My daughter is starting preschool for the first time, and I am having to force myself to get organized and stay on top of things in ways I haven’t had to do in years. I work from home, and my daughter has been at home with me—in my care or in the care of a family member—since she was born. Each time I’ve nailed down a routine, she’s hit a milestone and everything changes. What has become consistent is the inconsistency. I haven’t had set working hours since she arrived; I get things done in those in-between spaces—naptime, while she hangs out with her dad, and after bedtime. All that is to say—I have gotten very far away from having a set schedule. 

Now that preschool is about to start, I’m managing paperwork—forms, forms, and more forms to fill out—different schedules, lunch packing rules, supply lists, establishing what our morning routines will need to be, and afternoon routines—and bedtime routines in order to make those other routines work. I’m sure anyone who has ever sent their child to daycare or school can relate. Or maybe you’re thinking, duh, this stuff isn’t hard. 

The thing is—time management and organization are some of the hardest parts of adulting for me because of ADHD. And when I say hard, I mean sometimes these skills feel impossible. I’m incorporating some tricks and devices to help make it a little easier. Here they are:

Fancy File Folders

It may seem silly, but I’ve noticed that when I introduce novelty or something that makes me happy to look at, it can be easier to stay on track. Enter these pretty floral folders. I store my daughter’s school paperwork in one of these, and suddenly I’m no longer rummaging through the house like, “where did I put that school calendar?” 

Calendars, Calendars, Calendars

It may seem unnecessary, but I find it helpful to keep track of important appointments, school closures, and other scheduling stuff in a paper calendar and my phone calendar. People have lots of preferences when it comes to paper calendars—I am no different—so I won’t try to recommend one (although I have found bullet journaling to be the most helpful method for my ADHD brain). One common ADHD trait is being late for everything, but I really don’t like to make my daughter late. So, I like to set reminders in my phone for a few minutes before it’s time to leave in the morning to take my daughter to school and when it’s time to leave to go pick her up. 

Notes App

Yep, the free app that comes with my phone is my favorite one of all. You see, the inside of my brain feels like a pinball machine—with multiple balls in play at once—and thoughts are just pinging back and forth as quickly as they can. If I don’t write things down, it’s game over. With the Notes app, I can be anywhere, and if I think of a to-do item, a question, or something else I need to follow-up on, I write it down. I create different notes to keep everything in one place. For example, I have a Preschool list, where I track the supplies I still need to buy, the questions I want to ask my daughter’s teacher, and more. I sync some notes with my husband, so he can take care of things, too. 

Visual Timer

Time blindness is real, and I have a hard time knowing how much time tasks actually take, but this visual timer is surprisingly helpful. I’ve also noticed it helps my toddler with transitions, and lately I’ve been using it more for her than for me. If I say, “We need to leave the house in 10 minutes,” that doesn’t really mean anything. But if I say, “I’m going to set the timer for 10 minutes. We’ll play until the color is all gone, and the timer goes off, and then we’ll leave the house,” she understands because she can actually see the timer counting down. Toddler meltdown averted. 

Photo: Family mother and child daughter hugging in kitchen on floor by evgenyatamanenko