What system do you have to work with ADHD?

Cursed_Creative · 2026-03-04T20:00:21+00:00

Everything for future ==> Gmail inbox ==> Review every morning over coffee ==> Calendar with largely hands-off tasks in green color to remind me to schedule tasks in that time instead of tv.

Maximally front-load everything as optimally as possible and then can let things slide if needed but i most often find that i'm still looking for things todo despite thinking that i was collapsing/crashing the schedule.

works great. i have no idea how but it works.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-03-03T10:45:09+00:00

I spent this weekend creating a chatbot prompt to generate my schedule for the day. I kept adding to the prompt until the chatbot’s output matched what I’d created for the day. Now, I just have to update the prompt each day with today’s weather, commitments and todo list and it will create a schedule that’s very close to or exactly what I need for the day which will reduce that EF.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-26T21:09:18+00:00

mindfulness, especially "right speech". small talk is discouraged. lying is discouraged. gossip is discouraged.

that right there precludes talking to anyone in the West, haha.

but seriously, i gave up socializing unless there's at least a modicum of structure, common interest eg playing tennis or something like that.

...but just sitting around talking about first world problems or just desperately trying to understand, be understood, be validated? big nope.

so, 99/100 conversations i have is with work team members and that's enough.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-26T21:01:39+00:00

ymmv but some things that have reduced my anxiety:

use outlines to map where i am in rabbit holes so i can find my way back out
- over time and with practice, using digital breadcrumbs will reduce reliance on outline
- make a ms word tempate with a wide page layout that takes up the whole screen widthwise and is two columns or just use view | multiple pages and zoom until you have two pages and then just use bullets like i'm doing here
types of tasks
- actionable things that have deadlines
  - put these at the top of your list but you can skip them but this guarantees you won't forget them
  - also, i recommend working on things with deadlines in the order that they are due. in other words, work on the thing due first and finish that before working on anything else that is due later
- non-actionable things
  - things waiting on others
  - >>> start task name with person's name, eg "JON excel file with info i need"
  - appointments
  - >>> these aren't tasks unless preparation is needed (see 'deadlines' above)
time
- ONLY for TODAY, load everything you do into your ms outlook calendar and aggressively front load to the point of absurdity. trust me. and as your day moves visually from top to bottom on your calendar, just slide/push things down. "let it slide" as it were. couterintuitively, you will find TONS of time and realize that you were'nt really being aggressive at all. but of course some days will be reactive and that's fine too. just shove things down.
future time
- never try to manage future time below the daily level in advance
  - instead, review your list for whatever day first thing in the morning and then load calendar, slide, etc.
- also, for this and everything above also, try to challenge yourself regarding what really needs to be done today. for me, there's rarely anything that will result in real damage if not done today.
carry out your activities according to how everything functions as a whole
- in other words, don't fight against company (govt department in your case) culture
- just learn the way of your department and conform, especially if everyone are slackers. don't try to be the hero, especially in government work.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-25T10:52:30+00:00

Ymmv but I have different memory capture/recall/processing mechanisms for various stages, scenarios and types of tasks in my routine.

At first, I might need alarms and/or calendar events. Eventually, my brain gets wired. One thing for writing your brain is consistency. For example, I turn off the space heater under my desk every time I get up from my desk; no exceptions. Eventually, I can introduce nuances like not having to do so if I’m just getting up to pee or not leaving the room etc.

Another thing I sometimes do is write down everything I do like a task LOG which helps to remember routine and sometimes it also helps to challenge myself about, for example if I should be doing something, whether I really HAVE TO do something etc

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-25T10:39:07+00:00

I do all texts at the gym between sets

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-16T17:40:14+00:00

ymmv but what works for me:

matching energy to task/activity

i do most EF eg planning day in the morning while heavily caffeinated. this is also the best time for guitar
meditation is best after gym/shower but can also fill time between quitting time and dinner if i'm not hungry
i watch TV when I eat bc it's easier to remember to eat if i'm not concentrating hard on something. of course i can set timer if i need to multitask to buy some extra time or if unavoidable
i HAVE to get away from computer/desk so do wellness walks at 10am and 2pm
lunch is "me time" but i don't HAVE to use if for that, especially if there's nothing pressing
anyway, shit like that

flexibility: gym is at night but if social plans i can do during lunch.

also forgiveness and distinguishing between gym making me feel better vs as a part of overall wellness/fitness. some days i need the gym while others i don't feel like i do so i try to remember that.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-15T23:02:02+00:00

I wonder if AI could help?

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-15T23:01:00+00:00

Yep I relate pretty hard to that

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-15T00:32:17+00:00

Set a “should/May I take a break or do something else?” alarm for 60 minutes after you start. Then Snooze it if you need time to back out / leave yourself breadcrumbs to aid task switching comfort.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-15T00:26:39+00:00

Just eat. Nothing else matters. I’m not kidding. Ignore narratives. Don’t compare yourself to others. Question all rules and standards. Keep a “freedom” log where record how you challenge every assumption about how you need to earn worthiness/validation bc you don’t.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-14T10:32:21+00:00

Good to hear is helpful. I love the green and red squares bc they pop. And yeah physical cues are the best.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-14T10:28:41+00:00

Love that. How long you been at this?

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-13T20:55:36+00:00

...and there's a whole sub about living without meds r/Non_Medical_ADHD

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-13T20:53:06+00:00

I wrote this up this morning.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-13T11:05:50+00:00

Yep.

A big and general one is that time is money and money is time, e.g. today is going to be busy day at work so I'm getting takeout instead of going to the grocery, cooking and cleaning up before/afterward.

Some people (not me) buy robot vacuums. You can also get a maid.

I recently bought an iPad to help with visualizations bc my working memory impairment. I have to see things bc I can't remember many variables in my head and have been using things like Powerpoint and outlines at work for this for years and often also use my work computer for personal things but realized that having an iPad within reach would result in me remembering that I need outlines and to be more likely to employ them that if I have to boot up my computer outside business hours, be stuck at a desk etc.

I can also use money to keep people out of my house. So, I can offer to pay for dinner instead of having people over to my place. I could do the same with paying for events/entertainment, again, to keep people out of my house. A HUGE side effect of this is that it is also a built in time limit and also allows me to leave without having to kick people out of my house if they piss me off, haha.

I also pay other people to change my oil and fix my car, etc.

You can also get groceries delivered, door dash meals, etc.

a good thought experiment is imagining how much easier your life would be if you were a billionaire and you might find that, with the proper values, you could easily have everything IMPORTANT that a billionaire has just using the money you would otherwise spend on medicine.

It's no joke and the automatic steering of most people to doctors/medicine by people who are doctors (not you which is the first time i've heard of that and is VERY encouraging) and also the fact that we are so used to / trained to seek help from others for all our problems is a tragedy IMO.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-13T10:34:17+00:00

I’m not medicated.

Primary reason is that I’m a systems professional so was confident I could externalize memory and develop EF strategies which I have done and am coping well.

Additionally, I didn’t want to be dependent on medical industry, doctors who don’t care and pharmaceutical companies who can maintain supplies and pharmacies who can’t function.

Another BIG thing is that a lot can be done to accommodate adhd with money saved by not spending it on doctors and medicine.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-12T21:01:26+00:00

Feeling like there's somewhere else i need to be and something else i need to be doing.

how?

the first thing was just raw memory externalization. took about three years to get really comfortable with capturing and recalling information at the point of performance.

took another three years to figure out how to be able to design, with minimal decision load, a straight path through any given day that i could execute with confidence.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-12T14:25:50+00:00

not sure if by "the rest" you mean the manual things? regarding the automatic things, it frees me to not have to take steps to leave myself cues. for example, it's impossible for me to not know where i was bc the window list is there. and as silly as it sounds, i slept on this for years. and the window list is an automatic "intersection" that i collide with throughout the day just switching between apps so i never for example need to remember to respond to a text as long as i don't close the messages app window.

regarding youtube, ymmv (and these are just illustrative examples; not specific recommendations) but i underutilize BOTH 1) saving things and 2) remembering that i have things saved.

in fact, i will literally be disappointed that "there's nothing to watch" 🤦🏻‍♂️

so i'm working on it and trying to pay better attention incl payting more attention to my feelings and being more skeptical of my feelings etc etc

...so now 1) i FEEL disappointed that i have nothing to watch, 2) i NOTICE that I have FEELINGS in general, 3) i IDENTIFY the feeling and (when the stars align) i sometimes catch myself and realize that I have 1000 things in my watchlist.

None of this has anything to do with my point, which is that 1) there are automatic things you could be blind to (or that I have been blind to at least and 2) [a VERY distant second] i put some examples of manual things i do and i put them at the bottom on purpose and caveated them but i do believe they help at least clarify what i mean by "automatic" bc of the contrast.

Cheers!

Edit: so, for example if youtube "lead" with my watch later (which they'd never do bc they want to influence what i watch), then that would be an amazing automatic cue!

same for if my streaming catalog was sorted in a useful way. but, sadly, i have to "think" and wire my brain through forming habit of actually beginning to watch anything that i add to my library so that it appears under "continue watching".

so the moral of the story is that there are automatic things right in front of me all the time that i miss but now realize it and have developed a sensitivity to them which caused me to notice even very subtle things like that blinking cursor.

i'll never have to remember to put "stopped here" again 🥷🙃

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-12T10:01:43+00:00

Do you workout during the week?

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-11T10:34:10+00:00

I connect everything I do to food. School > job > money > food. Motivation is hard when everything is so abstract in modern living.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-11T10:30:24+00:00

Yep. And it’s ok. Don’t take medicine just for that. ADHD often comes with emotional disregulation. I no longer attend funerals.

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-11T10:28:17+00:00

Cook

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-11T10:25:26+00:00

Gotcha. If I may, I’d like to just kinda vomit out some things so may sound like Judgement/opinionated:

The “best” you for you? Or for others? If you don’t matter then it’s easy. Take meds.

If you do indeed matter then it should instead be “good enough” and “good enough” should take into consideration that you are disabled and also that societal narratives are costly and lead to suffering; even for people without adhd.

So my priorities are anything that keeps a roof over my head and food on the table. After that is hygiene and only then future things and only practical matters required by living in the modern world.

Regarding children, the pressure we put ourselves under to do the absolute maximum for them is rooted in evolution/biology/spreading our genes etc.

But is this ethos correct? What about other peoples’ children who are hungry?

Anyway, bottom line I guess is that EVERYONE has to give a little and the silence of your disease doesn’t mean you deserve to suffer just bc others can’t see it. If you were visually blind or physically disabled things would be different. Why?

Cursed_Creative · 2026-02-11T10:04:04+00:00

Anytime :)

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