Technique and paper - hand in hand

I struggled always how and where to write my routines. 
- When I kept them on a list somewhere in my planner, and wrote on my daily page "morning routine", I had to flip there, and I coudn't mark off the tasks, and I forgot to go back to the daily.
- I tried laminated page (where I can mark off and clean for the next time), but I had have a whiteboard marker and something to clean the page - I never had.
- I kept the list on my day marker (marker problem again).
- On sticky notes. (Cannot mark it off.)
- I wrote all tasks every day (huge work, big, overwhelming list),
- I made stickers, I made daily pages printed with the tasks - this items looked different as what I added with my hand - so I "didn't saw" them. Really. I know.

Using an app

I tried uncountable app already, but I always failed. I can't tell the reason. And I can't tell, why I now succeed? I use the Todoist app. I use it mostly on my computer, but it is also available on my phone. I can "throw" everything with a move into my inbox without leaving the program what I use on my computer. This is a huge advantage for me, because I won't forget what I made. And I don't have to find the place in my planner to write - in this time I can forget what I wanted to note! That is really annoying. I can add aoutomaticly tasks into my list with IFTTT (my favourite app ever!) - like "if I posted on Instagram, create me a task for today: write tags for the post in comment", or "if I got a text message on my phone create a task to answer". With IFTTT I also can create a list in an other app (I use Google Drive) what I've done. I can share projects with others, the most important I share with my husband is the shopping list. I write the list, he checks the items off, when he puts in the shopping basket. Great, isn't it?

And you will laugh: I use an other task manager app (TickTick), for the routines. That way in Todoist I have the task "morning routine", and in TickTick I have the items for it. This way I can keep my Todoist task list shorter. 

And then you don't need your planner any more???

Yes, I do! I plan in my planner. The app keeps the tasks neet and safe and can remind me. I have my calendar, and organize appointments here. I plan out my week on my weekly pages. I make my weekly review in my planner (with the help of my checklist in the app :)). This combination solved the "I  have to make this task one time, maybe not today, but soon" problem - not a perfect way yet, but more better as in written form ever. I snooze these task for tomorrow, or maybe for next week. They are there, in my today's list, but when I go trough my day on the morning I can decide, if I leave the here or snooze farther, without making a mess on my todo list. Sometimes I write some MIT in my planner, to know on what I have to concentrate, and I check the little ones in the app. The app can remind me if I have a task I want to make in a specific time (to post on Instagram at 14:00 :)) 

So my loved planners stays with me, and didn't changed too much, only I write in them not so much tasks. I will also slowly remove the project tasks list from my planners - but project pages with informations and notes might will stay on paper! 

For now I'm very pleased with this hybrid solution.

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My love-hate relationship with my planner

Yesterday evening I couldn't fall asleep. I took out two days from my planner. I didn't took any look in it. This not means I didn't done anything. I made the laundry, and I worked a lot on a pattern. I love to work like this. Only one (or two things), for a long time, and not care anything else. But unfortunately my life can't work like this. I need my planner to keep me on track.

I'm obsessed with all planner stuff, planning and time management methods. I'm spending lot of time to read blogs, watching planner videos, making inserts, stickers, dividers for myself.
And on the other hand: I hate everything what is MUST. I feel like my planner want to be my boss and telling me, what I must do. I rebell! I don't want from anyone to tell me, what to do. I want to do what I want to do in the moment. I love to live in the moment. Than I regret it. Because I forget things. Important things for me. Not only I-don't-want-to-do-this like stuff.
Now I have a helper, who comes to me speaking about things how I could do it more better for me (some kind of coaching). She asked me last week, when I talked about my goals: they are really what you must do every day? Yes, exercising is important. But I have maybe 8 goals for this year, work, kids, household, appointments. Stressing myself to do every day something for my goals makes no sense. Sometime I have to concentrate on my work, and leave the morning exercise. Or deciding to playing or go out with the kids, and leaving something from my to do list. It make sense, just... confuse me. I get it, not going to shopping today, I can do it tomorrow. But leaving my daily exercise today: I can't do it tomorrow. I have the daily exercise already for tomorrow. I leave it today. Then tomorrow, then I didn't done it any day.

Using my planner is lot fun. I love paper, pens, washis, stickers. And also a big task to keep everything in hand. With my ADHD planning needs extreme high attention (what I don't have), my perfectionism want me to do things too complicated, so I'm searching always the right way to simplify (what gives me more tasks, haha, but tasks I like to do). You won't believe me, but the weekly review takes me maybe two hours! And I don't decorate!

So let's keep fighting with myself!

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Planning or not planning? This is the question!

This is not really a question. I have to answer with yes. But why I ask it then?
I started planning when I realised I have ADD for 1.5 years ago. Things aren't going very well then. I forgot to go to doctor. I didn't found school related informations. I had no idea, what will happen in the school and when. It was shameful, but it was not so bad. I didn't cared too much about it. It hurted when it happened, but it happened not every day. I'm forgetful, what can I do? I lived like this.
Than I started to use a Filofax, and the life changed. I have a place for my information, I knew where to write stuff happened somewhen in the far future. I started to thinking with conscious and not just swimming with the tide. And after so long time I realized it hurts me. It hurts, because I know a lot about planning, about time management. I just can't to make it right. I procrastinate. I make the same mistakes again and again. I feel guilt. I spend a lot of time preparing me to doing something. What I do or maybe not at the end.

I'm now in a state, that I feel myself worst as before planning time. I changed, I know, I can't go back to that time, when I can just don't care about. Letting planning is not an option. I have to find a way to be more forgiving to myself. Thinking on the fact when I plan, that I have ADD, so I'm not like others. I can't correspond myself to others. This is hard.

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10 tips for ADHD people using a planner

1. Write everything down. 

I mean it! You might forget!

2. Find the way to find the place for every little piece of information in your system. 

Not enough to writing down. You have to find it later!

3. Such few distractions as possible. 

It's better to keepyour planner simple and not full of stickers, washis, etc.

4. Separate the informations

In time and topics. In time: don't have to do's on your daily page only you MUST do it on that day (not too much to dos) - if you have more time, pick more tasks from other lists. In topics: have more, than one todo list. For cleaning, work projects, family things etc. What makes you sense. more in time: use the 43 folder system or my 17 dividers system, and move in those projects/todos/infos, what are time sensitive. This way they are out of picture, until they come back, if you will need it. 

5. Use time blocking

In daily planning: use blocks for different activities. Make all phone calls at the same time. make work at the computer same time. housework, or anything make you sense. Write this categories clear separated on the daily page. 

6. Use color coding 

to make visual separation more clear. But only if it menas not visual clutter for you!

7. Use routines 

Create daily/weekly/monthly routines. Write them down! 

8. Have checklist for any recurring activities  

If you have do that thing take out your checklist and you have the steps, you don't need to thinking about it. 

9. Mark the task what you started

If you will be distracted, you will be know, where you have to go back. Mark it with a point, highlighter, arrow page marker...

10. Track your items

Started but not finished tasks, delegated tasks, orders, etc has to be tracked.  Write somewhere in your planner - you can make a tracking section, or take a postit, and write it on. What are you waiting for? When it is started? When should you check it? Place to that date in your calendar or your daily page, if you have already for that day, or in the 17 dividers system. Write, what the other part promised, asked, what you answered...

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ADD style planning

I posted this picture on Facebook last week. And here some more explanation, what happened here?

I don't know why, but the last two weeks was extreme chaotic for me. More appointment, less concentration maybe... The week before I started with big hope and hard resolution: I will keep the plan! I made a 3 hours section for daily "must" or routine, or what, what included daily routine (started with brushing teeth, and work stuff as reading emails, etc), my little steps (for declutter, learning, and some other goal-related "I-do-every-day-a-little-something" tasks), social media. I made it Monday,  and I had so much emails to answer, that I couldn't finish this purple section until evening. Despite I shutted off Facebook and Skype and so on. I work concentrated and at 16:30 I was shutted off. My brain stopped to work. I was disappointed: if I leave myself to distracted with FB and things I WANT to do, than I don't finish with my plan. If I don't let it for me, that I can't finish, because it is so exhausting for my ADD brain to stay on the way... What was the outcome? I did not do anything on Tuesday. Really. I striked, and spent my time with I wanted. Don't say I am lazy, or I should have more willpower. I am not lazy, and I don't have willpower. I have ADD. It is really frustrating, when I loose the control so much. Fortunately on Wednesday I had a consultation with my psychiater what brought me back to life :)
Rest of the week? Try to save what you can... On the picture you can see Friday. Planning was more what I DON'T do, not what I do... I had to choose, what I leave. I didn't wanted to print new daily page, so I wrote on the green post it the most important tasks and covered the original plan with it. I worked from that list with the help of the little orange square post it. That is a great technique to stay concentrated and motivate yourself. How it works: pick from your list the 3 items you want to make. Choose the 3 most important, or what you have mood, or the first 3 one, take one with physical activity, one with sitting or something like this to work more balanced... After you are done this 3 tasks, reward yourself! Take a break, or do something for you (I make mostly some planner related stuff :D)
Extra chaotic stuff there: post its for tracking items (waiting on package :)) Note for myself, what to do, when I have headache. Procrastinated tasks, on post its, with a hope that I will do it at least. (They are still there...)

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Why is good to have a planner if you have ADD, and use it every day?

I'm participating in an ADHD research by University of Zürich. It is 2.5 year long, I have to go in this time 5 times to a test, and I have to fill out plenty of surveys.
The first year is over. I started to use planner(s) in this year, and learned a lot about time management, organizing, and also about ADD. Things are going even better! I was today in the Brain Assessment Research Center, where the research leader told me, what changed in my brain. Lot things! Concentration is better, emotional stress is lower, different areas in my brain working better together, the excessive reaction on tones went back to normal. He asked me, what I did? Because what happened with my brain is amazing. I told him about my journey in planner land, show him my Filofax. He was very impressed me, he told me, I should teach him :D
I never thought, that my brain will also change. I used planning only to make my life simpler. But it is changed me too!

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