TIME MANAGEMENT:  
             Step-By-Step with a Day Planner 
              Is it hard for you to manage your time or                 easily exchange information with office and 
              make and follow plans? Adults with ADHD                  home computers.
               sometimes have problems with working                    If you are a gadget-oriented person who 
              memory (holding information they’ve just                 learns new technology easily, pick one of 
              seen or heard in their memory), organization,            the  electronic day planners. If you are not 
              and sense of time. These issues can result in             technology-oriented, pick a paper and pencil 
              poor time management skills and may make it              model. Carefully review a number of  different 
              difficult to fulfill your responsibilities at work 
              and at home.
              Although some adults with ADHD have had 
              unsuccessful experiences with day planners, 
              by deconstructing the process into manageable  
              steps, you will find using a planner to be a 
              great way to organize and manage your life 
              and to follow through on commitments!
              Choose the planner that’s right for you.
              At a minimum, a day planner is a device that 
              includes a calendar, space to write “to-do”              types of day planners, either at an office 
              lists, and space to write telephone numbers,             supply store or online. They come in all  sizes, 
               addresses, and other basic identifying/                 shapes, and colors, with different types of 
              reference information. It can be:                        daily,  weekly, and monthly views. Carefully 
              •  a paper-and-pencil model, e.g. Franklin               inspect the different types of daily, weekly, 
                 Planner, Day Timer, or Planner Pad brands             and  monthly pages. Do you schedule many 
              •  a calculator-sized electronic organizer               appointments on the hour or half-hour? Then 
              •  an app on your tablet or smartphone                   use a clear daily view. Are you making “to do” 
              •  time management software on a laptop or               lists but not scheduling many appointments? 
                 desktop computer                                      Perhaps a weekly view with a lot of space for 
              Electronic organizers and apps have a                    lists is needed.
               number of advantages. They are compact 
              and easy to carry with you. They provide                                         National
              audible  reminders that can serve as memory                                      Resource
               management aides. They can sort, organize,                                      Center
              and store more information more  efficiently                                     on ADHD
              than paper and pencil planners. They can                                         A Program of CHADD
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                                          Your day planner should be the only  planning                                                                                                                                    •  praise successes and cheer you on to the 
                                          calendar for everything you do (work, home,                                                                                                                                                  next step
                                          personal). Using separate calendars at home                                                                                                                                      •  avoid criticizing failures or imperfect 
                                          and at the office may become confusing                                                                                                                                                       achievement of any of the steps
                                          and overwhelming; it’s too easy to forget to 
                                           transfer entries from one calendar to the                                                                                                                                                 Build in positive reinforcements or rewards to 
                                          other and you might miss appointments or                                                                                                                                                   help you succeed in learning each step. Get 
                                           important  commitments.                                                                                                                                                                   this from your “coach” and from yourself!
                                          The process of deciding which planner is best                                                                                                                                    Select someone who is capable and willing to 
                                          for your life and your preferences may take                                                                                                                                      serve in this role. Review this sheet with your 
                                          time; try some out at the office supply store, do                                                                                                                                coach, and discuss each step outlined below 
                                          your research online, talk with friends. Once                                                                                                                                    before undertaking it.
                                          you choose your planner, familiarize yourself 
                                          with its components.                                                                                                                                                             1.  Find a single, accessible place to keep 
                                          Using your planner                                                                                                                                                                           the day planner.
                                          In this fact sheet we break down the process                                                                                                                                     After selecting a planner, the next step is 
                                          of using a day planner into a series of small                                                                                                                                    to establish a habit of keeping it in a single, 
                                          steps, each of which will help you acquire a                                                                                                                                      accessible location at home and at work, 
                                          new habit or skill. Take each step one at a                                                                                                                                      so you will always know where to find it. 
                                          time and practice it for at least one week, in                                                                                                                                   The location should be clearly visible from 
                                          order for it to become a well-formed “habit”                                                                                                                                     a  distance, even in a cluttered room or on a 
                                          before beginning the ne                                                     xt step. Sometimes a                                                                                 messy desk. Convenient locations might be 
                                           beginning action may be uniquely difficult to                                                                                                                                   next to the telephone, on a table near the 
                                          become a regular habit for you, so you may                                                                                                                                       front door, or on the desk at the office. If the 
                                          need to practice it two or three weeks before                                                                                                                                    day planner has a strap, you might hang it 
                                          beginning the next step. And that’s okay—                                                                                                                                        on a hook next to the front door, above the 
                                          perfectly normal!                                                                                                                                                                 telephone, or together with the car keys. Carry 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           it to and from work, and practice keeping it in 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           the designated locations for a week. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           2.  Enter your basic information in the day 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       planner.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Gather the most common names, addresses, 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           and phone numbers you use. Enter them into 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           the planner in the alphabetical name/address 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           section. Consider what vital information 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           might be helpful to have in the planner, such 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           as your doctors’ contact info, insurance policy 
                                          Identify a friend or spouse to serve as your                                                                                                                                      numbers, computer passwords, equipment 
                                          “planner coach.” The coach’s role:                                                                                                                                               serial numbers, birthdays and anniversaries, 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           and enter this information in the designated 
                                          •  help prompt your practicing each step and                                                                                                                                     spaces.
                                                     monitor overall progress                                                                                                                                              3.  Carry the day planner at all times.
                                          •  praise you for your efforts and provide                                                                                                                                       Now that there is some information in your 
                                                     constructive—not critical or harsh—                                                                                                                                   planner, you should carry it with you at all 
                                                     feedback about any mistakes                                                                                                                                           times. Many people claim that they have 
                                          •  encourage you to reward yourself at the end                                                                                                                                    carried their planner with them at all times, 
                                                     of the week                                                                                                                                                           but then they forget the great idea they 
                                          •  focus on the positive
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              thought of while shopping. “At all times” means         in the  future. Then, write or input these 
              whenever you leave the car to go into a store            appointments in the appropriate time slots 
              or whenever you leave your desk to attend a             in the planner for the particular days and 
              meeting.                                                months. If you have regularly recurring 
              4.  Refer to the                                         meetings or activities (e.g. with your therapist, 
                 day planner                                          writing group, classes, or work hours), enter 
                 regularly.                                           the dates, times and locations in your planner. 
                                                                      Most electronic planners will allow you to 
              Many adults with                                         indicate that an activity is “recurring” on the 
              ADHD put things                                         same day of the week and time, with a specific 
              in their planners                                       periodic frequency (weekly, biweekly, daily, 
              but rarely look at                                      etc.). 
              what they wrote,                                        Now enter into the planner a time preceding 
              relying instead                                         each of your engagements for preparation and 
              on memory,                                              travel time, both before and after the activities. 
              with disastrous                                         This will ensure that you’re ready and can get 
               consequences.                                          to your activity on time!
              Before you can 
              use the planner                                         Review the scheduled appointments for the 
              as a calendar or                                        day each time you check the planner. During 
              for your “to do” lists, you need to develop the         the day, add any additional appointments as 
              habit of  checking it regularly. Start by  checking     soon as you schedule them.
              the planner a minimum of three times per 
              day—once in the morning to plan and review              If you’re using a paper planner, use different 
              the day’s  upcoming events, once in the middle          color pens for writing different types of things 
              of the day to make any mid-course corrections           on your calendar (e.g., red for appointments, 
              and  refresh your memory about the remaining            blue for work activities, and green for f amily 
              day’s events, and once in the evening, to plan          events). This will permit you to recognize 
              and review the next day’s events.                       different types of events as your eye scans 
              There are several ways to remember to check             the page. For a very busy family, use  different 
              your planner. First, alarm wrist watches or              colors for each family member’s activities. 
              alarm functions in your electronic planner can          Most electronic day planners also have 
              be set to go off at regular intervals when you           color-coding features available.
              wish to check your planner. Second, you can             6.  Use your planner as a “brain dump” to 
              associate checking your planner with activities            capture your ideas.
              that you do around the same time each day               Adults with ADHD experience a constant 
              such as eating meals, getting dressed in the            stream of ideas flooding their minds. They 
              morning or ready for bed at night, or arriving          often become frustrated because they cannot 
              at or leaving the office. Third, leaving reminder       remember these ideas when they need them. 
              notes in strategic locations (on the desk in the        Using the day planner as a “brain dump” avoids 
              office, on the mirror in the bathroom, or on the        this dilemma. With your planner with you at 
              dashboard or door handle of the car) can be             all times, practice writing down or typing in 
              helpful in reminding you to look at the planner.        any ideas you want to capture as they occur to 
              5.  Use the day planner as your calendar                you. Put them either on blank, lined  planner 
                 for everything.                                      pages or in the section of the planner for that 
              You are now ready to use your planner as                day’s “to do” list. If you find that many of your 
              a calendar. On scrap paper, make a list of              important ideas come at times when it is hard 
              all appointments scheduled at any time                  to put them in your day planner, consider 
                                                                      carrying a small, digital voice recorder. Dictate 
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                    your ideas into the recorder and transcribe                                        approaches to completing tasks, such as 
                    them to your planner later that day. Smart-                                        delegating, streamlining, breaking up complex 
                    phones and some hand-held computers and                                           tasks into smaller chunks, or eliminating tasks.
                    pocket PCs have built-in digital recorders.                                       8.  Prioritize your “to-do” list.
                    7.  Construct a daily “to do” list and refer to                                   There are many ways to prioritize a “to do” 
                         it often.                                                                    list. One way is to number all of the items 
                    Only after you experience success using your                                      on the list in order of decreasing priority. 
                    planner as a calendar should you start making                                      Another way is to classify items into one of 
                    a daily “to do” list. Most planners have a place                                  three  categories: “essential,” “important,” and 
                    near the calendar each day for “to do” lists.                                     “do only if I have extra time.” Pick the method 
                    Before you go to bed at night, if your mind                                       that best fits your style and begin prioritizing 
                    is on things you need to do the next day, jot                                     your daily “to do” list. Also keep in mind that 
                    them down. Then during the first review of                                        some tasks will have specific deadlines, such as 
                    your planner in the morning, use those notes                                      paying your bills on time.
                    and any “brain dump” notes to make a list of                                      As you go through the day, perform the items 
                    things that need to get done that day. Try to                                     on the “to do” list in order of highest priority  
                    keep the list relatively short, 5–8 items, so                                     first. Adults with ADHD are often  tempted to 
                    you aren’t overwhelmed and can experience                                         ignore the priorities and may need str                   ategies 
                    success completing all the items. Be realistic                                    to keep themselves on track. Set the alarms on 
                    about what can be accomplished in one day,                                        your wristwatch, phone, electronic  planner, 
                    and  remember to schedule some “me time,”                                         computer task  management  software, or 
                    by  listing a personal activity or time as one                                     beeper to go off at regular  intervals as a 
                    item. List specific actions, rather than vague                                    signal to check whether you are on task 
                    concepts. For example, “buy my wife flowers”                                       following your priorities. Use self-talk to 
                    would be a more specific item than “be nice to                                    help avoid distr        actions. Train yourself to 
                    my wife.”                                                                         repeat  reminders such as “I will avoid getting 
                    Examine the list and assign the items to                                           distracted,” “I will stick with my priorities,” 
                     particular dates and times in the day planner.                                   and “I won’t switch now, I’m almost done.” 
                    Try to complete them as scheduled, refer-                                         Also, if medication is part of your treatment 
                    ring to the list often. Check off any completed                                   plan, make sure you’re taking an effective dose 
                    items (a great feeling!) and review remaining                                     that lasts throughout the day. See Medication 
                     uncompleted  items.                                                               Management for Adults for more information 
                    At the end of the day, examine the list.                                          about determining an effective dose.
                     Congratulate yourself if you completed all                                       9.  Conduct a daily planning session.
                    the items on the list. Do not berate yourself                                     By the time you have completed the first eight 
                    if you did not complete all the items. If there                                   steps, you will be conducting “ad hoc” daily 
                    were only a few unfinished items, move them                                       planning sessions where you construct and 
                    forward to the next day’s list. However, if you                                   prioritize your daily “to do” list. It is best now 
                    have many unfinished items, consider w  hether                                    to formalize this process as “the daily  planning 
                    you have unrealistic expectations for how                                         session.” To avoid becoming  obsessive about 
                    much can be done. Analyze the uncomplet                        ed                 constantly checking your lists, set a  specifically 
                    items and what got in the way of completing                                       scheduled time for constructing and 
                    everything on your list (phone calls, other                                        prioritizing lists as your daily planning session. 
                    interruptions, not enough time, not having                                        The goal of this session is to plan the upcoming 
                    everything you need to get the task done,                                         day’s activities and develop a plan of attack to 
                     unexpected crises). Thinking in these terms                                      carry them out. In addition to listing priorities 
                    will help you become more realistic about                                         and reviewing schedules, the  planning  session 
                    what can be accomplished in a day. Either                                         is the time to consider e  xactly how each task 
                    scale back your expectations or find  other 
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