Juju
Love this.
As a teacher I often have to jump on a task that isn’t actually that urgent but scratches an itch (to do with some research I’m excited about / solves a problem in a cool way / feels novel etc) in order to get me working through my to do list.
I much, much prefer talking while walking as it removes all the weird decisions about what to do with my face and gestures.
Yes I completely agree. And even neurotypical people can be victim to the trap of worrying about the right way to do things and assigning unhelpful rules to tasks.
But yes I really find it helpful to try and let go off those rules. We should do things in the way that works for us. Personally, I leave most of my laundry hung up in the sun room (that I’m lucky to have) until I’m ready to wear it and/or put it away. I’m also a fan of putting away just a few things at a time.
Yes to writing everything down and yes to google keep. I am now trialling using ticktick and obsidian but google keep stays as its simplicity makes it the perfect tool for quickly capturing thoughts before they fall out of your head forever.
I also majorly thank myself for the few things I indexed when I started a bullet journal. Everything I need my driving test ref it is so satisfying to go to the contents page and find the page number where the ref number is written down.
I’d agree with basically all of the things you said.
I’d add just general acceptance or at least trying to remind myself to accept that I need what I need, my brain works the way it does and progress is messy and not linear.
Part of that is also accepting that what works might not work forever. ADHD makes me constantly have to adapt my tools and change what I use to help keep myself organised. It is in my nature to flit from one thing to another and difficult to be consistent but rather than fighting it I think it is OK to go with it. For example, one month the bullet journal is my thing. I will rave about it, research it, proclaim it is saving my life and then all of a sudden it drops off and it is something else that is now the new thing. That’s okay.
Also…trying to train myself out of all or nothing thinking / complete on or off mode. For example, in the past I’d either madly tidy the entire house or gradually let it become worse and worse until it’s horrendous to live in. Actually letting myself mentally off the hook helps me be better at this. For example, I didn’t wash the dishes today? That’s okay, no biggie. I know I can do it… I’ll just do it tomorrow. Previously I’d allow one perceived failure to prompt me to spiral into never doing that thing again.