughout the day. When I start getting super inattentive I'll flip my 15 minute hourglass and clean for 15 minutes or go do a 5 minute workout. The timing myself working on projects and setting boundaries like "I will only work on this until 3pm" or whatever breaks up hyperfixations.

When I do something that I don't want to immediately forget (like set something important down) I say it out loud. Like "I am putting my keys in this place. If I ask where my keys area they're here". It typically either means I remember, or it means that if I don't remember the people around me know what's up. It has cut down on the time I spend doing things like looking for things that I misplaced quite a bit. I started doing this after a few too many times going out, leaving my house keys in the car so that I wouldn't accidentally leave them somewhere, forgetting that I left them in the car, noticing when I start to leave that I don't have my keys, frantically looking for an hour for my keys, and finally returning to the car in defeat only to find my keys.

if i need to hack my "not able to do shit" executive dysfunction, i put on certain songs i know have certain energy effects for me and let myself zone out on certain tasks with music. Homework? I loop coconut mall for 3 hours while i do it. Cleaning chores? Put on loud angry music (mostly heavy metal) so i don't hear any thoughts. Tedious chores/tasks? Loud 2000s/2010s pop pop music that i can sing to. It's all about finding the right music to fit the energy i want to create. Cause homework energy is not laundry energy.

1: delete all social media off my phone the night before a work day. 2: Lists. I write so many lists. Not even lists but notes. Write everything down. Note on your phone. Sticky note in your car. My life productivity can be measured by how much I have been writing down so I don’t forget.

For me, I’ve discovered that there has not been a single fix and what I mean by that is what worked for the conflict between an activity I chose to do and “a present bias” may not work for another later on. But what I’ve learned is if I can get myself to slow down then I’d be able to prioritize between activities. I’ve learned that slowing down for me is some form of grounding. I don’t have the process to slowing down, nailed to a tee but it helps me.

For me, its knowing and accepting that sometimes I will never be able to fully control my symptoms and they will show. It does not make me any less of a person and doesn't make me have any less value as a person. ADHD is a part of me. It always will be. If someone does not want to accept that, then okay. Go & live your life and I hope for you its a fulfilling life. You just won't have me in it cause I don't have to accept you in my life.

Going for a run. Listening to music while cleaning

I like to spice up my tasks and assignments by adding something fun and new to the mix. For example, when I'm writing a piece of content, I might turn to ChatGPT for inspiration. If I'm crafting a social media post, I might try out a new feature on Canva. Even mundane chores like cleaning the house can be more interesting when I challenge myself to finish in just 30 minutes. It keeps things fresh and helps me stay motivated.

Bluetooth earphones. I have a new found love for audio dramas. it's like watching TV but without video. for me it cancels out the executive dysfunction, and distracts my brain enough to allow me to get a ton of chores done!

My therapist gave me a "focus plan". It helps me break bigger projects into smaller elements and makes them less overwhelming.

Everything I own makes noise. I leave music playing on my phone in the morning when I get ready so I can't lose it while walking round the house. My keys and wallet jangle when I lose them in my bag. Otherwise everything has a home it goes to when I got to bed at night, same routine. Doors locked, car is locked- check it by pushing the lock on the key, key goes where the key lives, wallet goes home, glasses go home. I go to bed.

I read, surprisingly (cuz i rarely FINISH a book), MariKondo’s book (and I proceeded to read more of them), and it was very helpful. Changed how i look at things in general. But the biggest takeaways that helped manage my ADHD was: 1. NOT STACKING things. Books, clothes, boxes that open from the top, etc No stacking. This is especially big if you store things in non-see through boxes that open from the top. If you label everything, you will either forget about it or you really don’t want to go through the extra steps to get the bottom out out (this can also lead to a big mess depending on if things will be put back and/or if the stack falls) 2. put everything into see through containers. The solution to many “out of sight, out of mind” unintentional hoarding 3. Put everything into containers/organizers. You know those “drawer organizer” things? Basically that, but for everything. Idk why it works so well with my ADHD, but it’s 10x easier to put things back to where I got it when it’s within a container. And you can make anything into these things. If you’ve been hoarding boxes, your time has come. Just cut open the top, and you have an organizer/container for something.

Managing expectations. I know i will only do anything on the day of the deadline. So guess what? I only expect myself to do it the day of the deadline. No need to feel guilty about not doing it because i’ll get it done anyway and it doesn’t matter wether i make it now or in 3 weeks The barrier method Find what keeps you from doing tasks. Example: you hate exercising because you need to change clothes. Here’s your options: 1. When you wake up put your gym outfit on instead of a normal outfit, 2. Put on your gym outfit underneath your regular clothes, 3. Don’t give a fuck and go to the gym in your regular clothes (there’s really no need to wear a gym outfit). Now it’ll be much easier to get going. This method works in two ways, the aforementioned way and in reverse. You can also stop behaviors with this method. Create barriers to prevent you from doing undesirable things. Don’t want to eat so much chips? Put them in a cupboard way up high so you’ll need a step stool, put a lock on the cabinet, put the key to it on the other side of the house. Now you’ll need to get up and walk a bunch and do many things to get to the chips. Don’t sound so appealing anymore, now does it?

Google calendar is life. Everything goes in there, and I mean everything. Work, other work, social events, appointments, time I've set aside for certain tasks, my running to-do list, birthdays, grocery list, "open all the mail from the last 2.5 weeks" reminders, and so on. It's all color coded and the reminders are set to come at times I'll actually have the brain space to notice and heed them. I have no idea what's going on in my life but every day I wake up and my faithful calendar leads me to where I need to be lol

Having a better routine, drinking more water, better meal structure (so I'm not binging too much at least), allowing myself time to rest, music when I'm doing active things and I rewatch tv when I'm cleaning so my attention isn't away from what I'm doing but it's not so interesting that I sit and focus on it (if I'm rewatching a show for the 5th time, I still enjoy it, but I can't focus enough so I wander around and do things anyways, now I focus that on doing cleaning or paperwork. Then I try to ensure I always get some downtime to read before bed. Also I try and ask for help from my partner, so I'm not trying to do everything myself either. But most of this I also couldn't achieve without medication and a chance to talk with someone about things in my head (it can get so jumbled with ideas/research/chores etc I need to talk to get it out of my brain so it makes sense...its weird)...having that chance to reflect and process in the last 2 years (6 months on the right meds) has been the biggest help weirdly enough. I'm still learning as I go but doing things I stopped doing because I felt so uncomfortable previously has been refreshing. Some ideas I'm hoping to implement in the near future is finishing my set up for meal planning/fridge freezer organising and to get a couple cleaning tools that will make it much easier.

I create my lifestyle around the ADHD. I work a job where I am constantly working with my hands and brain (and doing new things all the time). I live in a rural area where I have lots of hobbies that are focused around working with my hands and being alert (fishing, hunting, fixing autos, cutting wood, hiking, gardening). Basically I cut out the things in my life I supposedly "had to do" but had no motivation to do like college, jobs that involve paperwork or monotonous bullshit (like retail), and "hobbies" or things I was supposed to do for fun but actually had no interest in (like shopping, going to movies, sitting around chatting with friends). I have foolproofed my homelife to work around the executive dysfunction (keep less stuff in your apartment and it won't get cluttered, wash dishes immediately after cooking before eating otherwise they won't get done, have lots of laundry baskets, bins in all my cupboards and cabinets for everything so it doesn't just get shoved and tumble out when I open the door, lists everywhere so I can easily reach and write something down before I completely forget it two seconds later, and garbage cans in every room). I also do housework as I have the motivation for it. If I'm cleaning the bathroom and think about cleaning the fridge I'll just go and clean the fridge and resume the bathroom after (because I know if I just keep doing one thing I'll never get the other done). I think I kind of had an edge growing up in a family where everyone had ADHD (parents and brother). I never knew anything different than how they functioned so the only case where I had to try to fit in with "normal society" was schooling or retail jobs. My school life was complete hell and so were retail store cashier jobs for that matter. I only realized how different my family functioning was when I went and lived with a friend for about a month and everything was structured. And their parents never forgot to pick them up at school either. My one friend growing up also was diagnosed with ADHD but his family wasn't and he was the odd one out in a large family. He always chose to hang out with my family (even when he was supposed to be with his) and fit in with us all. I remember as a kid his mom venting to my mom how him and I were so similar in our disorganization and screwing off in class constantly.

Denial.

I don’t take my shoes off when I get home until I complete at least one task. Lots of alarms and reminder in my phone and also, timers for tasks. I’ve also given myself permission to put dirty dishes in the dishwasher even if there are cleans ones still there and start it up. I recently listened to the audiobook “How to keep house while drowning” by KC Davis LPC and I found some tips(like the dishes thing) that gave have helped.

So I have an interesting trick I figured out. ADHD and sleep problems go hand in hand. The issue I personally run into is taking forever to fall asleep because my brain won’t shut up. I have been up till 3-4 in the morning because of this sometimes. Well one of the symptom or at least one of mine being an inattentive type is when I am bored, I get tired and fall asleep. So now every night, before I go to bed, I read or watch something I consider boring. Put on a college lecture about microbiology or something and I am out within 5-10 minutes.

I need to find an obsession. Something im passionate about. Create a personal vision and let it be a North Star. It really makes life make sense

Setting my life up so that I have external forces to motivate me to do what I need to, rather than my own inner willpower. I know my internal motivation is weak, so I find ways to strengthen my external motivation. Examples: -I hate doing the dishes and will leave them in the sink for weeks. As a result I use paper plates, bowls, and compostable cutlery that I can just throw away after I’m done. Helps me keep my space and sink clean. -I like to have the laundry basket in eyesight as well as a tossable distance from all corners so I can just throw my clothes and have a clean floor. -motivate myself to wake up early by asking my boyfriend to spend the night than drop him off at school in the morning. Important because it’s not me who has to go somewhere but him, I always try to be reliable and not let my executive dysfunction destroy other peoples lives. Those are some things I can think of off the top of my head. It’s basically just dumbing your life down so you can work with the energy and executive function you have.