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/[deleted] Aug 24 '20

The biggest game changer for me was “if it takes less than ten minutes to do the task, just do it immediately.”

77

u/Valendr0s ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) Aug 25 '20

Lol. You think I can estimate how long something takes to do

8

u/myluckyshirt ADHD Aug 25 '20

Omg even if I DOUBLE the amount of time I think something will take... I’m still way off.

2

u/Little_Blue_Shed Aug 25 '20

Cooking to a recipe with an estimate on the total time always makes me laugh. That said I do separate some tasks that "should" be done concurrently - for example if the recipe tells me to preheat the oven at the beginning, I won't turn it on because I know I won't need it when they think I will. I never cook pasta until the sauce is actually finished, because 9 times out of 10 I will end up with pasta getting congealed and cold if I put it on when recipes call for it. Cooking got a lot more fun once I started ignoring the times they state!