ADHD and Time-Blocking: How does it work?!

#adhd #timemanagement #timeblocking

You've probably heard that there is research showing that time-blocking helps for people with ADHD. And it does, but in order to be sustainable, you need to tweak it a bit.

😌 I stopped coaching, but I wanted to create some 'replacement'. In this 'course' I walk you through different coaching questions and I ask you to write the answers down so that you can reflect, think, heal.
Writing Therapy Course:

📽️ Video Chapters
0:00 - Intro
0:39 - Visualization
1:14 - Memory
2:15 - Classical way
3:18 - The ADHD way
5:05 - Daily vs Weekly
6:26 - Story Time + Healthy Productivity
8:18 - Color Grading
10: 26 - Personalize
10:53 - Always Something Fun
12:25 - Example
13:13 - Time of the Day
15:36 - Outro

[apoorvasharma]

I feel 10% of my ADHD getting healed whenever I watch your videos. You are a cool person to be around.

[Burzumsable]

Thank you so much for continuing this work even though engagement is tough to come by in this niche. Since you have ADHD and it can get frustrating when the rewards aren't on par with your efforts. I applaud your dedication and help. I hope you hit big. Carry on!

[arifianj]

this is ‘new’ way for me that I’ve already watched other ways in youtube. hopefully this way can work for me. thankyou for saving my life

[cmarkd]

Thank you, Evie! In the experience of coming to grips with my ADHD, I'm learning to be kind to myself. My greatest obstacle has always been the guilt of not achieving what someone else expected. I loved what you said about making the practice your own and make it interesting. I also enjoy hearing how similar your dopamine impulses are to mine.😅 Keep up the great content!

[killymxi]

Time to tweak my daily notes in Obsidian.

There is a constant conflict between the necessity to have important things in front of my eyes and them accumulating to the state where everything blends into noise.

I will outright ignore any time blocking. But simply having lose list of tasks, even color graded, is deceptive - they will accumulate.

Need more flexible tools. There are mobile app(s) for flexible time blocking - they are like sliding windows, starting when you're ready. But even those I don't find working for me. May think how I would like to see it as a possible Obsidian extension...

For a time being, I may try to limit daily notes by the number of slots per category.

One of the roots of procrastination: the brain tends to think there is always more interesting task buried somewhere in the list, compared to the one I decided to put up front for today.

[sonisanders]

Thank you for this video,
I have my marker and I’m super excited as I’ve been watching several techniques and I’ve landed on your technique and your advice is also appreciated..
thank you for taking the time to to share this gem💜

[WillNGo]

Great tips. I'd like to try the color coding. The best for me is to start on what I want to do tomorrow before I go to sleep tonight. If it's writing then read something similar, make a few notes, or go over my outline, sketch out the scene. Maybe do some trial writing in my paper journal. I find it's then a lot easier to wake up and get started. And I've done a lot of my best writing this way. But absolutely write down a TO DO list that you will see first thing in the morning. Sometimes if I miss the list I can just start on something else, a distraction... and only later, 'Oh, that's what I meant to do.'
When I travel I carry a small, usually cheap, notebook in my pocket. I write down notes of places, schedules, etc. What always needs to happen: Write the day and date at the beginning of each day, then jot down times when you are supposed to do things The ToDo, but also when you do things. It's too easy to get lost or create a too confusing schedule/'diary of your trip. This works at home and supports Time Blocking as well. (Tip. If you use the really cheap notebooks that the pages fall out of? Poke holes near the binding and sew them. They work just the same, look cool and last forever. I do this with the little blue notebooks I buy in convenience stores in Japan and other parts of Asia.) And of course I keep larger journals with more depth. (I learned that in about 2005 someone asked all the silicon valley guys how they kept notes, to dos, appointments, results, etc... Many of them used one word processing document, entered everything into it and then did a search for various items.
For almost twenty years now I make a list of all the days, dates for the year in a spreadsheet, then copy and paste them in my word processor, Nisus Writer Pro, (I also indent the various days of the week) then I select all put them in the Navigator window, where the days cascade in sets of seven days.. makes navigation easier. Then I just start writing after the date. Things I need to do that day, things I've done, thoughts, journal entries, things I've read and want to remember, etc...
I think what would really be helpful would be an alarm that quietly pings every two hours to signal that you have to write down what you've done for those two hours. Intentional, productive work can really sap energy, watching 15 YouTube videos and carefully writing long comments? Effortless. But if that ping goes off and you're off task? It's a hint to get back on task.
Also I mentioned on one of Evie Ran's videos in I think November, that I was finding writing (intentionally) for more than two hours a day was exhausting. This made me remember that physical fitness is critical to creative output. I've seen more that a few very aged people experiencing dementia. Put them on oxygen and their old self suddenly reappears. So I've been fast walking 30 miles a week on my treadmill. I've been writing for longer and longer periods. (I also put a TV in front of the treadmill. Action movies? Only on the treadmill.)
If you are a successful person with ADHD you will be the most disciplined procrastinator you'll ever know. You get a lot of things done, but you will likely always feel like you're off task too often. Never give up.

[Jaquobes]

Great tips. I feel like I could implement several in my life. I especially like how you encourage flexibility when it comes to daily/weekly planning.

[samuelsstuffyt]

I'm 19, Autistic, not diagnosed with ADHD however I understand ADHD is a common comorbidity and I have tried timeblocking for most of the past 2 years, mostly to ensure I did not fail the exams I needed to go to University. It worked in that regard, however I am dropping it now. I think all of this can lead to rigidity and hyperfocus on productivity, this led me to be constantly worried about being productive to the point I weren't being productive, led to a huge caffeine dependency and neverending anxiety, constant irritability and what not. All of this has led to a 2 year period of time that has been absolute hell for me and one that I am just thankful to god I didn't have access to worse stimulants to facilitate it with.

Just finished my exams and am quitting caffeine, scrapping most 'time management' techniques including this one, and instead just ensuring I carry out some basic routines to keep me healthy and motivated, like a whole-foods based diet, water, morning run and strength workout, and then just relying on what my brain wants me to do to guide my day. I might do a daily brain dump to get ideas of what I might want to do out, but nothing more than that.

Obviously, this is a very personal experience, and of course I am not saying to not do this, especially if it does work for you! However, I am just sharing my experience where if it gets too much and is feeding into other bad habits, you must drop it. If you're planning on implementing something like this, make sure its controlled and you don't use it for anything super important at first. I recognized this was all really badly affecting my life about one and a half years ago, however it had helped me increase my grades from around B's and some A's to straight A*'s, which meant I didn't want to get rid of it until I was finished with my studying and exams. I think sometimes you need to evaluate where personal limits are, and that yes, some of these methods can help you boost productivity a lot, but they are unnatural and unsustainable often times, and ultimately just aren't reflective of your actual abilities, wants, needs or productivity. When I go to University, I am just going to accept that whatever I get is whatever I get, that is my natural and innate ability - no point manufacturing false productivity if its going to make you miserable and dependent on that structure.

[BuckeyeRutabaga]

Thank you! Great advice from someone who gets what it's like to strive to be productive through your ADHD maze.

[TorontoNeurospicyGirl]

Im gonna try this. I tried the regular way. I set up a whole week of time blocks... and then abandoned it halfway through the 1st day. 😂 Did it many gimes though oit the years and every time felt like so lazy pos who cannot follow a schedule I made.

[tomipetteri]

Perhaps consider creating an updated video featuring images and examples at a future date? Your intended audience may find it challenging to understand your message.

[bit_misfit]

I love the color coding ideas, especially since it highlights the importance of relationships and being a person of integrity and dependability. Definitely gonna try that one out, thank you!

[bethbrown]

I am so grateful your channel was recommended to me today. I’m having a very difficult day due to chronic illness and I needed the reminder you pointed out about “healthy” vs harmful. I feel so much lighter than I did just a few minutes ago, thank you!!

[loganskiwyse]

I give you six years at most where this approach will work. Nearly 60 and used this long before I even knew I had ADHD.

[dandy]

I cried watching your video bc I feel so validated, restored and healed. i literally just had a fight with my partner who was trying to get me to plan and schedule the neurotypical way and he couldn't understand why I can't do it and I had difficulty explaining why too. you've given me why my challenges happen, what to do and how to teach him to understand me. thank you so much

[risaiswright]

Thanks! I think flexibility is definitely key. I like the idea of color coding things. I have never tried that, and that will help me make sure that I am finding time to do a variety of things (like self care) each day. One thing I find helpful to keep me on task is to pause and write down one or two things that I want to be focusing on right now. I call these my "focused tasks." I write them on a sticky note and carry it in my pocket. If a thought or another task tries to distract me, then I can write it down on the back of the sticky note. Knowing that I can go back to that distraction later and won't forget it really helps me stay focused enough to complete the task I set out to accomplish.

I also think you bring up a good point that it is important to keep on trying different things. Conventional time blocking may not work for most people with ADHD, but some aspects of it may be beneficial :)

[PathwaytoSpanish]

Thank you for offering creative solutions to time blocking!

[steadycompsltd.]

Thanks. I find this series of videos incredibly useful. I wish they were around when I was young. :-)

[rufionijverdal]

Great tips with smooth execution in explanation and encouragement. Chapeau! Keep up the good work :)