By: Cindy North, Certified ADHD Life Coach

The most awesome app you have is your brain. But what if it feels like it fails you? What if you have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or a neurodifference that hardwires you to do life differently. As a trained and certified ADHD Life Coach, I know how the ADHD brain can create magic and havoc all in one stroke. As a mom of ADHDer’s I watch this unfold regularly. Creativity mixed with inattention. Intense energy mixed with disinterest. The ADHD brain can make daily living tricky. This is where the term “There’s an App for That” could be a huge advantage. Using technology and specifically designed applications to help people manage life better has become common practice. What choices are you making to shore up your vulnerabilities? What happens if you leave yourself vulnerable?

In the technological age, we can employ an app to manage so many aspects of life. Blair states in an article Mobile App Download and Usage Statistics 2021 that there are an estimated 1.96 million apps available for download on The Apple App Store. There are 2.87 million apps available for download on the Google Play Store. Tools, communication, and business apps equate for the highest percentage of downloads from the Google Play Store, where games are most popular from The Apple Store. (Blair, 2021) On average, a person checks their phone at least once every 12 minutes could be a built-in resource for shoring up weaknesses. Are you someone with your phone by your side? Are you using it to help you, or is it a distraction from what you intended to do?

Are you struggling with time management, initiation, task completion, or scheduling? There is likely an App for that. In fact, with the boom in app creation, there are likely many apps for that. In the Coach world, we ask a lot of questions to help clients become clearer. Today, I offer a few questions to get you moving towards solutions for your vulnerabilities.

If your mobile device is a tool you currently use, how can you also use it to help you? How can you pair it with a new habit you are trying to create or maintain? Do you want to be on time? What about setting a recurring alarm? Can’t sleep, try a sleep app. Trying to keep track of a streak or must-do’s- check out a tally tracker. Want to use Pomodoro-style work sessions? Start a search. You are destined to find something to play around with.

Using applications can help, but you must first recognize two things. One, identify your needs. What do you need assistance with? Two, how can using an application become a tool and not a crutch. Strengthening your skills is key to your success. Technology is fantastic until it breaks. How can you rely on an application but still survive if the battery dies or you lose your device? Brainpower is strengthened when it is used. When you practice a calming technique provided by an app, you are strengthening your ability to calm yourself. When you use an app to provide a schedule, you can build awareness around time.

I can recall phone numbers from a long time ago but only a few from recent years. Why? I have not had to dial them. I enter them in contact. If I can remember a name, I am good to go. Using my working memory is not necessarily strengthened in this situation. Simplifying life in not recalling all of the phone numbers frees my thinking power or bandwidth to do other things.  That said, I also have all my important phone numbers backed up just in case. I caution you from putting all your strategies into applications but encourage you to play around with what is available. Likely, you are not the only person struggling. Someone just might have thought of an app for that. Better yet, maybe you have an idea and will create “an App For That.” I encourage you to consider applications as a tool while continuing to expand the use of your brain- your most significant application.

In May, I have focused on the brain. This vital organ requires the simplest yet most ignored basic needs- water, nutritious food, sleep, exercise (physical and intellectually), and social interaction. The brain does not operate at its full potential without attention to these root needs. As creative and intellectual as we are as humans, we cannot alter how our brain functions best. You can help yourself by paying close attention to your self-care and finding tools, strategies, and habits to make living life more manageable.  

Resource:

Blair, I. (2021, January 4). Mobile App Download and Usage Statistics (2021). BuildFire; BuildFire. https://buildfire.com/app-statistics/#:~:text=Key%20Mobile%20App%20Statistics%201%20Mobile%20apps%20are,app%2011%2B%20times%20each%20day.%20More%20items…%20