Adult ADD coping mechanisms...?

[wheresmymojo]

I'm on the long waiting list for a diagnosis of ADD, I currently have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder but after reading about adult ADD and how it presents in women I feel fairly certain that I actually have depression + ADD.

At work I am super organised and I've realised that's because I use my calendar a lot to keep track of what I need to do and when...and sitting behind a laptop means that info is basically in front of my face all day.

I struggle staying organised at home because I write lots of to do lists on paper or on my phone but then forget to check my to do lists

I also find my work interesting and probably hyper focus on it whereas home stuff is boring and so it doesn't 'stick' in my memory.

Just wondering what other women with ADD have found that has helped them?

My top tip is using the Pomodoro method for chores and also having a podcast on while I do them to keep myself mentally stimulated...

Hi, same here, and my daughter just got diagnosed. After a month or two on the meds, she's doing absolutely amazing. I'm still waiting to hear about mine but we are scarily similar so fairly sure I'll be diagnosed too.

I use mini pomodoro - tell myself I'll do as little as 30 seconds of something, knowing ill do more long as I can get started

I have blank magnetic white a4 sheets on the fridge, and change the other bright coloured (and some swearword!) magnets around it every day to make me check it. Calendar is in same place. I used to ignore it before I had customiseable magnets and can entertain myself with a different combo daily to stop it blending into the background

I use a lot of reminders on my phone, often two for the same thing, 5 minutes apart as I sometimes accidentally ignore the first one

I've been a tester for the lollipop app and thats been great for meal planning. If I have leftover i have to write it on my fridge notes to make sure I don't waste them.

Pre pandemic I had a cleaner and it was an absolute godsend - if you can afford it all, do it. I can't anymore but if I ever can again, I will

I'm starting to organise the pantry with several shelf sized clear boxes so I can see and label whats in there

I sometimes use another blank fridge magnet thing to write down the contents of the fridge but thats not been so necessary with meal planning

Thanks - I have a cleaner, TBH we can barely afford it post-pandemic but with ADD and/or bipolar and/or major depression it's fundamental to me staying sane when I have a busy reasonably long hours job.

To the point that I'm going to restructure my debt through Stepchange if that means I can keep a cleaner.

I feel like I might actually need a whiteboard at home - having something up on the wall that can't be missed feels needed but also they're quite ugly.

So maybe a blackboard in the hall as I go through there several times a day.

I definitely should make more use of timers on my phone.

One of the most useful pieces of advice I've come across is to set up systems to deal with the parts of housekeeping that don't run smoothly.

For instance, a simple system for shopping would be a piece of paper attached to the fridge where everyone wrote what was needed when the weekly shop was done etc.

I have a 'system', which is in effect a short list of the three things I must do before I leave the house each morning, starting with making my bed, so that I come back to a tidy house.