top 3 favorite apps for building adhd systems

ADHDSystems

Mar 8

Written By Brigitte

task management for personal life & business

today we’re talking about my fav 3 tools i use to make systems within both my personal life & my business.

in this video, i go over:

what is a system & why is it important for adhd
my 3 fav tools for building systems
google calendar - time blocking & appointments
notion - task & project planning
reminders app and siri on iphone - home tasks
bonus: alarm app on iphone - alleviating time blindness

wtf is a system??

according to google dictionary:

a system is “a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized framework or method.”

so why’s it important to recognize the systems and methods in which we do things?

when you’re clear on using systems that work for you, you’re able to harness your magical powers/energy in the directions of your desires instead of feeling chaotic/spread out.

this is especially important for neurodivergent folx, as we’re navigating in a world that is structured to support neurotypical people - these might not be the best ways in which we’re able to show up and get things done. so by figuring out what does (and doesn’t) work for us individually, we’re able to come up with systems that can support us instead of work against us. instead of feeling filled with anxiety and chaos and overwhelm and exhaustion when trying to do what we wanna do, we’re able to flow with more ease and focus on the other things in our life that are more important. like connecting with our community, being creative, hanging out with people we love, etc, whatever you’ve determined is important in your life- you’ve got more energy to put to those things.

my fav 3 tools for building my own systems

omg i couldn’t live without these three pieces of software that enable me to create and utilize my systems!

google calendar for time blocking & appointments

first up is google calendar. is it sexy? no, not really. but hella essential for managing my personal life, business, and home. i’ve got this baby color coded so i know at a very quick glance, what each block of time pertains to. i don’t have to waste any extra energy trying to figure it out.

i have two separate calendars that sync together: a personal and a business one. each calendar has a specific color that shows up as a little sidebar in each event. so no matter if i’m looking at my personal or business calendar, i know which events belong to which part of my life - simply by the small strip of color on the left side.

here’s how i break mine down:

my personal calendar is blue. my business calendar is light green.

work = green. dark green for general work focus time blocking. light green = work appointments/sessions.

red = appointments (health, personal, home, etc)

yellow = physical fitness

purple = fun

blue = home, family

dark blue = meals

grey = commuting

i started color coding my calendar back in college on my ical and i’m fairly certain this is a huge reason why i was able to make it through all my classes, multiple jobs, and leadership positions - my adhd brain needed this colorful structure. and i am eternally grateful. at a certain point, ical just wasn’t cutting it - so i switched to google cal.

i primarily use my calendar to keep track of appointments - when and where i need to be places. and so i can visually colorfully see the general structure of my week/day. i know when i’ll be working, eating, taking care of my health, doing physical activity, and playing.

i utilize the location property so it’s super easy for me to click the event, click the location, and it pops up in my maps app so i know where i’m going.

what i don’t use google cal for? specific tasks, especially related to my business.

i look to google cal for more of the overall structure and appointments.

then i flip to notion to see specific tasks and details.

notion for task & project planning

i manage my entire life within notion: my health, hobbies, home tasks, and my business operations and tasks. notion is great because it’s so freaking customizable. it gives me the ability to get really granular on my tasks - and to keep it all organized. i know what tasks are helping me make headway on a specific project. and i’ve got all the info i need to complete the task right on the notion page (or containing a link to where to go).

my fav way to track my tasks is on my daily dashboard. i have a weekly view of my tasks in a kanban board by day, so i know what tasks i am doing on which day of the week.

i’ve got another video on my task management workflow in notion that you can check out for more details on how i set that up and use it.

scheduling tasks in notion like this this has its limitations though, especially for things i do in the evening or other times when i’m not at my computer. so in those instances, that’s where i rely on my google cal and for more specific tasks, the reminders app on my iphone.

reminders app and siri on my iphone for home tasks

this one is mainly for my day to day things in my personal life.

in order for this to be effective, i need for the reminder to pop up on my phone and stay on my lock screen until i mark it complete. for this to happen, it’s not enough to just add a reminder to the list or ask siri to remind me. i have to actually give a specific time & day, so that it pops up on my screen at that time. otherwise, everything will just be on a reminders list inside the app, which is useless cuz i’m not going to remember to go there and check the list 😛

i tell siri to either remind me at a specific time, or in a specific time interval from now. and then i say what i want her to remind me of - and i give as much detail as i can. so that when the reminder pops up, i don’t have to guess about any of the details.

this is helpful for me in situations where i know i will have my phone handy.

ex: if i need to water the plants upstairs, i’ll tell her to “remind me in one minute to bring up the watering can”

bonus tool:

alarm app on my iphone for alleviating time blindness

i use this in any situation where i have an appointment or somewhere to be - mostly things i need to leave the house for. in the morning, i check my google calendar for any appointments that day.

i calculate any travel time (which is easy because i’ve already inputted the location into the event), and set the alarm for 10 minutes before i have to leave. because i know that the snooze function gives me 9 more minutes - so when the alarm goes off, i snooze it, and know i have just enough time to get my ass into gear (use the bathroom, change my pants, put my shoes on, grab my water bottle & snacks) so i’m able to walk out the door when the snooze goes off! and i’m not feeling like i’m urgently rushing to get to where i need to be on time.

this alleviates time blindness anxiety and panicking about when to leave and all the last minute getting out the door getting ready stuff.

those are my fav pieces of software for building and maintaining systems that allow me to show up and get shit done in my life with more ease! i’d love to hear what your favs are down in the video comments. and if you haven’t been aware of building yourself supportive systems until now, i’d love to hear what you’re excited about in starting on this journey!

if you’d like to get started or up your systems game within notion, please check out my shop page. i’ve got a bunch of really great templates to help get you started!

thanks for being here, i’ll see ya in the next one.