The ADHD to do list template featured in this article is an effective tool proven to increase productivity.
To-do lists, digital checklists, or any other daily planner show scientific evidence of multiple physiological benefits.
Motivation, stress levels, sleep quality, and mental health are some (of the many more) constituents that improve via a to do list.
How Does An ADHD To Do List Template Promote Success?
The ADHD to do list template promotes success in more ways than one.
By and large, the template enables success in four over-arching ways.
These four principles may also apply to other forms of to-do lists and planners.
Although, while developing the featured ADHD to do list template, the focus was creating a product based on these four concepts.
Establishes Direction
To begin, the ADHD to do list template puts in place a sense of direction for your day, week, and month.
By predetermining everything you want to accomplish, you can begin getting after it the moment you wake up.
Getting out of bed can be one of the most challenging parts of the day.
Having a clear and articulate plan, made the night before, gives you something to do the moment your alarm sounds. This simple idea can have an incredible benefit to jump-start the day.
The ADHD to do list template also helps significantly mitigate time waste. It can be challenging to remember how you should spend your time throughout the day. Especially if you are having a bad day, are tired from work, or have another for not feeling your best.
A predetermined plan significantly increases the likelihood that you will accomplish your goals when tired or worn out.
Most people have goals of some kind. That being an intricate 5-year plan or reaching a new benchmark at the gym.
No matter the scale, goal setting has a significant benefit on success.
Significance of Goal Setting
1. Goals give purpose to each day.
Motivation is the central motif of this article. Having goals helps ignite the fire that drives you throughout the day. It instills the feeling of working towards something bigger and positively affects motivation.
2. Goals allow you to learn.
S.M.A.R.T. goals is a commonly referred to term. It represents an acronym. S stands for specific, M stands for measurable, A stands for attainable, R stands for relevant, and T stands for time-bound.
Setting and perusing S.M.A.R.T goals allows you to track your progress with tangible results.
The actions that you take and the choices that you make daily will yield results. Whether they are desirable or not, some result occurs due to the actions you take every day.
If you are not reaching your goals in the time frame you have set, it is an indication to modify your choices.
3. Goals generate a sense of fulfillment.
The feeling of putting maximum effort towards a goal and achieving it instills one of the best feelings: fulfillment.
To truly feel fulfilled, goals are necessary. They create a clear and descriptive image of how and what you want.
As a result, channeling your effort comes naturally. Seeing your efforts turn into results is a truly spectacular feeling.
4. Goals hold yourself accountable.
Self-accountability is a skill that is challenging to improve. That said, it is crucial to success.
Only you can get yourself to give 100% effort. Setting goals is a tangible and evident way of keeping yourself honest.
The ADHD to do list template incorporates daily, weekly, and monthly goals and tracks your progress. A grade for each is given, which increases as you accomplish your goals. This feature tracks your progress, helps analyze your actions, and keeps you honest.
Reinforces Priorities
In creating an effective to do list, you will intentionally write down the tasks you wish to accomplish the next day. These tasks will innately reflect your priorities.
An effective daily plan will establish that some tasks are more important than others.
An easy way to accomplish this would be by only including the most important tasks on your list. Alternatively, you could separate and highlight their priorities in creative ways.
The ADHD to do list template includes a very effective way of doing just that.
Tasks are broken up into five separate categories: functional (2), tier 1 (5), tier 2 (3), tier 3 (2), and tier 4 (1).
The number of parentheses represents the factor each task is weighted as. Tier 1 tasks are valued five times as much in the cumulative daily grade than tier 4 tasks are.
Thus, recognizing that brushing your teeth is of a different value than finishing a midterm.
Generates Momentum & Self Respect
Planners and to do lists are tools that promote self-accountability.
Failing to adhere to your to do list is disrespectful to yourself. You are choosing not to take the actions you planned the day before.
By doing so, you are saying to yourself that you do not value your word.
On the contrary, following the plan you created and accomplishing what your set out to do achieves the opposite effect. It helps build self-respect and reinforces that you can do what you set out to do.
Continuously completing the tasks on your to do list acts like a snowball rolling down a hill. Being productive and accomplishing critical tasks becomes easier and easier.
I find this concept of momentum is especially relevant for individuals with ADHD.
Develops An Intrinsic Reward System
Lastly, the ADHD to do list template activates a neurological reward system in your brain.
When a task gets checked off, dopamine is released. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter responsible for generating the feeling of pleasure within humans.
It is one of the most influential factors behind motivation.
Engaging in a task or behavior that releases dopamine is far more likely to be repeated than one that does not. Because of this, dopamine is a primary factor in decision-making.
Activities That Release Lots of Dopamine
- Video Games
- Sex
- Good Tasting Food
- Sports
- Spending Time w/ Family & Friends
- Exercise
- Drugs
Crossing or checking a task off a to do list also releases dopamine. Even though it is not as much as playing Fortnite or watching your team play in the Super Bowl, a to do list releases enough dopamine to be effective.
After completing a task, the dopamine released from checking or crossing it off a list tells your brain to associate that action with pleasure.
This neurological ‘hack’ can help you significantly boost your productivity.
Would An ADHD To Do List Template Be Useful If I Do Not Have ADHD?
Absolutely.
Despite being designed having people with ADHD in mind, this tool and to do lists, in general, can be used to drastically increase productivity for all kinds of people.
ADHD To Do List Template
ADHD To Do List Features
The ADHD to do list planner includes sections that help achieve daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly success.
Daily Tasks
The daily tasks are broken up into sections: tier 1, tier 2, tier 3, tier 4, and functional.
Tier 1 tasks are the few items that are the primary focus of your day. They are the most heavily weighted check boxes signifying their importance.
Default weight value: 5.
Tier 2 tasks are less important than tier 1, yet still important.
Default weight value: 3.
Tier 3 tasks…
Default weight value: 2.
And tier 4 tasks are the least important things you plan on doing the next day.
Default weight value: 1.
Functional daily tasks are not intrinsically impactful but are still essential for basic daily functions (e.g., brushing teeth, showering, etc.).
Default weight value: 2.
Each box checked following a completed task increases the cumulative daily grade.
A total daily task grade gets averaged from each day.
Weekly Tasks
Weekly tasks are split into four weeks, with two categories for each week. Category one includes tasks to be completed every week (e.g., laundry).
Category two includes goals you have that pertain to the given week specifically.
Specific weekly goals are weighted more heavily than every-week tasks.
The grade from each week is averaged into a weekly task grade for the month.
Monthly Tasks
Monthly tasks are very similar to weekly tasks.
They are broken into the same two categories: to do every month and specific monthly goals.
Specific monthly goals are weighted much more than every-month tasks.
Cumulative Grade
The cumulative grade is a total rating calculated throughout the course of each month. It considers daily, weekly, and monthly goals alike.
Other Features
1. Mood Rating
The mood rating keeps a tab on your day-to-day mental state.
2. Yearly Grade
The yearly grade averages the grades from each month and assesses your year.
3. Fully customizable
Virtually every aspect of the ADHD to do list template is customizable. Among them are the colors, the labels, the weighting, and of course the tasks and goals.
ADHD To Do List Template Alternatives
If this template does not interest you, but you still want to reap the benefits of using a to do list, consider something simpler.
Something as simple as a notebook or piece of paper does the trick.
Another alternative would be a printable to do list, such as the one listed below.
If you are interested, simply print the image below and use it as your every day to do list.
What Are The Pros & Cons of Digital Planners VS Pen & Paper To Do Lists
Preference.
Both essentially serve the same functions.
Depending on who you are and what you like will dictate your decision.
Someone who is more technologically inclined may opt for a digital planner template while someone who likes keeping things simple would opt for a notebook.
One is not superior to the other.
That being said, customization, automation, and other technological features favor digital planners.
References
Harvard Business Review – https://hbr.org/2016/03/your-desire-to-get-things-done-can-undermine-your-effectiveness
GoodRX Health – https://www.goodrx.com/classes/dopamine-agonist/what-does-dopamine-do
National Library of Medicine – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3032992/
University of Massachusetts Global – https://www.umassglobal.edu/news-and-events/blog/how-to-measure-organizational-performance
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