Time. There is never enough of it, we’re always losing track of it, and we can’t seem to find it. Everyone occasionally gets distracted and forgets something, but with ADHD, it feels like it is always there around the corner. What will I forget next? “I’ll remember” seems like a delusional statement when we say it out loud. Before we begin trying to wrestle back control, we have to acknowledge that there are good odds we just won’t remember. Our memories are generally as good as anyone’s, but our attention to time, or perhaps lack of attention, means that things slip out of place.
So, what can we do?
Well, the first bit of good news is that we almost always have a really powerful memory device with us. Our phones.
Calendars for Planned Events
To start, make sure that you have a good calendar app on your phone. It doesn’t have to be fancy. I use Google Calendar, but you can use something as complicated or simple as you need. Next, as soon as something comes up that needs to be done at a specific time, immediately put it in your phone. This includes doctor visits, a meeting with friends, dates, classes, basically anything that has to happen at a specific time without flexibility. If something happens literally every day at the same time, you don’t need a calendar event, but if you struggle with being on time, you may want an alarm (which we’ll cover in a minute). Make sure that your calendar has a notification alert that will sound on your phone at the time you need to be notified, not when you are supposed to start.
Timers for Unscheduled or Impulse Tasks
Ever burned dinner? I know I have, a lot. I now have a rule that if I’m cooking, I can’t leave the kitchen without setting a timer. The timer on the microwave or my phone can work depending on how far I plan to go. Do I need to come back and stir in 5 minutes, or check if the potatoes in the oven have gotten soft in 30 minutes? Set the timer! Otherwise, I’ll have burnt vegetables and destroyed baked goods in a couple hours, along with a terrible mess to clean up.
I had a roommate that once exploded some potatoes she was cooking on the stove. No, I don’t know how, but I know it involved forgetting about them and her having to clean the ceiling after. I set a timer when I start a load of laundry to remind myself to put it in the dryer and then to take it out. If you are sharing laundry space in an apartment complex, your neighbors will also appreciate this one. If you have to walk away from it (any “it”) in the middle, set a timer.
Alarms for Daily Tasks
Alarms can be for anything we want to do “on time.” Just about everyone reading this has experience with a morning alarm clock, why not use the same technique for other things? I have an alarm that goes off every night to let me know that it is time to wrap up what I’m doing and get ready for bed. Do you have to pick up the kids at the same time every day? Do you need a notification when you have 5 minutes left to get out the door and on your way to work? What do you struggle with? What do you want help remembering to do? Set an alarm.
Choose the Time
When setting alarms and choosing notification times, there are a few questions we need to ask ourselves. How much time do I need to get ready? How much time will it take me to get there? What am I likely to be doing at the time and how long will it take me to wrap that up so I can get ready? For example, if I’m setting the timer for laundry and I’ll be watching online tv, the timer can be set to go off when I expect the load to be finished or a couple minutes before (if I need to grab dryer sheets and walk to the laundry room). I can pause online tv so there’s no task to wrap up and little to no travel time. If I have a doctor’s appointment during the workday however, I need to give myself time to finish a work task to a point where I can step away, time to pack up and get to my car, time to drive (including possible bad traffic), time to find parking, and time to get inside to the doctor’s office. I must add up the time for all of those steps to decide when the calendar’s notification alert should sound.
We live in an age of technological marvels. We can use these to make our lives better and less stressful. We have busy, full lives with a lot we want and need to do. If we can’t remember to do it, it definitely won’t get done. Take full advantage of what our modern world offers.
