Everyday Strategies for People with ADHD

In the ADxS.org ADHD Method Collection (ADHD Method Treasury, ADHD Toolkit, ADHD Life Hacks), we compile everyday strategies that can help people cope with life with ADHD. Therapeutic methods, on the other hand, can be found under Non-Pharmacological Treatment and Therapy for ADHD.

Do you know of any other helpful methods, tricks, or life hacks?
Feel free to send us a short description that we can include here. If you’d like, we’d be happy to credit you as the author.

1. Organizational Methods¶

1.1. Schedules and To-Dos¶

1.1.1. All appointments and to-dos in one place¶

A combination of a mobile calendar and a desktop calendar (Outlook, Thunderbird…), either local or online

Appointments and to-dos are all entered as calendar entries.
Appointments at the right time, to-dos for the day
Appointments in the text begin with the time (“1:00 p.m. Lunch”)
To-dos are listed without a specific time (“Buy bread,” “English homework”…)
Recurring events can be entered as such (unlike standard alarms on cell phones)

Appointments and to-do items can take up as much time as they’re likely to cost—including, for example, travel time to and from the location. Nevertheless, the text lists the start time of the appointment first, not the time you’d have to leave. That’s clearer.

Different types of appointments and to-do items can be assigned different colors.
Emails and documents can be linked
Once completed, to-dos can be minimized and swiped to the top of the day’s list starting at 00:00. It feels good to still see what you’ve accomplished, and it gives you an overview of everything you’ve already done.

Tasks that aren’t completed by the scheduled time can easily be moved to the next available day with your finger or mouse.

Synchronizing your mobile calendar with your desktop calendar makes your data available in multiple locations. When using an online calendar, your data is always up to date, and you gain protection against data loss.

If you always have your cell phone with you, you can enter everything right away.

If the size of the appointments and to-dos reflects the expected time required, it’s immediately obvious when you’re taking on too much.

Huge advantage:

• a single interface
• has a single place where you can check to see what’s due and when
• No back-and-forth between the calendar and to-do lists

I’d rather have a single, simple tool that’s used consistently and without fail (keyword: automation; always enter all to-dos and appointments immediately) than a variety of tools that I end up losing track of.

You can usually dictate to-do lists and appointments into your cell phone.

1.1.2. Multiple calendars—including sync with your cell phone¶

In Outlook and on cell phones, you can create multiple calendars and display them one on top of the other as needed.

Example:

• A standard calendar for appointments that employees can also view. (Client appointments / employee meetings / blocked-off times for working from home / quiet hour)
• A personal calendar for myself to keep track of appointments that aren’t everyone’s business. (Completing a specific task at a specific time, doctor’s appointments…)
• Weekly schedule with time blocks (daily planning, IT topics, calculating quotes, writing a journal)
• Other people’s schedules (music lessons and the children’s sports activities, including travel time)
  • That’s what has made things the most relaxed this year, because I’m not caught off guard every week when I have to be home at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, and I don’t have to ask every time when my wife will be back with the kids and whether I still need to make their sandwiches or not.

(Thanks to: Kaan)

1.1.3. The Eisenhower Method: Prioritizing What’s Important and Urgent¶

The Eisenhower Method is used to assess the importance and urgency of tasks and to prioritize them based on a combination of both.

This method can be applied to all areas.
Draw a cross on a large sheet of paper / a blackboard / a drawing board.
The horizontal axis represents urgency (top: high, bottom: low)
The vertical axis represents importance (right: high, left: low)

Each task is written on a Post-it note and stuck to the appropriate part of the cross.:

• Is it urgent?

  • If it needs to be done right away: on the inside, aligned to the right margin
  • The more time something has, the further to the left it is
  • Anything that can wait forever, on the left margin inside

• Is it important?

  • Put the most important things at the top
  • The less important something is, the further down it goes
  • Completely unimportant things at the bottom

You can vary the layout within the fields; you don’t have to stick everything to the edge or in the corner.

The four fields formed by the cross have the following meanings:

Schedule	Do it now
Don’t do it	; delegate

(Thanks to: Elementary).

1.1.4. The 10-10-10 Method¶

The 10-10-10 method is recommended for making decisions about medium-sized to large projects or for prioritizing them.

Ask yourself three questions:

• What are the effects of completing the task in 10 minutes?
• What are the implications of completing the task in 10 months?
• What are the implications of settling the matter in 10 years?

Anyone who doubts that they’ll still be alive in 10 years may have already found an answer—and/or can adapt it to 10 minutes, 10 weeks, or 10 months.

You can also try the opposite: What are the consequences of … NOT completing the task?
And for enthusiasts/panic-mongers: What consequences does not completing the task … not have?

(Thanks to: Elementary)

1.1.5. The Chair Dialogue¶

The “chair dialogue” is used to identify behaviors and thought patterns that act as barriers when there is no suitable conversation partner available.

Place two chairs facing each other.
First, place a doll, a stuffed animal, or another suitable placeholder on it.
You put yourself in second place.
Then you tell the other person about your troubles: “It’s all so complicated, I can’t handle it….”
For the rest of the conversation, each person switches places with the stuffed animal.
In the placeholder’s chair: “What exactly are you not able to do right now?”
Switching seats to her own chair: “I’m so angry right now! Somehow I just feel so stuck…”
In the placeholder chair: “Why is that? Can you narrow it down?”
My Own Chair: “I can’t figure out where to start; I have so many ideas and no idea where they all fit…”
Placeholder Chair:“Look, you’ve surely done quite a bit already, haven’t you?”
His own chair: “Yeah, sure, but it’s all so jumbled up!”
Placeholder Chair:“Well, then maybe it makes sense to just spread it out across different files, pieces of paper, or stacks. Then you make a list of exactly what needs to be done and work through it… You know how it’s done—and you’ve always managed it so far!”

We’ll take care of that.
With an alarm clock. That’s important because it’s the only way to regain trust in yourself.
Afterward, it’s important to recap the conversation. How did the complaining “I” sound? Disparaging? Critical? Childish and helpless? — and how did the reflective other person sound? Punitive? Disparaging? Do you want to let them tell you something? And that’s the second step: It helps you figure out how you interact with each other.
For example: How much belittling and criticism is involved? Or is it mainly about not showing one’s own insecurity? Or…

(Thanks to: Hibbelanna).

1.1.6. DBT Skills¶

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)—and in particular its Skills Toolbox—is also recommended for ADxS.

There are countless online lists of toolkits with descriptions of skills.
Examples:

dis-sos.com/dbt-skills-body
dis-sos.com/dissociation-stops

These skills are about interrupting hyperarousal and dissociation. Some of these skills can also be very helpful at your desk to help you refocus. And even if it’s something as simple as rolling a spiky ball to stay in the here and now—at work.

I find this helpful not least because it allows you to quickly experience small successes that boost your self-efficacy. It breaks the endless loop of your own thoughts: “I have ADHD, so I procrastinate”.

(Thanks to: Elementary)

1.2. Documents, records¶

1.2.1. Scan documents¶

• Scan ALL documents and save them in the appropriate folders in the cloud
• File naming convention:
  • [YYMMDD Recipient Subject Sender]
    • YYMMDD is the document’s creation date and allows for chronological sorting in computer folders; the date remains unchanged even if typos in the filename are corrected later
    • Addressee: To whom was the letter addressed? / Who is the recipient?
    • Content: Brief description of the document’s subject matter
    • Sender: Author / User of the document
  • Example:
    • 210529 ADxS-org Address List France Tom Sawyer
    • Translated: Letter dated May 29, 2022 To: ADxS.org. Subject: List of addresses in France Sender: Tom Sawyer
• Dispose of documents for which no original is needed after scanning them.
• File documents/originals in clear plastic sleeves in Leitz folders (birth certificate, report cards, vehicle registration, lease agreement, …)
• Inbox for new mail to be processed
• Storage basket for completed documents to be archived
• Small version: take a photo
  • Use a mobile app that allows you to combine multiple pages of a document into a single PDF
    • JPEGs created from photos cannot be combined
    • Forwarding documents is more difficult
  • Add text recognition to the PDF (enables full-text search within the content)
  • File names must reflect the content (enables visual searches within folders and quick file name searches)
• Large model: desktop scanner
  • Paper feeders cost between €100 used and €600 new
  • usually comes with software that performs fully automatic text recognition
• Backup Strategies
  • No backup, no mercy!
  • Save all documents to the cloud: accessible from anywhere
  • BACK UP all documents ADDITIONALLY on multiple local USB hard drives or USB flash drives, which are stored in two locations that are physically well apart (to protect against theft, fire, and water damage)
    • There have been cases where cloud services classified a vacation photo of a nephew on the beach as child pornography and, as a result, permanently blocked the entire cloud content
    • Even if that is illegal, going through the courts is expensive and time-consuming
    • A cloud alone is therefore not a secure archiving solution
  • Quick Archiving: Send the document to yourself via email

1.2.2. Tax documents¶

Collect all tax-related documents throughout the year in two open folders: the current year and the previous year
Sorting is the first step in the process
File documents for completed years; reuse the filing folders for subsequent years

1.3. Finance¶

1.3.1. Invoices - Direct Debit, PayPal, or Standing Order¶

Make all recurring payments by direct debit, PayPal, or standing order whenever possible.
What happens automatically cannot be forgotten.
It’s easier to supervise than to give instructions.

1.4. Checklists¶

Checklists help you forget fewer things.
They are a simple, universal, and helpful way to expand the working memory that is often insufficient in people with ADHD.
Like an external swap file that expands working memory.
In 15 years, with Tesla’s Neuralink as well.

1.4.1. Cell Phone Checklists¶

Cell phones already offer list functions as a basic feature.

Since most people always have their cell phones with them, these lists are always available.
However, these lists are only visible when opened on a cell phone, tablet, or computer.

Example: Shopping list.
Always take whatever you need.
Mark purchased items as “done,” don’t delete them. Only delete what you won’t need in the coming years.
For your next shopping trip, just mark the items you need as “to do.”
Scrolling through the list makes it easier to remember what you need. In a pinch, scrolling through the list can also help you at the store if you forgot to update it at home.

Example: Travel Packing List
Some people only need one packing list for all their vacations, since most items are needed for every trip.
Ski gear that isn’t needed during summer vacation is marked as “done” right from the start.
Everything else that’s needed won’t be marked as “done” until it’s in the suitcase—not before.

1.4.2. To-Do List Boards with a Slider¶

Non-digital to-do lists are ideal for being posted in specific places where they’ll always be visible.
These are usually plastic panels that have a slide switch for each of several lines that can be labeled, arranged one below the other.
You can find offers with a simple Google search for “to-do list board”

Example:
A list next to the front door with entries for house keys, car keys, wallet, cell phone, tissues, bus ticket, …

2. Ways to Combat Procrastination¶

2.1. Delegate¶

People with ADHD find it particularly difficult to motivate themselves to do things they find less interesting.
A helpful way to get around this is to delegate unpleasant or unpopular tasks. If you don’t like cleaning, there’s no need to feel ashamed if you can afford to hire a cleaner. For the dreaded tax return, there are income tax assistance associations and tax advisors. More often than not, these services cost less than the therapy sessions people use to try to come to terms with their inability to tackle these tasks or to cope with their lack of self-motivation.

2.2. Bodydoubling, virtual coworking¶

In bodydoubling, several people agree to work on specific tasks simultaneously. They may meet in person to do so. Often, however, it is enough to schedule a video conference or a phone call running in the background, during which the participants simply let each other know that the other person is also working on their task.

Job-matching platforms:

• On the German-language ADHD forum ADHS-Forum.adxs.org, there is a Virtual Body Doubling Contact Board.
• Mooclab
• Focusmate

2.3. Assignment exchange partner¶

Many people with ADHD have no problem doing things for others, but they can’t manage to do even the simplest tasks for themselves.
If you find the right partner, you could work through the issues that are problematic for him or her in order to overcome procrastination in those areas, and in turn, let him or her help you escape your own procrastination traps.

Lobo and Passig describe it in a similar way in their wonderful book on procrastination, Getting Things Done—Without a Shred of Self-Discipline.

2.4. Commitment¶

Telling others what you intend to do can be a form of virtual body doubling.
It creates a kind of obligation that is harder to break than a mere personal commitment, when you simply resolve to do something on your own.

2.5. A follow-up appointment prevents postponement¶

Scheduling an appointment right after the time slot set aside for the task can help prevent you from falling for the excuse, “Oh, I’ll just do that later.”

2.6. Break Tasks Down into Steps¶

Sometimes tasks are so large or unpleasant that they cause anxiety, which can further exacerbate procrastination.
In that case, it can help to break the task down into individual procrastination steps.

Example: Cleaning out the attic

• Buy an incandescent light bulb for the attic
• Replace the incandescent bulb
• Ask x to remove the cobwebs from the attic
• Get some trash bags
• Schedule a Bulky Trash Pickup
• Collecting trash
• Set up an account with Medimops
• Sell Books to Medimops
• Etc.

Climb the mountain in small stages.

2.7. Pomodoro Technique (Time-Blocking Method)¶

Pomodoro is a technique for time management and setting priorities.

Each task is broken down into short 25-minute sessions, followed by a 5-minute break.
A course consists of 4 sessions.
This is followed by a longer break of 15 or 30 minutes.
It makes sense to limit yourself to a maximum of 3 or 4 sessions per day (6 or 8 hours, plus longer breaks).

For more challenging cases, breaking the session into even shorter segments (10 minutes) can be helpful.

Short breaks should be filled with activities that don’t take your mind off the task at hand, such as stretching exercises at your desk.

2.8. 5-3-1 Timeboxing¶

Many people with ADHD need to plan ahead and review their plans in the evening to avoid getting sidetracked.

Sometimes, less is more. You don’t have to plan every single task.
One possibility would be to limit the number of tasks to, say, 3—either as a requirement or as a daily goal:

5 tasks lasting up to 10 minutes each
3 assignments lasting up to 30 minutes each
1 task lasting up to 50 minutes

Winkler describes 5-3-1 timeboxing in his blog ADHD-Spektrum as similar to the Pomodoro Technique (see above), although here short tasks lasting 10 minutes and slightly longer tasks lasting 50 minutes can also be included in the schedule.

Whether you schedule out the entire day at —since there are enough tasks that come up regularly anyway and don’t require any additional planning—or whether you plan several sessions is up to you.
The purpose of 5-3-1 timeboxing is to divide the many small and large tasks—which would otherwise be quickly forgotten—into manageable and achievable blocks.
Especially large tasks—the kind that can quickly overwhelm or intimidate you—become more manageable when you break them down into smaller chunks.

App for the 5-3-1 Method / Timeboxing: Sunsama Sunsama YouTube Tutorial in German
Sunsama can be integrated with ToDoist.

2.9. Self-motivation¶

On the morning of your “To-Do Day,” vividly imagine what it will be like to have accomplished it, how it will feel to have done it, how great it will be, and how important it is.

2.10. The fear of getting started is a false giant. Or: Getting started releases dopamine¶

When it comes to getting started: just start.
That’s not like, “You just have to concentrate, and then you won’t have ADHD.”

Just doing something releases dopamine. The dopamine deficiency associated with ADHD mainly prevents you from getting started. Once you’re in the thick of it and have cleared the first few small hurdles, dopamine levels rise and it gets easier and easier. However, this is harder to recognize with ADHD because you’re always in the here and now: “Now is always.”

The trick is to realize that the aversion to getting started is usually much greater than the discomfort you feel while doing it.
It feels worse before you start than it does while you’re doing it.
ADHD is building a false giant there. Unfortunately, that doesn’t change the negative feeling you have before you even start. That feeling is real***.
However, it helps to understand that only the feeling you have before you start is real, and that the experience itself isn’t nearly as bad as you might think.
Ultimately, this knowledge might even make you want to get started right away—because then, as you’re doing it, your aversion will fade. I suppose that would be mastery ;-)

After completing a task that you previously found aversive, it is very helpful to reflect on how the feeling you had while doing it differed from the aversion you felt beforehand.

‘’’*Feelings are always real. They’re just not always justified.

2.11. Gamification¶

Gamifying routine tasks / boring activities.

• Can I become faster and more efficient by experimenting?

• Or come up with a story or quest to go with it?

• Is there an app that offers rewards, points, or incentives for completing tasks?

• Habitica

  • An app where you can create to-do lists and, as you check items off (like in a game), earn levels and rewards.
  • You can find a partner and tackle quests and small battles together (see also Bodydoubling)

• Gamified Minute Technique

  • Roll the dice to determine how long to work and how long to take a break.
  • For beginners, a single 6-sided die is enough
  • Advanced players use multiple dice at the same time

2.12. Vision Boards / The Secret Method¶

Create a collage (vision board) that uses images to visualize your life goals (e.g., 5-year goals)
Hang this collage at eye level in a place where you’ll see it every day.
In theory, the subconscious mind then does the rest of the work so that these dreams come true.

One person with ADHD describes a seminar where she was introduced to the method:
“For example, a photo of my tidy apartment motivates me to get it that way again.
Once, when I was making a vision board in a seminar, my flip chart was completely covered—and in some places even overlapping—with pictures. It only struck me as unusual when I saw how much empty space the others still had. Quite a few of them had just 3 or 4 pictures related to the topics they were currently focusing on.”

2.13. Journaling¶

Examples:

• Success Journal: includes the 5-year goals (e.g., as a vision board)
• Insight Journal: Mistakes and the Lessons Learned from Them
• Ideas Journal: A Collection of All Ideas
• Loan List: List of all items borrowed and lent (What / from / to whom)

2.14. Paradoxical Deliberate Procrastination¶

If you’re completely stuck on a task that isn’t particularly urgent, it can help to consciously procrastinate on it and do a bunch of other things instead.
Paradoxically, the resulting sense of accomplishment from having completed tasks can then help you overcome the mental block.
However, when it comes to a task that has already been postponed several times, this kind of “active procrastination” isn’t much help. .

2.15. Allow plenty of time: “do it” instead of “do it quickly”¶

For tasks that are difficult to get started on or that trigger strong emotions, it can help to set aside plenty of time for each step.
Pushing yourself to the limit while also making sure to work efficiently and meet deadlines can create so much pressure that you become paralyzed.
If the first step could be completed in 2 hours, you could estimate 8 hours for the entire task. This avoids time pressure and gives you a sense of accomplishment if you end up finishing it faster.

2.16. An Iterative Approach to Overcoming Fear of Failure¶

If fear of failure is keeping you from getting started, it can help to deliberately create a really mediocre, run-of-the-mill version first.
Making improvements is much easier because it can be done in small steps.
Sometimes you have to see what something looks like right now before you realize what you want to change.
That’s not possible with a blank sheet of paper.

2.17. Setbacks are part of the process¶

Everyone, even those without ADHD, has days when they just can’t seem to get anything done.
No matter how effective the strategies are for managing ADHD on your own, they won’t—and shouldn’t—lead to you being able to do everything all the time.

“Being out of balance sometimes is part of living a balanced life.”

3. Methods for Optimizing Attention¶

3.1. Stimulus Reduction¶

3.1.1. Workplace¶

3.2.1.1. Choice of Workplace¶

Prefer private offices
Shift work is particularly problematic for people with ADHD

3.2.1.2. Workplace Equipment¶

Desk Setup:

• Looking toward a quiet, distraction-free environment
• Sit with your back to the wall (in busy rooms or rooms where you are not alone, never sit with your back to other people, hallways, doors, or windows).
• Parallel to the window
  • Right-handed: Window on the left
  • Left-handed: Window on the right
• Parallel to doors / passageways
• Away from noise, light reflections, vibrations, and movement

3.1.2. Noise Reduction¶

• Headphones
  • White noise
  • Active noise cancellation
  • Binaural beats
    • Alpha for Concentration
    • Theta for Relaxation
    • For more information, see: Binaural Music for ADHD and Sleep Problems

3.1.3. Light¶

• Avoid glare
• Moving Images / Avoid Movement in the Field of View
• Worklight: 6,000 to 10,000 Kelvin, diffused light
• Evening Light: warm light, reduced blue tones
  • Blue light inhibits melatonin production; melatonin causes drowsiness and promotes sleep

3.1.4. Order¶

• Closed shelving units and cabinets help reduce visual clutter in a room
• Some people with ADHD “see” only what is openly available
  • A labeling system can help

3.1.5. Headlamp Focus Trick¶

One person with ADHD reported that he can concentrate much better on tasks and stay focused on individual household chores for significantly longer when he lowers the blinds in his apartment (during the day) or dims the lights (in the evening) while wearing a headlamp—the kind used by hikers, joggers, or some cyclists use at night.
Unlike in the past, he was no longer distracted by things outside the narrow spotlight while doing household chores (which he did not find inherently interesting).

3.1.6. Reducing Distractions at the Computer¶

3.1.6.1. Ad blocker¶

Ad blockers block ads on websites, thereby eliminating distractions.

• Brave is a Chrome-based browser that comes with an ad blocker
• Many extensions for every type of browser

3.1.6.2. Website / Mobile Phone Blocker¶

With website blockers, distracting websites can be hidden or blocked (either temporarily or permanently).

• Limit (free Chrome extension)
  • Daily time limit for certain websites
• Freedom
  • blocks access to certain websites across multiple devices
• StayFocused
  • blocks websites, apps, or the entire phone (except for phone calls) for specific periods of time or for the rest of the day
  • Full version: approx. 17 EUR
• Forest
  • An app that prevents you from picking up your phone for a set amount of time
  • If you stick with it, you’ll be rewarded with a tree, and hopefully you’ll make it to the “Forest.”
• Focus on me
  • “With this app, you can really ‘protect’ yourself from digital distractions and procrastination. It lets you block the distractions you want in a way that can’t be bypassed (app deletion protection). I haven’t yet encountered a situation that FocusMe couldn’t handle.”

iOS offers parental controls that allow parents to manage app access, usage time, purchases, and more on their children’s iOS devices.

3.2. Fidgeting to Optimize Arousal¶

A study suggests that fidgeting may help maintain attention.¹

People have very different needs when it comes to regulating their arousal. Arousal refers to the general level of activation of the central nervous system. Characteristic features include attention, alertness, and responsiveness.
There are people who need complete silence and a lack of distractions in order to concentrate on something.
Others, on the other hand, need a certain amount of external stimulation to maintain their concentration. This can go so far that some people can only study effectively when a TV and a radio are playing in the background. Others deliberately seek out noisy environments, such as a café, to help them study better.
We’re familiar with this from classroom situations:
Some children can concentrate much better when they can block out the noises in the classroom. In such cases, noise-canceling headphones (passive or active), or even soft white or gray noise played through the headphones (masking effect), can significantly improve their ability to concentrate.
For others, however, steady, relatively consistent motor activity helps: everything from doodling or drawing in a sketchbook to knitting or crocheting can lower or raise arousal just enough to facilitate good concentration.

3.3. Self-Management / Personal Time¶

For some people with ADHD, it is helpful to find times, spaces, or situations where they can control what they do and how they do it. While this leads to unproductive situations for some, others are able to find an environment and activities that allow them to be productive and engaged.²
In our view, a significant part of this involves finding activities in which one has an intrinsic interest. It is barely possible to create situations in which even activities that are intrinsically uninteresting suddenly capture one’s attention. It is likely easier to find a job or a hobby for which one has intrinsic motivation.

4. Time Management Techniques¶

4.1. Visualize the time horizon¶

ADHD is often accompanied by a lack of time awareness. A person’s sense of time can vary in intensity

• like a number line, e.g., with the past to the left and the future to the right (through-timer)
• The brain encodes the perception of time in such a way that, when you’re “right in the middle of it,” you actually perceive only the present and perhaps a little bit of the near future ahead of you (In-Timer)

A time-horizon flipchart sheet is used to visualize scheduling.
A timeline running from left to right or from bottom to top, for example, leading up to an important milestone.
As stopgap measures, a few—important but not yet urgent—images are pasted on.

5. Methods for Memory and Learning¶

5.1. Repetition helps prevent forgetting¶

Some of you may be familiar with this from Signal or other apps: being asked for your password every now and then, even after you’ve been logged in for a long time. In the age of password cookies, passwords often go unused for long periods of time and are subsequently forgotten. This is where password managers can help—they collect all your passwords and store them securely, and are themselves encrypted with just one password, so you only need to remember that one (which shouldn’t be used anywhere else).

Things you need to memorize manually are easier to remember if you review them regularly. That’s why some apps ask you to re-enter your password at regular intervals (e.g., Signal).

With the Anki app, you can create flashcards that are reviewed at algorithmic intervals (based on your proficiency level and spaced repetition).

6. Other General Methods¶

6.1. Routines / Habits - Automation Saves Working Memory¶

ADHD is often accompanied by working memory problems. You go into another room to get something, and by the time you get there, you’ve forgotten what it was. While this happens to people without ADHD from time to time, for many people with ADHD, it’s a daily occurrence.

Automated actions, on the other hand, require barely any working memory.
Automated processes are those that have become so ingrained that they occur without requiring full attention. Cycling is one example, and experienced drivers have automated the act of driving. If you ask them to explain to others exactly how the processes work—for example, when shifting gears with a manual transmission—they first have to consciously recall them before they can explain them verbally. Mistakes often occur when explaining automated processes because not all elements have been brought back into conscious awareness. That is why the most experienced practitioner of a skill is not always the best teacher.
For people with ADHD, automation is helpful when it involves tasks that rarely change and do not require frequent reflection.

When working memory is impaired (as in ADHD), automatic behaviors (habits) can help. Tasks that are always performed in the same way can be handled by posterior brain regions (autopilot) without requiring the use of working memory in the PFC.
Problem:

Until something becomes automatic, it must be repeated over and over again for 6 to 8 weeks
Changing ingrained habits is a hassle and doesn’t happen overnight
It’s a workaround that can save the day.
It can sometimes seem compulsive, but this is something else entirely.

You can speed up the process of forming a habit by practicing it.
Do you always put your keys in the same place?
First, come up with a really good spot that will work in the long run.
Come home, put the keys there.
Smile, grab the keys, walk out the door. Close the door. Unlock it again (unlocking it becomes the anchor to which the action of putting the keys back in the same place is attached).
Go inside and put the key back in the same place.
Repeat 10 times, unlocking the door each time.
Repeat this 5 more times the next day.
On the third day, repeat this 3 more times.
After that, every time you mess up, repeat it 5 times again.

6.2. Items have a designated place¶

Possible examples:

Key Position
The key is always hanging or lying in the same spot. It is placed there immediately upon entering and is the last thing to be picked up before leaving.
It’s helpful to have a key rack right behind the door.

Always keep your wallet in the same pants pocket.
A small wallet that can always be carried comfortably in your pants pocket is less likely to get lost if you can always feel it there. If it goes missing, you’ll immediately feel something’s off because your body senses that the wallet is gone.

6.3. Avoiding (Dysfunctional) Perfectionism¶

Often, it’s enough for something to simply be done and working. Trying to make it look nice—or even perfect—takes time that could otherwise be spent on other necessary things.

6.4. The Pat Riley Method - Continuous Improvement¶

Aim for small but steady improvements of 1% per month in each of the following 5 areas:

• Health
• Relationships
• Finance
• Emotions
• Job

6.5. Woop - Wish, Visualize, Fail, Plan¶

Gabriele Oettingen, a psychologist, has studied the method of positive thinking and found that those who use it do not, in fact, fare any better when it comes to carrying out their plans.
This is because—just like everyone else—they stumble over obstacles that, in their blind optimism, they fail to anticipate beforehand.
You could also say: they’re planning in sections that are too large.

WOOP is an abbreviation for:

• Wish / Wishes
• Outcome (Result)
• Obstacle
• Plan

That means:

1. Wishes: Set a goal for yourself / or visualize something you’ve always wanted to achieve (or that’s simply on your to-do list).
2. Outcome: Visualize the result.
3. Obstacle: Think about what might cause it to fail
4. Plan. It’s best to make “if-then” plans: “If I find myself in the situation …, I will …”

Don’t just rush through it; take your time instead.
Mentally walk through the intended path step by step and think about where you might fail, based on where you’ve failed in similar situations before.
Take your unique qualities, your life situation, your environment, and … into account.

WOOP - How to Achieve Your Goals - Career - SZ

6.6. Friction Reduction - Avoiding Resistance¶

(Contributed by Alexander B.)

For activities that people often find difficult, Friction Reduction involves adapting the environment to their own abilities and needs.
Instead of constantly feeling frustrated about why you aren’t doing something or are doing it wrong, you make it much easier for yourself to do it.
This makes it easier to carry out or start tasks, or to complete them as desired.

Examples:

• Instead of putting clothes you’ve taken off in the laundry basket in the bedroom, they often end up on the floor in the living room or next to the shower, giving the impression of clutter.
  Friction Reduction Solution: Simply add a few more small laundry baskets to the rooms where you often undress. This immediately makes the space look neater.
• It’s a hassle to clean the bathroom because you have to go get the cleaning supplies and put them away again every time.
  Friction Reduction Solution: The necessary cleaning supplies and brushes are simply stored right in the bathroom.
• People don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables because they lack the energy to chop them up or can’t bring themselves to start the task.
  Friction Reduction Solution: Either buy pre-cut vegetables or fruit, or prep them yourself once a week so they’re ready to use at any time on the remaining days.
• The car is always a mess
  Friction Reduction Solution: A plastic bag on the floor behind the passenger seat serves as a trash can.

Any creative—and even unusual—solutions are welcome, as long as they eliminate obstacles and shape the environment so that everything needed to make life easier is available.

Do you know of any other friction reduction solutions? We’d be happy to publish them—and if you’d like, we can even mention your name :-)

7. Apps and Tools for Organization and Checklists¶

7.1. Structured¶

Structured offers:

• rolling schedule
• Calendars can be linked
• Routines can be created
  • Shopping lists, morning routine, evening routine
• Notifications
  • on Apple Watch
  • through headphones
• Widget on the iPhone screen
• Inbox for tasks to be assigned later

7.2. Tiimo¶

Similar to Structured, but more visual

• “First, you have to take some time to organize your individual tasks properly. But once you’ve got the hang of it, this app is truly worth its weight in gold.”
  Here’s an example: “Clean up the kitchen” used to always be on my to-do list. When I went to clean up the kitchen, I’d start doing everything at once and end up not finishing anything. For example, I’d start unloading the dishwasher. Then I remembered there were still dishes in the living room that I wanted to put away later, so I went to the living room so I wouldn’t forget. In the living room, I saw that the wool blankets needed to be folded. So I set the dirty dishes aside and folded the wool blankets. Then I forgot about the dirty dishes and went back to doing something else. When I came back to the kitchen later, I saw the dishwasher still open… Well, I’m sure you know how it goes.
  With Tiimo: I have to sit down first and define exactly what I consider part of cleaning up the kitchen. It takes a little while, but it’s kind of cool, too.
  When I’m reminded of the item “Clean up the kitchen,” a visual circle appears that tells me how much time I have. I work through all the sub-items one after another.
  “Thanks to Tiimo, for the first time in a long while, I feel satisfied at the end of the day because I’ve really gotten everything done!”

7.3. Routinery¶

For routines.

7.4. Gossik¶

A friendly robot approaches you and offers words of encouragement.

7.5. Habitica¶

Habitica

• An app where you can create to-do lists and, as you check items off (like in a game), earn levels and rewards.
• : You can find a partner and tackle quests and small battles together (see also “Bodydoubling”)

7.6. Elisi¶

Elisi is a great place to save notes

7.7. TheFabulous¶

• Helps you establish and maintain healthy habits
• Free version with limited functionality

7.8. Obsidian¶

• saves notes as TXT Markdown files that can be stored locally and linked to one another

• Markdown is a simple markup language for text that allows you to format text as you write, without having to use a special format.

• This makes Markdown files future-proof and not tied to Obsidian

• Obsidian can visualize the information clusters created by linking your own notes in Graph View.

• Over time, recurring themes and visual “centers of gravity” emerge even from “daily notes” about one’s daily work.

• On the Obsidian forum, someone is discussing the use of Obsidian for people with ADHD

7.9. Reclaim¶

• Add-on for Google Calendar
• You can enter all your habits and tasks. These are automatically added to the calendar. If there are scheduling conflicts, the other to-dos are automatically rescheduled for a different time.
• Times for potential work, leisure, and meetings can be specified
• You can assign priority levels so that important items appear first on the calendar
• The free version allows only a limited number of habits and tasks
• Paid version: 75 EUR per year

7.10. Toogl¶

Mobile app and PC program
lets you track what you’ve done during the day

7.11. Mical¶

Mical is a calendar app for the iPhone.

The calendar can display the entire month on a single page.

7.12. Tody¶

Tody is a kind of to-do list/cleaning schedule.

7.13. Sweepy¶

Cleaning App
Household chores can be entered at a suitable frequency.
Notification of Overdue Assignments

7.14. Bring it on!¶

Shopping app.

“That’s where I jot down all my errands. No matter what. Even things I’m not sure I really need. It also takes the stress out of it, because I always have my smartphone with me and don’t have to get sidetracked. The app is super intuitive.”

7.15. Notes¶

The Notes app comes preinstalled on every cell phone.

“I use notes for packing lists. I’ve created various packing lists for vacations, day trips, and hikes that include everything I need to bring. I can also add to the lists, break them down into sections, and so on. This way, I can pack everything I need much more quickly and efficiently than I could with the chaos I used to have.”

7.16. Lists¶

Lists come preinstalled on every cell phone.

Shopping Lists

• multiple shopping lists for groceries, home improvement stores, etc.
• Everything you need will be entered
• Items on the to-do list are not deleted, but simply marked as completed (except for items needed only once)
  • To prepare, I can review everything that’s been completed and uncheck whatever is needed
  • When I’m standing in the store without a list, I can still go over the items I’ve already bought. Often, I’ll then remember something else I need, even though it wasn’t specifically listed there

Vacation Packing List

• I use just one vacation packing list. I simply mark the ski clothes I don’t need in the summer as “done.” Having multiple packing lists makes it more work to keep them updated when something needs to be on all of them.

Gift Lists

• Everyone who is supposed to receive a gift is listed there
• Whenever I think of something appropriate, I write it down IMMEDIATELY
• Gifts that have been given away are not deleted but have the year added to them
  • Even with people I love very much, I’ve found myself wondering later on whether I’d already given them a gift or if I still wanted to…

7.17. Sorted¶

7.18. Notion¶

Notion

There is an ADHD template.

7.19. ToDoist¶

ToDoist

7.20. Wakeout¶

Wakeout
Fitness app, available only in English.
Wakeout uses GIFs to show how to do stretches and exercises without equipment or any special skills. It’s great for short stretching breaks or quick but intense workouts at home or in the office.
iOS, Mac, Apple Watch

7.21. Kikidori¶

A privacy-friendly web app that helps neurodivergent children (e.g., those with ADHD or ASD) ages 6 to 12 master daily routines and tasks in a playful way and bring structure to their daily lives.
The two squirrel mascots, Kiki and Dori, help children earn points for completing tasks. Points can be exchanged for pre-agreed rewards—without comparisons, without punishment, and without point deductions.
Servers in Germany, no ads, no trackers.

8. Finance and Tax Apps¶

8.1. YNAB - You Need a Budget.¶

Manage Finances
It’s actually a digital envelope method. It seems very complex, but it isn’t.
There is also an affordable German alternative that works on the same principle but offers fewer amenities

8.2. Banking Apps¶

The various German banks each have their own online banking apps, which are becoming more and more user-friendly.

“When I need to pay for something, I enter the details directly—sometimes with a future payment date—or I take a photo of the invoice and the payment slip, and the app extracts the information needed for the transfer from the photo. Then I just check the first 5 digits of the IBAN, the amount, and the payment description. The IBAN is verified automatically. Otherwise, an error message appears. The first digits of the IBAN are check digits.”

8.3. Financial Manager (Lexware)¶

Finance Manager (formerly Quicken) is a Windows program that retrieves data from bank accounts just like an online banking program, but then stores it permanently in a database on your PC. Transactions can be easily categorized, and the program suggests relevant categories as soon as you start typing a few letters. Recurring transactions can be categorized automatically.
Complex reports and budgets for financial planning can be created.
Receipts can be scanned and linked to journal entries.
Finanzmanager is simple enough for personal use and comprehensive enough to comfortably handle bookkeeping for small businesses (using the income-surplus method),

8.3. TaxGo¶

8.4. Why Taxes?¶

9. Alarm Clock / Medication Timer¶

9.1. Health (iOS)¶

Starting with iOS 16, the default Health app can remind you to take your medication and track your medication intake
- You can enter various medications, including dosages, and specify when you’d like to be reminded
- In the “Reminders” section, you can keep track of your medication so you can see what you took and when

9.2. Alarm Clock with Name¶

The default alarm clock apps on iOS and Android let you assign names so you can set reminders for specific things.

10. Reading Aids¶

Bionic reading is a technique that graphically highlights the parts of words that are relevant to reading comprehension.

10.1. Bionic Reading¶

Bionic Reading is available as an app for Android and iOS, as well as a Chrome extension.

10.2. Bionify¶

Bionify is free and available as a Chrome and Firefox extension.

10.3. Bionize¶

Bionize It seems to be available only as a Chrome extension.

10.4. Riffling¶

Riffling It seems to be available only as a Chrome extension.

11. Methods for Combating Media Addiction¶

11.1. Cell Phone: OneSec Pro¶

With OneSec Pro, you can block apps and websites based on a schedule—for example, anything that uses the Internet from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.
You can set the OneSec app so that it can’t be deleted from your phone while a block is active. Additionally, if you configure it that way, OneSec will intervene when you use certain apps. You’ll then only be able to continue after a certain amount of time has passed, after doing a breathing exercise, or after completing a task. This gives you time to think things over and is so annoying that you end up not wanting to open Instagram after all. OneSec can also intervene again after a while—for example, you might have to take another 5-minute break every 20 minutes or solve a puzzle before you can go back to Instagram.

Caution: Once you’ve set the “strict lock,” you can’t change it anymore. You should first try out what works, and only then lock it in place permanently.

11.2. PC: Cold Turkey Blocker Pro¶

Cold Turkey Blocker Pro is a program that includes browser extensions.
You can

• Block websites and programs during specific times
• Set a time limit for yourself (e.g., 45 minutes of YouTube per day)
• whitelist (e.g., allow access only to your own Instagram channel)
• Limit website access to certain times (e.g., after a 20-minute break, you get 45 minutes on Instagram)

The extensions cannot be removed from the browser. If you remove the extension, the browser will close. You cannot delete the app from your PC while a block is active.