ADHD + Planners

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and it explains a lot about how my brain actually works and why I feel the need to be hyper-organized and depend on about six-ish planners to keep everything in my life straight and on track. Of course, that is how my ADHD works and I get not everyone has the same symptoms, degree of symptoms, or “hacks” to remember everything.

I have a system that mostly works for me (no system is fail-proof).

One day last week, I impulsively searched “best planners for ADHD” and started looking through the lists. I then had the brilliant idea that I would buy ALL THE planners, review them, use them, and let you know if I thought they were useful for my ADHD brain. Maybe I’d find something that works great with my system and maybe I’d help someone else find their unicorn planner.

A little about me and my ADHD. I am combined type, hyperactive. Most of my hyperactivity is in my brain per the psychologist I saw. My brain never stops. Although I also have problems sitting still and getting restless easily. As a kid, I did tend to be quite active and was called hyper or too much often. I interrupted adults all the time because if I didn’t say what came into my head I would forget it.

Without medication, my brain has about 32847 tabs open at once.

I have a hard time completing goals. I can set goals like everyone else. I can start them but then I fizzle out unless there is some consequence (like getting in trouble at work). Over the years I’ve tried setting personal SMART goals and various systems and I always start out strong but never finish. I struggle to break down the big goals into smaller tasks. I recently picked up my MakseLife Companion notebooks and have been working to stick with them. It’s a challenge but I’ve made it part of my Sunday planning routine.

I have trouble focusing on one task. I am that person that will start washing dishes, remember the towels need to go in the dryer, move the towels, then be like oh yah, I need to clean the bathroom and head to the bathroom and start on that, and when I go to grab the glass cleaner from the kitchen remember that I was washing dishes.

If I’m watching TV I’m probably reading, scrolling social media, or writing. I can’t just watch TV. I like having things in piles on my desk or tables because if I put them in drawers I forget to use whatever it is. Clear or open storage containers work best.

And yes, I thought this was how everyone was. I never realized my brain was so different!

After years of being yelled at for interrupting, I eventually learned to keep quiet. Mostly. I learned to not be so loud. I often would sit on my hands and bounce my legs to prevent my mouth from blurting things out. I created a lot of masks and workarounds. I really thought everyone else did the same thing.

While researching ADHD, I realized I am more impulsive than I thought. I have ruined friendships because I would blurt something out without thinking about it. I buy things (hello ADHD planners) because I get a wild idea! After my dad died, I bought a lot of things without really thinking and created a lot of credit card debt. I have shame around that but I am working hard to pay it all off and not create new debt. Everything I buy now gets paid for immediately.

So that is a bit about me and my ADHD. I could probably write a lot more. Somewhere I have a notebook where I wrote down every symptom I identified with while researching ADHD in women. I wanted to have all my ducks in a row when I talked to my doctor. Turns out I gave her the assessment I took, she reviewed it, asked a couple of follow-up questions, and was like yup, you have ADHD.

Now back to the planners for ADHD. I plan to do a review for planners recommended for those with ADHD doing first impressions and thoughts. Then I may use them for a while and weigh back in with if my opinion changed if the planner helped or not etc. I will also discuss important points like stickers and what pens work best in the planners.

I have about half a dozen planners now and a bunch saved on my Amazon list wish to do this later. All but one are undated so I can use them any time. I may also give some away after testing. So stay tuned for that if you are interested (because I don’t really need MORE planners so I’d like them to go to a good home).

I also have a couple of specialized journals on pre-order. So once those arrive I will do the same with those. I ordered The Hero’s Journal and The Anti-Planner, which were both recommendations on How to ADHD.

Here are the articles I used to choose the planners. I picked the ones most applicable to me (I’m not a student) and that I felt were more like planners. There was one that seemed to be a workbook from the Amazon read first and not what I was looking for in this project.

https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com/post/five-of-the-best-adhd-planners-to-use-in-2021