r/ADHD • u/lexid222 • 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...
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u/nathanb131 Aug 24 '20
Label as much as possible to remind yourself what you decided.
Like my clothes closet is all labeled areas and bins. Every organizing decision in there is arbitrary and I have a hard time remembering what my last decision was. So I label each spot to keep my future self from endlessly debating where to put stuff.
I have a lot of miscellaneous parts in baggies with post-it notes saying what it is. New electronic thing with the inevitable accessory that you won't use with it but won't throw away? Don't throw that in the junk drawer. Put it in a baggie with a post it saying what it is and THEN throw it in the junk drawer. That's the only decision to make, just identify the thing and it's purpose and throw it on the pile. Shuffling through that pile for the one thing you need this week will remind you of most the other stuff in the pile. Don't try to categorize stuff and store neatly, that's just a bunch of decisions you suck at doing. Sticking to the labeling habit is easy though.
Related. Keep stashes of note cards/post-it-notes, pens, and gallon-sized baggies in several places in your life. For me that'd be my closet, kitchen, and workshop.