40 Little Life Hacks from ADHD Gurus

ADHD experts struggle with the same symptoms that challenge us all. They lose stuff, they miss appointments, they buy books on organizing that they never read, and they live with clutter. What makes them experts is that they figure out tricks to help them overcome the problems. ADDitude asked eight ADHD experts for their simplest, most effective organization hacks. Here's what they said!

1. Buy bright and shiny objects. When it comes to personal effects — keys, wallet, pens, notebooks, umbrella — I avoid black; it's easy to overlook and lose.

2. Know what you will forget. I forget a meeting time almost as soon as someone tells me. Knowing that, I make an appointment only when I can write it down on my calendar.

3. Dress the night before. I’m not a morning person, so I lay out my clothes and critical items for the next day the previous evening.

4. Downsize your desk. Give me a flat surface, and I will pile paper on it. And since I can’t stop piling, I opted for a small desk. It limits my potential to create paper-based chaos.

5. Be redundant. I use multiple “alarms” — setting a clock, programming a cell phone, asking people to call me — to remind me of things. I ignore single reminders, but almost always pay attention to several of them.

6. Make it eye-catching. I paste logos on folders, rather than writing on them. My bank's colorful logo is easier to spot than a folder with “banking” written in black ink.

7. Make it digital. I store all contact information in my phone. And I enter new phone numbers immediately. No scraps of paper that inevitably get thrown out.

8. 10-9-8-7… I create a launchpad with my keys, purse, cell phone charger, and any items that need to be taken with me in a basket by the front door.

9. Nip clutter in the bud. I collect and sort my mail daily over a recycling wastebasket, so that junk mail doesn’t make it to my desk.

10. Closet control. For every new piece of clothing that I purchase, I get rid of one old item. That means socks with holes in them, too.

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11. Be a people person. I have a special person I trust, who understands the struggles of ADHD, to help me separate my wants from needs and focus on what’s important now.

12. Track time. Tasks that I think will take an hour often take three or four hours. The Time Timer (#CommissionsEarned) helps me track time’s passage by showing how much has lapsed.

13. Meeting place. To avoid losing my phone, keys, and wallet, I created and trained myself to use an “essentials” spot—a place where I put all the things I need to have in hand before I leave the house.

14. Go smaller. I downsized to a messenger bag. Its smaller size forces me to ask, “What do I absolutely need to bring with me?”

15. Click on organization. The iPad (#CommissionsEarned) has organized my life. E-mail, blogs, games, movies, music, and calendar are on one device.

16. Write it down—and forget it for now. A small spiral notebook that fits in my jacket pocket acts as an external hard drive for my brain. I write down my thoughts as they pop into my head, without fear of forgetting or veering off track.

[Get This Free Download: 73 ADHD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life]

17. Easy access. I keep items that are used together near each other, and stuff I use regularly easily accessible. It minimizes running back and forth to get the things I need to do a job.

18. Pounce on paper. When new paperwork comes into the house, I immediately sort it into Action Required, Might Act On Someday, Reference/Cold Storage, or Trash. The Action Required items go into a bin, and onto my to-do list.

19. Take the pressure off. I categorize everything I intend to do "someday" on a master to-do list with due dates and priorities. It keeps me from forgetting important things, and frees up mental bandwidth.

20. Buzz me. I program Google Calendar to send alerts to my phone for appointments and time-sensitive tasks, with different color-coding for each area of my life.

21. Solving problems. Graphic organizers help with making decisions, solving problems, or getting started on a project. I draw circles and write a few words representing an idea in each one, then connect the circles that are related.

22. Create a chore file. I write down chores on index cards, and meet once a week with my wife to coordinate the priorities, and figure out who will be doing what.

23. ADHD and sex: Schedule it. Set specific dates for sex, then put a reminder (or two!) in your calendar. What’s less romantic: scheduling sex or never having it?!

24. Chart tough decisions. I write the problem at the top of a big piece of paper, and create three columns: Reasons to do, Reasons not to do, Creative ideas. Then my wife and I fill it in and find solutions together.

25. Hire an office organizer. At least once a year, I hire a temporary secretary to do all my filing.

26. Create “capture” areas. I create capture spaces for “grabbing” stuff where it enters, like a mail bin and key hanger near the front door.

27. Meal prep. I set the table the night before, prepare any ingredients ahead of time, and store them in containers. Then I just throw them in the pot, pan, or microwave.

28. Key trick. I attach my car keys to (or place them near) one of the items that I take with me when running errands — letters, to-do list, shoes — so I don’t forget them.

29. Go digital. Two words: online banking. It cuts down on paper to file and eliminates the need to write down everything I’ve debited or charged to my account.

30. Document recall. I always tell a close friend where I’ve hidden a spare key or put a document. I also photocopy the contents of my wallet in case I lose it.

31. Don’t sweat the small stuff. I file related papers together in folders rather than filing each one alphabetically.

32. Keep it portable. I keep active projects in wire baskets on my desk. That way, if I get bored of working there, I can carry them with me.

[Take This Test: Could You Have an Executive Function Deficit?]

33. Stuff goes here. Instead of scraps of paper, I use one spiral notebook for brain dumps, and date each page, so I can find important information quickly.

34. Time trick. I focus on the time I need to leave to get to my destination on time, not the time of the appointment.

35. Plastic for paper. I keep a small plastic baggy in my purse for receipts and one in my glove compartment for directions.

36. Memory trick. When ADHD meds are running low, I turn the bottles upside down in the cabinet as a reminder to call for refills.

37. Label storage containers. Not only do I label a container with the broad category, I list all the items inside that box on an index card and tape it to the side.

38. Recipe recall. I use MasterCook (#CommissionsEarned) software to store and organize my recipes, so I can quickly browse them by title, category, or ingredients.

39. Two to-do lists. I have an Action List of up to three items to do now, and a Parking Lot of things I want to/need to do. When I finish the Action items, I pull items or parts of items off the Parking Lot list.

40. The college try. I hire college kids to file papers and scan documents regularly to help keep papers organized.

[Read This Next: The Ultimate Room-By-Room Organization Guide]

#CommissionsEarned As an Amazon Associate, ADDitude earns a commission from qualifying purchases made by ADDitude readers on the affiliate links we share. However, all products linked in the ADDitude Store have been independently selected by our editors and/or recommended by our readers. Prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.