this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2026
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ADHD
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Over the years, I adopted a few tools to help me manage what feels like "open drawers" in my head :
When a task I need to do spontaneously pop in my head and it's not urgent, I write it on my whiteboard on my wall. If I'm not home, I quickly put it in my notes app. Then, and it's the crucial trick, I forget about it. That way, I can focus on the task(s) at hand and just organize my future tasks later, instead of juggling with them all at once.
This helped me compartimentalize a lot and I found myself being able to feel free during the day here and there and on most nights, instead of being a sack of anxiety 24/7.
When I consolidate my tasks, I use a card system like Trello. (I don't recommend Trello specifically, it seems to have enshittified.) I keep it mostly pen-and-paper, but I'm sure there are some FOSS tools you can find that do just that.
A card system was a revelation for me, being able to do a quick assessment of when a task is due and put it in the right column was a game changer. I'm the type to do everything at the last minute, so putting up little deadlines everywhere helped me do more.
This could not be helpful for you, but I take ADHD medication. The first one I tried for a few months, but it made me even more anxious. I then stopped taking anything, but decided after a year to try another molecule. This time, I found my dosage and it definitely worked.
Before that, even with my calendar, tools, alarms and support system, there were weeks to months where I felt lost in thought, apathetic and disorganized. Now I can post a lengthy answer to a topic close to my heart without feeling like I'm not doing enough with my day.
Side tips :
Good luck on the journey, I wish you the best!
How do you remember to do all this?
For medication, an alarm on my phone. For writing the tasks, it became an habit when I realized it would flush anxiety from my system to write what I just thought about doing and stop thinking about it. For remembering I need to do tasks, I put my whiteboard on a very obvious and accessible place and keep a pocket notebook and a pen in my pocket.
But mostly, it became an habit like reading emails or opening Lemmy, to just look at them and assess the time requirement to do them. When I am a few hours before a deadline, the pressure to do the task becomes clear and I hyperfocus on it until it's done. Maybe not the most efficient way to work, but it worked for me!
Planka is like Trello was 5 years ago, fyi. Foss and self-hostable.
Thanks for the shout-out recommendation! I use the nextcloud boards function for Trello, sort of.
It looks good, thanks!
Thank you! This is very helpful!
I forget about the tasks in the app too, but then I get this dread where I don't want to look at them.