Even before I understood I'm autistic, let alone AuDHD, I started making accommodations to facilitate my work. This was around the end of the first Covid year. My therapist was instrumental in the initation of this. Since then, I've refined my system before each term.

For instance, I use post-its, lots of them. One the one hand, they help my shoddy memory. On the other hand, they help me do things in a piecemeal fashion instead of tackling huge, daunting tasks. A big plus is the satisfaction I get from crumpling each post-it once I've finished the task involved.

I also reserve time slots in my calendar not only for meetings and teaching but important tasks. If the scheduling seems too tight or for some reason something isn't that urgent and I don't feel like doing the task then, I've reserved the right to move those slots. Not feeling like doing something is a clear message from my brain that I have to take it easier.

This term, the new thing I'm trying is working from home on Wednesdays. Last fall I understood that going to office five days a week exhausts me, mostly due to commuting. Now I've divided the office time to two 2-day periods per week with one day in between when I don't have to leave home (apart from something minor such as walking the dog or going to local grocery store). So far, it seems like a good practice.

During the lockdowns I noticed that working from home doesn't work well for me. One day is alright but when the stint is longer, there are too many distractions and my productivity plummets. With this new system, I seem to get most out of working from home meanwhile I get a mini break from commuting.

#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD @actuallyautistic