TL;DR

  • breaks
  • hazeover app
  • cmd+opt+h
  • full-screen mode
  • Dock hidden
  • notes for everything. past, presdent, and future
  • vanilla app
  • mailboxes and rules for e-mails
  • e-mail client closed
  • notifications paused

for

  • avoiding concentration fatigue
  • declutering the visual space
  • externalizing and systemizing information management

Full Version

Last year, I was diagnosed with ADHD-PI at the age of 30. I’ve always known that I had struggle focusing on a single task, but being aware of this condition pushed me to find solutions to limit distractions while on my personal or work computer. Here I put together a list of techniques and tools that are helping me, or have helped me in the past.

I loosely apply the Pomodoro Technique with the help of Howler Timer.

When working for a long span of time without taking any breaks, our ability to focus and take good decisions, as well as to do other executive functions, diminishes.

Taking breaks lets us recharge our capacity to execute those tasks.

It is even more so important when, once a timer is done, we notice that we were just being distracted.

I use HazeOver to focus on one window at a time.

This is especially important when I’m using a large external monitor.

I use cmd+opt+H to hide all applications, but the active one.

I rarelly do it I find it usefull when I realize that I am lost and I try to gather my thoughts together.

I use the full-screen mode more often.

The keyboard shortcut is not coherant throught applications so I’ll usually use the green dot of the top-left corner of the window to do it.

I hide the Dock by default.

Then I’m switching between applications less often because I have less tentation to do so. It will also hide notifications.

I agressively use the Notes app.

I write down every task on which I am working, and under it I list its subtasks, my ideas, every question and hypothesis, some links to read, et caetera. It’s in a form of a tree and each item can have sub-items. I try to make everything granular as possible, as long as it makes sense to cut it in two.

My goal here is multiple. I want to have a place to write down every thought and ideas, similarly as Headspace’s noting technique. I want to have a place that stores the state of everything that I’m doing without having to remember it or to remember how to find it. And I want to create smaller units of work that look fast and easy to accomplish. The latter solves another issue to which people with ADHD-PI are particulary susceptible, which is to struggle to start tasks requiring a sustained mental effort.

I even use Notes when I play Factorio.

I decluter the menu bar with Vanilla.

I’ve created a ton of mailboxes and rules in my e-mail client.

They sort most of my e-mails as they arrive. Those who potentially require rapid attention will land in the main mailbox.

I close my e-mail.

I think it’s agreed that e-mail is an asynchonous method of communication so there isn’t any need to be notified each time we receive a missive. Then, I keep my e-mail client closed and open it only when I am ready to read and answer e-mails.

I pause notifications in Slack.

Even if it’s hidden in the Dock, I may see how many notifications I have in Slack when I switch windows. This is a source of distraction that I sometimes want to avoid.

You could also do it at the OS level by clicking on the icon at the far-right of the menu bar and scrolling down and chose to active the DND mode.

I (used to) hide images in my e-mail client.

Bright pictures diverge attention so hiding images helped. I’ve since reconfigured my e-mail client but didn’t feel the need to re-activate this option.

Conclusion

All those techiques and tools revolves along some common topics: avoiding concentration fatigue, declutering the visual space, and externalizing and systemizing information management. It does not only prevent distraction but helps overall by executive function tasks. I think that it actually goes so far that I don’t feel as tired as I used to in the evenings. Hopefully, they can be helpful to you.