Comments on: The Power of a Well-Crafted To-Do List https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-time-management-tools-make-to-do-lists-work-for-you/ ADHD symptom tests, ADD medication & treatment, behavior & discipline, school & learning essentials, organization and more information for families and individuals living with attention deficit and comorbid conditions Mon, 01 Apr 2024 21:11:29 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 By: LauraG https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-time-management-tools-make-to-do-lists-work-for-you/#comment-340258 Thu, 07 Dec 2023 02:29:43 +0000 https://www.additudemag.com/2006/11/22/its-about-time-3/#comment-340258 I’m probably one of the few adults with ADHD, who uses To Do lists all the time. However, I am surprised at this article. You describe just three simple steps to create a master list for what must be one’s entire upcoming year. I find it more effective to do a Master To Do list for only one event at a time. That event could be what I want to get done that day; everything I have to get done for a vacation or holiday; or a personal list of goals I want to accomplish by a certain date.

I took an in person ADHD course for adults in Philadelphia using the book, The book, The Mindfulness Prescription. One of the main points of the course seemed to be that if you can break down things into smaller bits when you have ADHD, it will be easier to handle those things.

My feeling is that it is so much easier just to do one event day or or goal at a time. It seems like , those of us with ADHD start to feel a sense of unworthiness because we can’t seem to “accomplish things “as well as “normal people“. Isn’t it easier to start out with small tasks that can give you a sense of accomplishment, rather than a master task list for your entire life?

The advice in this article is like asking a person with ADHD to obtain executive function all in one swoop. Sort of impossible in my opinion.

]]> By: taariqq https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-time-management-tools-make-to-do-lists-work-for-you/#comment-41839 Thu, 01 Aug 2019 02:04:05 +0000 https://www.additudemag.com/2006/11/22/its-about-time-3/#comment-41839 In reply to taariqq.

Found it! Just had to search for “webinar” and was able to locate it. Here is the link …

https://www.additudemag.com/webinar/increase-productivity-lower-stress/

]]> By: taariqq https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-time-management-tools-make-to-do-lists-work-for-you/#comment-41808 Wed, 31 Jul 2019 23:22:41 +0000 https://www.additudemag.com/2006/11/22/its-about-time-3/#comment-41808 Hi guys,

Need a bit of help. Just yesterday I was going through a video on my phone and I have lost it. It was by a lady expert, about an hour long, where part of what she explained was how to “not just motivation but activation”.

Can anyone help me find that video?

Appreciate it,
Taariqq

]]> By: morganobx https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-time-management-tools-make-to-do-lists-work-for-you/#comment-22646 Fri, 03 Aug 2018 01:12:37 +0000 https://www.additudemag.com/2006/11/22/its-about-time-3/#comment-22646 I’ve tried every one of the suggested apps, lists, systems and attitudes discussed here and elsewhere. I agree with penguindrooster. The only time I get things done is when I am hyper-focused on one thing. I have so many apps on my phone and computer to “help” me that have not worked because I cannot keep up the updating. I have expensive electronic pens with paper that syncs with my computer. That is gathering dust, of course. The help I’ve gotten here is to know I am not alone, not the only person with this committee in my head screaming at me every waking moment unless I am meditating or buried in a project with singular attention. I co-own a real estate firm and am starting an online business but cannot take the first steps some days!! But I’ll keep trying because that is what we do!

]]> By: Doctor Number Four https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-time-management-tools-make-to-do-lists-work-for-you/#comment-19218 Tue, 29 May 2018 15:41:30 +0000 https://www.additudemag.com/2006/11/22/its-about-time-3/#comment-19218 But then I have trouble following THESE steps. How do I solve that?

]]> By: reneefishman https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-time-management-tools-make-to-do-lists-work-for-you/#comment-15098 Fri, 02 Feb 2018 00:28:50 +0000 https://www.additudemag.com/2006/11/22/its-about-time-3/#comment-15098 You lost me the moment you went down the to-do list road. Nothing throws me into greater overwhelm than a to-do list. In my experience it’s the least effective way to get things done with ADHD. I typically cannot finish making the to-do list if I break everything down into discrete tasks. It short circuits my brain. Also one of the major components of ADHD is the challenge with executive function. We struggle to prioritize and weed out what is truly important. A long to-do list is a recipe for disaster. Frankly I’m surprised this advice is offered here.

Instead, I focus on the bigger picture OUTCOMES I am aiming for. I take all the little items and ask “what’s the result I want here?” And in that, I can usually find a better way that bypasses many of the tasks. There’s a difference between getting things done and getting the right things done. Getting out of to-do lists to focus on what’s truly important helps me get results, not just “get things done.”

]]> By: ADHDmomma https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-time-management-tools-make-to-do-lists-work-for-you/#comment-14862 Fri, 26 Jan 2018 20:39:48 +0000 https://www.additudemag.com/2006/11/22/its-about-time-3/#comment-14862 In reply to penguindrooster.

Some of the apps mentioned here: https://www.additudemag.com/mobile-apps-for-adhd-minds/ — like Todoist — are great at helping you organize and prioritize one list. I like Wunderlist as well. Some folks find just telling Siri to remind them of _________ the easiest way to make tasks and time.

Penny
ADDitude Community Moderator, Author & Mentor on Parenting ADHD, Mom to teen w/ ADHD, LDs, and autism

]]> By: penguindrooster https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-time-management-tools-make-to-do-lists-work-for-you/#comment-14827 Fri, 26 Jan 2018 13:33:38 +0000 https://www.additudemag.com/2006/11/22/its-about-time-3/#comment-14827 This article makes me want to blow my brains out. I can’t keep track of one list let alone three or four with different information on each one. I would last three days, max.
Do you have something tailored to those of us with a serious case of ADD?

]]> By: tdu https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-time-management-tools-make-to-do-lists-work-for-you/#comment-11654 Fri, 24 Nov 2017 23:49:25 +0000 https://www.additudemag.com/2006/11/22/its-about-time-3/#comment-11654 In reply to DanaB.

DanaB, I love the idea of creating a box for each thing. Sectioning things off in some way really seems to help me isolate them. Thanks for sharing your method!

]]> By: DanaB https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-time-management-tools-make-to-do-lists-work-for-you/#comment-859 Thu, 27 Apr 2017 14:36:26 +0000 https://www.additudemag.com/2006/11/22/its-about-time-3/#comment-859 I use a similar method as Smam60…a bullet journal that lives at home and is my master list for the day, along with a calendar and a to-do list app on my phone. One thing that has helped greatly is time-blocking my day. I have the days of the week across the top of my bullet journal and times of the day down the side (i.e. 8am – 9pm). Each morning I draw a box for anything I’m scheduled to do (work, appointments, dinner, exercise), as well as – and this is VERY important – time to get ready/gather things I need and travel time to/from. Once those things are blocked in, I can really see the available time in my day. I can then decide what I have time to take care of (phone calls, errands, projects… maybe even something fun?). It is little bit more work than writing out a simple to-do list, but I’m more organized and productive when I take the time to do it this way.

]]> By: Smam60 https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-time-management-tools-make-to-do-lists-work-for-you/#comment-628 Wed, 26 Apr 2017 10:08:30 +0000 https://www.additudemag.com/2006/11/22/its-about-time-3/#comment-628 Love many of your ideas here, and its so true about making sure we schedule time for the everyday routines – I started doing this with a habit tracker and for the first time realized just how much time they take! One way I diverge from your system is that I do use a paper based bullet journal thst neverbleaves my home as my main gathering place for my lists, and complement it with electronic devices. My journal is colorful and creative and pretty and totally my own design, which seems to alleviate the problem with boredom and vast numbers of unused pages that I realize now was why I abandoned every other system I tried to use. I have tried electronic, and though it is more “practical” the reality for me is that going back to paper and pens (colorful pens, because color energizes) has resulted in a system that has had a huge positive impact on my life this past year! Its something to consider for those that have tried electronic lists and find themselves losing interest.

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