Strategies for your brain
Identity-affirming · take what fits, leave the rest · this is a reference page, not a diagnosis
For an ADHD brain
four that help many people
Body doubling. Do your work next to someone else who's also working: in person, on a call, in a focus-room channel. Another brain in motion makes starting easier. It isn't proven by research yet, but many neurodivergent people say it's what helps them get started.
Five minutes, set a timer. Starting is the hard part, not the work. You have permission to stop at minute five. Often, once you start, you keep going.
Externalize everything. Your working memory is a small whiteboard, not a hard drive. The second a task lands, write it down somewhere outside your head that you trust.
Limit open long-term projects. Three large open projects is functionally five. Negotiate timelines before you panic.
These four live on reference pages in the Middle School and High School planners.
For a dyslexic brain
the layout choices in our books are not accidental
Say it like you'd text a friend. Restating something in your own words is how it sticks. That's the idea behind recall pages.
Listening is real reading. Audiobooks and text-to-speech on long material are tools, not shortcuts.
Chunk the wall of text. One section, then one line in your own words. Three columns beat ten pages of highlighting. Voice-to-text the first draft if it helps.
For an autistic brain
special interests are study fuel, not a distraction
Let special interests pull the cart. If you can connect the task to a current special interest, your brain does the encoding work for you. Interest is an engine.
Predictability is a work aid. Same time, same place, same setup. A familiar routine spends less energy on starting, so more is left for the work.
Sensory load is real and cumulative. Noise, light, and crowded rooms spend energy you could work with. Stimming, like fidgeting, tapping or humming, can help you focus, so you don't need to hide it. Protect your setup. The
planner for autistic students keeps its pages low-sensory for the same reason.
For an AuDHD brain, the brain that is both
routine plus novelty, not routine instead of novelty
Keep the structure predictable, let the content change. The rails stay put; the scenery changes. That's how our pages are built, and it works on paper you already own too.
Hyperfocus is real and not available on demand. When it shows up, ride it. When it doesn't, shrink the day to one thing.
Demand avoidance is not laziness. If a task repels you, shrink it until it stops being a demand. Energy budgeting is a skill, and the
Everyday planner for adults is built around it.
Asking for help, scripted
you do not need a sophisticated reason to ask. "I don't understand this yet" is a complete sentence.
To start: "I'm working on [topic] and I'm stuck on [the specific part]. Can you walk me through it?"
For more time: "I want to do this properly. Could I have until [day]? Here's what's done so far."
For adjustments (school): "I have accommodations through my 504/IEP. Can we talk about how they work in this class?" The College Edition has an office-hours log built for exactly this conversation.
For adjustments (work): "I'd like to talk about adjustments that would help me do this job well. Can we set up a time?"
If you rehearsed it in the hallway and it still came out wrong, that still counts as asking. Ask again next week.
Find the planner these pages live in →