Living with ADHD can be TOUGH. You're forgetful, absent-minded at times, and your mind tends to race consistently. Recently, I was diagnosed with ADHD combined type. This means that both inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity are present.
Some of the symptoms of inattentiveness include making mistakes that appear careless, either at work or at school, difficulty maintaining attention on school, work, reading, or fun activities, appearing not to listen during conversations, and avoiding tasks that involve mental effort for long periods of time like school work, work projects, or forms.
Some of the symptoms of hyperactive-impulsivity are finding being physically still as challenging, having lots of energy, talking continually, or having internal restlessness.
Now, if you feel that you can resonate with some of these symptoms, there is nothing wrong with seeing your nearest psychiatrist/psychologist and asking to be tested, but if you're currently living with ADHD, you know that these symptoms are literally some of the many that we can experience on a daily basis.
One of the many struggles of having ADHD is productivity and organization. Throughout my diagnosis, I have begun to do research on how to be productive and organized when the mind, or life, can be cluttered.
Not only will I provide you with some tips on how to increase your productivity with ADHD, but I will also provide you with some apps that will help you as well!
1. Get An Accountability Buddy
It's very important that you have someone that can hold you accountable for your daily goals and tasks. This could be a friend or a close family member that you don't mind, not only sharing your diagnosis with, but also the tasks that you plan to set out for the day! Have this accountability buddy check in on you periodically throughout the day to make sure that your tasks are getting done!
2. Set A Timer!
Aside from having an accountability buddy, setting timers for your tasks will help tremendously! After writing down your tasks for the day, remember to be realistic with how much you can get done for the day. Before preparing to start your first task, set a timer for how much time you think you will need for the task and press GO. Don't feel rushed while completing your tasks! The timer is to help you stay on task and remember what it is that you're tackling.
3. Give Away Your Tasks
If you can help it, give away your tasks! This will help with your time management and free up any time that you need to dedicate to your important tasks. This could be as simple as paying someone $20 to help you with your tasks for the day that you don't mind delegating.
Now, I know $20 is a lot for a college student to just give away, but in the long run, it will definitely help you and your mind, as it frees from all clutter and madness.
4. The Five Minute Rule
The five-minute rule is basically a reward system. Five minutes of music, five minutes of social media, five minutes of TV... whatever you want to do to reward yourself, don't forget to give yourself a break and divulge into something that you enjoy. You can take more than five minutes if you need to, but don't get too carried away with your breaks that you forget about the tasks at hand.
Aside from these tips, here are four apps that will be helpful to you and your ADHD brain!
1. Todoist
Link: https://todoist.com
Todoist keeps track of everything, from simple errands to your most ambitious projects, so you can get it all done and enjoy more peace of mind along the way.
2. Listastic
Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/listastic-shared-to-do-task-lists/id1025619367?mt=12
Listastic is another great way to keep your life organized. Not only is it easy to use, but its also collaborative so you can share your lists with your accountability buddy or with a family member who may help you keep your life in order.
3. Coach.Me
Link: https://www.coach.me
Coach.Me is a habit tracker. Most people with ADHD want to have daily habits that will help them keep track of everything they have to do, but also to keep an organized life. You can join different groups such as "Dog Walking," "Meditation," "Journal Writing," etc. Joining these groups will send you reminders, daily, and remind you to check in every day, making sure you've accomplished your daily habits!
4. Asana
Link: https://asana.com
Asana is like a project builder. You can create projects...i.e, Daily Habits/Daily Tasks/Morning Routine/Evening Routine, etc. and add different tasks to them as you go along, give them due dates, and you'll receive notifications and emails when each task is due! That way you can never forget what you have to do!
Hopefully, these tips and apps help you combat your ADHD and productivity little by little each day!
Remember to take things ONE DAY AT A TIME, never rush the process, and always check in with yourself and your life.
You'll become a productive superstar in no time!
