Talk:Adapting Habitica for ADHD

For the original post and conversation, see Selena' ariel's blog here.

Getting Started
how many dailies are ideal? (nope. the answer ain't fifty.)

how can the "tasks" column be optimized towards getting more things done, preferably on time, without becoming overwhelming and messy? (nope. not by making lots of tasks and leaving them sitting there for months 'til they start to smell bad. Been there, done that, didn't work.)

Make a plan for the day, then review it at the end of the day. Note what did and didn’t work, and what you want to tweak the next day.

Gathered Wisdom

 * (Y'know, the inital excitement - "a GAME? Oh, MAN! I'm going to have FIFTY dailies and I'll do them EVERY DAY! TWICE!" and then like ten seconds later "uh oh. five minutes to midnight. better use stealth ......again..." We can warn new users NOT TO DO THAT, which would have helped me lots early on.)
 * Another thing that helps me is to be very specific - beyond the point of arbitrariness - in defining dailies and habits (I should probably do it for tasks too, but I don't). So I don't just "go for a morning walk," I walk around the block once, clockwise, immediately after getting dressed. In the evening I walk counterclockwise. I brush my teeth in the same direction as I walked.
 * I'm not totally sure this is an ADD thing, but for me it really reduces friction because there's less thinking and decision-making (I'm only thinking about DOING IT, not how to do it)
 * Dailies for managing ADHD (things that actually make focus easier)
 * 1) Take meds (if that's a thing you do)/Take supplements like fish oil [LINK TO REF ON THIS]
 * 2) *MISSYVECC butting in here - I'm not 100% we can or should recommend a specific type of supplement or plan, but I think we can say something like "Take Meds and/or Supplements" Missyvecc (talk) 21:48, January 23, 2015 (UTC)
 * 3) Exercise and physical activity. Try an extremely doable amount like walking around the block, dancing to a song, or running up and down the stairs
 * 4) Meditate (try a guided meditation like Take 10 Headspace)
 * 5) Get to bed on time
 * 6) Set a mindfulness bell
 * I've been working on habitualizing a morning routine and an evening routine. The idea is to do the same things in the same order, so that I don't have to decide those things every day, which is a major source of brain-churn and forgetfulness. Having a routine also allows me to pre-set supports and incentives for the routine, like the headphone-earmuffs that hang by the door for my walk around the block.
 * The walk is the centerpiece of both the morning and evening routines, which is very important because I have a foot-powered brain. So my first ADHD tip is to build physical activities into your Dailies so as to summon your full powers
 * So I've now set myself a challenge to do each routine in under an hour, which is how long it takes at a slow-but-focused pace, or alternatively allows for a distraction followed by an invigorating mad dash. It also makes me watch the clock, which is just helpful in general.