I have several funny habits that I have realized are probably tied back to ADHD, often tied back to hyper-optimizing things or avoiding trivial tasks.
As someone newly diagnosed, it's been odd to realize many habits are just useless and don't truly save time, but I'll chalk it up to time-blindness.
* Button-up shirts: I only undo/do the top 3 buttons to "save time"
* I tie most of my shoes loosely so I can slip them on and off easily
* I wear ankle socks, because I fidget with my feet and higher socks just get pushed down
* I tend to leave clean clothes in the laundry basket. I prefer wrinkle-free fabrics/shirts because of this.
* I don't shave as often as I should.
What other funny habits have you all noticed you have? Trying to keep this light-hearted. Partially this is just for fun (need that) but also I hope it will help me and others spot how ADHD evidences in our lives.
Looking forward to some laughs.
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I buy self-help and workbooks and then don't read /complete them. I also have a lot of blank journals that are supposed to help me be a better/ more effective person.
I bought all the supplements everyone's ever recommended to help with ADHD, stress, anxiety and depression. At 41, I take more pills (mostly supplements and vitamins) than my grandmother ever did.
With my key fob, I typically will lock my car at least twice because I forget if I did the first time and my car has been proweled twice.
I repeat myself to others as a means to run it by them to make sure I didn't forget something, but they just find it annoying.
I'm pretty sure that if I have to turn around for something, that I always go the same direction, even if I have to take more steps.
When I walk the dogs, I use beeper collars on them, and I frequently walk out the door without the remote.
With pants I'm used to doing one button and one zipper. Add a third closure in there and my zipper is guaranteed to be down.
I make large batches of food so that I have meals for later on the week. I'm usually sick of the food by the end.
I prefer wrinkles to ironing or drycleaning.
I frequently forget to plan ahead and bring grocery bags to the store with me, and will typically walk out with my arms full.
I spilled coffee in my tent last weekend, twice, while actively concentrating very hard on not spilling it, yet little inattentions got the best of me.
I’m with you on the big batches of food, but honestly I don’t usually get tired of them. I’m just so relieved to have something to eat besides Beefaroni that only requires heating up! I got an Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker) and have three recipes that I rotate through: chicken stew, chili, and white bean soup. It makes three quarts, and I usually freeze some of each batch for days when I’ve run out. One of these days I need to find a 4th recipe….
O yes. I love forgetting the bags to bring to the store. The worst part is I could be just outside my house but yet it's to far to go back in to get them.. So later at the store I find myself standing there saying it was only 60feet ugh...
And I have the attention of a squirrel, so if I need to know the time and look at my phone for it, I get derailed when I see a notification or decide to check something "real quick". I put old school analog clocks on the wall in my bedroom bathroom and main room. I think they help.
Visual reminders are helpful, so I purchased a massive whiteboard wall calendar and put it opposite my front entrance. I sync it with Google calendar and my Bullet Journal. I do find it helpful when I keep it updated. It's like a classroom for one. This One.
I was diagnosed as a kid so it's hard for me to tell you what is my ADHD and what is just me but there is one habit that gets on my coworkers and family members nerves that I have. I tend to spread things out and never put things in drawers or cabinets because i will forget they exist. I've only met 2 people that do it and that's my dad who has ADHD and my friend that got recently diagnosed.
Years ago I got rid of my dresser and started using a bookcase for my clothes because out of sight is out of mind! Likewise with mail and other papers. I cleared my desk about a year ago and put all the papers into a file box, promising myself that I would review them within a few days. That box is still sitting on my living room floor. 🙄 I really should go through it this weekend. 😂
Thanks for your encouragement! I just discovered Alerts and your response, and today is Monday but thanks to this reminder I’m putting into my BUJO for this weekend. 🙃
When cooking I usually can't wait for it to get done, I will almost finish it before it's done
Every clock in my house is set ahead, anywhere from 10 (the minium) to 20+ minutes. Why? Because adrenaline is my friend. Adrenaline makes me focus really well, and it scares the crap out of me when I need to be somewhere and the clock is so far ahead, at least for a small second I get an adrenaline hit when I notice the time , then I get my butt in gear to get out the door. If all my clocks were on time, I would look at the clock, say: "OH, I have 10 extra minutes...I should do X." Then I would forget about the time, be distracted and be late all the time to work or other meetings. Does Adrenaline fix anyone else's brain?
O those are insane. When needing to do something getting so pump up only to realize I was supposed to do it days before realizing as I get a phone call saying we were supposed to me the other day... Oops....
Yep. Story of my life. I have so many check systems, and even with those, there are times I fail miserably. Like the other evening I got a super bad migraine. I went to bed early and slept till almost noon the next day. My 18 hour reminder popped up after I went to bed, and the 4 hour reminder popper up while I was still asleep late into the next morning. I missed my dentist appointment by a mile. Oppsie.
Reading these post made me think "don't all people do that?" Lol apparently not.
I def only open the first buttons .
I have so many planners that contain only drawings and rhymes I write lol
The instant pot lol time saver. I love it
I even do pasta in it just takes 3 minutes.
To be honest I never read every page of a book. There is always these pages that seem boring and pointless so I skip them.
I feel guilty doing nothing seems like I should be doing something all the time which I never knew why until now.
I have so many boxes to organize things... all these boxes are empty lol
I usually forget my phone, laptop or something at work. I sometimes forget the car running and just to inside the house or work...
I always lose papers for some reason alwaaaaays papers for as long as a remember in school in college now at work.. but I've learned to always make many copies hoping not to lose them all which I do sometimes ..
I dont fold clothes I roll them.. I try to make a day every month or 2 to fold them so I can see them better lol..
Oh man, all of the above!!! I also constantly fidget, but my fidgeting is with my hair (pretty curly) so to most people it just looks like a nervous habit or like I’m daydreaming, but it actually helps me focus a little. I have to pull it back for interviews or important meetings though and fiddle with my pen instead to seem more ‘professional’!
And the out of sight out of mind thing is SO REAL. I absolutely have to leave important papers and mail out in the open so I’m reminded they exist!
I usually put my clothes for the next day on the bathroom counter before I go to bed. (I've mainly gotten out of this habit lately...I need to get back into doing this again. I should also make a new habit of setting up my coffee pot as night before I go to bed.)
I put my outfit fit the next day together before I go to bed. I put my wallet and keys into the pockets of the pants when I do that, so I know I'll have them in the morning. (I get anxious if I leave the house without ID, house key, and cell phone.)
When I get out of my car, I make sure I have the keys in my hand before I lock and closet the car door. (In my first three years of driving, I locked myself out of my car at least 5 times.) One of my cars has a remote to lock and unlock it, but the other doesn't, so I've just gotten used to locking the car as I'm getting out. (If I have already put my keys in my pocket, I feel like I have to double check by putting my hand on my keys before I close the door. I do the same thing with my house door.)
When I was in high school, I carried every one of my textbooks every day, so I was sure not to forget any. I basically never used my locker, except to put my whole backpack full of books into when exchanging for my gym bag for PE. After PE, I switched back. (If I accidentally left my PE clothes in my locker overnight, I knew I had a spare set at home. I only had one copy of each textbook, of course, except when I took World History... The teacher had gotten new books, and there was no one waiting for the old ones, so he let us opt to keep the old one at home all year as long as we returned it when he asked for it back. (I only used it a few times all year. I didn't want to lose it, so I left it in the same exact spot on my dresser.)
I'm so impressed, b/c I thought I was SO ALONE going through this ADD/ADHD thing. I never had this b4, my doc just told me a few months ago. WT......? I know I am very OCD and even pick up lint. Lint bothers me. (lol) dust bunnies, clean clean clean, wash, wash, wash.!! UGH! Everything has to be smoothed out..NO wrinkles and my cans have to face outward with logo names, I REALLY HOPE I DO NOT GO BY ALPHABET next with my soup cans!! I know this sounds funny, but this IS ME! Is this NORMAL AT MY AGE? Good Grief
When you lose things try fixating on its colour. Works for me. Unfortunately right mm or I can't find my red lighter and when I look for it I just keep finding my Swiss Army Knife over and over.
I like to rub the space between my pinky and ring fingers with my thumbs, and I like to rub my thumbs with my index fingers. I also wiggle my toes a lot and play with my hair. Sometimes I run my hair against my lips, usually when I'm concentrating on something very important.
I haven't posted here before, but I also rub my Index finger over my thumbnail, especially when I'm driving. It seems to help my brain connect. I haven't pursued a diagnosis or treatment, but I so relate to many of the things posted here.
My new favorite realization for “Why the heck do I do this?”
My husband pointed out that not everyone had over 100 tabs open on their phone internet browser. He used to tease me for years but it didn’t fully hit that other people do not do that to this extreme. Now I notice I tend to open tons of documents and programs on my computer that I never close throughout the day…. whoops.
I also am well known by my colleagues and family as The Researcher. If someone says the tiniest thing that sparks my interest the next thing I know it has been thirty minutes and I am looking up Modern Druid culture that originated in historic Britain. When all I meant to do was look up where a UK city was located.
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ADHD books, anything helping you?
How do you really know you are adhd when soooo many things can look like it? 
why do i have to be “ less” ADHD?!
What kind of symptoms and things do doctors use to invalidate or disqualify you for an ADHD diagnosis? What was your screening like?
