AuDHD Schedule: 10 Tips for Success (Without the Meltdown!)

Schedules are both my saving grace and my worst nightmare. I need them to be productive and get things done. But, I can also find them stressful. Or, I just don’t want to do the thing, so I don’t. Once I have an established schedule my Autism is as happy as can be. Meanwhile, my ADHD is incredibly bored. I needed an AuDHD schedule.

Table of Contents

• My AuDHD Schedule System
  • Morning Routine
  • Life Tasks/Chores
  • Whatever I Want
  • Night Routine
• Additional AuDHD Schedule Strategies
• Summary

With the help from my therapist, I’ve created an AuDHD schedule system that takes into account both my Autism and my ADHD. I’ve broken my day apart into four sections: morning routine, life tasks/chores, whatever I want, and night routine. 

Next, I created a color coded visual schedule in Canva. You can access it here if you’d like to create your own or use mine. I also made one without the visuals here. Alternatively, you can also use Tiimo to time block your day like I did. You’ll notice I didn’t time block specific tasks. I time blocked categories of tasks.

My AuDHD Schedule System

Morning Routine

First, write out all of your morning tasks that must be completed and number them. This includes things like brushing your teeth and washing your face. Now you either pick what you want to complete first or roll a dice to decide for you. The dice can make it more like a game. Also, it helps you decide when you really don’t want to do any of them.

Before you start the task, break it down into smaller tasks whenever possible. You can use Goblin Tools to help you do this. Breaking your tasks into smaller chunks makes them less daunting and makes it so that you know where to start. You’ll also get more dopamine hits as you’ll have more items to check off. This will help you stay motivated to complete your tasks.

Then, to make your list more friendly and appealing, you can add some ‘want to do’ tasks/activities. Make sure you’re checking off your tasks/activities as you complete them so that you get that dopamine hit. Be mentally present as you check it off. Say something positive to yourself about completing it. This will associate the good feelings with checking off tasks.

This is a picture of my handwritten morning routine:

Life Tasks/Chores

You are now going to create two separate lists of things that need to be completed. The first list will be a list of easier tasks to complete. Then, like the morning routine, you can add in some fun tasks/activities that you want to do. This will make it easier to actually start working on your list. 

If you put fun activities on this list, make sure to list them underneath all of the more time-sensitive/more impactful ones. More impactful are activities that will improve your state of living, like doing the dishes or the laundry. This lets me choose to immediately start working on time-sensitive tasks if my brain feels ready. Or if my brain needs the option of starting with something more fun, I can. But don’t start working on the tasks yet!

Then, I make a list of harder or less fun tasks. Again, I put the time-sensitive or more impactful activities at the top. And I put the less-impactful but would be nice to have done tasks on the bottom.

Now it’s time to choose an item (or roll the dice) off the easier side. Next, break it down into smaller tasks. You can use Goblin Tools to help you. Now get to it and start the task. As you complete each of the smaller tasks, check it off the list and get that dopamine hit. Be mentally present as you check it off.

Once the easier or more fun task is completed, you have some momentum going. It should be easier to start one of the tasks on the more challenging side. Follow the same steps you did earlier for the easier/more fun task. (Break it down, get started, and check it off as you go!)

Here’s my handwritten list as an example:

Whatever I Want

Sometimes I don’t know what I want to do. I have a lot of things I’ve enjoyed in the past but none of them sound that great or I just can’t think of them at the moment. So, I made a list of everything I’ve enjoyed doing. During ‘Whatever I Want’ time, I either mentally pick something I want to do, or I roll the dice to decide. 

The whole point is to have fun! There are no rules during this time. But I’m trying to end mindless scrolling on my phone.

Night Routine

This is the same as the morning routine. First, number your tasks. Then, either complete them or roll the dice. Include some fun tasks to make it easier to begin the routine.

Here’s my handwritten night routine as an example:

Additional AuDHD Schedule Strategies

• Reward yourself for completing items.
  • Work on your task for 10 minutes.
  • Do something fun for 10 minutes.
• Visualize the task complete and let yourself feel accomplished/happy/relieved. Do this before starting the task.
• Color code your lists.
  • I use blue paper for morning and night routine, and yellow paper for life tasks/chores.
• Use Tiimo or Canva to create a visual/color coded schedule.
  • My visual schedule I created on Canva can be found here.
  • Or a non-visual but color coded one can be found here.

Summary

These were the 10 tips/strategies I suggested:

1. Time block for task categories, not individual tasks.
2. Add in some fun activities to help you get started and build momentum.
3. Start w/ easier tasks and then do harder tasks after you’ve built momentum.
4. Break down tasks into smaller more manageable chunks.
5. Check off the task as you complete it. Be mentally present as you check it off.
6. Roll a dice if you don’t want to or can’t choose.
7. Reward yourself.
8. Visualize the end result.
9. Color code your lists.
10.  Use a visual schedule.

Try anything that I’ve mentioned if it piques your interest. Don’t try anything that sounds awful. I hope at least one of these tips or strategies helps you accomplish more of your tasks. Please leave a comment telling me which of these you’re going to try or which one sounds like a nightmare. You can also check out my last blog post here. It’s about my life goals as someone who has AuDHD. It’s what categories the blog posts will be about.