The Benefits of ADHD Management Tools
Jake Newby
| 4 min read
Most adults living with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) struggle to manage time, focus on tasks and keep organized. While in some ADHD can be a lifelong condition, tools are available to help individuals combat some of the daily effects of ADHD.
Read about the benefits of ADHD management tools and learn more about some of the tools and resources that are available. Experimenting with what is most affordable and what caters to your specific needs can ultimately help you land on the right tools for you.
What are the benefits of ADHD management tools?
Whether you respond better to digital resources like smartphone apps or materials such as planners and sticky notes, ADHD management tools can help you:
Keep a consistent routine: Routine and structure is associated with psychological benefits such as better mood, sleep and reduced stress.
Overcome procrastination: The Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) states that the first major step toward improving time management involves conquering procrastination. Certain productivity apps that reward task completion with rewards and incentives can help stave off procrastination.
Receive timely reminders: You are more likely to stay on top of deadlines, appointment times and dates and upcoming tasks when you get into the habit of marking them down or setting up notifications on your phone.
Set clearer goals: It helps to write goals down in detail so that you can break them down into smaller steps and set mini deadlines as you make progress.
5 tools to help manage ADHD
ADHD planners: An ADHD day planner provides all the benefits listed above and are great for setting short-and long-term schedules. Most ADHD planners reserve space for to-do lists, contact lists and more. They can either be digital – through your smartphone or via time management software – or on paper. Here are the best ways to use a planner, according to CHADD:
- Enter information in the planner including regular contacts, medical professionals, your children’s schoolteachers, etc.
- Get in the habit of carrying your day planner with you whenever possible.
- Find one safe place to keep the planner when you are not carrying it.
- Conduct a daily planning session that involves setting scheduled time each day to do your daily planning.
- Refer to the planner regularly.
- Use the day planner as your calendar to track medical appointments, exercise classes, work meetings and dates to mail bills.
Smart phone apps that help boost productivity, encourage routines: There are a lot of apps available through Apple iOS and Android that help with specific facets of managing ADHD. Brili, for example, is an ADHD management planner app that allows you to track scheduled tasks and routines, gain points and rewards and track progress. The Forest app is a productivity tool that uniquely promotes focus by planting a virtual tree that grows the longer you keep the app open to focus on a task. When you become distracted and exit the app for another one, the tree dies. The Attention Deficit Disorder Association recommends trying these apps along with a few others.
Timers and reminders: Using your phone to set timers and reminders on the phone’s calendar can serve some of the same purposes as a designated ADHD planner. Setting reminders and alerts as appointments and deadlines near can help you prepare for those events.
Website blockers: CHADD recommends taking advantage of Google Chrome extensions that are free and available for PC, Mac or Chromebook. They are designed to help you focus your attention on your tasks at hand by doing things like decluttering your view, helping you read faster by highlighting the beginning of every word on the websites, reading text aloud to help you focus, reminding you to take breaks and disabling the feeds and recommendations on popular social media websites.
Support is available for individuals who struggle with ADHD. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has behavioral health options available for members, including phone and online support, online therapy through Blue Cross Online Visits℠, in-person support, self-guided care and much more. Click here to learn more.
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