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My kids do “the board”, write a checklist for the morning on a whiteboard.
I use the heck out of the phone calendar, and set alarms in both home system and work computer to make me stop and focus.
A “we have food for” list on the refrigerator.
To some extent, just aligning my schedule to fit my better hours, which are in the afternoon. I don’t go to work so early, because I’m kind of useless before lunch anyway.
Noise canceling headphones and white/background noise or music. Rather than true “white noise” I prefer deeper stuff like cosmic or other low wavelength noise.
I use this a lot. Usually rain spunds, but when I’m feeling spry I also like video game sound tracks and atmospheric black metal.
Where do you find “cosmic noise”?
Youtube. I used to have a front end that would allow the phone to lock while playing but that broke so I just raw dog it now.
For anyone who doesn’t know, Mynoise has tons of free soundscapes of all kinds, they’re all customizable with sliders with different sound tracks, and the different sound tracks never terminate at the same time, so there’s never a jarring loop. And there’s even more if you donate any amount, even just one time.
Audiobooks have been an amazing hack for me to stay focused on every day household tasks. Listening to an interesting book engages my upper level thoughts (monkey mind) and makes things like folding laundry or dishes much more engaging. I still have a tendency to just fuck off when it’s half done but I can keep in motion and stay in the groove and circle around again after doing other necessities.
Simply the act of writing something down, with an actual pen on actual paper, really does help with memory. I know it’s a really common thing to suggest, especially in school and classes but I completely skipped it then and only started doing this in the past decade so it’s new to me. I’ve noticed such a dramatic difference in my recall of things that I wrote down vs things that were said to me, even if I never look at the notepad again.
Also, I absolutely hate this, but having less free time. I have less free time now than I ever have before and I’ve been astonished at how much I’ve been getting done. Every day I have pressure to do as much as I possibly can within a small window of time and it’s been great for my ADHD, but I resent it and grumble about it and wish it didn’t work so well.
If you feel like you’re struggling to accomplish a task, take a moment to think about your stimulation level. Are you understimulated or overstimulated? Sometimes just acknowledging it is enough, everyone has their own techniques.
For example, if I’m trying to work and I’m understimulated, I might throw on some metal music or something like that. If I’m overstimulated, probably means I should sit in a dark room for 5 or 10 minutes until I feel better before trying to do anything.
Amphetamines
I’m in France and we still don’t have amphetamines. We have methylphenidate.
I wish we had better :(
For me, it’s also putting something into my calendar (specific time) or to-do list (no specific deadline – this is mostly for shopping and a second one for ideas). After that, if I think of something I try to do it right then if I can complete it or make measurable progress against it to avoid procrastination. Finally, physically putting things in places I can’t ignore so I don’t forget them (or a post-it in place, but that’s more risky).
I will set things I need to bring with me right in front of the door so I cannot leave without picking them up
Yep. It only becomes a post-it if it’s dangerous or needs to stay in the freezer until leaving or something
So true. There’s a post-it on my car key right now because I need to remember something in the fridge when I leave for work
I mainly struggle with the executive dysfunction part. I found that preparing anything at all helps, even just opening the document I need to write on another screen will mean that whenever my attention next detaches from whatever else I’m doing, I will automatically latch onto what I’m supposed to do as the next thing.
This is the only way I managed to make progress on my bachelor’s thesis.
Ok but this is so smart! I’m gonna try this.
So empty….
If you really like doing something such as watching a new episode of your series on YouTube, but hate something else like exercising, combine the two. Only watch that series, while exercising. Then you’ll start looking forward to the exercise because you get to watch your series.
That’s actually genius. Imma try that.
This strategy is known as “temptation bundling.” It’s a thing. Amusingly, I learned about this because I was doing it (mowing the lawn + my favorite podcast.)
https://characterlab.org/tips-of-the-week/temptation-bundling/
Reading, thank you. Always down for a podcast rec too!
I learned about it on No Stupid Questions, a podcast by Stephen Dubner, the guy behind Freakonomics, and Angela Duckworth, who wrote “Grit.” I linked to Character Lab, which is/was a nonprofit by Duckworth and others at UPenn.
Katy Milkman, who coined the term temptation bundling, is a behavioral economist at Penn and often collaborates with Angela Duckworth. I also recommend Milkman’s recent book: “How to Change.”
Thank you!
This is how I do laundry. My washer and dryer both conveniently take ~55 minutes to run a cycle, which also happens to be almost the exact runtime of most hour-long shows. Or like three episodes of a 24 minute show. So I combine the two; I watch TV while doing laundry.
Episode gets done? Check the dryer to see if it’s done. That way the clothes don’t just sit there for hours and wrinkle. Get all the loads done and out of the dryer, and laid flat on my couch and ottoman. Then I’ll take an episode or two to just throw hangers on everything. Get it all nicely sorted how it’s going to go in the closet. Then focus on socks and underwear, which have accumulated in a pile. Once everything is completely done and sorted, putting it away takes no time at all. And it doesn’t feel as much like a chore, because I’m just watching TV while doing it. And the important part is that I use the episodes as a timer, not as a distraction.
This is how I do laundry. My washer and dryer both conveniently take ~55 minutes to run a cycle, which also happens to be almost the exact runtime of most hour-long shows. Or like three episodes of a 24 minute show. So I combine the two; I watch TV while doing laundry.
Episode gets done? Check the dryer to see if it’s done. That way the clothes don’t just sit there for hours and wrinkle. Get all the loads done and out of the dryer, and laid flat on my couch and ottoman. Then I’ll take an episode or two to just throw hangers on everything. Get it all nicely sorted how it’s going to go in the closet. Then focus on socks and underwear, which have accumulated in a pile. Once everything is completely done and sorted, putting it away takes no time at all. And it doesn’t feel as much like a chore, because I’m just watching TV while doing it.
Once i was in an executive position i hired people who are not afraid to oppose me, and who have abilities (like planning of sorts)that i lack.
This is how hiring should work. You hire people to do the things that you can’t. The managers who only hire people worse than themselves so they can one-up their own employees are super toxic.
The project manager for an engineering team doesn’t need to be the best engineer on the team. In fact, they shouldn’t be the best engineer, because then your best engineer is wasting their time with project management work. Some engineering experience will be helpful in communicating with the team, but the most important part is not that they’re a good engineer; They need to be a good project manager first.
Look at your life. Sit there and think about the things that bother you. Now, think about just how many of those things that you actually have the power to change. Do those things, and don’t worry about the others. Life goes on.
It’s much easier said than done, I know, but I’ve found just not worrying about big things helps me focus on what matters to my life. Lexapro helps.
If you’re trying to do thing A but your brain can’t stop thinking about thing B, take out a notebook and write down all your current thoughts on thing B. Trust yourself that when you get back to it, you will be right where you left off. Then do thing A.
For example, trying to work on a paper but you can’t stop thinking about the season finale of your favorite show you just watched.
Doesn’t always work but helps a lot.
Hahaha thing A who?
Then do thing A.
Hahaha, thanks that’s so easy!
Haha, you’re right. I guess I should have written “then try to do thing A”.
nope… not until I’m almost but not quite done with thing B. THEN I’ll leave B unfinished and go back to thing… wait, what about thing C?!
I live and die by my pocket notebook and phone calendar.
Being accountable to someone. Also my least favorite ADHD lifehack.
most effective answer, and therefore the one i most avoid
I feel personally attacked.
For me, those are deadlines. Nothing better.
Double speed audio.
I have real difficulty with listening to people speaking slowly. By the time they finish the sentence I have lost the start, so unless I actively hold their sentence until it is done I often lose meaning or misunderstand.
Listening at double speed allows me to keep up without losing what was said. I listen to audiobooks and podcasts while doing most chores and it has been a game changer.
Loud, energizing music will calm you by feeding a steady stream of dopamine.
Sadly this is also why I can fall asleep at a party after a coffee.
