ADHD Productivity Hack: Capture Everything
ADHD brains are super interesting.
We (often) have huge hard drives, filled with absurd amounts of information about stuff neurotypical folks couldn’t even hope to remember.
Random events from one we were kids. Esoteric knowledge about current or past obsessions. All of the lyrics to “No Diggity” by Blackstreet.
We also have almost no RAM.
ADHD is a form of executive dysfunction, and one of the ways it affects us is our working memory. We have very little of it, and can only keep one or two things in our head at a time.
It’s why you can’t remember people’s names even if they tell you a dozen times. It’s why if you’re in the middle of one task and someone mentions something else that needs doing, you forget one (or both) of them. It’s why you go to the store to buy something and come home with everything but that thing.
So what can you do about it?
Write everything down. Ideas. Events. Todos. Important details. All of it.
It’s a bit like upgrading the RAM in your head or running automatic backup software on your computer.
You could use a small notebook you carry with you, or an app that’s on your phone and computer. The most important thing is that it’s always with you, it’s quick to get to, and that you actually use it.
I find it’s helpful to not be too precious about structure and organization.
Just get the stuff out of your head and captured in your notebook before your brain purges it from RAM.
Tomorrow, we’ll talk about what you do with all of that stuff.