Puryear’s Principles of Human Nature – Number One:
“If we struggle and struggle with a problem, and we finally find a solution that works, the next thing we do is to stop using it.”
One of my favorite strategies is the index cards in my pocket, especially the red one for the list of five. This has been extremely helpful to me. But I don’t use it anymore.
Since I’ve retired, most of my time is at home. So it’s convenient to use a small White Board on my desk and keep my list of five on that. For jotting things down, I keep ayellow sticky in the front of my appointment book. This is easily replaced when it’s full, and my appointment book is always with me wherever I am.
It is easy to attribute this change to my retirement, but it’s more complicated. There are other strategies that I’ve dropped. Some of them are replaced with something better; others, I just forget to use, at least until some problem blindsides me again.
Maybe even when something works, the novelty wears off and we eventually get bored with it?
What do you think?
doug
Extra Note O the Day:
I still have two index cards, a list of all the passwords and another for the list of principles I’m trying to follow. I keep these in my appointment book.
Quote O the Day:
“Nothing ever stays the same.”
Questions O the Day:
- Do normal people, “vanillas,” just automatically never set things on the edge of the counter or the table? Or do they do it but somehow don’t knock them off?
2. Can you put vodka in a humidifier? — asking for a friend.
3. Don’t most people use their cell phones for lists and everything? I still don’t.
Links:
#ADHD, @addstrategies, @adhdstrategies, @dougmkpdp
Creativity, an ADHD Gift?
ADDadultstrategies 
Doug, if you’re curious about using cell phones to maintaining lists check out an app called Microsoft To Do. it’s really simply and doesn’t overwhelm you with features but has this really neat feature/concept called My Day.
check out this lady’s blog post where she talks about it a little more in-depth
https://www.amandasterner.com/post/starting-with-microsoft-to-do
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dinos – you are the tech guy! i will post this and add checking out the app to my to do list
thank you for your help and your contributions
best wishes
doug
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FYI vanillas has a sexual meaning which is very widely used in the BDSM communities. I don’t know if that’s what you intended
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Morwen
oh my! thank you. i’ve used the term for years, in innocent ignorance.just now googled it and I see what you mean. but its understood differently in the ADHD community, as far as I know. It’s not just me. Cant go back and change it everywhere I’ve used it, but I must consider not using it in the future, but I like it. Non – adhders or “normals” doesn’t have the same ring.
I really appreciate the heads up.
thank you for contributing
doug
thank you
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Great post, Doug! I remember reading on a magazine that a study showed, if a certain face cream shows good results for someone, that person is more likely to stop using that face cream. So the good news: vanillas seem to have that problem too (I highly doubt they randomly had mostly ADHDers on the study). It’s like the brain gets happy and comfy because something finally works and feels like it can slack off.
To your questions of the day:
1. I’ve been noticing vanillas on that point. They somehow almost never put things on the edge of the counter. It’s unnerving…
2. I don’t know about air humidifiers, my apartment is too moist as it is. But tell your “friend” that’s a very fun thought. 😉
3. Most people do, don’t they? My guitar teacher is a fult-time musician, which means gigs here, there, and over there. He somehow manages to have it all managed on his cell-phone, but it seems like magic to me!
I do have a good app for lists. Managed to save a couple of recipes in there that I need for work and I also have a list of things to take on a trip – which I can edit and reset after every trip. It also has a grocery shopping list. It’s quite handy. But I don’t use lists a lot.
Have a good one! 🙂
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ram
good point. like many of my patients of various types get better on their medicine so they decide they dont need it anymore, even tho our psych meds control symptoms rather than curing an illness. often results of this are not good. the good thing about the stimulants is that you can take them or not on any given day and they’ll work fine, unlike most other psyc meds.
yeah, I’ve seen people who can do “magic” with their phones too, but not me
I always appreciate you comments
best wishes
doug
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