ADHD symptoms can create challenges when it comes to navigating your day, staying on task, and remembering responsibilities. Using a planner can help you stay organized without feeling overwhelmed.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) features challenges with attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
While it’s a neurodevelopmental condition that can affect each person differently, many people with ADHD find it difficult to stay focused on a task, recall responsibilities that are “out of sight, out of mind,” and stay organized.
Using a planner for ADHD is one way to help boost your productivity and goal completion. Planners are there to help remind you of the tasks on your daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. They can also help you break those tasks into achievable steps.
Using a planner for ADHD effectively means learning how to work with your individual preferences and ADHD experiences.
Anyone who wants to improve organization can benefit from a planner, be it a paper and pen setup or a digital program you use on your phone or computer.
Planners can provide reminders about important responsibilities during your day, like visiting your doctor. They can also offer a visual roadmap to goals by laying them out step-by-step.
Using a planner can help prevent the sense of overwhelm that often comes from knowing you have many things to do but not knowing where to start.
In ADHD, planners are in-the-moment tools that can bring your focus back to a task at hand or re-orient you toward the goal you started working on. They can help you avoid feeling a need for spontaneous, impulsive decisions and help with task sequencing, the linear progression toward a goal.
Planners, especially those with digital timer features, may also help reduce time blindness in ADHD. This is the inability to correctly gauge how much time has passed or how much time is necessary to complete a task.
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Effectively using a planner in ADHD means working with — and making the most of — your individual needs and preferences in ADHD.
Pick a planner you’ll enjoy
There are many options out there for planners. For example, you may purchase advanced digital options. Or you can go the opposite route and work with a blank piece of paper and a pen.
By picking a medium you naturally enjoy, you’ll be more inclined to use your planner regularly.
Prioritize your goals
A planner only works if you know what you’re planning for. Making a list of short-term and long-term goals and their priorities can help you organize them in your planner accordingly.
For example, high priority goals might be in your planner every day, while long-term goals might only need to be seen to weekly or monthly.
Avoid micromanaging your schedule
It’s natural to want to rely on your planner to manage your day to the fullest, but locking yourself into a minute-by-minute plan can become stressful. When you’ve got something on the planner for a set time, it’s natural to start feeling pressured to get that task done exactly when scheduled.
Procrastination is a form of task avoidance common in ADHD. When something isn’t engaging or rewarding or creates too much pressure, it’s often easier not to do it at all. Overscheduling yourself may boost the likelihood of skipping tasks completely.
Use blocks of ‘focus time’
If scheduling many small tasks feels overwhelming, it’s OK to change how you use your planner.
Consider allocating blocks of time to umbrella goals, like “household chores” or “recreation time.” This gives you the freedom to choose which tasks to focus on within a specific category but still helps you allocate your time effectively.
Keep track of how long tasks actually take
Time blindness in ADHD can make time estimation for tasks difficult when you’re starting out with a planner. By recording how long certain tasks typically take, you can improve the accuracy of your scheduling as time goes on.
It can take time to get into the habit of tracking your time. Consider starting with a task you do frequently, such as a daily work priority, to become more familiar with the time it takes to complete that task.
Break down the steps
It’s great to block out time for a goal in your planner, but large goals can quickly become overwhelming in ADHD if their details are vague.
By breaking tasks down into smaller steps, the demands on your attention and focus decrease, and you’re
Spread steps out if necessary
It’s also OK to break big goals down into steps that span across days or weeks.
If you’re doing a big home project, for example, you can focus on three small goals to accomplish by the end of the first week that can be built upon the next week.
A planner for ADHD is just one of many supports you can use to improve organization and time management.
Other options to consider include:
- setting up assigned locations for items, like labeled bins or containers
- utilizing automatic billing and paperless services
- placing sticky note reminders in high visibility areas
- adding appointments and social obligations to digital or hard-copy calendars
- turning mundane tasks into games, like trying to beat your vacuuming speed record
- tossing out items that you don’t need
- color-coding tasks based on priority
- actively checking tasks off to help promote a sense of accomplishment
- delegating to others or asking someone to work alongside you
- use timers to help you know when blocks of scheduled time are up
- adding “extra time” as a slot in your day to help relieve the pressure of deadlines
- keeping a trash bin in every room to promote getting rid of clutter
If you live with ADHD, using a planner can help you overcome challenges related to time management, task completion, and organization.
The planner you select should appeal to your preferences and work with your individual ADHD experience.