You know that moment when your to-do list turns into a graveyard of good intentions? I've been there, too. And the reality is that most productivity planners are not built with the ADHD brain in mind, which is why they have a tendency to not last very long for us. So, in today's video, I'm going to break down exactly what makes a productivity system ADHD friendly. And if you're struggling to find a tool that works specifically for your brain, then I have a recommendation that I think you're going to love. But before we get into it, if you're new here, my name is Cara McIll. I'm an ADHD coach and former collector of abandoned productivity apps. And I am here for the busy, ambitious brains who want to be productive and actually get things done, but they can't find the right tool for their brain until today. So, let's get into it. Now, I will caveat that by saying that every ADHD brain is different. So, everybody's solution is going to be different. But these qualities I think are universal for all of us to look for and make sure that whatever system we're dedicating ourselves to has these things in mind so that we can actually be successful with it. So here's the five things that I think all ADHDers should look for in their productivity system dour. Number one, find something that is calming to your nervous system. What you don't want is a system that is overwhelming. Maybe it has too many bells and whistles or the interface is just far too cluttered for your brain. But what you want to look for is a design that's visually appealing and actually makes your brain feel happy when you open your device. The next thing you want to look for is a system that actually reduces decision fatigue. So that means you want to avoid creating or using systems that have tons of different databases or embedded pages where you've got to click a million places to find what you're looking for. But at the same time, you want a system that's flexible enough that you can put the most important information for you front and center so that you don't lose it or forget about it. So while you don't want complexity, you do want something that's flexible enough that you can totally make it your own. The next thing you want to look for is a tool that is immediately intuitive to your brain because let's be honest, there's going to be times when you drop the ball on your consistency when it comes to planning. So you might be away from your planner system for a week or a month and the last thing you want to do is come back to it and feel like you need to relearn the software all over again. Notion I am looking at you. It has to be intuitive to your brain from the get- go. The next thing I think is so important for any ADHD friendly productivity app is that it is designed for your nonlinear thinking process. So this is why I don't like paper planners. They might be cute and pretty, but the boxes are predetermined and the spaces are predetermined. And that might not be how your brain thinks. It certainly isn't how mine thinks. So, I want to be able to have as much space as I need to create context around notes that I'm taking or projects that I'm planning. It has to be designed for the way my brain wants to think or it's a non-starter from the get- go. And last but not least, and this one is so important, whatever app you choose, if it's going to be ADHD friendly for your brain, it has to feel good when you open it up to use it. You think about it, ADHDers have lower levels of dopamine to begin with. So, anything that gives our dopamine a sustainable boost is a really good thing. And when it comes to your productivity planner system, it should absolutely be dopamine enhancing because the more dopamine you get when you interact with that tool, the more likely you are to come back for more dopamine next time, which means that you are more likely to follow through on your tasks because you're actually checking this productivity system on a regular basis and that's going to give you even more dopamine. So do not sleep on the dopamine effect of the tool you decide to use. So, those are the five things I think any ADHDer should be looking for in terms of it being ADHD friendly for their specific brain. Now, you may already have a planning system that checks all those boxes. And if you do, fabulous. Stick with it. But if you are looking for a tool that meets all of those criteria and then some, then I want to introduce you to the sponsor of today's video, XTiles. And let me tell you something, this system is so ADHD friendly that I think once you pick it up, you are never going to want to leave it. So, on that note, let me show you inside the tool. Now, I've done several videos walking you through the power of XTiles, but what I want to show you today is the new personal planner. If you open it up, it becomes a structure from what you can build upon. So, remember I was saying you want a system that not only feels calm for your nervous system, but intuitively you know exactly how to use it. What I love about this is that when you open it up, it immediately makes sense and it feels calm. In terms of it being intuitive, I can see that this is a weekly spread and it offers me a place to create notes and where I'm focused on. I can see where my calendar, my tasks, and my projects are. So, I don't need to relearn this software if I fall away for a few weeks and come back to it. It also helps me focus on the right things because as soon as I open it up, there is the week that I am in and everything I need to get done this week is right in front of me in one solid view. If you know me at all, you know I like a good weekly spread rather than seeing just tasks for the day. I love this. Now, let me show you how this helps with nonlinear thinking. As an ADHDer, I have all the ideas all the time, right? That's what I mean by nonlinear thinking. So, when you sit down to plan, it can be really overwhelming because you have projects and tasks and you have some tasks that are related to some projects and then some tasks that are just things that need to get done in the day. I absolutely love that this system allows me to think through, plan, and organize all of my tasks either based on the day, the week, the month, or by the project. So, if you have a busy brain like mine, which is all over the place all the time, this is super helpful. Let me show you what I mean. Let's assume that I'm sitting down on a Sunday afternoon to do my weekly planning for the week ahead. My brain is thinking about all of the to-dos that have to get done. I may not be thinking about specific projects. So, first I'm going to pile my weekly non-negotiables into my weekly plan. Now that I have outlined all of the things that were in my brain and I knew needed to get done this week, now I can look at my calendar and see those tasks along with all of the appointments that I have this week. So, anywhere where there's a little circle, that's a task versus something like this, which is an actual appointment. Let's come back to this week. And now I want to think about the projects that I'm working on right now and all of the tasks that I need to do within those projects. So my brain is switching from this is everything I need to do in life to this is what I need to get done for a specific project. So I'm starting a new project and I'm going to use the XTLS video that I'm creating right now as the project itself. Okay. Now that I've got that set up, it opens up to a completely blank page and this is where you get to create whatever you want. And of course, you can use templates if you want, but I want to create this one from scratch so you can see just how flexible it is. I think I'll start with outlining the deliverable dates for this project. So, I want to choose a task and then for each of these tasks, I want to allocate a date for them so that they'll show up on my calendar as well. Now that I've got that done, I want to start building out some of the reference materials that I've already collected for this. So, one thing I've already done is drafted the script. And I could have done it in XTiles actually, but I did it in a Google doc. So, I want to have that here so that I can reference it whatever I want to. I can make this bigger. I can make this smaller. I can make it just something that I can click on whenever I need it. And now I want to think about the title and thumbnail for this project. All right, that's my title. Now, let's put an image in here. That's the thumbnail I'm thinking about. And then when I actually complete the project, I can even put the finished YouTube video in there. This is clearly not it, but you see what I mean. So, I love that I can build out a project in a nonlinear way. I can make what's important to me big. I can make what's not important to me small or hide it completely. And I can change any of these elements whenever I want. Now, once I've completed all this, and for example, I've got my tasks for the specific project outlined by date. when I come back to the weekly spread, those tasks are now in here and I'm actually getting a very realistic view of what I'm committing to this week. So rather than me building out more and more projects, I have to look at this and say, "Wow, you know, I have a lot of things I've already committed to and now I have this project that I need to work on, I can see that my capacity is almost at its limit." And that way I'm not going to fall into this trap of overcommitting or taking on too much. And not only do I see it visually on my weekly spread, I can also see it in my calendar along with any other appointments I've committed to, I can see my full task list here, so I know exactly what needs to be done at any time. And I can organize them in a way that makes sense for me. And I can also see this project that I'm currently working on along with any other project that I want to build out. So personally, I love that XTiles gives my brain the structure it needs to understand my capacity in any given week. And yet it also gives me the flexibility to build things out as I need to see them. Speaking of seeing things, the other thing I mentioned in my list of things or qualities that make a planner or tool ADHD friendly is that it gives you dopamine. It's a pleasure to open. It's a pleasure to use. The way this is set up right now is very user friendly, but it doesn't look the way I want it to. So, the final thing I'm going to do is go through this whole system and it up so that it makes me happy every time I open it. Okay, I've gone through and made this look just a little bit more like me. And anytime I see a pug face, like it just warms my heart. Look at that face. I mean, can't you even? And I've added a few more notes here to just personalize it. So, this makes me want to come back to this system and use it again and check things off as I go through my day. And then of course that one template is just one of so many that they offer. So the use cases are endless from tracking your homework to your macros to your meal plans, anything you want to do or any of these templates that you want to adopt. This one's really cute. I think I might just grab this one as well. And then it immediately gets dropped into your workspace. So I love how easy it is to adopt any of these different layouts, templates, and just make it your own. So, that is why I think XTiles is probably the most ADHD friendly system on the market, bar none. It's simple, it's flexible, it's beautiful, and it's fun to use. And it gives me a little squirt of dopamine every time I open it, whether it's on my computer or on my phone. And if you're curious about it, I will leave a link to it below. But overall, find a system that works for your brain, that you enjoy using, that feels intuitive, that's flexible enough that you can shape it to the way your brain thinks, but also gives you some structure so that if you put a task in one place, it will show up somewhere else and you won't forget about it. Because that happens to us a lot. Thanks for watching, guys, and I'll see you in the next video. Bye for now.