29 Comments
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Leah Schnurr's avatar

The concept of breaking your tasks up by “mode” really speaks to me, I’m excited to try that this week.

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Laura Price's avatar

You describe the ADHD experience perfectly. I am now having a paralytic response to what my next task is because I got side tracked in my email by reading this. haha.

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Amy's avatar

😆 Me too!!!

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Stephanie Goss Hlavin's avatar

Agreed, this is really helpful - and affirming. Thank you.

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Mary Beth Folia's avatar

This is SO helpful. I don't have an ADHD diagnosis yet but the way I absolutely resonate with your posts tells me I must have it.

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David Holmer's avatar

I recommend another website/app I use for braindump and task tracking: workflowy.com

At its most basic it’s just a bulleted list that’s synced across phone/browser and available offline and shareable with others (like spouse/colleges). It makes it easy to dump then move things around later to prioritize / categorize.

At the same time it can also scale as deep as you want. I now keep massive amounts of information (ideas and notes) from years of engineering research and development.

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Mary Beth Folia's avatar

Thank you!

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erin nolen's avatar

You put so much language to my experience. The chaotic blur!! Thank you!

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Amy's avatar

💯 how I feel! Ugh 😣 The chaotic blur! 😶‍🌫️

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Aditi's avatar

I love this! It's just what I needed to see this afternoon because I have been trying so hard to prioritize stuff (all of which seem to scream "do me right now"). Reading this has untangled and loosened something in my brain. Thanks! ♡

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Dave's avatar

I feel like my brain is a construction worker specializing in building flat walls of tasks with no obvious order. That’s pretty good explanation for why there were years between learning that there’s a difference between the urgent and the important and actually wrapping my mind around the distinction. A ringing telephone helped me figure it out. It’s urgent, but it’s not necessarilly important. And when I’m stuck and confused, I remind myself of that and picture the perfect emoji: ☎️.

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Chris Martell's avatar

The roller coasters are hellish and draining. None of us are wired for 24/7 go. The obsession with being busy. Creating money. Fame. Power. Status. Celebrity. Kingship. Queenships. So much hijacked time.

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Jo Levy's avatar

Your posts are soooo heavy resonating with me. And this one so much that I feel compelled to comment! I realise that I’ve been using a number of these techniques for years without putting a name or explanation to them, but seeing it laid out logically is so helpful. And the Eisenhower switch to energy/impact, that’s genius! I do find tho that there’s no one technique that works all the time. It’s about switching based on what you need in the moment, so you need this whole toolkit to choose from 👌🏻

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Alark's avatar

How do you know so much about this stuff ? Genuinely curious to know.

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Amy's avatar

This is a fab post and so helpful. I found myself nodding and chuckling all the way through! Thanks heaps! 😘

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Noel Carlson's avatar

Great article! Love the practical applications.

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Sergio Marques's avatar

Trying scent-triggered task association can help: pairing specific essential oils with task types may prime focus. Also, narrating tasks aloud engages external processing and boosts dopamine through novelty.

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Yamuna Ramachandran's avatar

The point about just breaking inertia might be my lifesaver!

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Britt L Freeman, Writer + SMM's avatar

Commenting to boost this incredible piece!

So relatable, honest, and yet you were able to keep it cohesive & concise (for the subject matter - editing, I suspect ^_~). Thanks so much!

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Louise Kilgannon-Patel's avatar

This is really helpful. I often get frozen on a task as I know the end goal but struggle to visualise the steps to get there. Thinking about what the next logical step would be to move something on really helps. I struggle with difficult conversations or conveying difficult news. I find however that if I just draft the message and then go back to it later, I can send it and the emotion is taken out of it. The receiver of the message very rarely has the negative reaction I expect so as long as I am transparent and fair in what I share, the rest is on them.

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