#adhd lifehack

Pay your bills the moment you get them. Like open the envelope and pay it right then and there. Even if you can't pay the whole thing, at least make a payment on it. Right there, immediately. Like so literally. Hold it in one hand, pull your phone out with your other hand, and Immediately Pay That Shit (or some of it.) While it's still in your hand for the first time.

Do not set it down. Do not do another task. Do not "come back to it later." Pay that thing right goddamn now.

I just spent the last two hours on the phone with an old friend of mine, chatting about how things were going, who did what, and how everyone else was doing.

It was so nice to just chat while I was cleaning the apartment (yes I do that because ADHD, and it HELPS).

He was not really sure on what to do later in life (too many paths to take and too many ideas), but I'm happy to report he's got a plan on how to go about it, and how to find his path.

If you're ever feeling a bit empty, give your old friends a call. They are your friends, even if you parted ways because of careers or relationships, and they appreciate hearing from you.

“But I don’t need one, I just gotta stop being too lazy to go to the kitchen…”

Rather than giving myself deadlines based on how long the task would actually take (you know, if I worked on it solidly) and then beating myself up for “not being productive” I started just giving myself deadlines that were very generous, simply assuming it would take a long time because I’d get distracted 30 times a day. Well, I have been getting distracted, but I’m also making progress without all the stress and guilt, and I think I’m probably being more productive and feeling mentally healthier while I’m at it. Not to mention the added advantage of people not being like “You said you’d be done by noon!” or “Why are you doing that rather than the thing you’re supposed to be working on?” when you take a two minute break. Like now I can just say “I have plenty of time” and I do, and will get it done in perfectly reasonable time, without any stress or panic.

This became a lot longer than intended and far too much of it is contained within a couple of sentences.

Hi, ADHD brains over here.  Cleaning the dishes has always been one of my biggest struggles with cleaning, and I feel like I’ve had a breakthrough on it that I have to share.

I really thought it was because the dishes are gross.  The textures are bad, sometimes there’s a smell--although, I’ve started burning a scented candle when I do the dishes, and that helps even when there isn’t a smell.  (I just like candles! ^_^ )  So yeah, the dishes are fundamentally gross--but I just figured out what was really stopping me, and I feel... so dumb, but also so galaxy-brained, for hacking my own thinkmeat like this?

It’s the dishrack.  

The dishrack, which is full of clean dishes.  The place where clean dishes go, in order to drip dry.  That dishrack.  

If I come into the kitchen and the dishrack is full, I think, “Oh, can’t do dishes yet,” (not in so many words, it’s more a non-verbal decision-sequence that occurs, y’all know what I mean), and then I leave the kitchen and the dishes are still dirty.  But if I just put the clean dishes away, I suddenly don’t have any problem washing the dirty dishes anymore!  It just... magically gets easier!  

Fucking wild!

Anyway, the point is:  ADHD buddies, reblog this post with your own “I can’t believe my stupid brain was doing that!” lifehacks!

"Here’s how to do it:

Relax the muscles in your face, including tongue, jaw and the muscles around the eyes

Drop your shoulders as far down as they’ll go, followed by your upper and lower arm, one side at a time

Breathe out, relaxing your chest followed by your legs, starting from the thighs and working down

You should then spend 10 seconds trying to clear your mind before thinking about one of the three following images:

You’re lying in a canoe on a calm lake with nothing but a clear blue sky above you

You’re lying in a black velvet hammock in a pitch-black room

You say “don’t think, don’t think, don’t think” to yourself over and over for about 10 seconds.

So what I’m doing is I’m writing down/saving websites for Things I Suddenly Need Right Now. I get the price of the item(s). Then I made a new savings account with my bank (which was easy, just a few clicks).

What I do is, I write down how much money the Stuff costs, and then I transfer that much money from my checking to the new Fun Money savings account. This works for me in a couple of ways:

I won’t forget what the Thing was that I Desperately Need, because I wrote it down.

Money got “spent”. I don’t know why this tricks my brain or fulfils my need, but it works for me.

If, during the month, I run out of money for bills in my main checking account, I can just take the money out of the Fun Money account.

At the end of the month, any money left in the Fun Money account can be spent on the Fun Things I Desperately Needed!

By the end of the month my Need for a lot of those items has usually faded, so I’m able to really decide if I need/want any of them at all.

If I don’t buy anything, the money just stays there and earns interest.