November, 2022
yeah right, Apple.
There are so many productivity tools out there. A computer can do pretty much anything these days; it almost renders a human brain unnecessary. They can even, indeed, help with some parts of my ADHD brain that struggle – working memory, planning, sequencing tasks, motivation … - but why don't they work then? Well, if reading be the source of inspiration, then read on, my readers, reader on.
Okay, let's take the case of the Apple Reminders app, on my iPhone (my sister wants to laugh at the fact I always say iPhone, instead of phone, but it's certainly easier for the sake of this article, so you know which Apps it comes with). Reminders is a great App - deceptively simple - to help my terrible working memory, nay even to usurp it for goodness' sake. Soooo, I set it up to remind myself to take my meds. This is a great tool, my ADHD friends. You can even make it recurring and set a good time, like 8am, before you forget to take the meds entirely. That way, the world can be your oyster before you've even finished your Weetabix. Or porridge. Or toast. Nutella? How am I supposed to remember? ADHD. Squirrel!
Anyway... the Apple Reminder does not go off the next day before 8am. Why? You ask. Must be some kind of internal error, you think. But it's quite simply because my phone is somewhere, uncertain in my mind, and the battery's dead. My phone is dead and I don't know where the charger is. A familiar tale. Let's assume you know it, too.
You know how it goes from here... when you finally find your phone, you're rushing out of the house to get where you need to go and when you see your reminder your meds are at home but you are not. They're next to the kettle, so you always see them. Later on, you might take those meds, but now you're taking them at the wrong time of day and they're not quite so effective.
Or, even better, the Apple reminder does go off and the phone is charged and you get the reminder to take your meds, but ...you can't remember whether you just did, a couple of minutes ago. You think you did, but you're not sure. Better not take them now, in case you double dose. Did you take your meds or miss them? You'll never know. You tried that pill box thing once with the days of the week on, but you never got around to refilling it, so you stopped using it. One of a plethora of systems abandoned.
Okay. So you set a reminder on your iPhone to charge your phone every night before bed, to solve the first problem mentioned. But the Apple reminder does not go off. Not because you didn't set it, but because you left your phone in the car, somewhere near the gear stick, and you didn't even realise you left it behind. Then you fall asleep on the sofa because you're so tired from the mental exertion of the day and when you wake up your phone is still in the car and still not charged and guess what...? that Apple reminder didn't really help you at all. Not really.
Well, okay, let's take the 5-minute timer then, this time on your Apple watch (which is a great tool for ADHDers, by the way). The timer is great aide for helping with motivation and keeping you on task. You can set it for any task, like decluttering or emptying the dishwasher. But the timer goes off and you don't remember what it was for. And this can be as true for the one-minute timer, as it is for the five. It depends on the day. Because ADHD comes with good days and bad days, and some of them are very, ... very bad days.
What about Google Calendar, you say? It's another great App. I actually love it. It can be on your laptop, your phone, can sync with your iCal on your watch... You can share it with a loved one. You can email yourself schedules and e-mail invites to others for days and dates. You can add the location of an event and get directions for it. This can all help. It's revolutionary, really. Especially if you are trying to enter the current century and 'go digital.' But for Google Calendar to work it requires that you check your e-mail. It requires that you remember your password for your e-mail, or that you know where your phone is to get through the two-step verification process which is now Apple, which is something you changed in settings by mistake and haven't got around to changing back. And when you do open your email, it requires you don't click the one entitled Boden: Winter Sale. Get your 20% Discount off Knits and Sweaters Now. That reminds me, I have something in my Boden basket right now. Must get back to that. Squirrel!
Okay. Enter: the Post-It system. This is a good one, and better than most. An urgent task can be noted on a post-it and put in full view, like above the kettle. It's neon and visible - so vital to the ADHDer. The post-it system works but, alas, it needs maintaining. The Post-it system doesn't work without Post-its. Post-its have to be bought, and then re-bought. This requires working memory. And a system. For it to work means that you don't wait until you've used the last Post-it to start thinking about when to order the next ones. It also requires a pen. This you have, and you've set it up in a glass jar near the kettle, but the pen does not stay there. And if it does, the ink does not last forever and this, too, at some point needs replacing. You need a system to support the system. How do other people do this? you wonder. Nay, you marvel. You decide to go back to the rapid logging system of the Bullet Journal, which you love. But you don't know where your bullet journal is, because you followed the advice of a YouTuber who told you to take it with you wherever you go. And you can't remember where you went.
Are you starting to see the pattern...?
Alas, Confusion reins. Mental fog wins the day. You reach for a coffee. And a Mars Bar. And try even harder to just focus. This shouldn't be so hard, you tell yourself. Maybe you just need a different App.