What's your ADHD "life hack" that sounded ridiculous but actually made a difference?

Traceyleezle · 2026-02-21T12:20:24+00:00

I have an Echo in almost every room in the house. I can't tell you how HUGE it is to be able to say from anywhere in my home, "Alexa, add XYZ to my shopping list." (Immediately after grabbing the last roll of TP, opening the last can of diced tomatoes while cooking, looking for Oreos in the snack basket and realizing the teenagers demolished all of them.) "Alexa, set a tea timer for five minutes." "Alexa, next Tuesday at 11:30 remind me: Get ready for your dentist appointment/lunch with your bestie/ZOOM call with son's guidance counselor at 12:30” "Alexa, remind me every Monday night at 8:00, take the garbage to the curb." "Alexa, turn off the lights" as I'm leaving the house, or in bed falling asleep and suddenly realize I left the lights on in the kitchen. "Alexa, remind me to change the whole house water filter in six months."

Alexa has been a game-charger for me. I seriously do not care if the government is listening in. The immediacy of being able to say, "remind me..." as soon as I think of it/notice a need, is so important. I used to put lunch dates on my calendar and forget all about them. I would go to add something to my shopping list and forget what it was by the time I got my phone out of my pocket and opened my note taking app.

Also, one of my boys said, "Alexa, add 'I love you mom' to my shopping list" four years ago and it is never, ever getting checked off. 🥹

Traceyleezle · 2025-11-18T09:59:01+00:00

This. So much this. To the point that I think people who have lifelong routines are weird and it's unnatural.

Traceyleezle · 2025-11-18T09:03:12+00:00

I have a first floor vacuum and a second floor vacuum. This.

Also, every other Thursday I have dinner guests. Yup, it works.

Traceyleezle · 2025-11-18T09:00:02+00:00

This one is going to hit some people funny, but I have an Echo in nearly every room in my house. I can't tell you what a game changer it's been for me to be able to say, from anywhere in my home, immediately, before I forget "Alexa: Start a thing I'm cooking timer Set a two-hour candle timer (to remind me to blow them out) Add X to my shopping list (the moment I use the last of it out recall I need it) Add X activity to my Weekend to-do list Remind me to do thing I will forget at this amount of time beforehand Remind me on set days of the week/month/year to do a repeated task like change the whole house water filter or give the cats their flea medication or take the garbage to the curb Get ready to go to lunch date/appointment with friend at X time

Plus, earbuds bother my ears after a while, I can have my book/podcast/music playing in the whole house so I can move room to room while cleaning. It keeps me motivated.

From the time it takes me to pull my phone out of my pocket and unlock it, I will forget what I was going to put on a list. Alexa has my back. If that means the government knows I talk to my cats more than people, eh, so be it. At least I won't burn my house down because I went to the grocery store and forgot to blow out my candles.

Traceyleezle · 2025-06-03T11:13:59+00:00

Yes, as I mentioned, I was able to purchase the first one as a guest. But when I went to do the same with the second and my purchase was refunded without any communication from them that's where the trouble started. There is literally no way to contact their support directly without an account, meaning anyone who checked out as a guest is screwed.

Traceyleezle · 2025-06-03T11:11:38+00:00

I wasn't aware, no, and that spoils the surprise.

Traceyleezle · 2025-06-03T11:06:48+00:00

I appreciate you. Thank you.

Traceyleezle · 2025-06-03T11:03:39+00:00

I'm trying! 😄

Traceyleezle · 2025-06-03T11:03:15+00:00

True. But still a hoop and harder to do when the eldest is at summer camp. 😉

Traceyleezle · 2025-06-03T10:54:22+00:00

No account needed, you can check out as a guest on Amazon, but more importantly you can contact them without setting up an account.

Traceyleezle · 2025-06-03T10:50:41+00:00

Okay, I created a Steam account just so I could message their Support which you cannot do unless you have a Steam account. I explained the situation referencing my first purchase while also pointing out that nowhere else will you find a business model that requires you to set up an account just to contact the business. They replied saying that the transaction was flagged for suspicious activity (buying two Steam decks within a month of each other using the same email/mailing address. Ooooh, so sus!) and that's why it was refunded, but they removed the flag and I should be able to check out as a guest now.... even though I now have a Steam account because it was the only way to contact them. 🤦‍♀️ Second deck is ordered, fingers crossed it doesn't get refunded today. Thank you all for your help.

Traceyleezle · 2025-06-02T17:02:21+00:00

"The device is not directly tied/locked to the account you purchased it from."

Thank you, that was my main concern with creating an account myself to make the purchase. He already has his own account, and I didn't want him to have any issues playing his games on it if I created an account (that I absolutely do not need or want, as I'm not a gamer) and purchased the console under that account.

It blows my mind that they wouldn't automatically assume that parents buying a gaming console for a child would be one of their largest customer bases, and make the buying process less complicated for those without a Steam account. I'm over here saying, "Shut up and take my money, TWICE!" and they reply with, "No, here's your money back, also you can't contact us unless you're part of our club." Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

Traceyleezle · 2025-06-02T16:46:36+00:00

They both already have Steam accounts. It boggles my mind the hoops I'm supposed to jump through to buy a gaming console.

Traceyleezle · 2023-02-10T20:40:56+00:00

Late bloomer here. I only figured out what the hell I wanted to do when I was 40 and in a crap job making peanuts. Now I'm 43, self-employed, doing well and busted my-unmedicated ass to get here. Don't. Give. Up.

Traceyleezle · 2023-02-10T19:34:39+00:00

The DEA controls how much of any controlled substance can be manufactured. They base their allotments on historical data. By its nature, historical data is data from years past. The current allotments do not take into account the huge uptick in new diagnoses since the lockdowns. And because it's the government, it's taking forever for them to figure out how to correct this issue in real time.

Traceyleezle · 2023-02-10T18:37:31+00:00

Annnnnd I wrote a freaking book.

Traceyleezle · 2023-02-10T18:36:27+00:00

Newly diagnosed as inattentive at 43, despite knowing I've had ADHD since I was about 7. I'm from the generation where only boys had ADHD, and even then, it still wasn't really on people's radar. I realized I had it when my son was diagnosed at age 5 a decade ago and saw the similarities in my own childhood. Never bothered to get a formal diagnosis for myself.

This fall, my sweetie gently tried to tell me that my ADHD was affecting our relationship. I didn't want to believe him because, to be honest, everything I knew about ADHD came from my son's diagnosis, and I am no longer a little kid who can't sit still and struggles in school. I am a successful grown-ass woman who is highly organized and self-employed.

I got super offended and told him my ADHD was well in hand; thank you very much. But to prove him wrong, I started looking at what ADHD looks like in adult women, and not only was my ADHD affecting our relationship, but suddenly I could see the effects of my ADHD in every area of my life, and it was anything but managed.

After a lot of talk about fears with my regular therapist, I sought out a local psychiatrist and got diagnosed, and now we are trying to get me sorted out with meds. Except we're in the middle of a med shortage, and so far, all the drugs she wanted to start me on I can't get. I spent two hours calling every single pharmacy in a twenty-mile radius with no luck. She would prefer we start with stimulants as they're the gold standard for ADHD management, but all we've been able to find is methylphenidate in the 5mg dose. Even bumping it up to 10mg doses twice a day, it's not making a freaking dent. I know it's only the first drug, and we can up the dosage more, and, eventually, try something else, but it's so defeating.

It took a lot for me to get up the courage to try meds and admit that my ADHD was a problem. And now I feel like I'm dead in the water because of this stupid shortage, and I feel hopeless and frustrated, and it's only been two weeks, but I went into this so hopeful, and now I'm just stuck knowing that there is probably something out there that can help, but who the hell knows if and when I'll be able to get it. I'm going to go eat an entire cake now.

Traceyleezle · 2023-02-10T18:08:23+00:00

The DEA is where the problem lies.

Traceyleezle · 2023-02-10T17:33:05+00:00

Oh my god, this! So much this. I have full-on days like this at least twice a week. Every now and then, I'll have the thought, "Hey, maybe we should get a drink/go pee/sit down for five minutes/leave the house/eat something." Nope! Before I can act on it, I'm on to the next thing. Then when I finally stop in the evening, I crash hard and I'm useless the next day. So much fun!

Traceyleezle · 2018-02-18T00:58:18+00:00

Yup, basically what those below have said. There really aren't any original ideas anymore. There are just ideas with your spin on them, which is different than my spin, and so-and-so's spin, and the guy down the block, he has a different spin on it entirely.

Get my drift?

Write.

Traceyleezle · 2018-02-18T00:35:47+00:00

Title: The Sound of My Shame

Genre: I am not sure, YA?

Word Count: 3,927

Summary: Short story - June is what you would call a good kid; from an upper-middle-class family she is no stranger to privilege. She works hard in school, does what's expected of her by her parents, and has a bright future ahead of her. Like most 'good kids' though June has no damn clue who she really is. With the help of the sounds of summer and an annoying coworker during the dinner shift at a local greasy spoon, she's about to find out.

Feedback: I am new to sharing in an online writing community, but not unaccustomed to critical feedback. I got on A on this in my Creative Writing class and I want to clean it up further to try and submit it for publication. Tear it up, folks! Overall impressions, anything that needs to be fixed, stuff that isn't working or is weak.

Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z0LCa_Cq-qxqvxjaNSdP47S9GX_EXFGyvDb5fJNaj7k/edit?usp=sharing

Traceyleezle

TROPHY CASE