Since starting an Instagram page about ADHD about a month ago, I’m getting a lot from what other people say.
And it really gets me thinking about what I want to post myself.
I don’t want to tell people what to do. I don’t find that meaningful or useful, so I’m constantly pondering what kind of stuff to post.
I would like to organize (ha!) the tools and strategies that work for me so I can present them in a helpful way. There’s so much that’s effective and so many helpful tools. But ADHD’s many challenging parts are all intertwined, so it’s hard to know where to start.
I’ve realized that I use several “master tools.” By master tools, I mean those principles and actions that are fundamental to everything else I do: those tools that overlay or are superimposed over everything else I do like an umbrella or a field that penetrates everything else.
I’ve got two master tools I can identify at this point.
First master tool
I need to calm down as much as I can, however I can.
I know some people simply cannot meditate in any way. It’s hard for me too. But I’m really lucky (blessed) because I’ve been doing yoga for a long time, and when I’m doing it, my whole head and body calm down. (There is, though, the problem of getting myself to go to class, but lately I take restorative classes that aren’t really strenuous, and I have very low resistance to going to them. Yay!)
So, my first master tools is calming myself down however I can. (Single deep breaths, meditation or any sort — listening to guided meditation, walking in nature, sitting in room not looking at a screen for one minute even –etc.)
Second master tool
I need to keep everything I can as simple as possible. Everything. As. Simple. As. Possible. I know things are complicated and stuff piles up. I know it’s hard to decide what to toss, and hard to get motivated to organize. Still, I chip away at it and can keep it as a guiding principle in my life. I am just too burdened by too many physical objects not to keep working on this. I like fewer of everything. And I like to designate a place where each object I own goes. So, when I’m straightening up, I don’t have to shove it somewhere because I know where it goes.
That’s it for now.
