Techniques (ADHeliX — "religion 2")

Basically:

In the morning, I check my calendar app. I should also check my notice board.

Generally, I can take notes on Microsoft To Do, or I can write them on a piece of paper, tear off what I wrote, and pin it on my notice board. I just need to remember to frequently check my notice board. Important things go at or near the top of the notice board, while things further down are less important. I should photograph my notice board once in a while, just in case.

I've found that Microsoft To Do is the best to-do list app. Here's how I use it.

The app involves lists. You can make a list and give it a name. I have lists for various topics.
I have a list called "Work" and another called "Health".

I also have a number of "default lists", I'll call them, for noting tasks and checking what I should and would like to do. These lists are:

• Routine Chores

• Occasional Chores

• One-off Chores

• Dated Chores

• Routine Leisure

• Occasional Leisure

• One-off Leisure

• Dated Leisure

The "Dated" lists are for dated tasks, including repeating ones. 

When you make a task, you can either put it in one of your topic lists, or in a default list.

Examples: 

In Routine Chores - charge bike lights

In Occasional Chores - test the filtered water

In One-off Chores - Sign in to all my accounts on my PC

In Dated Chores - Cancel Ring Camera subscription [Sunday 16 Nov]

In Routine Leisure - Check Eventbrite

In Occasional Leisure - Read an old How It Works magazine

In One-off Leisure - Buy new slipper socks that don't release fluff

In Dated Leisure - Cannon Brawl time [18:00 Saturday repeating]

Here's how the default lists look in my Microsoft To Do. I've given them icons:

I also have a list called  Long term (note)  for long-term notes, and another called  current note  for short-term notes:

I use a smartwatch (Samsung Galaxy Watch6) to segment my time, by always having a 15-minute timer running when I'm wearing it - synced with the hour - so when it's 15 minutes past, the timer finishes.

When a timer finishes, I generally do a moment of reflection, planning, and mentally (and maybe physically) checking my body, personal belongings and surroundings. Mentally checking my body includes checking hydration and bathroom needs.

On the hour, I may give myself a couple of minutes or more to think, and spend longer reflecting and planning. Then is a good time to check my to-do list/notice board/calendar.

I also basically take periods of time "out" of committed activity, to give myself time for mostly mental activity and self-organising activity, including the following:

• Planning (mental)

• Looking at plans

• Organising/writing plans

• Journal use (Daylio app)

• General thinking

• Doing nothing

• Perspective check (imagining my past and future behaviour from other's perspectives)

There are many other such activities that I do, and you can find them in the full "religion"

It's a process that I go through, and it can be longer and include more or less such activity. I might do a short such process a few times a day, and a longer one - that takes over an hour - weekly, for example.

"Looking at plans" sometimes includes looking at my Year Ethos, which is a rarely-changing document which I'm supposed to write one of per year, for each year and before that year starts, which outlines my intentions for the year. My current year ethos is a Google Doc called "2025 Year Ethos". "Organising/writing plans" can be organising tasks in Microsoft To Do, organising the things on my notice board, etc. Journal use is when I take ~2 minutes to look at my past entries in the Daylio app and make a new entry. The app can be a good way to take and see notes to myself, since they're ordered by time.

I have a habit of remembering this ritual when I take a shit - since that's something my body does automatically, so I will always eventually remember my ritual.

In the morning (or afternoon or whenever), after you wake up, you can find some tasks from, for example, Routine Chores and other lists, and add them to My Day. Then, instead of marking them as complete, you simply remove them from My Day.

I developed these techniques essentially to feel like I have enough control over and direction in my life, for my satisfaction, despite not making maximum effort all of the time - maximum effort being a level of acute focus and perfectionism probably inconceivable to most people, which I did up until the age of about 17 when I had to stop it in order to figure out why my life didn't work out the way it should have. I realized that the problem wasn't me, but the education system, and the education system was a problem for me because the politicians are problems, and the politicians are problems because the political parties are problematic in their function.

This is a basic overview and doesn't go into the concrete practice of "main ritual" which is the foundation of my self-organising, which is essentially what you read above.

Another way to put my personal journey (giving context to the techniques) is this:

In the past, before age 17, I did high intensity thinking. That was my thing and I wanted to go back to it.

Now, I'm doing version 2 of that. I didn't want to try hard forever. I found a new way of thinking a lot, and that's practising my "religion".

I found it out of necessity, really, not because I really didn't want to just try hard.

It's because trying hard was not compatible with school. Putting intense effort into school is such a waste. At least, it was for me.

School is not compatible with most personalities, but particularly the very useful personalities.