Saturday is the day I wake up either wondering where I’ve been for the previous five days, or feeling great because I’ve accomplished what I’d hoped to and can cut myself some slack.

Today I realized that it’s probably not a good system to just go by my feelings on Saturday morning (especially if I was out the night before).

I needed a way to find out where I’ve gone astray, and to discern the biggest time-wasters and distractions for the week. I wanted a strategy to steel myself against these saboteurs (or at least to mix ‘em up so I don’t get bored with the same ones all the time).

To accomplish these goals, I’ve created a handy End-of-the-Week ADHD Checklist to measure the week’s progress.

Feel free to use, adapt, or modify it for yourself (this one is created for the home-office environment).

Zoë’s End-of-the-Week ADHD Checklist

Planning and organizing work

Did I have a game plan for the week?

1 ) Yes, every day was mapped out.

2 ) No, I flew by the seat of my pants.

3 ) Yes but I couldn’t find it.

Did I stick to a daily schedule?

1 ) Yes.

2 )  No, I fell behind and did 2/3 of Monday’s work on Tuesday; none of Tuesday’s work on Wednesday; and abandonned my schedule altogether on Thursday and Friday in lieu of going for an overnight trip to my ex-boyfriend’s. By mistake.

3 ) Yes, I followed every day in the right order: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

Did I check my daily planner every day?

1 ) Yes.

2 ) Yes. But there was nothing written on it for the week so I missed 3 appointments, 2 bill payments, and a movie night with my (ex)best friend.

3 ) Yes, but unfortunately I was bookmarked on the wrong week.

Procrastination

Did I put off answering important e-mails?

1 ) No.

2 ) Only the ones I’m going to pretend I didn’t receive.

3 ) Who uses e-mail any more?

Did I do something more fun in lieu of a mission-critical task?

1 ) No. All my work was super-fun this week.

2 ) Yes. But I apologized to my mission-critical tasks afterwards and promised to do better.

3 ) I refuse to answer that based on the fact that it may be incriminating to me and a number of other parties.

Time wasters

Facebook time?

1 ) Kept to a reasonable minimum.

2 ) The bulk of my weekly activity.

3 ) Out-of-control. I’m thinking of unfriending and blocking myself.

Twitter time?

1 ) Only the minimum, work-related activity.

2 ) Overspent time there, but it wasn’t my fault; there was a(n): a ) election debate; b ) an environmental disaster; c ) a virus planting 200 direct messages/hour I had to remove; d ) all of the above.

3 ) Out-of-control. I’m looking for a TA (Twitterers Anonymous) weekly meeting to attend.

Telephone interruption time?

1 ) Who uses the telephone anymore?

2 ) Kept it to a minimum by hanging up on telemarketers.

3 ) Spent way too much time on the phone with friends (see Procrastination)

In-person interruption time?

1 ) No. No one dropped by unannounced this week.

2 ) Moderate. I only let in friends who arrived with the following bribes: apple pie, alcohol, or a housewarming gift.

3 ) No. I made sure I was away from my office as much as possible. Now that I think of it, that might not have been the best strategy…

Money wasters

Did I pay bills that were due on time?

1 ) Yes.

2 ) Some.

3 ) No, I couldn’t. I forgot to send out invoices and/or made some impulsive purchases and/or accidentally took some time off from work to do fun stuff. (in short: I was broke)

Did I send out invoices in a timely manner?

1 ) Yes.

2 ) Some.

3 ) No, but I’m going to add a late penalty because they’re already overdue. That makes accounting sense, right?

*  *  *  *  *

I think I’ve covered the main items that keep me from having a productive week.  I hope you find this checklist helpful in your own attempts to outrun your ADHD symptoms and earn yourself some time off.

Good luck!

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    Last reviewed: 3 Nov 2012