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

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.