ADHD Tip 4: Make Your Calendar Your Ally

The Challenge of Time Perception and Planning

Difficulties with time management are a hallmark challenge for many with ADHD. This can manifest as "time blindness" – an inability to accurately sense the passage of time or estimate how long tasks will take. Remembering appointments, deadlines, and multi-step plans can also be difficult due to working memory challenges. The common ADHD tendency towards "now or not now" thinking can make it hard to prioritize future tasks or prepare adequately for upcoming events. Relying on internal memory alone is often insufficient and stressful.

Why Calendars Are Essential Tools for Individuals with ADHD

Using a calendar consistently is crucial because it externalizes the abstract concepts of time and future commitments. It serves as an external memory aid, a planning tool, and a way to make time visible and tangible. Effective calendaring for ADHD isn't just about recording appointments; it's about actively externalizing time perception and future planning, translating abstract time into concrete visual representations and actionable steps.

Choosing Your Calendar Tool: Paper vs. Digital

There's no single "best" calendar format for everyone with ADHD. The ideal choice depends on individual needs, preferences, and the challenges that require the most support. Often, a hybrid approach combining the strengths of both paper and digital systems offers the most comprehensive support.

Feature	Paper Calendar Pros	Paper Calendar Cons	Digital Calendar Pros	Digital Calendar Cons
Visibility	Can be kept in constant sight (on a desk or wall); ideal for visual reminders.	Less portable; requires dedicated space.	Accessible anywhere via phone/ computer.	Can be "out of sight, out of mind" if app isn't open.
Portability	Less portable, especially larger planners.	Can be bulky.	Highly portable via smartphone/ tablet.	Requires a charged device.
Reminders/ Alerts	Relies on the user remembering to check it.	No automatic alerts.	Excellent for setting multiple pop-up/audio reminders (crucial for ADHD memory).	Potential for excessive notifications (requires management).
Ease of Editing	Can be messy with changes; requires rewriting.	Changes can look cluttered.	Very easy to reschedule, edit details, and change colors.	Less tangible sense of commitment sometimes.
Tangibility	Physical act of writing can aid memory/ engagement. Provides tangible record.	Can be lost or damaged.	Less tactile interaction.	Data loss possible if not backed up.
Big Picture Planning	Excellent for monthly/yearly "bird's-eye view"; helps make the future concrete.	Can be harder to see daily details on large views.	Can switch views, but small screens limit overview.	May feel less concrete for long-term planning.
Syncing	Manual process to coordinate with other calendars.	Requires manual updating.	Easily syncs across devices and platforms (work/home).	Requires internet connectivity for syncing.
Recurring Events	Requires manual entry for each occurrence.	Tedious for frequent recurring events.	Can automate recurring events indefinitely.	Easy to set up.

Effective Calendaring Strategies for ADHD

Regardless of the format chosen, how the calendar is used is paramount. Consistency is key.

• Schedule Everything: Go beyond appointments. Block out time for specific tasks (taken from the to-do list), travel time to and from events, preparation or transition time before meetings, breaks, meals, exercise, and even dedicated planning sessions. Use it as a "brain dump" space for future ideas if needed. Integrating to-do list items directly into time slots increases the likelihood of completion.

• Use Color-Coding: Visually differentiate types of activities (e.g., work = blue, personal = green, appointments = red, tasks = orange). This allows for quick scanning and understanding of the day's or week's structure.

• Set Multiple Reminders: Don't rely on a single alert. For important events or transitions, set several reminders (e.g., 1 day before, 1 hour before, 15 minutes before, time to leave). Use phone alarms liberally, including "pre-timers" to signal that the end of an activity is approaching.

• Include Generous Buffer Time: Always schedule extra time around appointments for travel, parking, finding the location, and transitioning mentally. When scheduling tasks, overestimate the time needed, especially initially (e.g., multiply initial estimate by 1.5 or 2).

• Conduct Regular Reviews: Make checking the calendar a routine. Look at it each morning to understand the day ahead, check in midday to stay on track, and review it each evening to see what was accomplished and plan for the next day. A weekly review session is also helpful for longer-term planning.

• Maximize Visibility: Keep paper calendars prominently displayed where they will be seen often. Use widgets to keep digital calendars visible on your phone's home screen or computer desktop.

• Be Realistic (Time Blocking): Use the calendar to visualize the actual amount of time available. Blocking out chunks of time for tasks helps prevent over-scheduling and provides a realistic picture of capacity.

• Complement with Analog Clocks: Having analog clocks visible in key locations (office, kitchen, bedroom) reinforces the visual passage of time throughout the day, supporting the time awareness function of the calendar.

Calendar Resources:

• ADDitude - Time Management Skills (incl. Calendars for Kids/Adults): https://www.additudemag.com/time-management-skills-organization-help-adhd/

• ADDitude - Time Management Apps & Hacks (Calendar/List Methods): https://www.additudemag.com/punctuality-time-blindness-adhd-apps-tips/

• ADDitude - Strategies for Seeing and Feeling Time: https://www.additudemag.com/time-management-skills-adhd-brain/

• CHADD - Choosing and Using Day Planners (Paper vs. Digital): https://chadd.org/for-adults/time-management-planner/

• CHADD - Why Paper Calendars Support Future Thinking: https://chadd.org/adhd-news/adhd-news-caregivers/support-your-future-thinking-skills/

• ClickUp - Calendar Planner Template: https://clickup.com/blog/adhd-templates/

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If ADHD is hindering your productivity, working with an executive coach could help you build the habits, routines, and skills you need to focus and follow through more consistently. If you are interested in learning more, schedule a discovery call. We can discuss how we can help you better manage your ADHD.

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ADHD Tip 3: Find Focus with Body Doubling

What is Body Doubling

Body doubling is a productivity strategy where an individual works on tasks, particularly those they find challenging, boring, or difficult to initiate, while another person is simply present. This presence can be physical – someone sitting quietly in the same room – or virtual, such as staying connected via a video call or even just an open phone line. Crucially, the "body double" doesn't typically assist with the task or engage in conversation; their role is one of quiet companionship and support. The effectiveness lies not in active help, but in the power of presence.

This strategy leverages principles of social facilitation and implied accountability, acting as an external scaffold to support internal self-regulation challenges, such as maintaining focus, initiating tasks, and persisting through difficulties, which are common for individuals with ADHD.

Why Body Doubling Works for ADHD

The seemingly simple act of having someone nearby can have a profound impact on focus and productivity for the ADHD brain:

• Enhanced Accountability: The presence of another person, even passively, creates a subtle sense of social pressure and responsibility. This external accountability can make individuals more likely to start tasks, stay on track, and resist the urge to procrastinate, feeling they "can't waste this gift of time". Deepwrk notes accountability check-ins significantly increase goal completion odds.

• Focus Anchor: The body double can serve as a physical or virtual anchor point, helping to ground a mind prone to wandering. Their quiet presence serves as a gentle, external reminder to refocus on the task at hand.

• Reduced Distractibility: The focused (or at least calm) presence of the double can help create a more settled work environment, potentially buffering against both external interruptions and internal restlessness. The double’s passivity is key here; interaction could become another distraction.

• Calm Modeling (Potential): Some suggest the body double might unconsciously model a state of calm focus, which the person with ADHD may subtly mirror.

• Novelty and Energy: Introducing another person into a typically solitary (and perhaps tedious) task can add an element of novelty, which is often engaging for the ADHD brain. It can shift the energy of the workspace.

• Easier Task Initiation: Just knowing a body doubling session is scheduled can help overcome the initial inertia and difficulty in getting started on tasks that are often avoided.

How to Implement Body Doubling

1. Identify Suitable Tasks: Recognize which tasks consistently trigger procrastination, boredom, or difficulty focusing when attempted alone (e.g., paying bills, organizing paperwork, writing reports, doing homework, tackling chores).

2. Find a Body Double: This could be a friend, family member, roommate, colleague, or peer. It can even be someone hired for temporary support or found through dedicated online services (see resources). The double doesn't necessarily need to have ADHD themselves.

3. Set Clear Expectations: Before starting, agree on the time, duration, and the specific task(s) to be worked on. Crucially, clarify the body double's role: to be a quiet, supportive presence with minimal interaction or interruption. The double might work on their own quiet task, read, or simply be present.

4. Choose the Format: Decide whether the session will be in person or virtual (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet, FaceTime, a simple phone call with the line kept open).

5. Experiment: Try different session lengths and incorporate breaks as needed (perhaps using the Pomodoro technique in conjunction), and see what works best for maintaining focus and completing tasks.

Finding Body Doubles

• Personal Network: Ask friends, family members, or colleagues if they'd be willing to sit with someone (physically or virtually) while they work. Frame the request clearly, explaining it's a productivity strategy: "I heard this can help with focus. Would you mind just being on Zoom with me while I tackle this report? Maybe you have something quiet you could work on too?".

• Online Platforms & Communities: Several services cater specifically to body doubling needs:

• Deepwrk: Provides structured, facilitated group body doubling sessions via video call, specifically for adults with ADHD, along with a 24/7 silent focus space and community features.

• Focusmate / Groove: Co-working platforms (mentioned in ADDitude ) where individuals connect virtually for focused work sessions, essentially providing body-doubling partners on demand.

The increasing availability of virtual body doubling options reflects the effectiveness of the strategy and the need for accessible, flexible support, especially as remote work becomes more prevalent.

Body Doubling Resources:

• Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) - Explanation and Why It Works: https://add.org/the-body-double/

• Deepwrk - Structured Virtual Body Doubling: https://www.deepwrk.io/

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If ADHD is hindering your productivity, working with an executive coach can help you develop the habits, routines, and skills necessary to focus and follow through more consistently. If you are interested in learning more, schedule a discovery call. We can discuss how we can help you better manage your ADHD.

Schedule a call

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ADHD Tip 2: Master Time with the Pomodoro Technique

The Challenge of Time and Tasks

Individuals with ADHD often face significant hurdles when it comes to starting tasks (procrastination or feeling stuck, sometimes called ADHD paralysis), maintaining focus amidst distractions, accurately perceiving the passage of time (time blindness or time agnosia), and seeing tasks through to completion. Large projects can feel overwhelming, leading to avoidance, while even simple tasks can be hard to initiate without a clear structure or sense of urgency.

Introducing the Pomodoro Technique

Developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s, the Pomodoro Technique is a time management method designed to break work into focused intervals. The classic structure involves:

1. Working on a single task for a timed interval, typically 25 minutes (one "Pomodoro").

2. Taking a short break, usually 5 minutes, when the timer goes off.

3. Repeating this work/break cycle.

4. After completing four Pomodoros, take a longer break of 15-30 minutes.

This technique acts as an externalized executive function support system. It provides the structure, time awareness cues, task initiation prompts, and break regulation that the ADHD brain often struggles to generate internally.

Why Pomodoro Works for ADHD Brains

This simple structure offers numerous benefits tailored to common ADHD challenges:

1. Combats Overwhelm and Paralysis: The Pomodoro Technique makes large, daunting tasks feel less overwhelming and much easier to start by breaking them down into small, timed chunks. The focus is just on the next 25 minutes, not the entire project.

2. Addresses Time Blindness: The ticking timer provides a constant, external, and concrete awareness of time passing, directly counteracting time agnosia. Over time, tracking how many Pomodoros tasks take can also improve time estimation skills.

3. Boosts Focus through Monotasking: The technique encourages dedicating focus to one specific task during the work interval, discouraging counterproductive multitasking and reducing susceptibility to distractions. The relatively short duration aligns well with the ADHD brain's potential ability to hyperfocus intensely for limited periods.

4. Provides Structure and Urgency: The timed intervals impose a clear structure on the work period and create a gentle sense of urgency, prompting focused effort within the allotted time.

5. Manages Energy and Prevents Burnout: The mandatory short and long breaks are crucial. They provide necessary mental resets, prevent the buildup of mental fatigue, and combat boredom, helping to sustain effort over longer periods without leading to burnout, which can often follow periods of intense hyperfocus.

6. Creates Motivation and Reward: Successfully completing each Pomodoro interval provides an immediate sense of accomplishment. Tracking completed Pomodoros offers visible proof of progress, acting as an external motivator and potentially providing small dopamine boosts.

Implementation Steps and Tips

1. Choose Your Task: Select one specific task to work on. If it's large, break it down into smaller steps that might fit within one or more Pomodoros.

2. Set Your Timer: Use a kitchen timer, phone app, or dedicated Pomodoro website/app (see resources below). Visual timers can be particularly helpful.

3. Work with Focus: Work only on the chosen task until the timer rings. Actively minimize distractions: turn off phone notifications, close unnecessary browser tabs, consider website blockers, or use noise-canceling headphones. If you have unrelated thoughts or tasks, you can quickly jot them down on a separate list to address later, then immediately return focus to the Pomodoro task.

4. Take Your Short Break: When the timer rings, stop working immediately. Use the 5-minute break to completely step away from the task. Stretch, get a drink of water, and look out the window. Avoid activities that can easily suck one in, like checking email or scrolling social media, as the goal is to refresh, not drain, mental energy.

5. Repeat and Take Longer Breaks: After completing four Pomodoros, take a more substantial break (15-30 minutes) to rest and recharge more fully before starting the next cycle.

6. Track Your Progress: Consider keeping a simple tally of completed Pomodoros. This visual tracking can be motivating.

7. Adapt and Experiment: The 25/5 cycle is just a starting point. The technique's effectiveness often hinges on its adaptability. Experiment with different work/break intervals (e.g., 15/3, 30/5, 50/10) to find what best suits one's focus patterns, energy levels, and task type. Starting with just a few Pomodoros per day can prevent overwhelm.

Potential Challenges and Solutions

• Distractions: If focus consistently breaks before the timer ends, try further reducing environmental distractions or consider shorter work intervals.

• Forgetting the Timer: Use phone alarms or app notifications as reminders to start/stop timers.

• Waning Motivation: If the technique starts to feel stale, try adjusting interval times, changing the type of timer used, or incorporating a small reward after completing a set number of Pomodoros.

• Overlong Breaks: Set a timer for breaks. Getting up and moving during the break can help reset focus better than passive activities. When the alarm goes off, you can transition back into productive activities.

• Breaking Flow: Sometimes, the timer might interrupt a period of deep focus. While it is generally advised to respect the timer to prevent burnout, some find it helpful to occasionally finish a thought or small step before breaking. Experimentation and self-awareness are key. Be kind to oneself if a session doesn't go perfectly.

Pomodoro Resources:

• Choosing Therapy - Pomodoro for ADHD Guide: https://www.choosingtherapy.com/pomodoro-technique-adhd/

• Deepwrk - Pomodoro for ADHD Explanation: https://www.deepwrk.io/blog/pomodoro-technique-adhd

• Boardmix - Pomodoro Benefits & Implementation: https://boardmix.com/tips/pomodoro-technique-adhd/ (Boardmix also offers a tool with a built-in timer)

• ADDitude Magazine - Expert Using Pomodoro: https://www.additudemag.com/its-about-time-2/

• UTC CPE Blog - Detailed Steps, Pros/Cons, App List: https://blog.utc.edu/center-professional-education/2020/07/02/how-can-the-pomodoro-technique-help-me-finding-power-through-productivity/

• Timer Apps : TomatoTimer (https://tomato-timer.com/), Marinara Timer (https://www.marinaratimer.com/), FocusKeeper (iOS), Focus To-Do (iOS/Android).

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If ADHD is hindering your productivity, working with an executive coach could help you build the habits, routines, and skills you need to focus and follow through more consistently. If you are interested in learning more, schedule a discovery call. We can discuss how we can help you better manage your ADHD.

Schedule a Free Discovery call