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.

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.

Amphetamines

Lists. My notes app puts in work. I make lists for everything. I set alarms for everything. I write things down while I’m thinking about them because I will forget. I ask for things in writing because I will misremember what was said. I have a white board stuck to my fridge so that I can write down when we’re out of something or running low. Oh. And basketball nets over the hamper.

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

Loud, energizing music will calm you by feeding a steady stream of dopamine.

Sadly this is also why I can fall asleep at a party after a coffee.

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.

• 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 feel like you’re struggling to accomplish a task, take a moment to think about your stimulation level. Are you understimulated or overstimulated? Sometimes just acknowledging it is enough, everyone has their own techniques.

For example, if I’m trying to work and I’m understimulated, I might throw on some metal music or something like that. If I’m overstimulated, probably means I should sit in a dark room for 5 or 10 minutes until I feel better before trying to do anything.

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.

So empty….

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.

I have a todo app and have set up recurring reminders for daily/weekly/monthly tasks.

Daily for like dishes/trash/meals
Weekly for laundry/groceries/etc
Monthly for budgeting/deeper cleaning

I don’t stress if I miss one (or many,lol) but at least having them in the app means I have the list handy already when I realize I should check it, and not be wondering “what was that once a month thing I meant to do…?”

Double speed audio.

I have real difficulty with listening to people speaking slowly. By the time they finish the sentence I have lost the start, so unless I actively hold their sentence until it is done I often lose meaning or misunderstand.

Listening at double speed allows me to keep up without losing what was said. I listen to audiobooks and podcasts while doing most chores and it has been a game changer.

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.