What are your Favorite ADHD related Life Hacks?

• Alarms and timers for everything.
• Custom sounds for phone to be 10dB higher than normal, to ensure I hear them and don't just block it out as noise.
• Putting things that need taking care of later somewhere visible, like my laundry directly in front of my bedroom door so I have to do something with it just to open the door.
• Having autism, too, so the ADHD problems just naturally balance out.

If you're trying to do thing A but your brain can't stop thinking about thing B, take out a notebook and write down all your current thoughts on thing B. Trust yourself that when you get back to it, you will be right where you left off. Then do thing A.

For example, trying to work on a paper but you can't stop thinking about the season finale of your favorite show you just watched.

Doesn't always work but helps a lot.

If you really like doing something such as watching a new episode of your series on YouTube, but hate something else like exercising, combine the two. Only watch that series, while exercising. Then you'll start looking forward to the exercise because you get to watch your series.

Don't punish yourself for not succeding in something, punish yourself for not putting the effort

Being accountable to someone. Also my least favorite ADHD lifehack.

Amphetamines

Everything goes in the calendar. Especially regular but infrequent things like birthdays. I set reminders a few days to a week before so I have time to adjust plans / buy presents or whatever.

If I'm having trouble motivating myself to do something, I commit to doing a bare minimum amount. For example going to the gym if I'm feeling unmotivated I might commit to just doing one exercise. Dishes maybe I'll just wash one plate / pan. Once I've used that to get over the initial hurdle I'll usually be able to ride the wave and complete everything.

I mainly struggle with the executive dysfunction part. I found that preparing anything at all helps, even just opening the document I need to write on another screen will mean that whenever my attention next detaches from whatever else I'm doing, I will automatically latch onto what I'm supposed to do as the next thing.

This is the only way I managed to make progress on my bachelor's thesis.

I do what I call "productive procrastination".
I allow myself to procrastinate by doing something else instead that's also necessary to do.
Of course, "necessary" is a slippery term.
But what definitely doesn't fall under it is doom-scrolling, day-drinking and wikipedia rabbit holes.

This actually lets me be pretty productive throughout the day, as long as I have tasks I can push back endlessly.
Like, I haven't brought my finances and investments in proper order in over 10 years.
Which probably cost me a 5-digit amount in lost profit over that time frame.
But I'm fortunate enough to not feel it and accept things like this as my ADHD tax.
It would take a couple hours, but would involve decisions and it never becomes urgent.

Myself, my wife and all 3 kids have adhd. Shared Google calendars are mandatory.

Does methylphenidate count as a life hack?

If I think of something I need, I usually just order it on Amazon prime right then, that way I don't forget latter and accidentally run out of garbage bags or something.

The part of my brain that needs to be interested in something to do it is actually very stupid and easily tricked. Sometimes when I’m stuck all I have to do is literally pretend I find the work engaging.

I have a job working with teams to improve processes. I think a lot about waste and efficiencies, what end users will actually do or adopt, making things easier / faster, etc. Now I think about these things all the time in daily life, apply them to my ADHD, and iterate endlessly:

• If I put a thing I need to do a thing I hate behind another thing, I'm guaranteed not to dig it out. Tetris the things so the limiting thing is easy to grab. I.e., watering can, vacuum
• If I need a thing for multiple tasks or multiple locations and keeping misplacing the thing or not wanting to go get the thing, get more things and put them in all the places. I.e., gloves, sponges, tools
• Figure out what I need to do the thing I don't want to do as efficiently as possible. I.e., Good sponges and scrubbers for dishes, vacuum that is easier to pull out/put away

Also, radical acceptance of the things that are limiters.

• High sensory levels and distaste for dampness- gloves for dishes, gloves for gardening, gloves for cleaning
• Not going to put all my clothes away consistently ever, design a dresser situation that supports clothes piling without blocking access to drawers

For me, it's also putting something into my calendar (specific time) or to-do list (no specific deadline -- this is mostly for shopping and a second one for ideas). After that, if I think of something I try to do it right then if I can complete it or make measurable progress against it to avoid procrastination. Finally, physically putting things in places I can't ignore so I don't forget them (or a post-it in place, but that's more risky).

Noise canceling headphones and white/background noise or music. Rather than true "white noise" I prefer deeper stuff like cosmic or other low wavelength noise.

Not going through life alone. I dont necessarily mean you need a significant other. But someone who cares for you and is willing to help hold you accountable.

And TAKE NOTES!

I had a really great boss a while back. I was a team lead and he noticed that I'd have a hard time remembering things. Like, he'd give me 5 tasks to do, and I'd only remember 2 or 3 of them. I'd just space out, or my priorities would be fucked up. So he'd come back hours later "hey, did you do this thing yet?" "Oh, I forgot about that".

Eventually, he decided to "force" me to carry a little notebook and had me write the tasks down. He'd start talking to me about the things we needed to do and suddenly go "oh, you should write this down".

Now 10 years later, its a strong habit for me. Anytime I talk to someone at work, I bust out the notebook and just start taking notes. Then later in my office I'll consolidate the notes.

It's helped me out a ton. That boss giving me reminders and helping me to build the habit is one of the greatest skills he taught me. Thanks to him, my second marriage is much better because I can actually listen to my partner (yes, I take notes when my wife and I are talking about bills and plans and chores).

Between writing things down and having someone who would help give me reminders and feedback on my successes and failures, ive definitely grown so much more than I ever could alone.

Once i was in an executive position i hired people who are not afraid to oppose me, and who have abilities (like planning of sorts)that i lack.

Set an alarm for an hour and a half before you wake up. Pop the Vyvanse then go back to sleep. Makes it so much easier to get out of bed once the meds start hitting.