#also memes help me cope so jot that down

[inconsideratekidney]

9/26/24

hey y'all. had some thoughts today and yesterday that I wanted to jot a' down. here we goooo:

my interpreting gang will get this more than others, but we all mouth so much. like we need to chill out with the english stuff, but it's so normal and obviously deaf people mouth and sim com as well, but we need to cut that ish out. i get so distracted when i see people mouth or enunciate like half or most of what they're signing or sign and also speak breathily, like please be quiet i cannot focus. (also i hate the way enunciate is spelled fuck that motherfucker, it does not feel right at all.) i feel like we all collectively need real self-analysis when we rewatch our videos and shit, cuz i experience this as well, where i have no idea what my flaws or my grows are?!?!??! i need someone else to notice them and be blunt with me. just tell me cuz i don't have the valid experience and knowledge that a native would. please help me. anyway, i wanted to mention as well that people will mouth words that have an exact english word that you could translate it to. like if i were to sign big i would mouth "cha" which is a grammatical thing, but i have never signed big and mouth "bg" idk that's just me, i have seen people do that tho. as well as like when you describe a list with your five fingers, you go across your fingers with your dominant hand and don't mouth anything because there's not a direct english word for that. you get a word that describes the concept in english, but not the exact word itself. it's all about *interpretation***~~~~~. sorry i will leave the corny jokes at the door.....no i wont that wasnt even that bad shut up. ok whatever end of that discussion.

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maybe i'm out of it, but i need another hillary clinton "everybody pokemon go to the polls" joke for this election. i know we got trump's springfield dog/pet eating meme, but i need one that a candidate said that's like hillary's. i need another meme, pls. i want another motivational piece of information from one of them. anyway, that's as much political talk as i want to get into on here.

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what was i thinking about, i was thinking about many things yesterday and meant to write them down. i am shocked i am writing this right now honestly. oh, i went to the career fair not in a professional outfit and holding my salad from commons and everyone kept looking at my salad. like don't sideeye my salad like that cuz u thought i brought a resume made from paper and that looks like a to-go bin. stop looking at my salad, my eyes are up here, pal. too much goofy for one day. i want to go play the sims frrr. i have to do a paper for interpreting and that shit is not going down well. it is going to be my best efforts, but i am sacrificing playing the sims to do this assignment (even though i could've totally worked on it yesterday instead of playing the sims, but who's keeping track of the days when assignments aren't immediately due? i'm not.

I feel like I am finally becoming responsible with my work and that i am not as overwhelmed. it may have actually helped for me to drop a class from this semester, but i am still in over my head. but we are doing wonderfully so far, if i do say so myself. i have only considered dropping one of my majors like twice, and those thoughts disappeared after i dropped that one class, so we are so back.

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okay dude, what the flip.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it's hard to write a blog when i am feeling more at peace and not stressed. it feels like i am a whiny teenage girl that hasn't grown up yet. (.....) it feels like i shouldn't need to write a blog at all when i am actually feeling good....it's like life isn't that bad and the bugs in my head are wrong. speaking of which, i am curious about y'all's opinions--can you grow out of a learning disability/being neurodivergent or do you just learn to cope and mask better?

If you ask me, i think i have learned how to cope, and i have always learned to mask. i never knew there was a word for that, but yes, in every situation i am evaluating everyone and everything constantly. my eyes are tired and my brain is satisfied for once, but it's also filled to the brim with mostly useless information and therefore why i yap all the time and find a blog useful for my well-being even when i am happy. it's a good practice to express myself in an unformatted uncensored way with no interruptions from other people specifically about what i am saying, but more so that others would distract me in the environment i am in physically. i prefer to blog alone and in a quiet space, but that isn't always what i get. i am luckily able to do that now and here i am forgetting what question i was answering so let me finish that first before everyone starts to skim and not comprehend what i am saying.....

I think that i have learned to cope and mask, but i also have never taken any medication for add and am unsure if i am on the autism spectrum (i know some ppl say everyone is), i am neurodivergent and it fucks with my psyche and that's what i deal with, so regardless of labels, i think differently and my prefrontal cortex dances to a different tune than that of the majority of the population. my add is not gone, it is just manifested in different ways. I recently heard that girls are more often diagnosed with add than adhd compared to boys and that that can be because girls do not display hyperactivity externally but that we internalize it and it manifests as anxiety and daydreaming and such. definitely that is me. that is called inattentive adhd i believe, i am not going to check now cuz i am on a roll typing and don't want to stop.

I would like to go and get tested for autism but ppl keep saying its not fun when its on your medical records and jobs are like no ew you're autistic we cant accommodate or we are going to discriminate against you without saying it directly. also, like someone also mentioned it's not about the label it's about knowing my needs and accommodating myself. if that turns into something out of my control or requires more from my school and work, then yes, maybe i should do something about it. currently i am a goofy goober and don't use accommodations at school except for asking for extensions, but mostly i just try to sit closer to the front and silently chill. if i feel more comfortable i will raise my hand and ask for clarification, but that depends on the vibe of the class and how physically close i am to the professor.

i would like to be more confident in myself and admit that i need clarification and some accommodations cuz i don't function like other people, but that requires bringing attention to myself and having to say something to hold myself accountable for my actions and that conflicts with my wallflower tendencies.

please do share your experiences with me over text if you would like to cuz i love other people and like to know about other people, especially when i have only recently started to align myself with other neurodivergent people and feel more happy and put together with myself.

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i hope that has been a sufficient amount of yapping for you. this is what i do instead of pay for an expensive therapist or talk to another person because i don't like to be interrupted when i talk about conceptual, philosophical or heavy topics in general.

anyway, toodaloohoo

kD :p

[maikahelualhan]

maikah, having a vision about solas revealing himself:

[citrineghost]

Struggling to stay organized because you have ADHD?

Well, I have a fantastic solution for you! There’s this bitchin site called Trello and I’m gonna tell you all about it

This is not sponsored, I just really like organization and Trello is awesome. And, as always, no readmore because this is targeted at ADHD people and y’all ain’t gonna click it

[ID: a picture of a website with many columns/lists. Behind the lists, there is a customized background. To the right is a sidebar showing that you can search Unsplash for backgrounds right from the site. Each column/list has a bunch of ‘cards’ on it. The cards each have a title and color coded label(s) /end ID)

Here’s a picture of my to-do board

There are some things blacked out, mostly just my avatar, name, and some original creative stuff I don’t feel like broadcasting.

So, Trello is broken up into different levels of organization. Let’s start with the most important level: boards.

Boards

A board is what’s pictured above. Think of it like a corkboard where you pin your notes. You can make as many of these as you want. You can title them, invite people to them, automate certain parts of them, and more.

On your board, you can make

Lists

Lists are those columns you can see on my board. You can title each list, click and drag them around to reorder them, set them to automatically label the things on them, and so on.

My lists on my to do board are titled with a time period for when I aim to do something. The time periods are large and vague, which makes them great for my ADHD. I can move things between them as I need, which is also great for my ever shifting brain thoughts. 

But! What makes it great is that whatever I put in the left list, titled Next, I know is what I need to be focusing on at the moment. It makes it easier to ignore what’s to the right of it and let’s me relax knowing I won’t just forget everything I’m not prioritizing.

Lists are used for holding

Cards

(ID: A picture of a small window that opens after clicking on a card. It contains the title, the labels (with their names now visible), and a functioning checklist. There is also a place to type a description, a place to add comments, and a list of buttons on the side for managing the card and its place on the board /end ID)

Each card can be as simple as containing just a title (making it a simple entry on your list), or as complicated as housing photos, descriptions, checklists, labels, and comments. You just click the card and it opens the window shown above.

My card is for a tabletop I’m working on, nicknamed TAP. I have it labeled with all of the things pertaining to what it involves (world building, writing, in progress, spreadsheeting, and art/creative). These color coded labels make it easy to see what kind of cards I’m looking at when looking at the overall board and lists.

As I do things on the checklist, I can mark them off. You can even set it to hide completed items on the checklist.

When I’m done with an item on my to do list, I click and drag the card to the Done list (which is offscreen on the far right). If you don’t want a visible Done list, you can also just archive a card and it will disappear from the board.

You can also set due dates on cards, which will notify you when they’re almost due or when the due date arrives.

Customization

One of my favorite things about Trello is that you can customize the appearance of your boards! My ADHD brain can’t stand looking at the same thing constantly, so it’s great that I can change things up. Each board can have its own design too, so you can match the vibes of the board with the appearance.

You can pick from a bunch of solid colors for your board or you can use the connection Trello has with Unsplash to search and select free stock images provided by photographers.

Other Parts of Organization

Not only do you have boards, lists, and cards, you can also make Workspaces, which are basically categories to sort your boards into. If you use Trello for projects, and have a board for each project, you can sort your boards into a Projects workspace.

There is also a function called Butler, which you can use to automate boards. For example, you can set it to automatically create a card called “Pay Rent” at the start of each month.

On the right, in the same sidebar where you can see the background options, there’s also an activity feed, tracking every time a card is moved, commented on, added, archived, and so on.

Team Work

Not only is Trello great for keeping private boards, you can also invite people to them! That makes it incredible for household management, group projects, or even friend groups who feel like storing plans and personalized memes. You can literally use it for whatever you want and in whatever way you want!

ADHD Applications

So, now let’s get down into the specifics of how this is great for people with ADHD.

You can make as many boards, lists, and cards as you want.

This is a big one for me, because I really struggle with websites that limit how much you can do with one account and force you to make multiples and then juggle multiple logins and so on. Start a new project? Make a new board. Follow your heart. Be free. If you end up giving up on it, just delete it, or store it for later. You can Star the boards you actively use and just use the Star list to access the boards you need, so if you star all your active ones and then ignore the unstarred, failed projects, you can leave them to rot or abandon them until the mood strikes again.

You can organize in a way that works for you.

So many organization applications are made to work one way and that can be really difficult to navigate as someone with ADHD. So many people with ADHD have such specific needs in regards to how they organize that it can be really hard to find something that works. Half the time we end up just scrambling around from application to application, cursing them as we go because one has one thing we like, but it doesn’t have the thing this other one has that we like and nothing ever seems to just work.

Trello makes it possible to personalize how you organize and even change how you organize halfway through. I keep my to do list organized in 4 priority levels with the addition of a Pin list and a Done list. You could also:

Keep a list that works as a calendar, with a card for each entry, organized in order of date

Keep a list of reminders where automated weekly/monthly/yearly responsibilities pop up

Jot down reminders as you think of them

Keep lists of school assignments in the order they’re due

Use descriptions and photo uploads on cards to collect information or resources needed for said assignments

Keep lists of information that’s easy to forget or lose track of on paper like address history, work history, references, contact information, and so on (like I’ve done on my ‘Pin’ list)

Use boards for projects, to keep track of things like resources, due dates, meeting times, sending files between classmates or project partners, and so on

Use boards for planning events like weddings, parties, conferences, school dances, or whatever else you’re into

Collect resources, references, or recreational to-dos (like links to fanfiction you want to read)

Literally anything

You can separate everything onto different boards, making everything visible from the titles of cards, or combine it all into one, with lots of information available on a click

The sky’s the limit

You can automate repeat tasks.

ADHD comes with a lot of forgetfulness when it comes to regular tasks, such as weekly appointments, medication reminders, and a yearly charge for your Nintendo membership. You can put that stuff into your calendar, but that can also be tricky because then you have information spread across multiple platforms.

Just as easily, you can set Butler to make new cards with reminders on them.

There’s probably more but I have ADHD and I forgot

Just think of the possibilities!!

I used to get debilitatingly stressed out because I would have 10 things floating around in my head because I was simultaneously trying not to forget them and also stressing about them and I would make what I call “spaghetti lists” where I would list all the things I’m thinking of, just as a way to calm down and know that I won’t forget them, so that my brain could quiet down.

Since starting this board, I haven’t had to do that once because all of the things I’m afraid of forgetting are already listed, even if they’re on the list titled ‘ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ‘ because idk if they’re ever actually gonna happen.

It can be incredibly stressful to see all of your to do items in one place, but since starting this, I have been less stressed overall, because I now know I can find them all in that one place. Learning to manage and cope with the stress of knowing I have a lot to do is easier than forgetting things and then realizing I’m late on something or things just never happening because I never remember them when I’m in a place where I can work on them.

And when you have everything in one place to reference when you have some executive energy, you can suddenly just start doing things. I have them labeled by type so I can go, “I’m in the mood to draw,” and then check all the dark blue labels for creative projects. It makes everything so much easier.

Anyway, I hope this is helpful to some of you, it’s genuinely been life changing for me