How To Set Up Your Environment To Support You

One of the biggest things I’ve learned the last year is the importance of setting up your environment to support you rather than hinder you.

Especially as an AuDHD-er, I struggle with so many things that Neurotypicals don’t. Just a couple off the top of my head:

Time Blindness, which is not knowing how much time passes or how long things will take. My mind tends to think anything I’m dreading (like chores) will take forever, even if it will only really take two minutes. This is a real problem as a homemaker, mom, and wife. One way I fix this is by setting alarms. I also do certain things at certain times, like meals and snacks. Another way is by having stuff on our dining room wall reminding me what I need to be doing and when. I have a routine on the wall, along with a calendar with events we have planned throughout the year, and a whiteboard calendar for the current month. We write important notes, events, appointments, etc on the whiteboard so we know what’s coming up.

Out of sight, out of mind is another thing I struggle with. If I can’t see it, it’s like it doesn’t exist. This is another reason I have routines and events, etc on our wall. It’s in a place I see multiple times a day, and it reminds me what I need to remember. I have also been trying to keep an up-to-date list of what we have for snacks, and ingredients, and a list of meals for the week on the fridge or the wall in our dining room. This one is a work in progress, as is everything. We are constantly changing things as we come up with new ideas to make it work, which is great for my ADHD mind that loves novelty.

It’s important to think about where you struggle most. For me, as listed above, it’s mainly not “feeling” time passing and forgetting things exist if I can’t see them. Lists and objects out in the open help me remember what I need to know/remember. I also keep digital clocks where I can see them and therefore see time going by, and put alarms on my phone and Alexa to remind me to do things at certain times.

When figuring out how to make your environment work with, rather than against you, it’s all about adding or taking stuff away from the environment. An example I was given in a class I took, was: If you want to start riding your bike more rather than driving, but you never do because your car is so easy to take… sell your car so you have to use your bike or walk or take public transportation to get places. Either place a block in your way or add something to help you remember/do whatever it is you need to do.

What is one small thing you can change in your environment this week that would make your life so much easier? For me, I’m going to get some more whiteboards to put on our refrigerator for lists. I’ve found I really like writing down my to-do list and plan on a whiteboard and crossing things off throughout the day.

Clarissa