You know those days when you want to be productive, but you end up jumping between tasks all day long, starting 5 different projects, getting distracted, semi cleaning the kitchen, and all of the sudden it is 4pm and you have no idea where the day went?

I feel you

As a girly who is self employed, a mom + manages adhd symptoms that can get a little wild, I know how it can be when picking tasks, and that feeling at the end of the week when you feel like you haven’t accomplished enough.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK

What I used to do was continually make brain dumps, colour coordinate my google calendar, work on one million things at the same time, and overall, never fully finish tasks.

The biggest struggle I was having was not being realistic with what I could get done in a day.

It finally clocked to me that if I could just focus on a few things each day, and ACTUALLY get them done, I would get that dopamine hit right away, rather than working on all the things, getting nothing done, and frying my motivation for the week

HOW I ACTUALLY PLAN MY DAY NOW

Now I have committed to PLANNING my days in advance. It takes 5 extra minutes, but it has truly changed my life!

STEP ONE: Brain dump

The key with a brain dump is to not get stuck there. A brain dump is so effective for us adhd girls because it helps us get rid of information in our brain, which allows us to feel like it is being stored on the paper rather than us having to hold it all on our own. It can also help us see that we have way less to-do than we actually thought!

This is where so many fail: they just operate off their 100 item brain dump list and use it as a to-do list, when in reality this is what should guide you to plan how you will live your day to day

STEP TWO: Decide your top 3 tasks (everything else is bonus)

When planning out your day, you need to pick your top 3 tasks. These are the things that if you accomplish them, the day will be a win, and everything else is a bonus.

This is where I incorporate paper planning. I love to sit down at the beginning of the day with my daily paper planner and write this all out.

I created my own daily notepad for this which works for me for a few reasons:

1. Because it can’t close, it is constantly VISABLE. When I used to write in a traditional paper planer, I would write tasks out, then close it and forget about it. This keeps things top of mind, which helps me focus
2. If I skip a few days, I don’t feel like I am “wasting” anything. Again, with a traditional paper planner, because it was dated, I would always feel so guilty if I stopped using it

If you want to try this notepad, you can get it for just $10 with the code “PODCAST”. Check it out here.

STEP THREE: Time Block

The next step is to make a rough time block of the day. You don’t have to nail this perfectly, but I like to divide my day into morning, afternoon + evening. You *could* schedule your top three tasks into each section, or you could try to get everything done in the morning, etc. I like to do this just to remind myself of the structure and flow of the day

SET FOUR: Pick your time to repeat

The goal with this type of planning is to become second nature to you. As you start to do it more, you will find that you actually want to plan your day out, and notice when you don’t do it.

You will also learn what time of the day is best for you.

Example #1: You might be a mom who only gets free time in the evenings. You might find it easiest to sit down at the end of the day and map out what your next day will be like, so you don’t just start the day with chaos

Example #2: You might be a WFH girly who wakes up early to start your day, and you have ample time in the morning to think + reflect. Mornings might be a great time for you to map out your day when your mind is fresh and the day is ahead of you.

MINDSET REMINDER:

This is a new skill we are learning. If your body has been in a constant state of fight or flight (or freeze for us desicion fatigued lol), this will take time to adjust. Focus on the small wins. I will give myself grace to take a break for a few days (or sometimes weeks) and then try again. Often when I take those breaks I am able to come back stronger. I am right on this journey along with you!

RESOURCES FOR YOU:

This notepad changed my life..get it for $10 with code PODCAST
Why you never finish your to-do list