From a postgraduate student in her 9th year since diagnosis
(aka things I do regularly that I don't think about anymore, but didn't know about when I was first diagnosed)
Put those guys everywhere. One of the best pieces of advice I found early on. Time seems actually real when I can watch it move around the clock! And visualise how long I have by the spaces on the clock face.
If you take medication, consider taking it with cranberry juice (or a cranberry juice mix).
This was a great piece of advice I got from an ADHD nurse (shoutout to Paul). It helps the medication last longer throughout the day!
On a similar note, try to avoid too much vitamin C right around the time you take your medication, as it can make it harder to absorb.
You will not remember it.
(As in, you may remember many things, but the exact thing you need to know at the time may not be one of them. Save yourself)
When I was in the early stages of my recovery and everything felt like too much, I gave myself 3 things to do each day. Sometimes it was just like 1) get up 2) eat 3) read. But it gave me something to tick off and feel like I was going somewhere!
This might not be for everyone, but for me, I really started to get the hang of scheduling things and actually getting my head around how much I could do in a day/week, and when things were happening when I started using a paper diary. Every year I get a 'Season's Greetings' set from one of my favourite kpop groups (whichever has the best diary/calendar setup that year), and that also helps because it adds the incentive of a special interest :)
Consider using a whiteboard monthly planner
I got one of these for the first time during my semester abroad in Korea when it felt like life was moving 200 times faster than it ever had for me and I had very little space to organise in. It was amazing, I could make a note on each day if anything was happening and then refer to my diary for details if needed, and see at a glance what was happening. Also good for pacing because I could see if I was going to have a busy week and try to plan accordingly! I started off with printable ones but now prefer the whiteboard kind because I can keep changing/updating it and it looks less cluttered.
If you take medication, this is really helpful. I make it a habit now to restock my pill cases at the start of each week (on a Sunday for me). I have 2 pill cases, one that's more travel friendly which holds a weeks' worth of lunchtime doses and lives in my backpack, and a traditional style dossette box that holds a weeks' worth of breakfast medication and lives on the table next to where I eat my breakfast. Since using this system with these particular cases, I haven't been caught short and haven't lost them, which is a minor miracle!
Try to find or think of something that always lifts your mood, even that little bit. For me, it's usually upbeat music. I set my alarm music as my favourite energising songs, and if I'm having a slow morning I like to listen to a morning playlist of similar songs while I get ready. I also play music in the car and it helps me chill out at the start of my day. Personally, I think certain kinds of music can be magic for ADHD brains, but this is just my opinion!
This isn't always straightforward for everyone (and certainly isn't for me), and as much as I would ideally do something energetic regularly, it doesn't always work out that way (if you can do something like martial arts, or dance, that would probably be amazing!) but I definitely find that if I've had a bad pain week and moved less, I feel more restless. When this happens, my go-to is usually just a simple stretching routine. It really helps to ground me and feel more aware of where I am. I still do love higher-energy movement, though, and fit it in when I can!
This isn't easy, but try to remember that you can't get it right 100% of the time, and it's okay to have bad days. Ask for help when you need it, be patient with yourself, and know that it takes time to understand your needs and build habits around them. You got this 💖
Let me know if you're interested in any more. I might post another of these or write a little more in-depth about some of the points.
