I love meal planning but it always ends up being a bit of a work of fiction 🤣I start out with good intentions for a day or two and then by the end of the week I have veered dramatically off course.
I live by my physical planner. I've use Blue Sky for many years and loved it, but I'm venturing out to a different brand. For 2025 I'm trying Simplified Planner. Each day has one column titled "My Day" and the other titled "To Do". I will use the first column for set appointments and the other for daily chores and goals.
Karen, it sounds like you’ve found the holy ADHD grail of finding a planner that you can actually stick to! Off to google Blue Sky and Simplified Planner now…
I recently discovered Google Keep Notes. Like you, I was really reluctant to give up my notebook and endless loose sheets. But I love it. I not only use it for to-dos, but also for 'glimmers' photos and notes, general musings, just anything my brain needs to let go of really. You can add labels, so I can search for things really easily. It also means my notebook journal is freed up for, well, journaling! So I'm using that much better too. I generally find myself stubbornly resistant to technology, but am now trying to embrace the parts of it that are useful or informative or entertaining. (Like Substack :0D)
Ooh, not heard of Google Keep Notes. I have to say I don’t understand Google stuff like Google Docs. Other people have shared them with me so I have some but I don’t really ‘get’ it. It might be because I’m very much a Mac rather than PC person or maybe I just need someone to take five mins to explain how it all works to me :)
No, I don’t really understand any of it to be honest! I think you get these apps when you have a chrome account? Some of them seem to be like what you get with office (like ‘docs’ - word and ‘sheets’ - excel), but they’re free with chrome. Anyway, I stumbled across ‘keep notes’ and have been using them for a couple of months. It’s years since I used a Mac! I would definitely need Apple explaining to me!
Yes! I really like the layout. And, as you say, the fact that it’s so seamless to use on both desktop or phone. I keep allsorts on it, it’s just my digital journal basically.
Great tips, thank you Gabrielle. I like being able to make lists on the smart speaker so I can add things I think of whilst cooking, rather than remember next time when I've run out of something.
Do I do any of these? How about, ALL of them! I never identified with some aspects of potentially having ADHD, because I wasn't always losing things or misplacing them. But I've realized it's because I have built these systems and practice overtime. Mainly because of years of mindfulness practices, I starting slowing down and noticing certain patterns and behaviors and began implementing new behaviors. So it also explains why I can get so annoyed when other members of my household "mess" with my things or my way of organizing things in my home because it discombobulates me, and disrupts my system!
It's an interesting realisation, isn't it, Dana? I too was slow to make the ADHD connection for myself because I was looking at the more stereotypical, well-known aspects. It was by hearing other women's more nuanced experiences and reflecting on the systems I have in place that pennies started to drop :)
I resonate a lot with this… I don’t identify with many typical signs but it’s because I’ve created very strict systems to manage them. And that’s exhausting!!!! X
The words ‘my things’ had me sitting up because I tend to have a lot of my things that I don’t like others touching but I had never thought of it as a coping mechanism - my toothbrush and paste lives in my washbag not the bathroom as does my bath towel, I have my chair in the lounge with my cushion and throw, my car that I don’t particularly like my husband using because he’ll change the radio station and move the seat position and throw the thing I need to sit on into the back ….
This is such a great piece and I relate a lot to so many of the things you do… I don’t have a diagnosis (yet) but I have high suspicions and reading this has been very insightful. X
Pleased you enjoyed the piece, Lauren. Just so you know, a diagnosis isn't needed to 'prove' anything, if it resonates and explains and you feel it, that's all the 'proof' you need x
Thank you. I am really letting my deep dive into your posts last night sink in to be honest because it gave me a lot to contemplate. I do feel in some way I would like a formal diagnosis but understand it isn’t ‘needed’ to prove that I operate differently. xxx
These are so good - especially the ones about leaving things in clear sight as a reminder. Years ago when I had two v young kids I read a bit of advice from a mum which was to employ the 'if that was a snake it would have bitten me' method - again, where practical.
If I was in the shower and noticed an empty bottle of shampoo for example I would drop it on the bathmat. Then, after getting dressed kick it onto the landing as a reminder to pick it up after I was dressed. Then, heading downstairs, take the bottle with me and leave it either by my handbag or next to the fridge where I could write it on my 'to buy' list. It sounds weird, but keeping it in plain sight really helped me not to forget (only to remember the next time I was in the shower 🤣)
Doesn't sound weird in the slightest, sounds completely sensible and what I do too! If it's in my way and I'd trip over it, it's in the best place for me to remember what to do with it.
In response to point 3: 1 month before the birthday my calendar tells me to schedule time for buying the gift or ordering online. This repeats yearly in my digital life saver called FamilyWall
Recently I discovered having a meal plan is very helpful and a massive weekly planner on my desk where I scribble down everything I need to remember.
Yes, Claire, we do meal planning too!
I love meal planning but it always ends up being a bit of a work of fiction 🤣I start out with good intentions for a day or two and then by the end of the week I have veered dramatically off course.
It generally works for me but it's know what you mean
I live by my physical planner. I've use Blue Sky for many years and loved it, but I'm venturing out to a different brand. For 2025 I'm trying Simplified Planner. Each day has one column titled "My Day" and the other titled "To Do". I will use the first column for set appointments and the other for daily chores and goals.
Karen, it sounds like you’ve found the holy ADHD grail of finding a planner that you can actually stick to! Off to google Blue Sky and Simplified Planner now…
I found this super helpful! Thanks Gabrielle!
Happy to help, Claire x
✨💕
I recently discovered Google Keep Notes. Like you, I was really reluctant to give up my notebook and endless loose sheets. But I love it. I not only use it for to-dos, but also for 'glimmers' photos and notes, general musings, just anything my brain needs to let go of really. You can add labels, so I can search for things really easily. It also means my notebook journal is freed up for, well, journaling! So I'm using that much better too. I generally find myself stubbornly resistant to technology, but am now trying to embrace the parts of it that are useful or informative or entertaining. (Like Substack :0D)
Ooh, not heard of Google Keep Notes. I have to say I don’t understand Google stuff like Google Docs. Other people have shared them with me so I have some but I don’t really ‘get’ it. It might be because I’m very much a Mac rather than PC person or maybe I just need someone to take five mins to explain how it all works to me :)
No, I don’t really understand any of it to be honest! I think you get these apps when you have a chrome account? Some of them seem to be like what you get with office (like ‘docs’ - word and ‘sheets’ - excel), but they’re free with chrome. Anyway, I stumbled across ‘keep notes’ and have been using them for a couple of months. It’s years since I used a Mac! I would definitely need Apple explaining to me!
We get so used to what we’re used to!
Also a big fan of Google Keep Notes - so easy to add stuff on the phone and satisfying to look back on!
Yes! I really like the layout. And, as you say, the fact that it’s so seamless to use on both desktop or phone. I keep allsorts on it, it’s just my digital journal basically.
Great tips, thank you Gabrielle. I like being able to make lists on the smart speaker so I can add things I think of whilst cooking, rather than remember next time when I've run out of something.
Technology making it possible for us to dictate in the moment stuff we’d otherwise forget is so helpful
Do I do any of these? How about, ALL of them! I never identified with some aspects of potentially having ADHD, because I wasn't always losing things or misplacing them. But I've realized it's because I have built these systems and practice overtime. Mainly because of years of mindfulness practices, I starting slowing down and noticing certain patterns and behaviors and began implementing new behaviors. So it also explains why I can get so annoyed when other members of my household "mess" with my things or my way of organizing things in my home because it discombobulates me, and disrupts my system!
It's an interesting realisation, isn't it, Dana? I too was slow to make the ADHD connection for myself because I was looking at the more stereotypical, well-known aspects. It was by hearing other women's more nuanced experiences and reflecting on the systems I have in place that pennies started to drop :)
I resonate a lot with this… I don’t identify with many typical signs but it’s because I’ve created very strict systems to manage them. And that’s exhausting!!!! X
The words ‘my things’ had me sitting up because I tend to have a lot of my things that I don’t like others touching but I had never thought of it as a coping mechanism - my toothbrush and paste lives in my washbag not the bathroom as does my bath towel, I have my chair in the lounge with my cushion and throw, my car that I don’t particularly like my husband using because he’ll change the radio station and move the seat position and throw the thing I need to sit on into the back ….
It's interesting when we start to look at the things we've been doing for a while, why we think we do them and why else we might do them…
Very similar here. And I don’t live with anyone else so nobody messes with my stuff, yay!
You put something down and it stays there - amazing!
great article. I'm late to the ADHD party and this is full of useful tips. Thanks.
So glad it’s useful, Suzy. You’re the right time for you, the idea of a party is preferable to a bandwagon ;)
This is such a great piece and I relate a lot to so many of the things you do… I don’t have a diagnosis (yet) but I have high suspicions and reading this has been very insightful. X
Pleased you enjoyed the piece, Lauren. Just so you know, a diagnosis isn't needed to 'prove' anything, if it resonates and explains and you feel it, that's all the 'proof' you need x
Thank you. I am really letting my deep dive into your posts last night sink in to be honest because it gave me a lot to contemplate. I do feel in some way I would like a formal diagnosis but understand it isn’t ‘needed’ to prove that I operate differently. xxx
It can be a lot to take in, especially when you start reflecting on your life, so go gently x
These are so good - especially the ones about leaving things in clear sight as a reminder. Years ago when I had two v young kids I read a bit of advice from a mum which was to employ the 'if that was a snake it would have bitten me' method - again, where practical.
If I was in the shower and noticed an empty bottle of shampoo for example I would drop it on the bathmat. Then, after getting dressed kick it onto the landing as a reminder to pick it up after I was dressed. Then, heading downstairs, take the bottle with me and leave it either by my handbag or next to the fridge where I could write it on my 'to buy' list. It sounds weird, but keeping it in plain sight really helped me not to forget (only to remember the next time I was in the shower 🤣)
Doesn't sound weird in the slightest, sounds completely sensible and what I do too! If it's in my way and I'd trip over it, it's in the best place for me to remember what to do with it.
In response to point 3: 1 month before the birthday my calendar tells me to schedule time for buying the gift or ordering online. This repeats yearly in my digital life saver called FamilyWall
That’s a great tool!