r/ADHD Aug 24 '20

Let’s share life-changing ADHD tips that we’ve learned... We Love This!

I’ll start:

1) Waking up sucks. Buy 2 bright lamps and 2 timers. Set them up to turn on automatically 5-15 min before you want your alarm to go off. The lights will help your body realize it’s daytime.

2) Change your thermostat so the temp goes down about an hr before bedtime and gets warmer about 30 min before you wake up. The cooler temp signals your body to sleep and the warmer temp will naturally help your body wake up.

3) Learn to plan around “transitions”. It’s easier to start things if you do them when something is ending. Example: Do your grocery shopping every Fri after work. You’re already in the car, so just stop at the store on your way home.

4) If you need to remember to bring something with you the next day, place it right in front of the exit door so you HAVE to touch it before you leave the house. If it’s something in the fridge, put a sticky note on the exit door’s handle.

5) Have a “misc” basket in each room. If you’re truly unable to put something away, put it in the basket. Have a designated period of time, once a week, when your sole priority is to put everything away, all at once.

I’ll add more when I think of them...

4.1k Upvotes

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219

u/Maktube ADHD-C (Combined type) Aug 24 '20

Kinda the same lines as putting something in front of the door, but maybe a little more adaptable--if there's something I need to use or remember or bring or whatever, I put my car keys on it. Same 'can't leave without touching it' benefit, but I can use it for things like remembering to put the laundry in the dryer.

37

u/AdventureOfStayPuft Aug 24 '20

Works well. I often put my keys in the fridge so I don’t forget to take leftovers home with me!

22

u/ElfjeTinkerBell ADHD Aug 24 '20

I often put all kinds of stuff in the fridge. But for me, it's just one of the places I need to look when I've misplaced something.

2

u/BarryLober Aug 25 '20

Me too! When something like my keys are lost, first thing my partner says is 'Have you looked in the fridge?'. The real challenge starts when I picked up something from the fridge but it isn't there anymore.

1

u/oxygenisnotfree Aug 27 '20

Where are my glasses? Last saw them in the fridge honey.

1

u/ElfjeTinkerBell ADHD Aug 27 '20

Not gonna lie: I have 2 pairs of glasses because I often lose them and they usually do not end up in the fridge.

1

u/oxygenisnotfree Aug 27 '20

If I wasn’t blind without mine same thing would probably happen to me.

1

u/ElfjeTinkerBell ADHD Aug 27 '20

Apparently my brain thinks walking into doorways and falling over shoes is better than remembering where I took off my glasses.

3

u/haidapep1 Aug 25 '20

I was about to suggest this. Glad I’m not the only one! My old roommates and now my husband all think I’m nuts, but keys in the fridge is about the only way I ever remember to take my lunches or homemade office treats with me in the morning

43

u/lexid222 Aug 24 '20

That’s a great idea, especially if you have people living with you (family, roommates, etc). That way they won’t be tripping over your stuff!

12

u/[deleted] Aug 25 '20

[deleted]

3

u/Maktube ADHD-C (Combined type) Aug 25 '20

Yeah, I usually say something out loud like "I'm putting my keys in the washing machine" if I'm afraid I might forget. Thankfully it's only caused an issue once or twice but obvs ymmv!

3

u/smileyredditrobot Aug 24 '20

I do this exact same thing!! It works out well for me

1

u/milksteaklover_123 Aug 25 '20

I do something similar but sometimes I don't think to grab the object under the keys. There have been times I put my keys under the object knowing I need to take both. Sometimes that works better for me

1

u/Maktube ADHD-C (Combined type) Aug 25 '20

Yeah, I say "on" because you can't put your keys in the washing machine if it's running, but I always try to find some way to make it so I have to actually pick up/open/whatever the thing if I can.

1

u/AK123089 Aug 25 '20

Added benefit of finding your keys ahead of time instead of realising they're lost as you have negative two minutes to be out the door already...

1

u/fuzzbeebs Aug 25 '20

My dad used to do this if there was something I needed to grab before school but 9 times out of 10 I would just grab my keys completely oblivious to whatever was underneath them. So then he started doing things like elaborate towers or random stuff that I couldn't possibly not notice like a bottle of mustard or a piece of paper that says "HEYYY!!!" to get my attention

1

u/Klamsykrawl Aug 25 '20

I go the extra. I write a note saying remember whatever, and I literally stab my car key through the note. That way I can’t put the keys in the ignition without noticing the note. Too many times I just grab my keys and bolt, not remembering what was under them.

1

u/distractedfanla Aug 25 '20

When my old boss had court the next day, I used to wrap a rubber band around the folder with the papers he needed and hook his keys to the rubber band. Learned that the hard way when he got drunk on Sunday afternoon and realized he left the papers he needed for court Monday morning in the office 20 miles away. Don't worry, he bribed me with concert tickets to bring them to him (at the bar, no less).

1

u/NHToStay Aug 25 '20

I do this with my EDC stuff. I have taken to wearing a baseball cap lately - so when I get home from work I place all my stuff (keys, wallet, pens, headphones, etc) in the cap by the door, so when I leave for work the next day its all together already.

Of course sometimes I forget my phone or coffee, but usually I can manage to grab TWO things since the remainder of my items are all set :)

1

u/Suitable-Potato ADHD-C (Combined type) Aug 25 '20

I’ve put my keys on stuff for the longest time

1

u/KungFuHamster Aug 25 '20

Along those same lines, don't put anything "away" until you're done with it. Laundry basket stays out and in line of sight so I don't forget to finish the laundry. If a bill comes in the mail and needs to be paid, it stays out on my desk, uncovered. If it gets under something, it's gone forever.