Any tips on living w/ADHD??

       I've started this for the 3rd time!!!! The last two were sooo long I deleted them.

I have ADHD along w/some other letters. I do take Meds and see a therapist but funds are low and I've had to cut back. Soooo...I would like to ask everyone out there the best tips, tricks and ways to cope w/ADHD and side effects of Adderall.

So far these tricks have worked for me-

Something has to be done 21x in a row to become habit.

Put my keys on a hook by the door..EVERYDAY!

Put ALL remote controls( in the living room )in a basket and keep them there.

Smoking effects the way adderall works w/the brain.

Keep a dry erase marker handy to write notes on mirrors.

Following link is to best thing to wash dishes with.

http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=189 &PRODID=60381

Really Good Message Board for sleep disorders

http://www.talkaboutsleep.org/cgi-local/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=f orum&f=3

I will write more as I remember/think/learn them. If anybody has ANY tips on how to make "living" w/this ANY easier..please share them w/me. My life at this point is a mess.

Oh! If anyone knows where the remote control to my bedroom  T.V. is ..could you clue me in?

Thanks!

OH MY Goodness! Thank-you! After I posted my message....I found my remote!!! It's been lost for weeks and I've been going crazy. You guys are Gooood!

I was thinking what would be nice, is if like a tracking device could be invented for people with ADD...

1) little tiny stickers each numbered, that could be attached to the item, and

2) tracking device, that could be like a watch, with screen to select what number you are looking for... and listen for the beeps to locate!

1 - keys, 2 - phone, - 3 remote....

Yup, oh and best of all it could be water proof, that you could wear it around at all times, and not worry about taking it off to loose that as well!

Ok, I want the patent on this baby, lol

Hello San Diego,

You may want to check out the book "ADD Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life" by Judith Kolberg and Kathleen Nadeau.

Your comment about the remotes in the basket and you keys on the hook remided me of this book. It has a lot of great strategies about keeping bills paid, etc.

Some of this stuff now seems to make sense as to why I seemed to get along so well in the military several years ago. Nothing ever really could be misplaced, everything had a clearly prescribe place and the daily duty schedule was always posted in plain view.

I still struggle since I'm not medicated right now but here are some things that worked for me.

1. Simplify! Instead of a little trash can under the sink, keep a big one with a foot pedal and use it for the kitchen and any junk around the house. Throw away unnecessary papers and trinkets as soon as you can.

2. Buy a file cabinet for you bills. Keep bills in folders, divided by month. (I don't like tabs, they're too time consuming so I just go left to right.)

3. Divide! Divide household chores into little tasks. Clean the sink, take a break, then go back and clean the toilet, take a break than clean the shower...

This helps me, I hope it can help someone else too.

Cheekydeeky

I try to get all of my bills to be direct pay from my bank account on a certain day of the month when I know that I have a cheque going in.  Or I rearrange things to match my paydays, otherwise I forgot to pay the phone and the heat bills then get nasty reminders and go "oh sh** I did it again, next month I will make sure to pay them on time"   not that I remember next month, I just say the same thing again.

I clean house like that.  Clean the bathroom, go watch tv, clean the kitchen, go watch tv.  Then I can get it all done and don't forgot anything.  I have the memory of a rock so I loose myself quite frequently.

I love posts like these - anything that helps conquer the chaos of piles and clutter and losing things is an A1+++ in my book! These kinds of tips really help me see a light at the end of my tunnel... (if only it were as focused as a tunnel!) Funny that I survived all these years without realizing I was swimming against the current of my own mind!

I'd love to see more of the tricks that really work for people... I have some of the books but sometimes it seems they are full of great suggestions I can't remember let alone follow - whereas time tested by ADDult ADDers... now that's another story.

...and that little soap scrubber looks great!

I'm on adderall and i still sometimes have problems with orginazation! The funny thing is the big jobs seem easier for some reason.

Now my real problems start when it comes to finding my glasses. i only wear them for driving or watching TV. Like some of y'all, i have a system for my keys. When i come in i hang them up. it never fails. We have cordless phones and cell phones. our cordless have the ADD  Feature that is you hit a button on the wall unit and the phones ring! kinda neet! also i have been known to use a phone to find my cell phone( i've never told anyone this). The remotes, my hubby has 4 of them, i only loose the TV one. I once found it in the bathroom

Cleaning isn't much of a problem. i start in one room and next. i have to semi-clean every night to get rid of all my cups and clutter. That seems to be a common trait(the cups and stuff).

The bills, my hubby handles them. I cant balance a checkbook if my butt depended on it that really makes me frustrated, something that comes so easy to some..... just pisses me off!!

I was thinking what would be nice, is if like a tracking device could be invented for people with ADD...

1) little tiny stickers each numbered, that could be attached to the item, and

2) tracking device, that could be like a watch, with screen to select what number you are looking for... and listen for the beeps to locate!

1 - keys, 2 - phone, - 3 remote....

Yup, oh and best of all it could be water proof, that you could wear it around at all times, and not worry about taking it off to loose that as well!

Ok, I want the patent on this baby, lol

ahhh this is a great thread. adderall has made me very put together organizationally as far as getting through a meal

(last night i made dinner for my husband and i, a separate dinner for my son who is picky and also prepped for making cookies from scratch, then after dinner i was able to clean dishes, whip up my cookies in three batches and wash my baking paraphenelia when cookies were baking..spotless! i loved it)

however my memory is still as bad as ever. i don't think i noticed it AS much as i do now. since i'm a full time working mom (1 toddler) plus 1 1/2 commute so time is of the essence and organization is KEY. i seriously make a religion out of writing my little to do's that pile up in my pda..if i don't note it in my pda IMMEDIATELY then it is lost forever practically. so with my pda i'm able to categorize my task and assign priority and due dates. i looove it. it makes things so manageable for me.

i play life and its tasks like a game

thats my biggest tip ever. i know it seems silly but if i can fulfill all my expectations i feel like i won. yayyayay!

another one: just know what you are capable of and schedule around this. it took me  aLONNG TIME to learn this. i would start a day off like i could build a house and paint it one day only to be out of the house for errands after 2 pm and feel totally panicky about all the stuff i had to do and not finishing it all.

so be realistic about how things are going to make you feel: for instance i was invited to dinner yesterday evening. i passed even though i felt obligated (my inlaws) b/c i had errands to do and i had to do them for my week to run smoothly. in the past i would of just said yes and bit the bullet. nowadays i know to say NO and realize that i need to get certain things done at a certain time to get through without freaking out...

sumi

The bills, my hubby handles them. I cant balance a checkbook if my butt depended on it that really makes me frustrated, something that comes so easy to some..... just pisses me off!!

[/QUOTE]

SO EASY? Are you kidding? MOST people can't or don't balance a checkbook or maintain a budget! Take it from someone who just spent 2 days building a budget (with help from my already-budgetted boyfriend). I kept getting frustrated but he said that I should be proud because most people don't even bother. Why do you think credit card companies do so well? So, please, don't dismiss this as something simple to do or get frustrated because it is hard for you--it's complicated and confusing and you just have to find a system that works for you.

I'm currently using Quicken and make online payments directly to vendors (like, on their websites). As soon as I'm out of the cycle of having to use my credit card to maintain cash flow (even whilst staying on budget), I'm going to lock it up somewhere for "emergency use only!" It's easier to track money just using a debit card anyway, but some people still only accept checks. And I try hard to stay away from cash--and it's all categorized under one heading cuz it's pretty much impossible to track what you spent it for.

Keep the faith (and to the budget, hee hee!)

$$$$ (<--Piggy Bank)