[Abatjour3407]

I suffer from Adult ADHD and I have heard that routine makes a huge difference towards living a functional life. This prospect sounds promising. Routine and Order DOES help, but I'm 28 and I don't have parents looking after me who can give me boundaries and order for a routine, I only barely manage to remember to brush my teeth twice a day! Routine is boring and motivation lacks even when I do remember to do it, and even then I still sometimes end up going over schedule with another activity due to hyperfocusing, impulsivity or general time mismanagement. Any tips on getting the schedule groove on?

[kaliope]

hi abatjour
I think starting with a simple schedule. just print out a two column page with your wake up to bed time broken down into half hour increments rows going down the first column. then in the second set of rows, plan our your day.730 wake up 800 breakfast 830 shower, brush teeth get dressed 900 go to work. when starting this, give yourself plenty of time to get your tasks done so that you can succeed in staying on schedule even with unexpected tasks. leave free time for these things to be completed. you can adjust the schedule as soon as you see what works for you. welcome to psych central. you will find we have several forums where you can post about your concerns and receive feedback from other members. you will get a lot of support here. again, welcome

[SeekerOfLife]

Sorry but a routine/schedule does not help me. My depression is heavy and most days I just do not care.

[SocklessWonder]

Hi,

I have ADHD and am bad at organization, too. I have found I rely heavily (successfully) on reminders in my phone...or notes left in key places around my home (the inside of the front door, the mirror in the bathroom, attached to something in the fridge, etc.).

I mostly depend on my phone, though. I got an app for my phone (COL Reminder is the one I use, though there are lots of that kind of app available) that reminds me when to take my meds, when to get ready for bed (seems weird to admit that, but I forget and then find it's 11pm or later and I have to be up at 6), when to make a phone call, set an appointment, and so on.

I also use my phone's calendar event reminder function. I put my doctor appointments in there and then set it to remind me a day before and then an hour before, or whatever fits the situation.

I make sure to back up everything on my phone, considering how much I depend on it.

Something that also helps is designate places in which to place important items, like keys, shoes, and wallet/bag. Then keep those things *only* in those places. It helps me to keep myself on-time when going out to wherever I need to be.

I hope some of my experience helps or inspires your own coping mechanisms...just keep trying!

~~SW

[Redsoft]

My guy employs a lot of the above strategies as well --

Instead of parents, go digital. :P
What is something you tend to always have with/on you? A phone? Tablet? Wallet? Watch? Put them to work.

Alarms and synced calendar type stuff do wonnnnders for him.

Some of the new smart watches coming out these days look awesome - maybe having the reminders attached directly to your body could benefit? They link directly to your cell phone or tablet and feed it straight to you. (I just read a thing about "pebble" that's 80 bux or so for basic stuff, but I don't know anything other than that.)

I'm talking just basic reminders for what time it is, too. This helps my sister too - she has different alarms that sound off that are simply for the lunch time, evening, and time-to-go-to-sleep/wind down, just to keep the whole day in perspective.

It really sucks staying on a new schedule, but if I could push only one opinion, I'd say to stick with a rock solid wake-up and bed time. Especially bed time. Ever since we started doing this, just basic functioning has just spiked. Also, it just sets a tone of order at the beginning of the day, and the peace of expectations at night.

(Somewhat of an aside, but the youtube vid "Should You Use the Snooze Button?" by asapscience really sealed the deal on this resolution).

Can't explain how cool the sleep schedule thing is. I thought it would take like a month to get used to too, but it actually took about three days.

Regardless - alarms and more alarms, I guess!

[SocklessWonder]

Originally Posted by Redsoft

My guy employs a lot of the above strategies as well --

...

It really sucks staying on a new schedule, but if I could push only one opinion, I'd say to stick with a rock solid wake-up and bed time. Especially bed time. Ever since we started doing this, just basic functioning has just spiked. Also, it just sets a tone of order at the beginning of the day, and the peace of expectations at night.

(Somewhat of an aside, but the youtube vid "Should You Use the Snooze Button?" by asapscience really sealed the deal on this resolution).

Can't explain how cool the sleep schedule thing is. I thought it would take like a month to get used to too, but it actually took about three days.

Regardless - alarms and more alarms, I guess!

I have suffered from sleep problems since my teens and know a good night's sleep is so very good for me...it just seemed elusive. I watched the video you recommended and it totally makes sense! It seems so simple, I feel like I should have known, but I guess it's one of those things we don't really think about. Thanks for the suggestion--I'll be removing the snooze-hit from my sleep/wake routine!

[Redsoft]

Originally Posted by SocklessWonder

I have suffered from sleep problems since my teens and know a good night's sleep is so very good for me...it just seemed elusive. I watched the video you recommended and it totally makes sense! It seems so simple, I feel like I should have known, but I guess it's one of those things we don't really think about. Thanks for the suggestion--I'll be removing the snooze-hit from my sleep/wake routine!

No problem! It's been a bit...Did the no-snooze work out for you?

[SocklessWonder]

Nope...it seems I'm on some kind of internal "auto-snooze."
Maybe It'll move the alarm across the room!