9 ADHD lifehacks I LOVE the most after 3 years of working on the ADHD

Don’t put it down; put it away

to me i always make sure to keep notifications on if im just at my house but if im mid hyper fixation i would turn my notifications off

I once heard a saying and it’s kinda stuck with me since “Don’t put it down, put it away”

I have two calendars, a wall one and the phone one. I use the phone one to write down things fastly and that will provide me with a notification on the x day, but the wall calendar helps my memory by fixing the thing on paper, writing it. if I forget, there's a notification of the phone calendar. I still try to look at the wall calendar to keep an eye on the weeks, and usually I dont forget anything. but birthdays, ugh.

Coffe with my medication

I cant buy the pro numo app..... That's make me sad.

Always leave a room tidier than you found it. No matter how messy or tidy the room is, do one thing. Relocate something. Take something with you that doesn’t belong. Straighten the bed cover. Every action helps and these micro actions make a difference.

Stay clutter free

Met toi un petit pot à clé à l’entrée de ta maison !

When you keep losing track of your stuff, because you just leave things on random places or if it keeps annoying your significant other, start using a box or crate. When for example you come home, leave a book on table, your significant other can pick it up and lay it in the box or crate. Table keeps looking nice and you know where your missing stuff is. Same goes for you. Instead of leaving it on the table, walk to the box or crate and place your stuff there. For me and significant other this works like a charm and our house always looks clean.

Lorsqu'on découpe les tâches en morceaux, je trouve préférable que ces morceaux soient de difficulté croissante à réaliser. C'est encourageant d'avoir réussi le premier pas !

Prep anything you can the night before to be on time to leaving early rather late!

So...do I have to scroll through the comments to see the 9 hacks?

Good!

Remember that the more "weird" and quirky you are the more "normal" people will be repelled by you so if you embrace yourself to the fullest and stop masking and pretending you can truly see who you should keep in your life

Start where you are and don’t compare yourself to others

C’est ok d’être dépassée par les événements ✨

If you want to do ✨️things✨️ (what's the thing is irrelevant) do a countdown! And no matter what, get up! Even if it doesn't work (because it can happen... you know? brain 🙃) do it! Just count down and stand up!

If you’re struggling with cutting off a person take your time slowly do it .

I have to start the day with meditation - usually the exact same guided metiation from the  store - Insight Timer (also Envision was good for detailed visualization meditations on seeing yourself accomplishing goals) at night I try to write down the 3 things to do the next day - and I listen to subliminals b4 bed usually with one earbud in lol 😂

Life is about choices, regardless of the result it was a choice the trick is the action of it

I have 3 different apps with to-do lists, each for a different kind of tasks : - I have Trello for my work-related and everyday-Life tasks ; every night I make my list for the next day by chronological order ; first task can be « take lunch in the fridge » or « take apple when leaving », etc. Some are labelled with a time : « 7.30 - leaving » « 8.00 - first course » « 5pm - go buy tomorrow’s picnic » - I have a padlet where my first column is all the things I have to buy (sorted by « grocery » « pharmacy » « urgent ‼️ » etc. I look it up when I’m programming my tasks for the day after - that way, I’m thinking « Well, tomorrow, I have some time between leaving work and picking up the kids, so I’ll be able to make a little détour by the shop to buy this thing on my list ! » - Numo : my life-saver ! I list all my routines, even the things I love but don’t always think to do when I’m at the end of a rough day : reading poetry, solving my daily chess problem, etc. That way, I’m rewarded for doing things I love ! AND : most important of all, it reminds me, first of all each day, to go look at my calendar, at my Trello, and at my Padlet. And that is a really great way to stay organized without the stress of thinking about everything.

I add all my tasks to the reminders app and add a date/time to each. I have to have bullet point check lists for every thing I do so I just last week started using the Microsoft to-do app and create different lists for each area such as to-do, shop for, returns, clean, grocery list, etc.

Use a portable whiteboard in an obvious place in the house Add only 5 things to achieve each day Don’t rub the items off when completed Put a line through or tick Add extra items if you achieve the 5

Don’t forget to eat something while you are busy

Going for daily walks, no matter how long or short, really works.

Mornings are hard for me. I write a list in the evening for what to do the next morning (and in what order). I have then offloaded the brain activity to a time when I can actually think.

Mine is to put on some music that makes me feel like dancing when I have to clean, tidy up and such !

Making a routine at night that makes me calm, but not having this routine causes chaos

Der Tag war toll

Take your time and pace yourself at your own pace. Worry about in the moment and try not to overthink of the past or the future as much. You will find yourself more stressed if you're not present in the now!

Mine is to get prefilled med packs from my pharmacy

Sem pressa e sem pausa. Aproveite os dias de foco e paciência com vc mesmo nos dias menos produtivos. Nenhum processo humano é linear e vc não fracassa quando desacelera. Um dia ruim é só um dia ruim.

Start as soon as you can

If you suffer from chronic pain. Your pain IS a valid excuse to not do things. Your health comes before anything else

I dont know even how to start I feel paralyze ….

Write down your tasks for the day AND then record them into ADHD Numo. You feel very accomplished.

Begin one task, even small during advertisements on tv or series

Don’t sit it down; put it away

What I used to do instinctively and only later found out was actually a hack or coping mechanism was body doubling. For example I could not for the life of me put dishes in the dishwasher or do the laundry, but when I called a friend and talked to them I would do it sort of on autopilot as something else to do while they talked and I listened. Now I know how it works and if I cannot make myslef do some "mindless" task - I call a friend!

Au bureau, j'utilise un casque anti-bruit et parfois je pousse un peu ma porte pour ne pas lever les yeux à chaque fois que quelqu'un passe.

Se acostumar a manter sua agenda no celular sempre atualizada, você nunca se esquece do seu celular 💡

Arrumar alguém para me cobrar as tarefas mais chatas e que eu mais enrolo. Mas não pode ser o namorado! Se não nós brigamos 😂

Crear un sistema de puntos con dinero por cada punto y al final de la semana gastarlo en lo que quieras. Las tareas terminadas dan los puntos, obviamente 😅

Planning and time blocking and thinking of my tasks / time and money “budgeting my time” this way hard tasks have a greater “money value “ to them and that creates momentum to achieve them

Play with fidget and walk help me a lot

I like to add something fun to get it done as I say. When I have a task I need to do, I like to gamify it. This can be anything. From cosplaying to listening to music. I specifically like listening to music especially my favorite songs so that I can belt out the lyrics while working.

HAIII

I do this too, but since I’ve gotten into gardening (finally able to keep a plant alive - thank you NUMO, Aderrall, and Planta app), I step into my back yard and breathe and admire all my accomplishments I never thought I’d be able to do

Leave the things you always forget by the door with the things you don’t forget. Infront of the door on the floor even. Purse/wallet, keys, phone, water bottle, etc- just pile it infront of the door. *works extra well if you have a cat, cause you’ll be looking around the door to see if they’re going to slip out when you leave, and spot your items*

If you fill notebooks out but keep ruining the organization because you grab the closest notebook when you need it, get 3 extra notebooks specifically to be a mess. You can later rewrite/copy things in the notebook it belongs in from the buffer notebook without ruining all of your fancy ones that have specific purposes.

If you get too overwhelmed with chores or tasks, go outside and walk around the block. You’ll feel refreshed and can restart with a clear head on where to start instead of trying to figure that out while 100 tasks are screaming at you.

If you take meds, chug a lot water with it and then every time you pee, use the bathroom break as a reminder to drink some more.

If you’re going to another room, take something that belongs in that room with you. Like, if on the couch in the living room about to get some water from the kitchen, look around. If there is a cup or wrappers that can be tossed or anything, take it with you. You don’t have to take everything. Just the first thing you spot. When you are done getting your water, a quick look around the kitchen to see if there’s anything that goes in the living room.

Thoughts are better one by one i can hear them all but should only address them singularly

When I check the mail I do a quick sort of what’s important and leave the rest in my mailbox!

Jo. No se puede poner en español?

Wenn ich meinen Schreibtisch aufräumen muss, mache ich das nicht auf einmal, sondern nehme mir jeden Tag 1 Minute vor oder auch immer nur 1 Gegenstand pro Tag den ich wegräume. Das motiviert mich viel mehr und bringt mich dazu mit der großen Aufgabe irgendwann fertig zu sein.

I recently started learning English.

i,m new here.

If you are trying to be productive after work...in any capacity. Avoid sitting down when you get home! That helps me keep the momentum going. I'll sit down later as a reward haha

Reminders are useful, mobile apps, voice assistants (Alexa) help me a lot.

AirTags on things I lose a lot and I want to find quickly: keys, Kindle, water bottle

Motivierende Musik hören, die man mag. Wenn sich nicht bewegen kann, sollte man sich bewegen lassen.. :)

Yesss! The strawberry costume 🤩

I still haven’t got my life together, especially when I live on my own. I struggle with chores and socializing while I lock myself at home. At least, I am managing to keep going somehow. I don’t even know if I have ADHD but something about me is off

Have a med box (and a spare!) that zips up helps you in any medication need - vitamins, ADHD meds, allergy meds, prenatals, advil/acetometaphin, tums, etc. — and just keep it within reach of common areas (coffee table, bathroom counter, cup holder in the car, etc) so you can remember to be consistent in taking meds!

Calling it a to-do list is boring and too structured and pressure to do things in order and perfectly is too high so nothing gets done bc it’s overwhelming. Calling it “Quest Items” makes it feel like an adventure and you’re a hobbit and you have a packing list of things for your adventure and you can collect the items like a squirrel and accomplish more things on the list! Which makes you 10,000x more productive and satisfied.

Couch sitting + headphones + a rolly-desk-table-thing + 1-2 beverage(s) = the only way I can focus on dreary or mentally unstimulating tasks.

I sometimes watching live videos when I am studying because once I am distracted from my current task, I can relax myself by watching the life for a moment, avoiding myself from moving to other apps

I try to do only one task at a time. If I say I clean the floor, I clean the floor. If I pick up the clothes, I pick up the clothes. Like a soldier 🤣 If other things come to my mind, I try to stick with it and tell my self “nice/stupid/gross idea! Later…” and force my self. If other tasks comes and I’m tired or bored, I’ll do another time. And that’s ok, nobody is going to die, I hope 😁😅 at least when I’m not at work, it works.

even one percent is progress...something is better than nuthing... put the phone down!!!

Ne pas se pousser au maximum par peur de louper quelque chose : nous ne sommes pas des super héros, juste des héros ordinaires et c’est déjà beaucoup !

talk to yourself in the way you would want to talk to 5 year old you. forgive yourself 💜

😍😍

Keep things you don’t want to forget about visible. Place medication somewhere close to you. And do not count on post-its, especially, when you have hundreds of them!

When going out somewhere list out the things you want to take out loud or in your mind repeatedly! And also make a list, of course.

Send myself instructional emails. Pull up Gmail. in subject line use clearly written, succinct commands of things from my mental “to do list.” Include all relevant info in subject, date and contact info, deadline, location, etc.

Write a note on phone

Set a visual timer & finish the task before the time ends!

Doing my homeworks

Laundry hack for people who find folding daunting: sort loads by clothing type, not by color. I’ve always struggled to fold my laundry until I realized that I actually hated the sorting of socks, underwear, shirts, pants, pajamas, etc. all in one load. I now wash pants and socks in one load and shirts, underwear, and pj’s in another. That way I don’t use as much energy on the sorting and the task becomes less daunting! “Only two types of clothes in this load!” It’s kind of like why many of us don’t mind a load of towels; it feels easy!

listening to interesting podcasts when doing boring tasks such as cleaning, tidying up, dishes, laundry, etc. I’ve already listened to a neurobiology podcast, a true crime one, a history one, one about unbelievable stories and the list goes on and on.

including mail * I like your idea of immediate response but for me personally.. I cannot because I’m Single Parent household. So my child often gets my attention once we reach home.

I hate cleaning and when I agreed to stay at home with my kids I didn't expect it to be for such a long time. I get so irritated having to clean up after everyone else that I don't have enough motivation to get ahead of anything. I love it when I get my kids' outfits planned for the upcoming week and feel behind when I don't. Yet, I'm unable to consistently accomplish this among many other tasks.

I’m so overwhelmed by cleaning. And I keep putting thing off and I just wouldn’t prepare things ahead tho I know imma be cooked if i dont

Have a specific playlist just for doing work/school work and don’t listen to it otherwise. That way, that specific music signals to your brain that it’s time to focus.

Julia, where do we find the life hacks? There’s 255 comments. Should easily validate your 9 fav hacks 😅😁🍀

I listen to a podcast created for people with adhd. It is very therapeutic and provides helpful information

I feel drained every single day I’m not getting much sleep during the nights, some nights none at all, I’m hoping this app can change me for the better or worse, cause I keep constant overthinking shit. So I’m gonna start waking up early make a cup of tea, maybe coffee, and just do daily things

But I know it’s 10 mins fast so I allow myself those 10 mins😅

Get ready for the next day in the evening

Let's go!!! My hack is to don't look at the mess or you will get paralysis but isn't helping lol 😂

I have noticed I have what I call “activating activities” to get myself to do the household/cleaning. Those things help me start and get me in the right headspace to keep going/cleaning/organizing. For me vacuuming is certainly one of them, and if I do dishes in the morning, that’s also an activating thing for me.

I used to be late all the time until I realized it mostly is because I keep the hour that I have to arrive somewhere in my head and then it feels like I have soooo much time left so I always left too late. Now I watch how late I need to be somewhere, check transportation duration and add 15/20minutes for unforeseen circumstances. I then take that hour and repeat that hour in my head instead of arrival time and that way I arrive mostly on time. Also, set timers and alarms on your phone to leave and get ready on time because we get distracted a lot 😛

MEEEEEE

Make timers an unnegotiable rule. You could have soap in your eyes, hair half washed, makeup half done, if the timers up, then the timer is up <3

Hola

I have a “I do it right now, or it doesn’t get done”! Don’t ever say I will in a while!!!

Id like to use it in french

Cold showers are definitely my favorite ADHD lifehack

Cleaning: make things easy, easy, easy. 1. Put a trash can in the area you spend the most time in so that you don’t have to go as far to keep that area clean. 2. Put a cute “clutter bucket” (a cute tray or bowl) in every room to gather odds and ends to keep things looking nice. Once a week go through and sort what’s in the containers. 3. Don’t wait to vacuum till the room is clean. Vacuuming as you go gives your brain the reward it needs to keep going.

Finding shoes for children and getting out the door: keep an every day pair of shoes with socks inside, in the vehicle near the child’s seat, in case they can’t be found in the house. Tell the child to take off the shoes and leave them so they can find them next time. Making things easy/ automatic is the name of the game!

Laundry: i have 9 in my family. We wash and dry then sort by person. Everything. Socks as well, in each person’s basket. We only buy black or white socks (all same cut), so machining socks is not necessary. There is usually a match in their drawer when they look. I help my littles put their things away (all but fancy dresses etc are put in their dresser drawers, and they don’t have to fold if they don’t want to. They always want to learn though.) My teens are responsible for their laundry on a certain day. After it’s sorted, my husband and I put our things away. I usually do not fold mine because I have to maximize my time

For time blindness: if you are very very time-blind (like me), add 20- 30 minutes to your commute time that you originally approximate. Especially if you have kids to get ready. It’s better to be way too early and have to wait in the car, than to be late. If the problem is that you get distracted before you need to leave and miss that time, set a visual timer or an alarm in your phone so that you know when to leave. As you get better at it, you can scale back on time cushion that you add. But always have a cushion of some kind. Especially if it’s somewhere new. You never know what traffic will be like.

I struggle with folding and putting away the laundry for the family. I started by washing at least one load daily and keep the clean laundry on my laundry table. Then I bring it in to my bed and sort it by each person. I put all the socks for everyone in one basket. Then I tackle each persons pile by sorting what needs hung, then doing the folding. Last I tackle all the socks while I watch a good show to reward myself for getting the hard part done.

I struggle with mail and paperwork so I’ve started looking at my mail right away. I throw away junk mail and put anything I need to keep in the appropriate file folder, pin to memo board, etc.

How it works

If you are a very unorganized person, use 2 planners ,one digital one paper,I use a bullet journal and Numo. Choose one to do that day, and make your schedule! Make sure if you have a journal that you have 2-4 journaling times in your day!

I use a written diary not one on the phone- repetitious writing stores memory

😃

I like to set a specific time to do a task like clean my kitchen and put on a podcast. I can’t stop till the podcast is done.

🥰

Bein able to hold to hold back cause you see the bigger picture so u think

Music to do boring easy stuff and cold shower every day to connect with your real self

I have an AirTag on everything I take with me everyday car key, house key, backpack, wallet… so that when I leave home and i don’t get any notification on my phone I know I didn’t forget anything (it help to reduce the guess work and wasting time checking if I forgot something)

Especially at work (open office) it is listening to white noise. That creates a bubble around me and limits inputs!

Visualize yourself doing the things: if you want to go to bed early, play the movie in your mind of you going home, having dinner then getting in bed and reading. Visualize it over and over again, always works.

Where is all the other comments? I can't see them

I put music on my phone and I don't turn it off when I'm leaving the house.While I'm closing the door,I always think "Did I take the phone?",then I hear the music and I know that it's in my bag and I don't need to check.

My ADHD hack is to use papers from my work (Restaurant) that has those pre-printed Lines, so that my text isn't giant. On that paper are written ideas, thoughts and Tasks to do tomorrow. That way, I have not forgotten 90% of my plans for the day! It's awesome 🤩

I use a whiteboard Have it in a prominent position in the house Put 5 things I need to achieve in that day Then use white board markers to tick off items I’m accomplished

30 min tidy with music💃

Listening to music or a podcast while doing chores

If you ever need something that is “far away” from you, come up with 2 different things to help you reach it in each category below: 1. Come up with 2 simple ways of achieving 2. Come up with a time line 3. Estimate when you need a break After that, you should have 6 steps, and you break them up into smaller steps, until you have 24 steps to put in your final plan. Choose about half of those 24 steps to put in the last plan. This surprisingly only takes 5-10min of your day! ( note: this only works with one day plans, but I will find a way to do it with 2-3 day goals

If you want to go to the gym - don’t sit down after work. Go straight there and change there.

Hack - Accept yourself as you are in the moment. And then do anything else if you feel like.

See other‘s with inner child problems too, that‘s a way to stop having outbursts of anger if someone is not bahaving nice towards us

Break tasks up into smaller more achievable steps

Very good

I’m an introvert by nature. Don’t care for the stupidity that occurs because of myself let alone other humans. Nonetheless, my mind always races, and being a parent my plate is always full. I have the most trouble picking the first thing to address and often push of the whole list until it’s do or die time.

Paper plates for low functioning days

Fix with yourself a dead line for the one thing you have to do. Put an alarm with the name of it and how or when you have to. Delete the alarm when done or use it as a preset for a current habit . Ex : "psy the f.5 of november at 7.15pm"

Having an herbal tea before bed helps you set a sleep routine

Slow improvements are the best

Hi!

Make your goal Better, not perfect.

Weekly meal prep. Buy a bunch of containers. Pre-Cut veggies/salad and put in containers. Add other lunch parts (cheese and crackers etc) in containers. Easy on the go breakfast prepped for the week in containers (overnight oats, smoothie or protein drink). Make one or two dishes for dinner and put in small microwavable dishes for the week. Stack all in the fridge neatly. One day of prep beats a week of decision fatigue and eating junk as a result. Lastly clean prep dishes and ensure dishwasher is empty at beginning of week so all those little containers go right in there for the next week. Best time spent ever.

Remember that, as my counsellor says, my 60% is most people’s 100%. Be okay with just enough. The big P perfection leads to its friend Procrastination, which leads to Shutdown due to being overwhelmed. PPS.

Aim for 1% better than you were yesterday. In 100 days you’ll be 100% better!

Cleaning hack! Never ever put away or unplug the vacuum cleaner 😂

Camilita you are master of hacking your life! ❤️❤️❤️

Rearrange your fridge! Put condiments in the least visibly accessible part (ex in the bottom veggie drawer) and put everything fresh that needs to be eaten soon more visible. Put healthy “grab a snack” options in the fridge door pockets. Make stations, a box with everything you need to make breakfast/a sandwich etc that you can easily take in and out of the fridge.

Be brutally honest and tell someone else that you are procrastinating on something that can be fixed in less than 30min. Now they know your secret and that will put pressure on you to follow through sooner 👀 ….or be embarrassed forever 😅 It can be that phonecall, answering a text, taking a shower, making an appointment or any other “easy” should.

Make “stations” with everything you need to complete a task in the exact same place. To facilitate “don’t put it down, put it away” - Keep a laundry basket in every room where dirty laundry appear on a regular basis.

Never put dishes and cutlery in the sink, simply rinse them and pile them next to the sink - a clean sink is much more inviting and likely you will do the dishes, instead of putting your hand into a dirty sink with sharp knives or yucky stuff to scoop out to drain the sink. #nomoresinkaeversion

We have all heard the helpful mantra “don’t put it down, put it away”… But how about “don’t put it down, -THROW- it right away! To facilitate this, place a trash-bin in literally every room 🗑️ 🗑️ 🗑️ 🗑️ 🗑️ 🗑️ 🗑️

Make “stations” with everything you need to complete a task in the exact same place. Skip the traditional cleaning cupboard. Keep cleaning products for the bathroom - In the bathroom. Cleaning products for the kitchen - in the kitchen. Super important ! --> Keep a trash bin in every room!

Make “stations” with everything you need to complete a task in the exact same place. Kids school-backpack station: keep everything close to the front door. School lunch tickets, important papers to be signed, this station also needs a pen. Backpack steadily placed where it can be packed with ease. Schedule of school and after school activities within sight. Gym bag etc within reach to grab last minute.

Make “stations” with everything you need to complete a task in the exact same place. Gift wrapping paper = add scissors and sticky tape and place this station where you would typically complete the task (for me it’s in my bedroom).

Get more of and place often needed items in every room. This prevents you from misplacing the item, or getting lost in process when going to another room to get the item… BONUS effect = this saves you time! My examples: •scissors for urgent need of removing clothing tags ✂️ •pen and paper 📝 •phone-charger 🔌 •trash-bin 🗑️

And one of my most favourite quotes - 'It's simple: Treat yourself well, while not harming others. Treat others well, while not harming yourself.'

Always remember, you are allowed to say 'No' Don't let others poison your peace.

Primeiro o dever e depois o prazer

Hello

I go for long walks

Setting a timer for 1 hour to complete tasks.

Always works for me Lie to yourself. I’tell myself that I’m just going to unload one dish from the dishwasher. Once I’ve started, I’ll at least unload a few, and maybe clean the whole kitchen.

My fav It’s ok to run a dishwasher that isn’t full. It’s ok not to rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. You can rerun it if they don’t get clean the first time.

Use Numo voice braindump assistants. “Remind me to do X tomorrow at Y time”

Disable all your notifications on your phone except for essential apps (Texting, Voicemail, Calendar)

Put a widget on your productivity app to home screen so it’s the first thing you see

Changing your perspective of adhd from a ‘problem’ that has to be dealt with, to a real life super power!

iPhone users => use “Speak Screen” function to hear the content of the screen read to U. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content > turn on “Speak Screen”. I got many of my college readings done like this during my commutes, showers, etc. I also studied for the LSAT test like this.

9. People are in such a rush these days… You can’t expect to become a superhuman overnight. Focus on sustainability and self-compassion. It will help you relax, and you will be more productive at the end of the day.

Having a routine

Just want to say, thank you for this app, it literally helps me so much, not only with tasks but feeling like I’m not alone, I can feel very isolated with people in my life not understanding so for me this app is almost an escape to somewhere safe and judgement free, it is such a good creation ❤️

People are in such a rush these days… You can’t expect to become a superhuman overnight. Focus on sustainability and self-compassion. It will help you relax, and you will be more productive at the end of the day.

Gamify things and set a limited amount of time to accomplish something. e.g.: Brew your coffee and get as many chores done as you can before the coffee is finished brewing.

Buy multiple items that you use often. Set up multiple chargers, buy a few lip balms so you can always find them when you need them. It creates comfort.

If you start to feel frustrated for no reason, eat something and keep yourself hydrated.

Use text-to-speech generators to help you read webpages/books/long emails. Small thing, but it makes a big difference.

Put a widget with your to-do list on your home screen so it’s the first thing you see, Numo has such a feature.

Use Numo voice braindump assistants. “Remind me to do X tomorrow at Y time”. Your brain is good at creating, not storing info. Let Numo be your second brain.

Use a noise-canceling headphones and listen to music/white noise/brown noise. Don’t be afraid to stimulate yourself if you need it. Enables hyperfocus and blocks out distractions.

Turn it cold for just 30-60 seconds at the end of your morning shower. It will wake you up, get your blood flowing, and get you out of the shower.