Post by Amtram on Mar 24, 2014 14:29:25 GMT -5
I saw an interesting tweet, went to the profile of the person who tweeted it, found another from her that linked to an article, and read the article - about making routines. I am always a little disappointed when I read articles like this, especially when they're directed at people with ADHD, because it really seems more like "teach yourself to do things in a neurotypical way!!!"
I'm sure there are some people who find it helpful to make to-do lists, but if your ADHD is like mine, then those to-do lists get incredibly huge until they're so intimidating that you do nothing.
Maybe post-it notes work well for you, but if your ADHD is like mine, it takes very little time for them to become part of the landscape of clutter and easy to ignore.
Assigning tasks to certain days could be a good strategy, but if your ADHD and your life is like mine, one spanner in the works on a Tuesday morning destroys it. I mean, you missed Tuesday's tasks, do you add them to Wednesday and throw off the whole week, or do you not do those things until the following Tuesday? And if you messed up on Tuesday, then clearly you're a failure at planning and sticking to a schedule, so you might as well just forget the whole thing.
I am not neat, I am not organized, and schedules and I have had a lifelong feud.
The only way I successfully establish a routine is by tacking it on to another successful routine, or associate it with a task that can't be ignored.
I scoop the cat boxes before I shower, because I shower every day. I empty and load the dishwasher while I'm preparing lunch or heating water for tea because in the time it takes for the toaster or the microwave or the kettle to finish, I can do one or both tasks, and I'm in the kitchen waiting anyway. I dry my hands after washing with paper towels so I can wipe up a thing or two while I'm in the bathroom. I spray and wipe out the trash and recycling containers as soon as they're emptied, because they have to be emptied and once they're emptied a quick wipe is easy (easier than a major cleaning, at least!)
All the other strategies I've ever tried have succeeded for only a short while. When the expectations are too great, it's too easy to give up, and a routine for routine's sake never seems to stick in my head.
Does anyone else feel like this?
I'm sure there are some people who find it helpful to make to-do lists, but if your ADHD is like mine, then those to-do lists get incredibly huge until they're so intimidating that you do nothing.
Maybe post-it notes work well for you, but if your ADHD is like mine, it takes very little time for them to become part of the landscape of clutter and easy to ignore.
Assigning tasks to certain days could be a good strategy, but if your ADHD and your life is like mine, one spanner in the works on a Tuesday morning destroys it. I mean, you missed Tuesday's tasks, do you add them to Wednesday and throw off the whole week, or do you not do those things until the following Tuesday? And if you messed up on Tuesday, then clearly you're a failure at planning and sticking to a schedule, so you might as well just forget the whole thing.
I am not neat, I am not organized, and schedules and I have had a lifelong feud.
The only way I successfully establish a routine is by tacking it on to another successful routine, or associate it with a task that can't be ignored.
I scoop the cat boxes before I shower, because I shower every day. I empty and load the dishwasher while I'm preparing lunch or heating water for tea because in the time it takes for the toaster or the microwave or the kettle to finish, I can do one or both tasks, and I'm in the kitchen waiting anyway. I dry my hands after washing with paper towels so I can wipe up a thing or two while I'm in the bathroom. I spray and wipe out the trash and recycling containers as soon as they're emptied, because they have to be emptied and once they're emptied a quick wipe is easy (easier than a major cleaning, at least!)
All the other strategies I've ever tried have succeeded for only a short while. When the expectations are too great, it's too easy to give up, and a routine for routine's sake never seems to stick in my head.
Does anyone else feel like this?