Enough is enough… enter a glasses holder in the shape of an adjustable necklace that I just created from paracord.

I took a small key ring (18mm dia) I happened to have on hand, and some 1.5mm mini paracord I also happened to have on hand². I measured out the needed length of paracord by hanging it around my neck so that both ends met just below my chest. Then I put two figure 8 knots into the ends and around itself, so that I got an adjustable closure.

Finally, I put the key ring on in the middle of the necklace using a basic cow hitch.

Aaaand done!

Holds my regular glasses or my sunglasses just fine, can be adjusted in length to easily get over my head but also not wiggle around too much. Somewhat fashionable too, but most importantly functional. I might make another one out of leather, but for now my problem is solved.

For a couple of years now I’ve had the sneaking suspicion that I’m neurodivergent. And while I still don’t have a diagnosis, there are several things I use to cope with my brain constantly going BRRRRRR, thinking (and worrying) about everything while forgetting important things, and I thought some of those might also be helpful to others.

Thus, here are five of my favourite lifehacks that I’ve been using to cope with the weirdness that is my brain. Some of them I’ve used for years before I ever suspected something, some of them I only discovered after reading up on neurodiversity. Maybe you find something interesting for yourself!

Waterproof post-its in the shower

My daily morning shower is a time I really do enjoy. It’s also a time where I seem to get quite creative from time to time, getting great ideas on how to solve existing problems in my life, or just remembering stuff I need to take care of. Of course, after getting out of the shower, once I’ve toweled off, most of that stuff is forgotten again.

A solution that has worked amazingly well for me here are waterproof post-its and a pencil that I just have stored high up in my shower! So when I get an idea or remember something important, I now just note it down on a post-it and immediately glue that post-it to the shower door. That last step is very important, because that way I have it basically right in my face while toweling myself off, and don’t forget to take it with me when I’m done with my morning routine to take care of it or note it down somewhere else (either my Obsidian knowledge base for ideas, or Todoist for TODOs).

That approach has been working well for me now for quite some years! Before I came across the waterproof post-its though, I tried the same approach with a diver writing panel. But with that I had the problem that I then either forgot that I had written something on it (as it hung inside the shower, not immediately visible while toweling off), or I forgot to clear it again (as I didn’t have an eraser right on hand) and so found it already full with notes when I needed to write something new on it. The post-it approach solves both points, as the notes are way more mobile that way, and taking one off the stack immediately gives me a fresh one.

Something that doesn’t get a post-it though is when my shower gel runs out - in that case I just throw the empty bottle out of the shower right away so I will stumble over it when I get out and remember to put it on the grocery list 😆

Visual timers

I have a problem with timers (e.g. for the laundry) going off when I’m right in the middle of something at work, not immediately able to react to it, and then promptly forgetting about it. And I have a problem with noticing time run by in general when I’m in the flow.

For the longest time this was causing me a ton of stress and cases of “Oh no, not again”, but these days I have that pretty well under control after putting a visual timer on my work desk and one in the living room. And that’s a trick I only discovered after reading up on neurodiversity and learning about time blindness.

Laundry timer just went off but I’m deep in some code, hunting a bug? My hand now automatically just reaches to the visual timer and sets up something like 30min on it. I only want to work on this work item for an hour (time box, follow-up appointment, it’s already 5pm and I really should call it a day soon, …)? Hand out, timer on 60min. I have to wait 10min to check my COVID test? Hand out, timer on 10min.

All of that would of course also work with a timer on my phone, but this works better for me: There’s a physical timer right in front of me, with a physical wheel I can turn to set a time, and I don’t have to parse the numbers on the front either, the amount of time is clearly visible by how much red I see.

Where my phone does come in though is when I know I have an appointment sometime in the day. This causes me a ton of stress for the whole day until the appointment because I know there’s something coming up that I must not miss, and then I’m scared of forgetting all about time again and missing it, causing me to not be able to concentrate on anything else very well. What has helped me here is putting one to several alarms on my phone before the actual appointment, giving me an early warning that the time is coming close, and allowing me to relax until that happens.

Physical callbacks

Another problem I often encounter is having to remember to do something at some point in the near future. My forgetfulness is becoming a bit of a pattern here I guess 😅

Some examples:

• I have a bunch of envelopes I need to bring to the next mailbox the next time I’m out. (Hello OctoPrint Patreons at $10+ 👋)
• We just had a BBQ on the balcony and now the grill has to cool down before I can close and cover it again.
• There are dinner left-overs that need to go into the fridge or freezer, but currently they are still too warm for that.
• I need to remember to do something come monday when I’m back at my desk, which I can only do at my desk, e.g. ordering a new prescription.

For things like that I usually use a quick physical callback.

Something I still have to do before going to sleep, e.g. take care of the grill or the left-overs? I put something in the hallway that doesn’t belong there. Usually that’s my rolled up yoga mat, as that’s a quick and easy thing to do given its usual place. I have to remember to take care of something while out? I put it on top of my shoes or throw it into a bag I hang from the apartment door’s handle. Something I need to take care off at my desk? A note stuck into my keyboard or the empty prescription thrown on my desk work wonders.

Large water bottle at my desk

I tend to not drink enough when I don’t have water immediately in reach. So now I always keep a large refillable water bottle on my desk that I can drink from directly and that can stay open without a big risk of spilling. Currently that’s a 1l or 1.5l Nalgene wide mouth with an OTF cap.

Bottle + glass never worked well for me - constantly having to refill the glass is something that annoys me greatly, plus I tend to forget it (of course…). Smaller bottle also doesn’t work, constantly empty. And a larger bottle than 1.5l poses the issue that I have to take it to the kitchen to refill from the tap, vs just being able to take care of that during the regular bathroom break (which is WAY faster).

The goal here is to make it as easy as possible for me to - often absentmindedly - drink water, and that’s achieved with that approach, allowing me to reach my daily 2-3l of fluid intake.

Sleep headphones & audio books

My brain doesn’t shut up fscking ever, and it interferes with my nightly rest. Imagine trying to fall asleep when your brain is constantly thinking about the latest bug in your code, code architecture, what groceries you need to buy, upcoming elections, that discussion in that issue you had this morning, that email you still have to write tomorrow, …

It’s only when I’m completely and utterly exhausted that I can fall asleep right away, otherwise it’s a long struggle of trying to ignore my brain and coming down from the day before it works.

Thankfully, I discovered sleep headphones for myself a long time ago, so headphones in the shape of a headband with some really flat speakers inside and a bluetooth module or wired connection to your phone or mp3 player.

Those allow me to listen to things without disturbing my partner. And those things for me usually are audio versions of books I already happen to know. The latter is extremely important, as with books I don’t know yet, my curiousity into how the story continues might keep me from falling asleep. I have the same issue I with most podcasts. But audio books of books I’ve already read work amazingly well. I set the sleep timer in my audio player to something like 30min and then just close my eyes and listen. My brain shuts up as I’m keeping it busy with listening and imagining what’s going on in the book, and I often manage to drift off in less than 10min.

So there you are, five lifehacks that make my daily life easier for me!