The Secret to getting everything done (even with ADHD)

Do you ever feel like there are way too many things to do and no matter how hard you try, you never finish your to-do list? Because, SAME.

So how do you actually get everything done?

The truth is... you can’t.

But you can do this:
You can set boundaries so you spend more time doing the things you love and less time doing the things you don’t.

Before I realized I had ADHD, I never wrote down the things I needed or wanted to do. Everything lived in my head and guess what? I forgot things all the time. When I started setting boundaries and getting intentional, everything changed.

My 5 Life Pillars

The best way I’ve found to set boundaries is by identifying your five life pillars. As long as the things in these areas are being taken care of, you’re doing just fine. Here are mine:

1. God/Church

2. Work

3. School

4. Internship (INT)

5. YouTube

As long as these five pillars are in the right place, my life feels balanced. And if I start to get overwhelmed, I give myself permission to drop things off the list. That’s actually why I haven’t been posting much on YouTube lately, I needed to breathe.

Finding Your Pillars

I challenge you to grab a sheet of paper and write down the things that matter most to you. These are the ones that, if neglected, make everything else fall apart.

For me, pillar one is God/Church. That means I do my devotion every morning. If I don’t, I start my day off grumpy and distracted. Spending time with God grounds me, so I try to make it non-negotiable.

Rethinking Your To-Do List

Once you’ve found your pillars, it’s time to rethink your to-do list. I learned this next strategy from a video (I’ll link it below), and it has changed my ADHD life.

The video described four categories, but I mainly use two: IUs and INUs.

• IU (Important & Urgent): Tasks with immediate consequences if you don’t do them. These usually align with your top three pillars.
  Examples: doctor’s appointments, submitting assignments, getting an oil change, grocery shopping.

• INU (Important, Not Urgent): Things you should do, but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t.
  Examples: doing laundry, washing your car, shopping.

Then there’s a third, smaller list I call To-Dos. These are tasks that don’t fit neatly into either category but still matter.
Example: buying a friend a birthday gift.

To stay organized, I suggest using the Notes app on your phone or a planner with three separate blocks for each category. And for your “To-Do” list—try to keep it short! I limit mine to three items.

What Setting Boundaries Looks Like

1. Stopping work or activities when you’re tired.
   This one’s a work in progress for me. Since starting school again, I’ve noticed that I tend to push through even when I’m mentally drained. Now, I break my assignments into chunks over two or three days so I have room to rest.

2. Dropping things when life gets overwhelming.
   I’ll admit, I’ve felt guilty for being inconsistent on YouTube. But honestly, if I had prioritized filming, I probably would’ve fallen behind in school. Remember, you can’t do everything.

3. Redefining rest.
   I used to think rest meant sitting still and doing nothing. Lately, rest has looked like spending time with people I love. When I started seeing rest as connection, my life became so much more vibrant. Whatever rest looks like for you please schedule it, honor it, and protect it.

4. Leaving events early.
   It’s totally okay to leave before something ends. I used to stay long after I was ready to go and ended up feeling miserable. Now, I have a rule: I’ll stay at least two hours, and if I’m not having fun, I give myself permission to leave. These days, with so much on my plate, it’s easy to find a reason to head home, especially from parties. (Let’s be real: nothing good happens after midnight!)

That being said, I’ve taken a short break from YouTube but I’m ready to come back stronger than ever! And in the meantime, one of our videos went viral. 🙌🏽 God is so good.

So, how can you start working on this in your own life?
Start small. Write your pillars. Sort your priorities. And give yourself grace.

You’ve got this. 💛

The video(s) I referenced: https://youtu.be/5xbD9t8cM4M?si=j11k9FLMrSDgD-1m

https://youtu.be/jxiCV0vwVT8?si=qsoadYY-lhRwxvfL

*I just realized that she called it an IBNU but IBNUs and INUs are the same thing, I just removed the B to make it shorter (haha)

— G Denise

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