Organising yourself at WORK? How? I have ADHD pls help!

[AmIGoneMadFromItAll]

Can anyone share what works for them, what helps, what systems that really make a difference?

I'm talking even very tiny things that might appear basic to others. For example, a non-related work thing I do is make sure that things like keys always live in a particular place. That's become a strong habit built into my life now so I don't lose crucial items like the keys anymore. It means a part of my brain can relax and stop worrying about where the fuck are the keys.

So I'm not exactly sure what might be comparable in terms of work organisation but open to anything people have found helpful?

I did wonder for example if I should get several large notebooks to divide all the separate areas of my job into different lists, instead of one list?

One overall list that contains tasks from different areas really stresses me out, is that pathetic?

I find I do best if things are separated into different groupings like - and I'm not even joking, I'm actually this crap - if my clothes in my wardrobe aren't arranged in order of similar items, dresses, tops, cardigans etc, I get really stressed even trying to see what I have and overwhelmed and anxious.

Again, not sure what the obvious things are in a work environment that I could change to help with this sense of order so any ideas would be great?

Sometimes I get really panicky I'm actually developing early onset dementia because I just get so overwhelmed by stuff, especially as I mention when things aren't separated into groups, it's like my brain shuts down completely and can't start to see what the steps are to begin accomplishing the task

Ffs not sure why work is in capitals letters in title!

Something like OneNote might be useful for organising your notes and to do lists. You can find tutorials for it online, but its quite flexible, and you can send details from Outlook to a to do list in OneNote, for example?

Can you say more about your job so we can think of other suggestions?

It will all depends on your job.
I used to like to write my to do list for the next day before I left work the previous night. Schedule in time to look at your diary and what is coming up.

Get a Filofax type organiser with dividers. I then have different sections for different notes and can move the notes around and remove when no longer needed.

I have ADHD too and can relate to everything in your post. I like things to be ordered or it's confusing and overwhelming but maintaining orders and systems is nigh on impossible. It's like a horrible curse!

I by no means have the perfect solution but two things I try to do with any system of organisation 1. Keep it simple - if it's not simple I won't be able to maintain it. It should also be a system I don't have to follow perfectly because I won't be able to do this. I need to be able to pick it up and put I down then pick it up again!

1. Make it visible. If it's not in sight it doesn't exist. I quite like a post it as it's quick and viable and it can be moved about. I have post it's both on my laptop and my wall behind my desk. I can move them up and down and around to prioritise and group them as I need. They are quick to do and very visible.

Oh and a third actually - if it's really important do multiple reminders with alarms. So it might have a post it at the top, a Calendar entry with three alarms and sometimes even an entry in my personal calendar.

Best of luck. It's a constant challenge that I hope will become easier when I'm able to try meds.

Other things I do -

• On a Friday, I go through my diary for the following week to see what calls I need to prepare for, and book time into my calendar to do that.

• I use "categories" in Outlook to colour code my calendar, and apply the same to my emails using rules, so all emails and calendar items relating to a particular project/client will be the same colour.

Medication!

I think a lot of these suggestions are from people without ADHD! Lol.

@PigeonLittle

Medication!

Best suggestion yet 😬😂

@TooManyPJs

I think a lot of these suggestions are from people without ADHD! Lol.

I don’t have ADHD but I do have organisational issues due to SpLD

I found this book really helpful OP in thinking about systems that can work for people with ADHD.

Organizing Solutions for People With ADHD: Tips and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1592335128/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_NYAA5ZB22MR0RB2T7VBW

Also don't expect too much of yourself, you sound quite hard on yourself in your post. It is immensely frustrating having ADHD I know, but you can't help it.

PS I use the post it system too at home on my kitchen cupboard door.

Do you have a lot of emails? I find email overwhelming so I use the "inbox zero" technique.

An email comes in - if it will take 5 minutes or less to action, I do it there and then and file. If I can't file it because I'm waiting on a reply from someone, I move it to a "waiting folder".

Anything that is information I want to digest but not right now, moves to "reading folder".

Anything that needs doing but takes more than 5 minutes moves to "action". I actually have subfolders by category because there are too many emails!

Each week i check these folders to organise my work for each day, on top of my usual daily/weekly tasks. I have a weekly todo list, but use pastel highlighters to organise by group.

I don't have ADHD but I do get overwhelmed if I don't feel in control, so this helps me.

I don’t have any diagnosed condition but I do relate to some of what you’ve described.
I may not be the best person to dish out advice as I don’t think I’ve managed to find a fool-proof solution / approach that works 100%.

But for me…
I prefer to use a digital to do list type of thing. I like “to do” by Microsoft. There are loads of others. You can set up separate folders, tasks, and sub-tasks. Then, when you refer to it, just look at the relevant folder.
You can also tag each task, e.g “#diane, then when you’re next speaking to Diane, search the list for everything you need to run by her.

It depends on your job I suppose but that was useful for me.

Post - it notes - easily moved if you want to recategorise.
Trello - online
Getting Things Done - an organisational system devised by David Allen. Lots to read online, his books, blog etc. And products too.

I've seen lots of people recommending OneNote.

I am just like this!

I would say keep it really simple and visible with lots of reminders, and schedule to dos rather than just writing lists. Complex systems are not for you.

It’s perfectly sensible to need separate lists. If you want digital then OneNote is really simple and good (I’d tried so many over complex apps before this) or if you want analogue then a Filofax w different sections, or something like Field Notebooks where you have 3 different notebooks in side one cover. You do NOT want totally separate notebooks.

Sticky notes (virtual or real) are great insta reminders, and you either do them on the day, or stick them in your list for later.

Put your daily to do list against your diary - eg what you are doing to be doing in each hour. This stops you having fantasies about how much you can do.

Work out when your most productive / least interrupted times are, and do the key stuff then. Treat it as focused time. Put your headphones on and turn emails off.

Some people find something like the pomodoro
Timer technique is helpful for focus. Get a web blocker and earplugs to help w distraction.

At the end of the day the most important thing is to do a 5 min plan of what you need to do the next day, which you review with clean eyes for 5 mins in the morning. It makes the hugest difference.

I also use categories in outlook calendar and email to colour code both emails and diary entries. I have standard colours - red is always reserved for important stuff (deadlines, urgent meetings, absolutely crucial info) and then generally assign one colour per project I'm working on. It allows me to see at a glance what my day/week is like and identify emails easily.

I write a new to do list each morning, carrying over anything incomplete from the day before, and will keep a running organisation of my day by prioritising tasks on the list.

I used to think Zuckerberg was strange for always wearing the same outfit, but then realised my work 'wardrobe' is made up of mainly one colour. My Adhd makes it hard for me to wake up and be alert in the morning, so an easy colour scheme effectively gives me a capsule wardrobe and I don't have to think about what I wear at all. I just grab an item from the hanger and know I'll have a professional outfit.

I also keep essential toiletries in my desk drawer and started carrying Toothpaste and brush the 3rd time I got halfway to work before remembering I'd forgotten to brush my teeth...saves me from being late when I stop in at boots en route.

I carry a notebook everywhere. If I don't write it down, lll forget it. I also use one-one religiously and again set it up to group my notes into categories (per project etc). These are of course colour coded to match Outlook

I'm so organised at work that my colleagues probably wouldn't believe me if I told them I had adhd, but I only realised how much I'd adapted to work around my condition when I went through the assessment.

As far as possible, I organise my day so that I'm working on more complex activities when I'm at my most productive during the day.

I also log my hours every day, it's always my last task before I go home. Otherwise my timesheets gets forgotten completely or only remembered when I can't remember how I split my time. Actually, categorising my calendar and keeping a daily to do list and notes helps with this too.

This sounds just like me, can you tell me how you went about getting diagnosed? Do you take medication for it

Following

One more thing, if you find there are times you get overwhelmed at work don't be afraid to take a short time out to reset. I'll usually pop to pret and get a coffee, gives me a few minutes of fresh air and the walk gives me space. Always clears my head.

But you could use a mindfulness app and just take 10 minutes to do a short meditation using headphones too.

*one note not one-one

Alarms, calendar entries with tasks (they can be moved to the next day etc if necessary but at least I can see what needs to be done).

I also break things into smaller parts. So if for example I needed to send a birthday card/present. I would break it down into 1) buy card 2) write card/wrap present 3) post card/present. It's important to factor in an extra day or two in case i get distracted and don't manage it on the day it's set!

Do some easy/quick tasks to get a few wins under your belt before tackling anything tricky.

Get in the habit of checking calendar/to do lists multiple times each day.

I like the post it idea. - visibility is key for me if I don't have an alarm set!

Have you ever had ADHD coaching? It's supposed to be very helpful.

I do the zero inbox thing as well, everything moved to subfolders except the stuff I still need to do. When I get overwhelmed with what I need to do next, I just start at the bottom of the email list, look at the oldest one, and work upwards. You have to be brutal though, you can't keep 300 emails of stuff you need to do! If it's not visible on there for me, it doesn't happen as I won't remember to do it.

I've had success recently with a new app as well called to doist. I use it mainly for home stuff though, it's tick boxes, and it's easy to set reoccurring ones, so I have daily ones to feed the chickens and empty the dishwasher etc, and I look at the list a lot

Hello, I have ADHD and a job.

Things that help me are;

Medication! I’m on Elvanse 40mg, it wears off mid afternoon, I think but I don’t want to try out any short acting stuff at the moment so I move onto coffee if I start to feel a dip.

At the start of my shift I get out my notebook and draw myself a rectangle divided up into enough sections to correspond with how many hours long my shift is. Every hour that passes I fill in one of my sections so I can physically see the hours passing. Sometimes I get so engrossed I forget for a few hours and then I get to mark off a few bits in one go which is very satisfying.

It may not work for your job but I work from a queue of different tasks that need doing, so when I come in first thing I write down the time and how many tasks are in the queue, whenever I remember, usually hourly, I’ll write down how many tasks there still are to do, and it helps me to see if the number is improving or worsening. If it’s improving then I feel good and that motivates me and if it’s getting worse I usually find that motivating me too. But if the number is worsening and we’re going to get overwhelmed I’ll escalate to a manager and ask for some help.

My KPI is to complete 3-4 tasks an hour, so I check back my work a lot to make sure my average for the hours in the day so far is sitting right. And I also try to a tally on my notepad as I do them so if I check my digital history and I’ve done more than I’ve tally’d up on paper, I get to add a few more and that motivates me.

I also keep a personal to do list pad on my desk so that any personal errands or worries that keep popping into my head can be written down to deal with after work and I can trust that I won’t forget about them. I can also start a fresh page if I’ve got a lot of fiddly work things that I need to not forget to do that day too, like timesheets, leave request, responding to an email, E-learning, etc.

I have also agreed with my line manager that I can sacrifice my 30 minute lunch break to be able to get up and go for a walk when I’ve got ants in my pants. Obviously getting up from desks is allowed anyway, but I use mine to nip out the back door and wander outside, either just to stand and feel the breeze or have a go on my vape. Nobody really times these, or has a problem as I’m very careful to make sure our queue is either empty, or that the next task won’t breach its timeframe if I go outside.

I also go and fill my drink, put my rubbish in the bin, make coffee, load the dishwasher and briefly chat to colleagues that I might pass on the way. And I snack a lot through my shift rather than eating one big meal at lunch.

I know it sounds really childish to need to motivate myself this way at 35 years old but y’know ADHD, my brain works differently to most of my colleagues and I’m the top performing person who does my job role out of about 20 of us, so it obviously works. Hope there’s something in there that might be useful to you.

To do lists, and cross off as you go, it's satisfying to see!

Calendar reminders, follow up reminders on emails that can be parked for now

If you struggle to prioritise ask your manager to help you do this.

I don’t have ADHD, so bear that in mind.
If I start to organise myself, I can spend ages colour coding and sorting things into different lists, but it ends up being too complicated, too many layers etc.
What works best for me is a daily planner where I timetable all of my daily tasks. I then have one post-it with more long term things to do that I can move from day to day.
Yes, you will move things from day to day, but I like ticking everything off every day, either because it’s done or because it has moved to tomorrow.