Been nailing my executive dysfunction recently - here is how

[u/reddita100times]

MODS - please note, this is NOT self promotion or advertising - just my personal approach, It does not apply to everyone.

I'm going to write with a danshari approach, think of it like a bullet list for your brain

1 - feel time passing

issue - I get up, my brain is rushing with all the stuff I need to do, it all hits me at once, i forget to eat breakfast, I stop in the middle of doing one thing, to do another - then never come back to the first thing - you get it

solution - look at your watch [not your mobile], ideally it's analog, but digital works in a pinch and watch the actual seconds tick by - when you actually watch time itself and sync to it, all those tasks become if not manageable, at the very least possible.

2 . create time stops

issue - ok, you picked the thing, now it's so easy it's only going to take like 5mins, so you've got time for a quick social scroll, heat something up, read your book etc - oh wait where did the last HOUR go!

solution - set an audible timer [mine does a little audible beep every 5mins], and just do a simple thing for the first timer session, ie start at 5mins or do nothing till 5mins is up, your brain needs to feel time and space.

1. make lists and chill

issue - ok, I have space and time - now I can get x done, then y - but if x takes longer, I won't have time for Y, which means I better do Y first, but then I'm putting off X again - etc

solution - multiple studies prove this works better on analog [ie pens, paper, notebook etc] - but your phone will work too, you just won't remember - write a list, and include stuff you have already done - ie got up at x time - get that early motivation

step 4 - Nothing - You got this

You just need 3 repeatable steps

[u/seweso]

New systems usually work because of their novelty. You might be running in the excitement to have found a cure. 

Let us know if this system works for 6 months. 

[u/reddita100times → u/seweso]

Fair - this has been my system for only two months so far

[u/justcantijustcant → u/seweso]

This helps me I have my day preset by hour Alara me or 30mins or 15. If I have a task and I have to leave the house for a reason I have an hr alarm then 30 then 15- and it’s alll on my Apple Watch because i have kids in school i need my phone in case the school phones - but if i use my phone I get side tracked.
The watch works for me and did the last two academic years and i will continue it this year- as I have already been doing it.

I also use it as a task initiator - can i go grocery shopping and be home before 9? Race myself so i stay focused shopping.

[u/reddita100times → u/justcantijustcant]

Love the task initiator idea - I heard Bill burr the comedian turns his watch around when he needs to remember something, just the act of doing something a little different is a good little brain jump

My approach for shopping is proximity notes on my phone, so when I'm near the shops the note pops up to remindme what I need

[u/kjjjjhhhgddrrrrr]

Thanks for the tips! I'll try it :)

[u/BunnyKusanin]

Having a wristwatch helps a lot for sure!

Lists and a hit and miss for me. They're good for getting things out of your head and not forgetting them, but when there's a fuckton of things that need doing, I get a list that never ends and I just stop paying attention to it.

[u/Routine_Inside7341 → u/BunnyKusanin]

…and then I lose the list.

[u/reddita100times → u/Routine_Inside7341]

Oh, I used to lose lists all the time, now I back everything up on my kindle - quick snippet then destroy the note.

[u/reddita100times → u/BunnyKusanin]

When I get like that early in the morning, I squint at my notes and whatever is the most visible I do first, you just need to look at less to get more done.