App Spotlight: Remindr

A lot of people with ADHD find conventional organizational systems unhelpful at best. This circumstance isn’t helped by the judgement we feel when we reject these systems. After all, ‘everyone else’ has no problem with it.

The best system I’ve found is to simply accept that we are different, that when it comes to a lot of things, we have to make our own systems. Sometimes this includes a few layers. For example, my memory requires three layers: I use Alarmed for most things, the proprietary Apple alarm app for other things, and for another few, I use Remindr.

Remindr has an Apple-only app (sorry Android users), but it is primarily a web-based service, so anyone can use it. You enter a message for yourself into the online dashboard, select the date, time, frequency of repeat, and mode of delivery. It will text message, email, and/or send you an automated call.

In addition to nuts and bolts reminders, I decided to put Remindr to a more whimsical use. I combed the internet for positive affirmations and entered one for every day of the month. Some days the words were exactly what I needed to hear. It’s like encouragement from me to me.

What layers does your organizational system have?

PokéBlog

There is a specific episode of Pokémon in season one of Indigo League that is remembered by many as a particularly touching example of the universe and its view of animals. In the episode, a Charmander, a fire Pokémon, is abandoned by its trainer out in the open. The main characters overhear the trainer commenting on this act of animal neglect and calling the Charmander “stupid”.

They react to this strongly partially because the information given on the Charmander is that if the flame at the tip of its tail goes out, it will die, and the area is experiencing a violent thunderstorm. After confronting the neglectful trainer, to no avail, they rush out into the, yes, dark and stormy night, to rescue the Pokémon. They are successful.

The overwhelmingly negative reaction to the situation by the main characters, who are themselves Pokémon trainers, was viewed by at least three generations of fans. The message, as I heard it, was that animals in our care are our responsibility. Further to that, they deserve our respect and caring for what they provide us.

In the case of Pokémon, it is of course a fictional world where the animals are caught or bred, then trained to engage in combat. The message is translatable to real life, however, and I believe it was heard and struck a chord with the (mostly) young viewers.

Is it any wonder vegetarianism and veganism are becoming more and more popular among the youth of the world?

Five More Reasons You Want an ADHD Brain on Your Zombie Apocalypse Team (Part 4)

Fourth installment of a four part series. (Part 1 is here.)

Disclaimer: Not every person with ADHD will have any or all of these. Displaying anything in this list doesn’t mean a person has ADHD. The things on this list aren’t unique to ADHD.

16. The sunny side of armageddon

Through a lifetime of negativity that is constantly bombarding us, we have developed a defense mechanism of optimism that is infectious and hard to destroy. We can see a light at the end of the tunnel, beyond the shuffling horde, and we’ll tell you about it.

17. “It’s ok. Go ahead...”

Practical and realistic is something you maybe didn’t expect, but if somebody gets bit, we won’t hesitate to do the right thing, even if it’s us. We’ll understand.

18. What you see is what you get

ADHD people are genuine and authentic. We don’t hide anything. In a situation where secrets end lives we skip the drama.

19. Canary in the coalmine

Our sensitivities mean we will sense and express a problem even before the rest of the team has realized anything is wrong. That seemingly innocent person we just took into the group? We know what that scrape really came from.

20. Maverick

Even before the apocalypse we looked for excitement everywhere. Now that works to the team’s advantage. We will be quick to take risks, volunteer first for dangerous missions, running through zombie-infested streets to rescue babies and all those other hero things. No photos, please.

The Paradox of Accumulative Action

There is a well-known strategy for accomplishing a large task that was first explained to me by the FlyLady. Marla’s essential concept is 15 minutes of decluttering a day piles up over time until before you know it your home is under control. It has many more nuances and helpful layers than that, but that is the core principle.

I have put this into practice in my own life in many ways. Decluttering is one (though I must confess most of my decluttering happens in large, unintentionally overwhelming chunks), knitting is another, and working on goals one step per day. Another way is the restocking list that we use at Ringcrafts to slowly recreate products sold to customers for our next show.

The most fascinating thing about the 15-minutes-a-day principle to me is its paradoxical counterpart. Just as 15 minutes can accumulate to accomplish great things, so can small, inconsequential things wear a human mind down to the point where they are wallowing in a pit, with no idea how they got there.

A critical comment isn't that hard to deal with, for most of us. Or being late for an appointment, once. Or breaking a plate. Or losing your keys. Or hearing of the death of a favourite actor. Or having to cancel time of relaxation in favour of work. All of these things on their own are not noticeably detrimental, in the natural course of things.

What if they all added up? Little things, over time, just poking at us, draining little bits of our energy, wearing down our ability to function. It happens. It happens to everyone, at one time or another. And then what happens if something really huge hits us? What's left in reserve to bring to bear on the new problem?

The one half of this paradox is the other's solution. It does take effort, though, to consciously decide to take that 15 minutes per day for ourselves, to do whatever it is that recharges our ability to function properly. And it takes courage to be honest with ourselves about what that is.

Are you ready for that challenge?

The Art of the Geek Ninja

Here's the deal: not everyone cares about the things we love. They won't be counting down the hours until the next Star Wars movie, they don't cover their bodies, their homes, their cars, and their lives with references, and they won't necessarily want to hear about the book you were reading last night. Even if it was really good, and... No. Some people, incredible as it may seem, just don't care about that stuff.

It's sad for them, but take heart! You have recourse! You can begin your training in the stealth arts of the geek. No murder required!

The art of the geek ninja sometimes requires patience. Laying in wait for the perfect outfit that you can wear to work but more importantly is actually a perfect feminine version of your latest cosplay.

It sometimes requires bravery. That oil painting might look abstract to the casual observer, but you know it's actually an exploding time machine, painted by a mad-man.

And sometimes it requires just the right moment...

When I was married, my now husband and I knew we wanted to make the wedding our own, wanted it to reflect who we truly are. And who we truly are is a couple of geeks. The shirt I made for him to wear is part of a cosplay, my dress was a medieval pattern, he cut the cake with a lightsaber, there was a Pokemon reference in our vows, but my favourite stealth geek part of our wedding was the most subtle of all.

As our guests assembled in the church, a musically-inclined cousin played the piano. We'd given him a stately, slow piece that sounded perfect for entering a church for a wedding. Or, you know, entering a temple devoted to time in order to go back and save your kingdom from the darkness you can only fight as a child.

Every piece of music was from a game both of us had played. At the reception our gaming friends ran up to us, demanding to know where they’d heard those pieces before. And I'm certain all the non-gamers had no clue what they had been hearing.

Now, go forth, and spread your love of all things geek upon the world. But do it... Stealthily.

The Squirrel Effect

One of the lesser known symptoms of ADHD is that of interest. Or rather it's known by other terms. Ever see a dog be completely engrossed in something, like say a treat, then the very next second it's off after a squirrel? That's the big joke among ADHD individuals. We’re constantly off after squirrels.

It's not that whatever topic came before the ‘squirrel’ isn't interesting or important, it probably was, it's just that our brains are wired to respond to the newest interesting thing. It's one of the reasons many people are forming the theory ‘ADHD’ as we know it today may have developed as an evolutionary result of hunting. Because let's face it, we are terrible gatherers.

Like so many things, this symptom has two sides. A lot has been said and written about the impairments caused by ADHD and those people aren't wrong. There is another side, however, that often goes overlooked.

If something really new and interesting comes across our desk, an ADHD person can put in an incredible amount of time and effort and get the project done really well. This is why it's important to harness the power of the squirrel effect.

For a long time after I realized that the new and interesting took priority in my brain, often at the expense of other things, I avoided leaping on anything right away. I forced myself to only work on the next thing on my to do list.

The problem with this is it's once again looking only at the bad side and not at the good side. Those new and interesting things still needed to get done, but by the time I got back to them they were old hat and boring. They took twice the effort because I'd intentionally left them to later.

The moral of this anecdote, as I took it, was this: when a squirrel runs across in front of you, always pause to see if you're about to run into traffic, but if you're in an open field, you go get ‘em.

Five More Reasons You Want an ADHD Brain on Your Zombie Apocalypse Team (Part 3)

Third installment of a 4 part series. Part 1 is here.

Disclaimer: not every person with ADHD will have any or all of these. Displaying anything in this list doesn't mean a person has ADHD. The things on this list aren't unique to ADHD.

11. More sensitive than an optical mouse

Because we know what it’s like to be hurt, a lot, (I mean really, all the time) we have no desire to put that on anyone else. We will be very cognizant of other’s feels and needs. Another reason we won’t end up on that pesky “previously on” reel.

12. Creative as all get out

A 2011 study demonstrated what many professionals in the field had suspected for some time: the ADHD brain is actually more likely to be creative. Our solutions might be totally out of left field, but they will probably work and be something nobody else thought of. Ordinary thinking is probably what those zombies had before... Well, you know.

13. Bubbles?! YAY!!!

The delayed maturity in many ADHD people can show up as a fun-loving and lighthearted nature. This is essential for keeping up the morale of the whole team. What’s the point of fighting for the survival of humanity if you can’t laugh?

14. Chaotic survivalist

Since our lives before the apocalypse were probably pretty chaotic, we have learned how to survive and thrive in those conditions. The total collapse of civilization is really no big deal compared to trying to find a clean pair of socks. We got this.

15. I sense a disturbance in the Force...

We have wicked cool imaginations which means we can predict problems before they happen. Now, the likelihood of being attacked by a horde of the shuffling dead dressed exclusively in lolita dresses is admittedly low but... Aren’t you glad we’re prepared?