No, don’t stop taking your medication. But, it is nice to have a second brain, especially one that does so many of the things our ADHD brain won’t do…like remembering our appointments and helping us run on time. (Sometimes our ADHD brain won’t let us tear ourselves away from what we are doing.) Admit it, you always have your phone on you, anyway so may as well put it to work for you!
So, what exactly can your iPhone do for you?
REMIND YOU- but remember YOU are the smart one that has to set reminders. 1st reminder to set—the one to remind you to take your medication until it’s a habit. Reminders can be a general list of things to do, or even assigned a specific date and time…you know for those of us who forget to check our calendar. (Hey, you can even add “Check Calendar” to daily reminder list!)
REMEMBER—Use the Notes feature. Grocery lists, To-do lists, what size air conditioning filter you need…no more lost scrap paper.
TIME YOU—Use the stopwatch to improve time management. See how long it takes to do a boring task (bet it doesn’t take as long as you think). If you underestimate how long you take to say, get ready in the morning, time yourself with these tasks so you can plan better.
REMIND YOU…again. Set the timer to go off when you need to transition or get leave for an appointment.
SCHEDULE YOU—Keep your calendar up to date to prevent that awkward moment when you realize you have two meetings at the same time or that the meeting you stayed up late preparing for is actually next week. (Just don’t forget to check your schedule!)
TAKE A PICTURE FOR YOU – No photographic memory? No worries. Take a picture! This works great in parking lots…raise your hand if you’ve searched high and low for your car, only to realize you were parked on the other side of the mall! Another way to use pictures is to take a screen shot of something important, like a confirmation number or QR code you need to use.
VIRTUAL WALLET – Are you constantly forgetting to use your rewards cards for restaurants and stores? Do you worry that you will forget those concert tickets? Use Apple Wallet to store all of that info in one place. On top of that, if your location settings are on, these cards will pop up on your lock screen when you are close to that favorite coffee shop or concert venue.
These options are probably available on other smartphones, as well. Check with your provider for more information.
Smartphones are only as smart as their user, so take advantage of some of these features that can pick up the slack when your ADHD brain is focused on other things!