3 Things Every ADHD Person Needs in Their Productivity Routine

Of course, if you’d rather watch me talk about this, the video is here. You can also listen to the episode on the player below:

If you’ve been paying attention to me for any amount of time, you’re probably well aware at this point that my central philosophy is built upon the truth that “productivity” means something different to neurodivergent people.

“But Arianna,” you say, “how dare you call that a fact! I’ll have you know that I have ADHD and I’m able to do everything I want all the time!”

So first off…how did you wind up here? Did I accidentally post this link in a comment somewhere again? I really need to stop doing that.

Second off…that’s awesome. But that means that you’ve cracked your brain’s personal code, and you’ve learned how to do what it needs to forge ahead. That takes focus, skill, and an understanding of what makes ADHD brains tick.

For the rest of us, though, here are the things every ADHD productivity routine needs to be effective:

1. Portability

Listen: ADHDers are terrible with object permanence. This is just facts. If it’s not in front of our faces, we’re much more likely to forget. This goes for everything from partners to appointments. If you can’t see it, chances are you’re going to let it slip.

So whatever you do to keep track of your to-dos and important info, it has to travel well, and it has to be able to go with you everywhere. You need to be able to lift it to your beautiful eyes anytime you need. The way this happens is completely up to you, but make sure you’re able to access your lists whether you’re at home or out and about.

2. Flexibility

This means two things: how customizable your method is, and how well it rolls with life changes.

In terms of customization, ADHD brains love novelty and newness, and it’s why we do amazingly in creative spaces. This bites us in our asses, though, when we’re forced to do something that calls for routine or habit. Nothing makes us shy away quite like having to look at the same thing day after day. So whatever you use needs to be interesting to look at, and easy to adjust to your whims with colors or fun fonts or something that caters to your ever-changing gaze.

When it comes to life’s curveballs, you have to remember that ADHDers don’t actually do well with disorganization, so those to-do lists have to be easy to add things to without making things feel too confusing or cluttered. Too much in one space can result in overwhelm, which could mean a total shutdown, which is kinda the exact opposite of what we’re trying to do here.

3. Simplicity

You know what ADHD brains also hate? Complexity.

Like…we’re not stupid or anything; not even close. But we don’t do well with things being needlessly complicated. The ol’ brain hates that. So, however you’re keeping track of your tasks, it needs to be in a way that is easy to follow. If it’s too much, you won’t stick with it.

4. (BONUS) Integration

Did I say there were three things? WELL I LIED.

There’s a fourth here, and it’s simple: your methods need to work together.

Fact is, there isn’t any one method out there that works for brains like ours, so we often need 2 or three ways of keeping track of things. These ways need to work together, though, or we’re going to be constantly rushing to remember where we wrote that thing, or when that time was supposed to be, and it’s going to make for an unholy, tiring mess.

This means that whatever you do, make sure you have a process in place to ensure that your two methods share information as easily and as effortlessly as possible. This way, you’re covered no matter where you go, no matter what.

I want to make it clear that these things won’t fix every problem, but they’re building blocks of successful ADHD routines, and that is a huge part of getting where you need to go.

Work with that brain you’ve got, and great things are sure to follow.