10 Essential ADHD Tools for Adults
Amanda Unrau CCC-SLP
September 11, 2023
When considering ADHD, there tends to be a focus on how to support children. However, adults with ADHD also benefit from strategies to reduce the impacts of ADHD. Adults are often trying to manage and balance a career, family, maintaining a home, friendships, and community involvement. Adults with ADHD will struggle to keep up with these demands more than those without ADHD. There are tools available that can help adults be more organized and productive. We will go over ADHD tools for adults in this article.
The Benefits of ADHD Tools
Adults with ADHD can experience difficulty keeping organized, attending to and following instructions, controlling their impulses and behavior, and recalling specific information. Their communication skills also suffer. Adults with ADHD will often have difficulty forming and keeping relationships, communicating well with others, and appropriately using their executive function skills.
When left untreated, ADHD can make daily life for adults extremely difficult. ADHD tools can help adults manage their symptoms and can improve their quality of life. Adults will feel more capable, competent, efficient, organized, confident, and in control of their lives. Read on to learn about 10 of the best tools for ADHD for adults, and the benefits of each one.
Calendars/Trackers
When used effectively, calendars and day planners can help adults with ADHD remember important deadlines and show up on time for appointments. Adults can choose from paper planners or apps on a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Electronic calendars allow you to set up reminders so you won’t forget about scheduled or recurring events. The hardest part of this tool is getting in the habit of adding these important events to your calendar. Start by adding one new appointment or deadline to your calendar each week, then each day. The first timer you set may be for a reminder to add an item to your calendar! Over time, your consistency will pay off and this will become a habit.
Special Apps
With all of the apps available now, there are many that make great tools for adults with ADHD. You can find an app to help with almost any difficulty you are experiencing.
- RescueTime helps with time management.
- Asana functions as a “to-do” list and is commonly used within a team in the workplace.
- Offtime allows you to block certain apps, such as social media notifications or text messages, to eliminate distractions during periods of productivity.
- Evernote provides a way to save emails, pictures, and videos and keep them organized.
- Mint is an app for managing money.
These apps and others are great tools for ADHD because they improve focus, organization, and time management, which are areas in which adults with ADHD struggle. Apps also reduce one’s overall load since it allows an individual to outsource certain tasks they may have difficulty doing on their own.
Transcription/Voice Typing
Text to Speech and Speech to Text tools are helpful for adults who do a significant amount of typing or reading. This tool comes in handy in the workplace. You can dictate to Speech to Text tools, and it will write what you say. This helps to increase your productivity, especially if you can formulate ideas and sentences and verbalize them quicker than you can put them on paper. Text to Speech tools will take what is written and read it aloud to you.
Break Tasks Down
It can be easy for individuals with ADHD to become overwhelmed with big projects with multiple steps. This can lead to procrastination or the avoidance of these tasks. In order to approach these tasks with confidence and actually complete them, break them down. A task does not need to be completed all at once. Complete one step of the task at a time, and allow yourself to take breaks if it feels like too much. For example, if you need to clean your entire house, start by vacuuming one room, and then decide if you want to move on to another room or take a break. You may find that just the act of starting the task actually energizes you enough to complete more tasks than you originally thought. Remember, completing even a portion of a task is better than not starting the task at all.
Journals/Planners
Many individuals with ADHD enjoy using physical journals and planners instead of digital tools. There are a variety of options: bullet journals, calendars, note pads, and printable PDF versions. Some people benefit from the act of writing things down in and of itself versus typing in an app. Writing can help you engrain information better. Planners and journals provide a way for adults with ADHD to get organized, outline their priorities, and stay productive.
Examples of journals and planners for adults with ADHD include The Happy Planner, Planner Pads, Rocketbook, Levenger, Bloom planner, and the Seeing My Time planner.
The Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a productivity strategy that can be used by anyone. It can be especially beneficial for adults with ADHD who struggle with time management, hyperfocus, and productivity.
Here is how the Pomodoro Technique works:
- Determine how many Pomodoros your task may need, keeping in mind that one Pomodoro cycle is a full session of work followed by a full break session.
- Set a timer for 25 minutes.
- Focus on your task during that time.
- Once the timer goes off, take a 5-minute break.
- Continue repeating this cycle. After 4 Pomodoro cycles, take a longer 15-30 minute break.
- Start over from step one until you finish your task.
Smartwatch
A smartwatch is helpful for more than just keeping track of the time. You can use a smartwatch to set timers, set up reminders, and add appointments to your calendar. You can set up the watch to receive notifications for any of these things. You can use your important apps from your smartphone as well. There are several benefits to using a smartwatch over a phone. Since you wear the watch, it is always with you. You don’t have to worry about carrying something or making sure you have pockets, and you will never miss an alarm or timer.
Keychain Pill Container
Some adults with ADHD take medication for their ADHD or for other conditions. Many individuals with ADHD find it difficult to remember daily tasks, including remembering to take medication. A keychain pill container provides a way for you to have your medication with you no matter where you go. Sometimes just the act of adding it to the keychain of your car keys is the reminder you need to take your medication everyday when you leave for work.
Jar Of Successes
Since many things can be challenging when you have ADHD, it is important to celebrate small successes. Recognizing these positive achievements builds self-esteem, motivating you to keep going. One way to do this is to set up a jar of successes. Make note of your successes each day or each week on a piece of paper and put them in a jar. These can include even the smallest successes, such as, “I arrived at work early all week,” or “someone complimented my haircut.” When you feel discouraged or are having a tough week, pick out and read some of your successes. This will instantly boost your mood and provide an internal sense of pride and satisfaction, which is contagious!
Noise Canceling Headphones
Individuals with ADHD can often become overstimulated by noise. They may pick up on sounds like the refrigerator running, the fluorescent lights humming, or the water in the fish tank flowing. Individuals without ADHD may not even notice these sounds and they will eventually tune them out. Many people with ADHD like wearing noise-canceling headphones because they block outside noise. This can provide a sense of peace and calm, and help to improve focus and concentration without external auditory distraction.
Password Manager
Trying to remember your password for each website or account can take up a lot of time and brain space. That doesn’t even take into consideration the times you forget your password and have to create a new one! Websites or extensions such as LastPass store all your usernames and passwords for you.
Using Forbrain to Help with ADHD
Forbrain is another great tool for adults with ADHD. Forbrain is an auditory stimulation headset that helps improve focus, attention, and concentration. Since individuals hear themselves more clearly when speaking through the headset, Forbrain can also increase memory and recall abilities. All of these things will improve language and communication skills, as well as executive function skills in those with ADHD.
ADHD Tools FAQs
Can ADHD Tools Help?
Yes, ADHD tools can help adults with ADHD. It is important for adults with ADHD to know about these tools to help alleviate their symptoms.
How do ADHD Tools Help?
ADHD tools help adults with ADHD by helping them manage their symptoms. Benefits of using tools for ADHD include increased productivity, improved time management, a more organized living and working space, improved focus and attention, ability to stay on track, impulse control. All of these lead to an increase in self-confidence in one’s life and abilities.
What is the Best Way to Use ADHD Tools?
There is no right way for every person to use ADHD tools. The best way to use tools to help with ADHD is to find the ones you will actually use consistently. Each individual with ADHD should determine which tools are most effective for them and their most challenging systems.
Final Words
ADHD as an adult does not have to be debilitating. There are many tools available to adults with ADHD. You may need to try several tools to find the best fit, and you will probably benefit from more than one tool. Use the tools provided in this article to help alleviate your adult ADHD symptoms.
References
ADDitude. 15 Best Journals & Planners: Our Readers’ Favorites. (2023, November 17). ADDitude. https://www.additudemag.com/best-journals-planners-adhd-time-management/
American Academy of Family Physicians. (Accessed 2023, December 22). Adult ADHD Toolkit. AAFP. https://www.aafp.org/family-physician/patient-care/prevention-wellness/emotional-wellbeing/adhd-toolkit.html
Cheyette, B., & Cheyette, S. (2021, November 22). Why It’s Important to Celebrate Small Successes. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/1-2-3-adhd/202111/why-its-important-celebrate-small-successes
Help Guide. (2023, March 1). Tips for Managing Adult ADHD. HelpGuide. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/add-adhd/managing-adult-adhd-attention-deficit-disorder.htm
Hughes, L. (2023, May 24). ADHD Productivity Hack: How to Use the Pomodoro Method to Get Things Done. Inflow. https://www.getinflow.io/post/pomodoro-technique-adhd-productivity
James, M. (2017, May 11). 6 Tips on Treating Adults with ADHD. ASHA Wire. https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/6-tips-on-treating-adults-with-adhd/full/
Marschall, A. (2023, May 30). 8 Tips for Living with ADHD as an Adult. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/tips-for-living-with-adhd-as-an-adult-5271569
Miller, G. & Pedersen, T. (2022, May 9). The 12 Best Apps for ADHD of 2022. PsychCentral. https://psychcentral.com/reviews/best-adhd-apps
Perkowitz, N. (2022, February 2022). The 20 Best Google Chrome Extensions for ADHD Brains. ADDitude. https://www.additudemag.com/google-chrome-extensions-adhd-brain/
Amanda Unrau
-