Being an adult is a lot of work! There are so many things to do, stay on top of, take care of, remember, know, pay for, schedule, send, fix, file, track, and figure out.
There are bills to pay, appointments to make and keep, time to manage, things to manage, schedules to adhere to, errands to run, and projects to complete. There’s work, kids, pets, housework, laundry, grocery shopping, making dinner, cleaning up from dinner, taking out trash, homework, family commitments, phone calls, emails, to-do’s, and so on!
For many adults with ADHD, myself included, and even for many without ADHD, organizing and staying on top of everyday, life tasks can be challenging, and at times, even overwhelming.
While organization is second nature for some people, for others it’s not quite as automatic or engrained. It’s not quite in our wheelhouse. Yet, the tasks must be done. We have to “adult” whether we feel like it or not.
As adults, we’re often expected to do it all, and we’re expected to know how to do it all (without an instruction manual to refer to). Sometimes, an instruction manual would be nice to have.
It’s not that we adults with ADHD can’t do it. Of course, we can. And we do. It’s just that sometimes, we can use a little extra help or guidance.
I have created an Adult ADHD Life Planner and Organizer to help any adult, with ADD/ADHD, Executive Function challenges, a tendency toward disorganization or who just don’t know where to start or how to manage it all, and even those who are super organized already and want a complete organizing system. It’s for anyone who would like a very helpful guide and resource for taking care of all the adult life stuff.
It can be extremely helpful to create, keep and refer to a “life” notebook, planner, manual, or binder that helps you keep track of it all. This can be a supplement to any online/digital system you might use. It’s nice to have a physical, tangible, all-in-one-place system lets you see everything all at once, that you can grab and look through at your convenience. It serves as a great visual reminder of what’s coming up and what needs to be done and when.
In this packet, I’ve included a list of some of the many tasks that many adults might have (of course, this won’t be the same for everyone; add to and/or delete items as needed). It includes things many of us don’t really think about, or that we might not think of in time. I created this list over a long period of time, as a reference for myself. At lot of it comes from gathering information from some very organized people I know, as well as from extensive research, personal experience, and trying out several strategies to see what’s most effective for me.
These adult tasks fall into several categories, including Home, Health, Finances, Career, Family, Fun, and more. Under each category, I’ve included many tasks, which you may choose to include in your planner (or not). You can then break these tasks down into yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily tasks. Determine which need to take place on specific dates or in certain months, and also choose dates for completing other tasks that aren’t date-specific (maybe work them into times that aren’t as busy).
Also, keep important paperwork, contact info, forms and so on in related sections in this binder. You might want to add plastic sleeves to your binder for this purpose.
It’s something that can make all those adult tasks and commitments more manageable. Shop here!
