#no planner app or other to do lists ever worked on me and i don't know what to dk

[ikea-monkeys-blog]

Whenever i have something to do i plan when i'll do it, that I'll go out somewhere at certain hour, and come back at other Then the day actually comes. AND FUCK MY PLANS. Somehow I'm always leaving my house at the hour that in my plans i would came back and rest. ALWAYS. This is never ending nightmare. It's a curse.

[accountingacademic]

New Year, Fresh Start

Daily Reflection Monday, 1 January, 2024

Things I'm Grateful For:

Having my ever-growing to-do list written down in my planner, so I don't have to forget those things I need to do.

Highlights:

Since I was up past midnight with friends, I made a final "fuck it, I'm staying up all night." After everyone logged off, I had a spurt of productivity and got a bunch of little odds and ends taken care of.

Even if it only really amounts to $1 per day, I enjoy the feeling like I'm setting myself up for success when I transfer some money into my investment account each month. Because January has 31 days, I transferred $31 this time. It's in a TFSA so I won't be taxed on what the money earns, and it's a zero-commission account, so everything that is put into that account will be mine when I withdraw it.

I didn't get everything on my to-do list done for the day, but I still managed to do quite a bit! I don't mind carrying over two tasks, especially when one of them is 90% done.

Challenges:

I couldn't get my money stuff taken care of when I first wanted to because my bank's online portal was down for maintenance. Bit of a nuisance, even though it's not really a huge deal--I don't have to deal with my money at 4:00am, it can wait until a more reasonable hour.

I accidentally ended up napping in the middle of the day. I laid down around 11:00am, and then dozed off and slept until about 2:30pm. So that took a chunk of time away from me that I could have used, but after an all-nighter, three and a half hours won't ruin everything.

Emotions:

I feel like an asshole, and a terrible friend. A friend of mine is going through a rough patch because a woman ran a red light the other day and fucked up his car. He's going through the process of trying to get proof for his insurance that he wasn't at fault, and trying to figure out what's going to happen to his car (he spent all his savings on it less than two months ago, and the odds are pretty much 50/50 that it could be written off). I fully understand that he needs to vent, but I just really don't like listening to that kind of thing. I want to just go and tune him out so it feels like a win-win (he gets to vent, I don't have to actually listen), but that also feels like a terrible thing to do.

The shoes I ordered with my Christmas money are supposed to be here tomorrow, according to FedEx. It's hard to say how accurate that is though, as it's been "we have your package" since the 28th, with the order itself placed on the 25th. If it's not in tomorrow, Wednesday would also work. I just want them in before I go back to school on Thursday.

Lessons Learned:

For all that my friends are usually there for me when I need it (even though I will rarely ask for help), I'm not great at doing the same for them. I think that's part of why I don't ask for help; I don't want to be one of those people who ask for help all the time but never offer anything in return. I want it to be fairly balanced, and unfortunately, holding back on my end is how I can help keep it that way.

Today's To-Do List:

Completed

Readjust the cat feeder to dispense at night.

Reorganize phone apps.

Find new wallpapers for my phone and laptop.

Divide my second student loan disbursement into GICs.

Pay board.

Clean out my D&D binder and prepare for the new campaign.

Renew my FitBit Premium membership.

Add $31 to my investment account.

Give the cats baths.

Put together the grocery list.

Uncompleted

Clean out my school binder and prepare for the new semester.

Finish catching up on laundry.

Tomorrow's To-Do List:

Buy a mirror that hangs off the door for my bedroom.

Buy a notebook to start a commonplace book.

Get groceries.

Nana's housework.

[healinghamster]

adhd do it tomorrow way

have you ever felt like everything is buzzing around you and nothing makes sense? you are overwhelmed and tired and don't know what to do? i made a little self-plan for cases like this that might help other nd folks!

take a deep breath. i am the most sceptical person about breathing excercises on the earth (AND they are boring?) but sometimes it does help. try using an app that uses vibration to guide you - it gives additional sensory stimuli and makes it less boring

is it morning or evening? if it is morning, then proceed to the next step. if it is evening, ask yourself: is it really important right now? or can you just go to sleep and figure it out later? if important, also proceed to the next step

jot down every thought the fastest way you can. hand-written, typed, voice recorded even - doesn't matter! get these thoughts out of your system first

now it is kind of like an affinity diagram - see where the thoughts overlap and put them into groups (they can be random and don't have to make sense to other people! for example you can have a "stuff i want to start but cant" or "bzzzz thoughts")

usually those groups fall into one of these categories - mental health and feelings, school and/or work, chores and errands, events (at least, that's how it is for me! you can have your own big categories)

now put aside school/work and chores/errands thoughts. is there anything in mental health area that feels uncomfortable? are you tired? sleepy? do you need to talk to someone or hug a pet? i usually deal with my emotional needs first no matter how urgent the work is

is there anything that must be done right this instance/in the next 3 hours in all of the categories? if no, take a rest. if possible, a full rest with nothing at all.

if there are things to be done do only the most urgent and crucial ones, but remember that your wellbeing always comes first!

if you have spoons and brain energy, try to spread the events, chores and school/work throughout the week. like cleaning on monday, history assignment on wednesday etc

alternatively, just make a big list with the categories divided. do one thing from the list a day and say "i'll do the rest tomorrow" (do one thing tomorrow). if you feel like it - you can do more! if you don't have energy or time - don't stress about it. do it tomorrow (unless it is super urgent which i struggle with still and don't have answers yet)

repeat until you feel less overwhelemed and can use your usual coping and planning tecnhiques ps. i am not sure if this is accessible because of the colors; i tried to make an adhd easy-to-read version but i don't know others' needs that well so please tell me if it needs warnings or a plain formatting post! ps2. i am working on adhd-friendly planner printables (which will be free) and i am implementing this method there. if you find it helpful, look out for those!

[pellucid-constellations]

hiya! i just want to say that your writing is literally amazing and oh my god i love you so much!!! also you are so fucking talented i wish i was like you 🥺🥺 i had some questions about writing that i have always really wanted to ask you (coming from an amateur writer). you totally don’t have to answer these by the way!!

- when did you start writing?

- how long did it take to get the following you have now?

- how long does it usually take to create a fic?

- how do you stay motivated with writing?

- what app do you use to write?

- if you wrote while in school, how did you juggle that (because im STRUGGLING!!)

- how do you create your ideas?

- when did your write your first smut?

- do you focus on a specific word count goal?

- how do you navigate the SPACING ON THIS APP BECAUSE I FIND IT SO ANNOYING!!

- do you have any advice for a small writer like me?

anywho, i hope this isn’t too invasive or too much to ask! you’re just one of my favourite writers and i really want to produce better writing like you 🥺 i love you so much and i hope you have the most amazing today and even better tomorrows!!! xoxo -🐞

Hi! I would be more than happy to answer your questions :)) I'll make a little list under the cut! ♡ If anyone has anything else to add, feel free!

I wrote my first ever fic last year in June. I'd never written anything before that! (Other than this tiny, 800 word spn thing back in 2012 that I never posted anywhere haha)

It took me a year to get where I am right now. My one-year anniversary for posting content on this blog is tomorrow, actually! :)

It depends on the fic. Oneshots usually take me a few hours, but series take me weeks! I don't usually keep oneshots as WIPs unless I'm really struggling with it/don't like it too much

Staying motivated can be really tough for me sometimes. I like to ask others for inspo or encouragement if I need it (so it's good to make friends!!), or make playlists to get me going!! If you don't feel motivated though, don't force it! Motivation comes and goes and that's normal!

I use google docs for writing fics. When I transfer onto Tumblr though, I paste the fic into my notes app first to keep formatting and then copy from there (thanks @wkemeup for that tip!!)

I did write in school, and I'll continue to when I start graduate school! I'm going to be honest, juggling the two isn't always the easiest. I tried to think of writing as a hobby that I got to do once I finished whatever I had in my planner, and that helped a bit! (but I def wrote at times I really shouldn't have though lol)

Ideas come to me at weird times!! While I'm driving a lot. Most of the time, my fics come from one specific scene I have in my head, and then I make a story around that. I make an outline for series, but for oneshots I sorta just start writing it and let it come to me lol. I find that's the best way for me to work :)

I've only written smut twice, and I don't get too in-depth (I use it more as a plot device). But my first was back in October for my baseball!bucky series.

For series, I try to have a word count goal for each chapter, but I'm trying not to place such an emphasis on that. During my last series, I was insistent on making my chapters each at least 5k, and it burned me OUT 😅 I've learned that you don't always need a ton of words :)

Hmm what do you mean by spacing?? If you mean like post formatting, I could help with that!

Advice!! I think having a good group of mutuals/friends makes the experience here on Tumblr so much better, especially for writers. It's always nice to have those people to bounce ideas off of or ask if something looks/sounds okay when you are starting off. Writing is lots more fun that way!! On another note, I know this is always so much easier in theory, but don't get discouraged! I'm always doubting myself and looking at notes as much as the next person, and that can just add unnecessary pressure. Write what makes you happy! Write when you feel like there's nothing else you'd want to do. It shouldn't feel like a chore or a competition :)

[bookwyrminspiration]

hi, it’s the anon who sent the ask about online schooling. I personally find it extremely draining, but all ur points resonated w/ me and I find it interesting that even though we face similar difficulties (scheduling, making the effort to interact w/ people, etc), we have opposing opinions on it. as u said, its up to a person to decide what their stance on the subject is. and actually, related to that, I think it also depends on how pos/negatively they view it. so !! as someone who is feeling rather exhausted of online schooling atm, i was wondering if u have any tips on overcoming the negatives of it (lack of discussion, organization, etc)?

hello! welcome back, nonsie! I think finding online schooling draining is fairly common, which is why so many people push to come back despite concerns about safety. Not saying you're one of them, just that the fatigue is not singular to you.

I can try to give you some tips, but I don't know how useful they'll be so please feel free to modify anything you need to or to disregard everything. That being said, my biggest issues online are scheduling, and my biggest in-person are interacting with others and combating anxiety. So that's where I'm approaching this from in terms of difficulties, but there may be more I can help with so feel free to ask about it!

under a cut to save space

Change as needed. If you're like me, you jumped between a lot of different methods of coping to try and figure out how to exist during all this chaos. This means I tried a lot of different schedules, different approaches to interacting with others, different study methods. And of course, seeing as this is so new, there's a lot that's not going to work for you. So my advice here is that as soon as you recognize that something you're doing is starting to fail you--regardless of whether it's worked in the past--find something else. Change it now before you get stuck in the rut trying to make it work when it clearly isn't. Even if it's been successful in the past, if it isn't right now try something else, even if only for a little bit before going back to your original method.

An example of this would be how you study. Over the summer I had four classes that I need to complete, so I set aside four hours a day to do homework, one for each. it was great! I got assignments done early, stayed on top of every class, and wasn't very stressed. But as the semester went on I had trouble staying focused for the entire hour and ended up slipping, assignments being completed in a rush right before they were due, only able to do 30 minutes of work at a time if I was lucky. Clearly, my schedule stopped working, but I kept trying despite the evidence. That just made everything harder, so I should've changed my approach, created a new schedule to deal with my temporarily shorter attention span, using that until I could return to the hour long sessions if ever.

No one else needs to see what you do. This one is more about organization and letting you adapt more to yourself than what is helpful for others. I don't know about you, but I know that personally organizing things like keeping track of homework and keeping my room clean is an all or nothing situation. I either have a complete color coded list for the week or just try and remember everything. My room is either immaculate or I can't tell which shirt I'm looking at amongst the four others on the floor (downside to wearing all black). So I tried a lot of methods I found on line: keeping a planner, creating a discord only I had access to to send myself messages of tasks, downloading apps, etc. They didn't work for me. So what I've found most helpful is just doing whatever method will be effective in the moment. And no one else needs to see it, so it doesn't need to make sense to anyone but you.

Sometimes I write a to-do list in huge lettering on my arm in bright colors so that it's always with me and i have to remember it later. Sometimes I write a post it note and put it somewhere I can't avoid interacting with it, like my laptop screen. Sometimes I use that discord I created and send myself a message about a thing I need to do. No one method works for me, so whichever method I remember in the moment is the one I use, a combination of the most effective parts.

For organizing a room, I apply this by making it make sense to me, creating a series of places I keep things. For example, my books are on my bookshelf, but that's also where I keep my wallet and my glasses and they have specific spots I put them. No one else would think to look for them there, but that's where I always set them down, so it became their place. My speaker is on top of my sticky notes. I have a hanging organizer in my closet so I can shove laundry in there that I would otherwise leave on the floor, things like jeans that aren't dirty enough to put in the hamper but don't feel clean enough to put back in the dresser. There's probably a better place for all those things, but that's where they are and it makes sense to me. it's effective, and that's the result I need. No one else needs to understand it but you. I do think it's also important to lower your expectations when it comes to your room. It takes so much more effort to clean your room and keep it nice than the rest of a house or apartment--you are fitting your entire life in there!! Adults have the entire place to spread out their belongings, able to dedicate rooms to different things, but you have the one to fit everything in. Of course it's gonna look messier.

School isn't the world. Now I don't know how helpful this would be because I don't particularly mind the lack of discussion on online classes, so this is more just what my life is like than me trying to cope with anything. I will be honest: I don't think there's anyone at my school that I care about. I don't consider a single person there my friend and my favorite people there are the teachers (I have excellent teachers). School doesn't have to be the entirety of your social world, though it can be a huge part especially as a student. If you want more interaction than what online school provides, there are people in other places to talk to. I personal turn a lot to online spaces, interacting with people on discord and tumblr and making acquaintances that way--and then I can also find people who are more like me and share more interests, which makes the bond stronger.

I'm aware that I may be a little alone on that one, as I know a lot of people value in person friendships more than I do. I feel more authentically me when in writing and online that's how people perceive me. They see my words and that's how they get to know me, and I like that. There are parts of me you don't see online that are genuine, like the cadence of my voice or how fast I talk when I get going about something I'm interested in or all the stimming I do, or the way I dress and the color I've dyed my hair. But that's something I'm personally okay with. I feel more articulate in written word, so I really value online friendships (not saying you don't, just sharing my experience)

I guess I'm saying this kind of goes back to the change as needed one. If you aren't interacting with people as much as you want, change something until you see improvement. interact with people online or in person outside of school if it isn't providing what you want. I don't know how helpful that is, but it's how I deal with not being friends with the vast majority of people I see in person.

Check in with yourself. This is getting long so this'll be the last one, I promise. Online school can be incredibly draining, but that's worsened when you're not taking care of yourself. Maybe today feels harder; did you forget anything? Do you need to drink water, grab a snack, talk to someone? Do you need to stretch, stim, get some fresh air? When's the last time you took a shower? Have you brushed your teeth today? Are you dressed for the weather? When's the last time you changed your clothes? Is your environment helping or hurting you? Do you need to clean? Have you done something you enjoy recently? Things like that. Taking care of all the little things builds up and can make it easier to get through the rest of the icky.

It may be something you need to be strategic about with how much energy you have. For example, cleaning my room and showering go together for me. I can't just do one. If I clean my room and haven't showered in a while then I feel dirty and uncomfortable, and if I shower but my room is a mess than I feel icky to be in it. So I have to remember that I can't plan for just one and both have to be done together, otherwise I won't be able to get anything else done effectively.

Check in with what it is you need, mentally and physically, so that you're kinder to your current a future self. You don't need to suffer.

I don't know if any of that is helpful, but I wasn't sure exactly what you might need so I tried to be more vague so it's more applicable to whatever it is you're experiencing. Online classes can really, truly suck, but they aren't forever. You'll get through them <33

[nerdyprocrastinator]

New Plan: Path to the Best Planner/Schedule/To-do List

20 Sept 2022

I am at a time in my life where my procrastination is at an all time high and the stakes are far greater than I ever thought I’d have to deal with. I am trying to figure out how to move myself all the way across the US to go to college in California. I know I have what it takes; it’s just that my procrastination is causing me to be very close to failing some classes if I don’t figure out a way to stop it. Which brings me to the idea of trial and error of the different anti-procrastination, pro-organization apps and tools that are out there being advertised to me.

Some Background Information about Me

I have always had good grades. My lowest grades have been Bs the entire time I’ve been in high school. Even with my procrastination being quite literally the worst thing I have dealt with, I always managed to come out on top at the last minute, even without trying.

But this semester just doesn’t seem to be going my way. I am about 3 weeks behind in an 8 week class and I just got my first F on a major test in one of my other classes. I am positively panicking about what this could mean for my future plans of moving across the country when they literally rely on me maintaining things the way they have always been.

“My” Idea for Testing Things

 The reason my is in quotation marks is because this is not an idea I had completely on my own. I was talking with my therapist yesterday about everything that’s been happening with school and she brought up how these things need to change if I want to have a chance to turn my plans for the future from dreams into reality. 

She mentioned getting a planner or calendar to help me schedule out what I need to do to catch up and what I need to do to save myself from more bad grades in my classes. Well, I have experience with many different planners from my years in the program I’m in now, but they have never really been able to keep me accountable because I lose interest in the different methods I was taught. 

Now, I plan to try the main planners out there to try to figure out which ones seem to work the best. I will be using the ones that have been constantly recommended to me through different social media and I will try to report back once a week, or once every two weeks, to update you guys on what I think about a certain one. I will try to focus the posts on only one tool at a time so that I can truly see which ones work for me. I will be giving each one a  one- or two-week test period, depending on what happens the first week, so that I can see if it feels like something I can stick to. If and/or when I find one that I like, I will then experiment with it and mix-and-match it with other tools to see which combinations seem to work and which ones don't.

While I understand this will be mostly subjective to me, my methods, and my situation, I hope that this will also give you guys some insight as to which ones seem like they are worth it and which ones aren’t. 

That being said, I would absolutely love to hear which ones you’d like me to try as a recommendation, or which ones you are just curious to see if they work. Comment down below and let me know what you think and what you’d like me to look into. 

I absolutely love to know what you think.