Unmedicated ADHD. How do you organise yourself?

[AbsentmindedWoman]

I'm shit at admin for my own life, find it incredibly stressful. Lists alone don't work, I end up with various notebooks and can't remember where I've written stuff, or stuff gets scrawled on bits of paper.

What are your best strategies?

My life is on my phone. Reminders go on my calendar, lists are compiled in sections in the notes (e.g one for shopping, as soon as something runs out, it goes on the list or I forget).

Urgent things at work go on post it's on my desk (very satisfying to scrunch and throw away once done) and emails are marked as unread until I deal with them.

Meal plan for the week on the fridge so food doesn't go to waste, meal prep for lunches or I'll spend a fortune and eat the whole biscuit aisle in Sainsburys.

Alarms with notes set for stuff. Sometimes I set them to leave work, with a 2 hour, 1 hour countdown. My life is written down so much someone could easily replicate it!

The reminder alarms for leaving work are to jog me back into focusing on work or I'd stay there forever. My dd isn't old enough yet but I've heard of ADHD parents who deal with letters and stuff immediately. Money needed for whatever goes in the school bag there and then, dress up/non uniform days go on the calendar straight away etc.

I don't have ADHD so this might not work for you, but I have a whiteboard in the kitchen, divided up into a weekly planner. Regular events get written up in black pen (bin days, PE kit days, music lessons etc). Anything happening that week as a one-off gets written on in a different colour for each person. Takes 5 mins to update at the weekend and everyone can see it, which stops me being The Keeper of All the Information.

Same as above, diary and lists on phone, lots of alarms programmed into phone, alarms and reminders on Alexa. Using timers to limit time on distractions like social media and Nintendo switch.

Follow TOMM (the organised mum method) for cleaning/household management, this has been a life changer. Meal plan on whiteboard in kitchen and then straight away do Tesco order online.

Try not to take on more than I can comfortably manage (learning to say no is important) as when I get stressed I just procrastinate more and more.

Find a routine that works for you and stick to it. One pad, one pen in one place and scribble out as you go.

Routine is very much key for me along with a good sleep and food pattern.

Bullet Journal - everything in one notebook in an organised structure. I don't have ADHD, but the Bullet Journal system was designed by a man who does have ADHD in order to sort his life out!

Todoist app for work and life admin.
You can have colour coded projects and topics and it’s so easy to reschedule things if you run out of time in a day.
Without exaggeration it keeps me functioning in life and keeps me in work!

@Bobbiepin

My life is on my phone. Reminders go on my calendar, lists are compiled in sections in the notes (e.g one for shopping, as soon as something runs out, it goes on the list or I forget).

Urgent things at work go on post it's on my desk (very satisfying to scrunch and throw away once done) and emails are marked as unread until I deal with them.

Meal plan for the week on the fridge so food doesn't go to waste, meal prep for lunches or I'll spend a fortune and eat the whole biscuit aisle in Sainsburys.

Alarms with notes set for stuff. Sometimes I set them to leave work, with a 2 hour, 1 hour countdown. My life is written down so much someone could easily replicate it!

@Bobbiepin the bit about someone being able to replicate your life is spot on

Big whiteboard.

Pretty much do less & pace myself too. Allow a lot of downtime.

Externalise my thoughts to my DH a lot...so go through things, working out urgent, important, etc.

Lists. So many lists.

Phone reminders, paper reminders, email reminders.

Google Home alarms.

A paper calendar and a phone calendar so I've got half a chance of writing important things on one of them.

All important not-yet-dealt-with paperwork stays on the coffee table until it's sorted (takes a long time because it becomes invisible to me ha, but at least I can't lose it).

Blackboard above the fridge which I update each month with what bin needs to go out when, because otherwise we end up having to go to the tip with bags full of rubbish we can't fit in the bin.

Pomodoro method for working.

Excessive and vaguely chaotic email folders that at least keep stuff I no longer need urgently out of the line of immediate sight.

Three sets of my skincare products - one on my dressing table, one in the bathroom, one in my desk drawers. More likely to do it if it's close by.

Very visible hook by the door for car keys and face masks because I lose them constantly.

Tablets and vitamins visible on bedside table - can't tidy them away or I will not take them.

Systems - places for things, routines I follow. Even if I don't always, it helps give me a place to start when I've lost something or I need to do something.

Automatic plant waterers!!!

Basically make it as easy as possible for yourself haha.

I have a teamup calendar, it's online, I can access it from different devices, wherever I am. I set alarms. I write on my hand important things that need doing today.

• Apple notes app accessible from all devices. As soon as something pops into my head I add it to notes. Particularly useful for shopping lists or random chores I do not find exciting and therefore extremely likely to forget

• I only buy clothes that do not need ironing. Lots of ribbed/knitted fabric, stretchy t-shirts, hoodies, ruched dresses etc

• Dry flower bouquets are amazing and very trendy right now. I have one on my dining table that I bought before the Christmas lockdown and it still looks lovely. No watering, water changing, trimming etc

• Having designated places for everything makes it so much easier to tidy up. If I notice cupboards/drawers getting full then I do a ruthless decluttering to make space. That said I'm still quite untidy but this system keeps our home looking halfway presentable

• Digitalise everything. I hate dealing with mail and paperwork so I set up direct debits wherever possible and request PDF invoices or bank statements. Having everything in email is also great in case you need to search something up. Much easier than digging through old papers with the growing panic you might have thrown something important out.

• Phone up immediately if a certain letter seems confusing/liable to be forgotten. Even though I hate speaking on the phone, I find that ringing up a company to clarify what exactly needs to be done is much easier and quicker than stuffing a letter onto my "to do later" pile because I'm not sure exactly what it means.

• Big hooks on the back of all bedroom and bathroom doors! I find it so hard to put clothes away, especially homewear or sleepwear that don't necessarily need to go into the washing every single day. These will end up in piles on a chair or floor and hooks keep things looking somewhat organised!

• Using Siri to make a timer when cooking pizza, pasta, boiled eggs etc. As soon as it's in the oven just go "Set alarm for 10mins" and you can forget about the stove.

• Keeping bins everywhere and not being afraid to throw things away. I get stressed by clutter but often don't know what to do with the small random things that pop up (mismatched plastic toy pieces from my DD, half-used toiletries, pens, hairpins, nail polish, etc). As soon as I notice myself stressing about something which I know I no longer use or won't be missed then I simply bin it.