Living With ADHD, ASD, Depression, and My Planner

And now we come to the real meat and potatoes of this project: Why do I keep a planner, and why do I often advocate to friends and family and now the internet at large to do the same?

First off, I need to be clear. I am not an expert in the proper sense of the word. I hold no academic credentials in psychiatry or any related fields, I do not work for either Silk&Sonder (although I am proud to offer an affiliate link) or Passion Planner, and I do not speak on behalf of these brands. I am simply someone who uses these products and has found them to be helpful as I’ve had to become my own expert on myself and my diagnoses. If sharing my experience can help just one person reading this, I’ll have done good work here.

A quick history: After struggling for many years, in early 2020 I was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety, and began treatment, which ran its ups and downs. My turning point came with my simultaneous ADHD and ASD diagnoses, and beginning to understand that it isn’t that I am incapable of functioning in the world, but rather that my mind works differently and I would require a different toolset to function than I had initially been given. If I could address the latter, it would go a long way to resolving the former. (I’d actually heard this in an episode of Ologies with Alie Ward and Dr. Russell Barkley, but it took a while to properly settle in my neuronspicy brain.)

Enter my new toolset. Previously, I had been using my planners in a very strict and rigid way, giving myself time constraints as if my chores, workouts, and other routines were appointments I needed to be at. I still use this in my day job, where it is important that I remain actively aware of my shifts, meetings and break schedule. Passion Planner Daily has been the best for this, with half-hour increments, a set of task lists, and the facing page perfect for note taking, because I’m the sort that if I don’t physically write something down it is simply gone from my brain.

At home, however, I reset my planner routine by switching to Silk&Sonder, which focuses on habit building over scheduling. My first journal came in January, and I’ve discovered a little more of their features and how to best customize them for my needs each month. Like all habits, building in a daily time to sit with my planner took some time. But this is the second month in which I've completed all of my daily logs, and the fifth in which I’ve seen marked improvements in my mood, resiliency, and overall mental wellbeing.

One final thought before I sign off this post. I’m speaking to you now as someone who has successfully pulled themselves, if not fully out of the hole then at least up onto a substantial ledge, from which it is very easy to address you and espouse the wonders of simple practices like writing down what you are grateful for or tracking your moods. I’ve also been in the deep of the pit where just getting out of bed is a struggle, never mind keeping up with seven different habits. I’ve been privileged enough, too, to be able to a go through therapy during those times, which ultimately has helped me understand how these exercises support me in leading a productive and fulfilling life. A journal on it’s own is no substitute for professional support. But if you, for whatever reason, are not able to get that support — if, like me, you need to become your own expert — that’s the intersection that I aim for this blog and my regular instagram posts to fall.

I hope you’ll enjoy following me on this journey.

Happy planning!