Quick Tips to Keep Up at Home

Struggling to keep up with the things they need to do at home is something my clients complain about all the time. And as a woman with ADHD myself, I get it! I’ve been there, done that myself.

Life can be extremely full and fast-paced, making it hard to keep up with what we need to do, and what we should do–especially when ADHD is part of the equation.

But… when you add to that the fact that much of what we’re trying to keep up with is just plain old boring, you can have a recipe for ADD disaster!

Here are a few quick tips to help you help yourself to keep up better at home more easily…

Analyze

Step back a little and take a look at where you are keeping up well enough, and where you are not. Get analytical.

What is different about how you approach, manage and think about the areas where you’re keeping up OK, and where you’re not?

What can you find out how you’re approaching the things you are keeping up with that you could apply to the areas where you’re struggling?

Hint… If you feel instant dread or *Ugh!* when you think about something you struggle to keep up with, that’s a good clue that what’s getting in your way is between your ears. And I can help you with that!

Automate

Look at the things you’re not keeping up with and start to work on creating daily, weekly, and monthly routines to make it easier to keep those things moving forward. Go slow (being careful not to automate too many things at once), and only add one more thing at a time when one of the things you’re working on automating feels like it’s on auto-pilot consistently.

Use patterning to help solidify those routines.

Offload

Use checklists or apps and whatever reminders are helpful to you to so that you can start to create a rhythm to your days and weeks that will take less energy and bandwidth to manage. Get that stuff out of your head and let your tools support you! 

And don’t forget… whatever tools you’re using will likely need to be tweaked from time to time to keep them fresh. Don’t feel bad about it when they lose their appeal. Expect it and roll with it!

Review and Revise Regularly

Establish regular intervals (with reminders) to review what’s working, what you’re learning, what feels easier, and what you need to revise to continue to make progress.

Don’t skip this step! It’s important to expect revisions and embrace them as an opportunity to learn and make things easier going forward. Paying attention to what works for us is key to learning how to lean on our strengths and what’s natural to us to make life easier.

Doing things in ways that are more natural and Easier is how we free up energy and bandwidth for the things that matter most!

Acknowledge

As always, make sure you’re consciously acknowledging and giving yourself credit for what you’re trying and the effort you put forth! Don’t just give yourself credit for your “perfect” days… give yourself credit for trying, learning and making gradual improvements.

It takes time to change a lifetime of habits and the way you’ve been doing things. Make sure you are noticing and rewarding yourself and your child for the effort expended, and any progress at all.

Remember: Doing something just one time is a 100% improvement over not doing it at all!

And don’t forget that there are plenty of ways to get help if you need it!

If you’re struggling with overwhelm, low-motivation, avoidance or procrastination when it comes to getting things done at home (or at work), check out my Get it Done! group program and let us help you break the chains that are holding you back.

I’m here and ready to get to work when you are.

Until next time,

 

 

 

Lynne Edris, ACG
Productivity & ADHD Coach