this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2023
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ADHD

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There's a lot of to-do list apps, reminders, calendars etc out there advertised towards us to help us do things like break down large tasks into meaningful chunks and focus on what we need to do each day, but I want to hear from the community what do you guys think is the best so let's start a thread

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Am I the only one who feels like productivity/organization tools for ADHD people is like bicycles for blind kids? Like, "yeah I can see how a functional person could find this useful, but what the heck am I going to do with it?"

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

The only way I'm able to get anything done is by externalising my memory. I just make sure I have reminders on a smartwatch so that they forcibly are brought to my attention even if I'm away from my PC/phone.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How do you set reminders on your smartwatch?

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I just have a dry-erase board for planning out my week at work and at home I fly by the seat of my pants and spend months attempting to form good habits

It took me 25 years just to start brushing my teeth once a day, no idea how long until I get it up to twice a day.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

heard recently that people with ADHD can't form habbits in the same way neurotypicals do, thats why we struggle with this shit so often!

I try to brush before bed, and when I shower. Thats like.. 1.5 times daily (most days), i'm almost there :P

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

We can, but they are extremely limited. I've a habit of checking my keys, phone and wallet are in my pocket when I leave the house. I also have the habit of thinking, "I need to brush my teeth" in the mornings. Unfortunately, forming a habit of actually brushing my teeth is more than my brain can handle (hence the work around).

Medication helps a lot, with even minimal habit forming. It vastly accelerates it from 5-10 years, to maybe 6-12 months, for simple habits. I can lock in 1 a year now!

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Holy fuck I am not the only one.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

I hear you. They can be a time sink (bone apple tea?). For me, basic BuJo on paper has been the answer for years. Recently though, I've started to use Google Tasks and Calendar to push tasks at me more than the pull of paper and pen.

[–] GregoryTheGreat 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My most used app for this is the built in alarms app.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I have so many alarms, no other app forces you to pay attention like an alarm.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Goblin tool. You give it a task you want to do and it breaks it down into smaller tasks/steps which you can keep breaking down. Also has a tone rewording tool and a tool for checking if you are taking something in the wrong tone. Super helpful for people with ADHD and Autism.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh, that looks really promising. But I'm extremely hesitant to use something like this if it can't be done 100% local and offline

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They have an app for $0.99, but I believe it still needs connection for all the back end task generation and stuff. Hopefully it works for you as another tool for the tool box!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

What it spits out from just the words clean room is pretty damn great, more than enough to convince me. And while I'm generally very careful with AI, I think in this instance it's best for me to swallow my damn pride, and accept the help it can give me.

The About section does mention the wish to move this to open source solutions, which I'd very much love to see. I'm looking forward to whenever that can happen.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

Be wary of falling into the new tool new toy cycle. I have a huge problem of wanting to try new tools despite the current solution working absolutely fine.

I'm down to Ticktick for tasks and habits, and Obsidian for notes.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Habitica for daily tasks (I like the RPG feel), gobin.tools for breaking down tasks into manageable increments, and the pomodoro app Focus To-Do to keep momentum. I use a paper calendar for appointments and dates and index cards to keep track of tasks that don't have a specific date involved.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Goblin.tools is interesting! The chef tool will be a huge help!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I’ve been messing around with obsidian (a note-taking/thought-keeping app only for people who like to tinker and customize so wouldn’t necessarily recommend here), but having something that syncs between all my devices is FANTASTIC. It would still be nice to try something more grab and go, but I would highly recommend considering apps that can be easily accessed and edited from multiple devices.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

only for people who like to tinker and customize so wouldn’t necessarily recommend here

I seriously cannot tell if this is sarcasm

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

lol. I meant it seriously but now I see my mistake.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm finding Obsidian.md really great, it's become my daily checklist, to-do lists, shopping lists, calendar, and notes archive all at once. It doesn't give reminders (there might be a plugin for that actually) but I always have it open on a second screen and I sync it between my phone and my computer, and I've been much better at keeping track of things since I started using it.

The program is kind of a lot, but it's worth putting in some effort to set it up in a way that works for you. Although to be honest I think I only figured out how it works because I was also motivated to use it for Dungeons and Dragons. Otherwise I'd probably still be using my old mess of sticky notes.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Just a shame that it's not open source. I've been using Zettlr instead, it's pretty much the only FOSS alternative that doesn't pester me into syncing my stuff to a cloud, which is the one thing I like most about Obsidian.

How do you go about using it? I have a strong case of out of sight, out of mind, so I set it to launch automatically when I login, otherwhise I would just forget about its existence.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I have it set to launch on startup, and always open on my second screen. I have to make a point to check my day's task list before opening any other program, add new tasks as soon as they come up, check things off when they get done (free dopamine), and note down any unresolved items at the end of the day.

I also end up checking it incidentally a lot during the day simply because I use it for so many things, like my schedule, appointment and lecture notes, journaling, keeping track of medication, things I want to work on in the game I'm playing, etc. I'm kind of throwing all my (previously very disorganised) eggs in this basket and it's giving me reasons to check it constantly.

Just now discovered a reminder plugin so I'll start implementing that too.

Actually getting things done is a whole other issue though. Between the ADHD and my other health issues, some days I just end up with a blank template page for my daily note... but I try not to be hard on myself about it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I personally use Logseq and sync my notes between my computer and my phone using Syncthing.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I use it mostly as an information dump. I love how you can just put things in daily notes and tag something as a #todo or #researchthing and have the first thing automatically added to your running todo list and the second unrelated item is piled in with any other notes with that tag. Which is great if you have no focus.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

I've been using TickTick for a while now. It syncs with my Android phone and work computer pretty cleanly. It handles notifications, recurring tasks, skipping a task until the next time, habits tracked differently than tasks, etc. I don't use the premium stuff and it doesn't have ads in it. So, it's free for me.

I've got a keyboard shortcut on my computer ,so I can quickly add new items on the fly. The entry has basic language parsing to pick out the date and things. I can just enter "every monday check the mail #life" and it'll set up and tag the task automatically.

I'm working on finding good ways to make sure that I actually follow my to-do at work instead of latching on to the top item and getting lost on it for the whole day, but it's working for now.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I use the Microsoft 'To Do' app.

On your phone, set it as a widget and put it on your home screen so it's the first thing you see when you unlock your phone.

On your computer, set your browsers homepage as your To Do task list, so it's the first thing you see when you open your browser.

Whenever you think of anything you need to do, just write it in, you'll be reminded of it constantly. Any appointments won't be forgotten, and you can set due dates for any task.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

TickTick has served me well for the past few years. I throw them some cash but I hear the free version doesn’t lack much.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Oh my god I have my entire life and my husband and kiddo's entire life on TickTick.

Every tiny thing I have to do during the day is planned out.. I can't even express how much I love that app.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Google Calendar with a ton of notifications per event and goblin.tools to automatically break down tasks.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Same for me. Now that I know about goblin.tools, I will take over the world! Mu-ha-ha

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Android user here.

Habits to track my habits and get reminders to do things. I've got things as simple as brushing my teeth in here and have them spread across multiple areas. You can set different goals such as every day, 3 times a week, etc.

Google keep for short reminders/quick access info. The search is good and it integrates with my Google home devices to add items to my lists such as my grocery list

Todoist for task management. I love that I can use natural language when creating a task. I keep both work and personal tasks in here and plan out my day every morning using task time estimates. I've got labels for 5, 15, 30 minutes and higher for estimates for how long a task will take. Helps when I've got 30 minutes between meetings and need to find something productive to do during that time.

Notion for notes. I jumped on the hype train and thus far have found I don't use it to it's full potential. I could probably get by with something simpler but I don't want to migrate again (came from onenote)

Journey for journaling. I try to use it daily and include pictures if possible. This has really helped with my poor memory of past events. They will remind you of throwback entries which are always fun to go back and look at. I also record what I ate for the day (not tracking macros so this is good enough) and also things I'm grateful for here.

Google calendar for work and personal. Wife and I add each other to events which has helped immensely when juggling shared things, doctors appointments, kids events, and more.

Insight Timer for meditations. I try to meditate in the mornings and the premium features gives you access to some courses that I've found really great. It also has sleep meditations which don't always work for me but come in handy on occasion.

Those are the big ones. Every year around Christmas when I take some time off work I try to evaluate my productivity tools and process, and so far these have all been what I've settled on

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Question. I tried to do the habit tracking thing but found I was overwhelmed by spending so much time tracking various things that it just became unsustainable. Did you pick specific areas you wanted to address or do you just do everything? I still do medication, but that's because I don't want to accidentally overdose. Again.

I've also never been able to keep a journal to save my life. 2 days is about as far as I get. So kudos to you for all the strategies you have going here.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The habits app is super quick to update. Takes me 30 seconds when I plug in my phone for bed. I do try to pick something to focus on each week, but the nice thing about the app I use is you don't have to do the things every day. Most of my goals are set to some number of times per week.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Hm, ok. Maybe I'll give habit tracking another shot. Thanks!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Honestly the only thing that has worked for me is ritalin_highdose.exe

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I quite like habitica as it makes stuff do to sorta a game but definitely wouldn’t work for everyone

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Todark and Habo. I use them in combination and still forget things. But atleast the design is nice

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I'd add MyTherapy to the mix. It's designed for tracking medication. It can pester you into remembering your meds, as well as keep track of remaining supply.

I combine it with a timer cap on my medication. That way I can see if I've opened (and taken) it, or just thought about it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

How does stuff like that work, wont it require consistency from the user which is something people with adhd are bad at.

I use lists but the amount of times i literally fail to put everything on the list is ridiculous.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

It requires less consistency I think. You have to set it up once. Then you have to input each time you get more meds to update your stock. That isn't too often either but you need to be consistent in that.

In return you don't need to remember by yourself when to get new meds. And you don't need to remember all by yourself to take your meds everyday, maybe even multiple times a day.

Sounds like a good deal to me.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I set my wife's phone up with the MyTherapy app. I like (and she hate-likes) that it has its own notification rules separate from the built-in alarms, so her meds notifications are set to make noise every 5 minutes until she actively dismisses it (usually once she's actually gotten around to taking what she needs to take). Doesn't always work, but tends to work. I haven't tried messing with the refill reminders; I should look into that for her.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I use a list program called any.do (synchs with my iphone and computer) as well as my google calendar. Any.do lets me keep multiple lists by category (and can share them with other people). It also creates grocery list that it sorts by category. Then I use evernote for all of my brain dump stuff and notepad for quickly jotting stuff down (like lists of names 😊).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I used to get sucked into finding new tools to help me be more productive, but keeping it simple and visible works for me.

I use Apple Reminders and leverage their smart tags to break tasks down by how long they’ll take, how much effort, and when they need to be done. I keep Reminders open on my iPad so I can always see it, and when I have 15 minutes to kill, I select a 15-minute or less task and knock it out. It works for me, and my whole family can add to it, so I never forget to do something.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I used to get sucked into finding new tools to help me be more productive, but keeping it simple and visible works for me.

Ditto! I keep my shopping list in Home Assistant, and always in Home Assistant. The rest of the notes go in Joplin.

I require apps that can sync (and at least work half-decent on mobile) and that are as little of a barrier as possible. Even then, forming a habit took a while.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

My #1 app is myNoise.com. Without 30 minutes of noise-assisted chill after a work day, I'd be an overwhelmed wreck at home.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I use color note for a to do list,reminder page and shopping lists. It's just a note pad of lists. a calendar, phone alarms and a spin the wheel app. I use the spin the wheel on my days off.One for house chores and one with things I like to do. I do one chore then one fun thing. I can also hide the stuff I complete (on the wheels) until everything gets done. I guess I am trying to make boring tasks into a game so they get done and I get a reward spin for completing the boring task. None of the reward tasks are huge, they basically give me small increments of free time to do something I like to do. Then repeat until the boring tasks are completed.

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