My Small Arsenal to Deal with Life
This is to pay forward the gifts I have gained from other writers on PKM and also on general life management. I am sharing my current set of life tools that, so far, have been the longest-running yet and still going strong in my daily so-called routine.
I have suspected and undiagnosed ADHD. I am currently medicating for depression and anxiety. My daily life stresses and pressures are constantly high. I am the eldest daughter, single, fur parent, and a breadwinner for my senior parents who are both on maintenance medications with numerous medical conditions. One of them has an undiagnosed narcissistic personality disorder combined with a couple of other mental disorders. I work in a high-demand job in the advertising industry and in a high-responsibility position in a role and discipline that is considered to be frequently challenging to do and very difficult to hire for (i.e. strategy), so only two of us are covering the requirements for a fast-growing agency.
Through the years I have spent impossible amounts of money (on gadgets, apps, software, stationery, etc.) trying to find a system that can work well with me. Inside me are two wolves, as the saying goes, but in my case, one is ultra-organized and the other is ultra-chaotic and they both drive me mad. Most of the tools I’ve tried to help manage my life are either too rigid or too open. Some are not flexible enough. Some have too many assumptions — like everyone is normal, which made me feel inadequate and very abnormal because I couldn’t make it work for me.
This year, I like to think I may have found my magic combo: Capacities, myMind, Google, and Finch.
I have also defined the kind of system I need and have and I call it “connected consolidation”.
Capacities
I was quickly a Believer when I first tried this out. It jived well with how my mind works and it was easy to get the hang of. I use it as the main hub for everything. I even write my daily journal entries on it, brainstorm on it, draft lists, dump anything and everything. I switched to it from Evernote because Capacities is more flexible and accessible and it doesn't really require me to organize. I made two spaces: one for work and one for personal. For work, it has been incredibly useful for digging up notes and references. I am also using it as a learning space to acquire more knowledge and expertise to enhance my work performance. For personal, it has helped me find more clarity on how I want to grow my art shop and my studio, as well as do my research on mental health, recipes, manage my dad’s medicals, etc.
myMind
This is my highlight keeper buddy. Anything I pick up I dump here, including random notes and thoughts. When I have some time I sort through some of the contents and integrate it into Capacities as Zettels. I like how myMind is easily searchable and also has spaces. The way it looks also appeals to my brain and gives me the sense that all the data is contained in a flexible container. Currently it is a big help in my research and drafting of training modules for work.
I used to be an Apple customer but their shift in brand values in the past years has disappointed me and their innovations have ceased to be relevant. Suddenly the “exclusive” stance is not working for me so I shifted back to PC/Microsoft/Android and in the process I also got to know Google better. Last year I became a subscriber to increase my GDrive space and use everything else without constraints. It plays well with the office’s Microsoft system as well as with all the other apps I want and need to use.
In Google, I use Keep as an eternal and evolving vision board where I put in art inspirations, dream scenarios, mood-lifting nature images — you get the picture. Calendar is an essential to map out my days and provide an overview in a glance. GDrive and Photos work really well with my apps so I can just seamlessly move files and images, even with my Wix website. Tasks complements my Finch App and I like how it integrates with the calendar. At work, all collaborative files are on Google using Slides.
Finch
Finch is my most recent discovery and it was described in the article I read as ADHD-friendly because of its gamified approach that gives regular dopamine boosts. I am on Day 20 of using it and I have already progressed to Finch Plus to access all the features. It has enabled me to get more things done in a day, significantly motivated by earning enough gems to buy my birb clothes and furniture. I have an average of 90–120 tasks/goals a day in it, including a lot of carryovers, but instead of overwhelming like before, I now see them as potential gems.
Of course, I still have my old-school notebooks and pens for when I want to shut down a while from the internet. Also as an artist working with my hands to write or draw or craft is an absolute essential. The digital tools are for overall day-to-day management and the analog tools are for both my creative and spiritual practice.
I hope this helps you in some way!
