5 ADHD Hacks that Make Mom Life Easier #264
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Today’s episode is inspired by a friend’s surprise at how many ADHD-friendly hacks I use on a daily basis throughout my home.
You have enough to do as a mom. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel on problems you’ve already solved in the past. Let’s reuse what you’ve already done! Here are some of my favorite lather, rinse, repeat systems that make life as an ADHD mom a little bit easier.
Whether it’s simplifying packing with reusable lists, managing medication with monthly pillboxes, leaning on smart speaker routines to keep the household on track, establishing smoother transitions with my husband, or building efficient errand routines, I’m giving you a peek into the small-but-mighty systems that keep my family – and sanity – afloat. Plus, I want you to feel encouraged to embrace who you are, let go of perfection, and find joy in doing life the ADHD way.
Grab your coffee or tea, take a deep breath, and let’s chat! Which of these five tried-and-true ADHD tools would help you to lessen decision fatigue and curb overwhelm this week?
lINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Get my Simple Morning Routines for ADHD Moms course here
Free adhd resource:
Download my free Packing Lists and Travel Planning List here
Download the 10 Ways to Stay Calm Video and Checklist for free
Ready to get away? Our annual ADHD Moms Weekend Retreat is coming up October 10-12, 2025 just outside of Houston, Texas! Grab your all-inclusive Early Bird ticket now!
“This weekend was nothing short of a dream weekend come true! It was life changing to learn, to witness and experience the bonding amongst a group of women. I felt truly celebrated every moment. To bond with so many women neurodivergent mothers was truly a gift in itself.
Only a mother could have thought of that many ways to check off the boxes.
"✅treat,✅pause,✅relax"
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Patricia Sung [00:00:00]:
The reason that we get so dysregulated is because we didn't know that we were actually dysregulated earlier. Are you overwhelmed by motherhood and barely keeping your head above water? Are you confused and frustrated by how all the other moms make it look so easy? You can't figure out how to manage the chaos in your mind, your home, or your family. I get you, mama. Parenting with ADHD is hard. Here is your permission slip to let go of the Pinterest worthy visions of organization and structure fit for everyone else. Let's do life like our brains do life, creatively, lovingly, and with all our might. When we embrace who we are and how our brains work, we can figure out how to live our lives successfully, and in turn, lead our families well. At the end of the day, we just want to be good moms.
Patricia Sung [00:00:52]:
But, spoiler alert, you are already a great mom. ADHD does not mean you're doomed to be a hot mess, mama. You can rewrite your story from shame spiral to success story, and I'll be right here beside you to cheer you on. Welcome to Motherhood in ADHD. Hey there, successful mama. It's your friend, Patricia Sung. Oh, I have missed being here with you. I miss our talks.
Patricia Sung [00:01:21]:
And while I know that writing this book is really important, this is still my first love. I love talking to you every week. So I am adding in a couple of episodes this month because I miss not being here with you every week, and I will probably have to go back to every other week over the summer. But until then, I'm gonna add a couple in because I wanna hang out. So today, I'm sharing five hacks. I don't know if they're life hacks, mom hacks, ADHD hacks, things that I do regularly that really make my life easier. And what inspired this is that I had had a friend over a little while ago, and it was the first time that they'd been to her house, and my boys were showing her boys their rooms. And after about five minutes of walking around upstairs, she looks at me and goes, I have learned more ADHD tips in the last five minutes than I thought possible.
Patricia Sung [00:02:10]:
Like, there are just so many things that I do in my regular life that I forget, like, are helpful to other people because I've known that I've had ADHD for twenty five years. So at this point, there's so many things that are ingrained in the way that I do things that make sense for my brain. I forget that other people don't know these things. So I'm sharing five that are really making a difference right now, and I made myself stop at five because I could have gone on for a really long time. And I'm editing and keeping my life simple. So I'm a share five hacks that are really helping me right now. Before I jump into the five hacks, reminder that tickets for the annual retreat are on sale now. So head over to patriciasung.com/retreat.
Patricia Sung [00:02:48]:
Check out all the details, put me on the calendar, grab your ticket, and let's hang out in October. That's patriciasung.com/retreat. Alright. Let's jump in. Number one is a packing list. I have a packing list for everything. I have a free packing list that you can download. I will stick in the show notes here.
Patricia Sung [00:03:06]:
Also, like, my preparation plans of how I get ready for a trip. But I don't, like, come up with a list of things to bring every time I go somewhere. I have it all written down, and I just copy and paste it, tweak it for what I need, and move on. So my packing list is, like, 90% done every time, and I reuse it. So this weekend, I'm going to see my sister, copy, paste, tweak, print, move along. But I keep on the list all the things. So, like, there are swimsuits on there, and there are also, like, winter coats on there. So I'm just deleting the things that I don't need rather than trying to come up with all the things that I do need.
Patricia Sung [00:03:39]:
And I use this philosophy not just for packing for a weekend trip or a vacation. I use this for, like, when my kids are still in diapers. I had a list of things that needed to be in the diaper bag. You can use this for soccer gear or a dance bag. Like, anything that you're repeatedly gathering supplies for over and over again, make a list, print it out, keep it in the bag. Like, my diaperless bag lived in the diaper bag pocket so that when I'd come home, I'd clean out all the garbage and throw away the dirty stuff and, you know, put the dirty laundry in the basket and then refill with what I needed so that it was always ready to go. But doing this lessens the decision fatigue so that you're not constantly trying to come up with the same thing over and over again. No.
Patricia Sung [00:04:18]:
No. No. No. We are making this efficient. We're thinking about it one time. And, yes, it may have to get adjusted through time, but adjusting is, you know, once every few months or once a year. This takes a huge weight off my mental plate. So that's number one.
Patricia Sung [00:04:31]:
Number two is my medicine, my pillboxes. I put my medicine in the, like, day of the week pill boxes, Saturday through Sunday ones. But it's not just the one week. I actually do the whole month when I get my prescription. So when you are taking a stimulant, you can usually only get the thirty day supply. So I fill the four boxes up, and they are ready to go for each week. So not only do I not have to worry, like, did I remember to take the medicine today? Do not remember. I don't know.
Patricia Sung [00:05:01]:
Is it I can always go look in the box and see, like, you're not trying to count them out and figure it out. No. Look at the box and see, is Monday opened and empty, or is Monday still have medicine in it? Voila. But the kicker is that I because I put the whole month in the pillbox is when I get to the fourth pillbox, I know that it is now time to reorder my medicine. So that's my reminder of, like, oh, look. There's no more here. Now I need to submit the request to get the prescription again. So that has really been helpful because a lot of times, I was like, I don't know.
Patricia Sung [00:05:27]:
When's the time to do that? And I have a reminder in my calendar, which usually I remember, but, like, sometimes, you know, the reminder pops up when I am not able to do the thing. And just having more reminders is helpful to me. So that is a physical reminder of, like, hey. Look. You're pulling back the empty one. Because when I use it, I put the empty one behind the stack. So when I see that I'm pulling out the last one and I have three empties and one last one, it's like, okay. This is the time I need to do the refill.
Patricia Sung [00:05:53]:
Okay. That is number two. Pill boxes, but for the whole month, so you know when to reorder the medicine. Number three, Alexa routines. I live by my Echo Dot. It keeps me on task all the time. I admittedly have been trying to lessen my purchasing at big box places and trying to do more small shopping, but I already bought this thing, so I'm gonna keep using it. So I have routines set up for the morning that tell me it's time to get up.
Patricia Sung [00:06:22]:
It's time to go downstairs. It's time to brush teeth. And I have it set up that it's talking to my kids and telling them, like, okay. You have five more minutes left to eat your breakfast or whatever. But I also go in with the attitude that, like, yes. She's telling my kids what they need to do, but, really, she's telling me that I can tell my kids to move along to the next step. Because my kids will tend to tune her out. And, you know, sometimes I go in and change it up a little bit so that it's surprising.
Patricia Sung [00:06:47]:
And, like, it's not their job to keep the time. It's my job to keep the time. But I'm terrible at time, so I use Alexa to run my time for me. And then I don't have to hold that mental load or the panic or the guilt of losing track of time. She's there all day telling me, like, how much time I have left before we need to leave for school. And that has been working for us since my oldest was in kindergarten. He's in fourth grade this year. So it's been five years where she's been running my mornings for me.
Patricia Sung [00:07:11]:
Now I actually just started implementing that into the afternoons, which is not smooth yet. We're still we're still working it out. You know, the days that we have piano are different than the days we have tennis, which are different than the days we don't have something. So we're still smoothing it all out. But using that to keep on task, which, again, they tend to tune her out, but it's the reminder for me to be like, okay. Like, snack time is over. We we are done relaxing. It's now time to go to the next responsibility that we need to get done.
Patricia Sung [00:07:38]:
Or we need to get in the car to go to this place. Get your water bottle ready. Like, let's move along. Because if I don't have somebody or something telling me, hey. It's almost time to go. Like, my brain knows it's time to go, but then my brain did not pack up the things, and I haven't told my kids to, like, go to the restroom, put your shoes on, all that stuff. And, like, all that stuff takes time that my brain does not account for. So I need an outside something to keep track of that.
Patricia Sung [00:08:01]:
You can do this with any smart speaker. It doesn't have to be specifically this brand. If you do use this brand, I have templates in my morning routine, of course, that you can just, like, you download the link and it automatically uploads the template into your app, and then you can just adjust it from there. So if you want that, I'll put the link in the show notes. But she runs my day when I have to be somewhere at a certain time, and that takes a huge weight off of me knowing what time things are, where we need to be. And, like, yes, it's not foolproof because sometimes our schedules change, but, like, 95% of the time, probably, she's keeping me on time, and that's significantly better than I would do on my own. So that's the one. It's time to be who you are unapologetically.
Patricia Sung [00:08:43]:
No more contorting or shrinking yourself to fit inside the box. Instead, you're gonna feel the freedom of just being yourself because you are more accepting of who you truly are.
Patricia Sung [00:08:53]:
You're invited, mama, to this year's fourth annual successful
Patricia Sung [00:08:53]:
as a mother weekend invited, mama, to this year's fourth annual successful as a mother weekend retreat. It is time to relax, unwind, rest, and take care of a very important person in the family, which is you. This year's retreat is on October 2025, and you are invited. This is an all inclusive retreat. It covers your meals, your hotel, all of your activities. You literally only have to show up, and I will take it from there. We are staying at the peaceful Happy Goat Retreat just outside of Houston, Texas. Texas.
Patricia Sung [00:09:26]:
I have rented the entire property, so we have it all to ourselves where we will enjoy nature and breathe deep in the fresh air and the calm of the lake and the sway of the trees. But this is not camping. This is glamping. You will stay in your very own adorable, modern, tiny home with your own comfy queen-size bed, your own private bathroom, and living space that's just for you. Go check out the pictures I posted on my website because it is so cute. We will spend the weekend learning about our ADHD and tune into who you are and what you need so that you can trust your gut and love yourself a little bit more. All while eating delicious food you didn't cook, you didn't clean up, and hanging out with other ADHD mamas who are just like you in this journey of understanding ADHD and also trying to do all the things, but not this weekend. This weekend, you are doing none of the things.
Patricia Sung [00:10:17]:
You are relaxing. I will take care of everything and you get to focus on you. Head over to my website patriciasung.com/retreat and get your ticket. This is a small group of 14 mommas and we already have six moms signed up, so I don't have a ton of spots left. Do not wait. Do not procrastinate. When you hear this and know this is for you, go get your ticket. Earlier tickets are available until the May, and you get a few bonuses by signing up early.
Patricia Sung [00:10:44]:
Number one, there's a shrinking payment plan available. You can spread your payments out farther when you sign up earlier. There's no extra charge for that. Two, you get to choose your room. Currently, there are four standard tiny homes called the Bijou available and four deluxe tiny homes available. So get your room now so you get first dibs on the type of tiny home that you want to stay in. Number three, everyone who buys an early bird ticket is invited to a bonus group coaching session over the weekend. Here, we can dive into the specifics of what you're struggling with and identify what you wanna work on going forward so that you leave the weekend feeling even more confident.
Patricia Sung [00:11:17]:
And then four, obviously, obviously, you get to look forward to this trip all summer long. So go sign up. Get your ticket and take a weekend to relax and take care of yourself while I do all the work. Head over to patriciasung.com/retreat and get your ticket for the fourth annual ADHD moms amazing getaway weekend and relax. Patriciasung.com/retreat. K. Number four. This I brought up in my Friday morning prayer group the other day that someone else was showing me something, and I was like, oh, our marriage counselor gave us this idea, and it's been working really well for us.
Patricia Sung [00:11:51]:
I shared it there, and the moms were all like, oh my gosh. This is really helpful. And I was like, I should share this with you. So in one of our recent counseling sessions, we were struggling with, like if you've been here for a minute, you know, my husband was working from home for the last five years, and now he's in an office building. So he's gone, you know, nine to five, which actually is more like six, sometimes seven, and he's traveling a lot. Like, he would walk in the door, and I would be mad. And he felt like he was walking into World War three where everybody's grumpy, everyone's dysregulated. It isn't a rough transition, my dear.
Patricia Sung [00:12:20]:
A rough transition. And it's now April, so we've been doing this for a little over three months, and they'd be like, we're starting to get the hang of it. It it took a good, probably, two and a half months till it felt better. And, you know, we're pushing on three and a half months now, and it like, it feels doable in the last two weeks. So when you go through these really big transitions, like or, like, a big life shift, then that means that the transition is a bigger shift and it's gonna take longer to adjust to. The more, like, effect it has on your life, the longer the transition is gonna be. And in that way, I'm really thankful that I know that I have ADHD and that transitions are really hard for me because it's given me a lot more grace to, like, get through this season of knowing this is the yucky part. Like, this is the messy middle where we're changing the way we do things, and it's been hard.
Patricia Sung [00:13:02]:
But, anyway, point being, my husband comes home, and he's like, oh my gosh. Things are falling apart. And not every day, but, like, on the days where things were falling apart, he walks in and he feels like he gets blindsided by what's going on. And then he's not really mentally prepared for the chaos. So in our counseling session, we're talking this through, and he's like, if I know that, like, things are hard right now or, like, you're, like, at the end of your patients, he's like, I can gather myself together and walk in knowing that, like, that's what I need to do. But if I don't know that that's coming, like, then I don't do well. And I'm like, okay. Well, I I hear you.
Patricia Sung [00:13:38]:
Like, that makes sense. So what our counselor suggested we do is that about an hour before he gets home, like, the earliest that he would get home, I send a text message and let him know, like, the general status of things. So I have a reminder on my phone at 03:59. It tells me to send him a note. So assuming that he is not traveling, then I send a note that's like, you know, if one of the kids had something come up that he needs to know about, I can send, like, a one liner that's like, here's what happened. I can talk to you about it later. Or just a heads up, you know, this happened. If I'm really frustrated, I'll be like, I'm very frustrated.
Patricia Sung [00:14:12]:
When you get home, I need a break. And that way, I am doing a better job communicating because that's one of my lesser qualities is that I think a lot of things in my head, but I don't actually say them out loud. And he can't work with what's in my head. He has he can only work with what I say out loud to him. So I'm letting him know where we are, where I am, and so he's prepared when he come to the door. But it also, like, other half of the coin, is that it makes me check-in and be like, how are things going? Patricia, are you stressed? Like, it allows me to check-in and be like, okay. Like, are my shoulders tight? Am I, like, clenched up? Am like, do I need to relax the back of my tongue because I'm clenching my jaw? Like, it makes me check-in with me. So immediately when I check-in with myself, I now like, I have the skills to be like, oh, look.
Patricia Sung [00:15:01]:
You are not in a good place. Like, is there something you could do right now that would lower your stress a little bit? Like, can I climb higher on the stress ladder to, like, more safety rather than being underwater and drowning? Can I get out of the water a little bit? And in my work with many clients, what I usually see is the reason that we get so dysregulated is because we didn't know that we were actually dysregulated earlier. Like, we didn't know when we were half dysregulated or, like, three quarters dysregulated. Like, it's only until the doo doo hits the fan that we're like, oh, wow. I'm really upset. So a lot of the work we do is cluing into, like, how do you know that you are upset? How do you know that you're frustrated? How do you know that you're overwhelmed? And listening to those clues. Because for some people, they feel in their body. And some people, that's how they hear their thoughts.
Patricia Sung [00:15:43]:
And some people, it's a gut feeling. Like, everybody's different in those clues that they get. But when we've ignored them our whole lives, we don't realize that we're getting really upset. So it's cluing in to know, like, what are the signals that you get to know that you're getting upset so that we can do something about it before it hits volcano stage. So for me, that check means I'm pausing and being like, how am I doing? Not good. Time to ask for help or, oh, okay. I think I'm alright. Or even if I'm just like, I'm okay, but not great.
Patricia Sung [00:16:11]:
Like, I can still do something quickly that will help me calm down. And I'll link my 10 ways to calm down video when Medusa mom starts showing up. Like, I'll link that in the show notes too. To patriciasung.com/calm. And that check-in helps me a lot. And even if my husband's traveling, I still have that alarm there, and it's still it's like, okay. My kids have been home for an hour and a half. How is this going? Do I need to do something different? Like, do I need to, like, pull an audible and do something different so that the evening goes better? Like, do I need to say to my husband, you need to pick up dinner, cooking is not happening? Or do I need to say cooking is not happening, I got to go grab takeout? That check-in allows me to pause, adjust, change the plan if needed, and then include my partner in so that we're on the same page.
Patricia Sung [00:16:58]:
And that's really what I love about our marriage counselor is that he always comes back to, how do you work together as a team? How do you come back together to be on the same page? And this check-in requires me to tell my husband, here's what's going on. Like, it's also on him too to be like, if this was, like, a really rough day for him, he can say, hey. I had a rough day. I'm gonna have to take a couple minutes before I engage. Like, that communication point has really helped. So that is number four. This 4PM status check-in text has made a really big difference. And then number five, I keep my library card in my library bag.
Patricia Sung [00:17:32]:
So I have, like, this really nice tote bag. It has a zipper pocket. So I keep the library card in the zipper pocket. And when we come back from the library with all of our books in the bag, the kids will stack the books up on top of the coffee table if sometimes I do it. And then as they read the books, it's their responsibility to put them back in the bag. So So that way, when it's time to the library, all the books we've read are already in the bag, and we can just take the bag to the library and the card's already in there. And then we can check out the next set of books. Now we also usually go to the library whenever we go to piano lessons because the library is right near piano lessons.
Patricia Sung [00:18:05]:
So there is the concept of, one, bundling things together that make sense. So we're gonna go to piano lessons every week. So I bundle returning library books, which I could do anytime with the thing that I'm already doing because it's close by. And sometimes we'll just, you know, pick up our holds that we requested online and return the books and be on our way. And sometimes we'll sit there and hang out at the library for a little bit if my kids need more books or if I just need them to be entertained for a few minutes. Like, if my husband's been traveling and I'm like, I just I need to change pace and I need something to entertain them that's not me, like, the library is a great place to do that and it's free. It's indoors. So if the weather's bad, like, I love me the library.
Patricia Sung [00:18:42]:
Something fierce. I love the library. Now I know that there's a lot of kids with ADHD who do not like reading. So a little side tangent here. As a teacher, I can tell you that it is possible for kids to tolerate reading, if not love reading, when it is a subject they really like and when it's at the level that they can do so easily. And there comes in a whole lot like, this is a very in-depth conversation and part of me is like, should I even bring up this side quest? I just wanna give parents hope that you can find books that your kid loves. Like, ask the librarian. Be like, my kid is this old.
Patricia Sung [00:19:12]:
You know, say they have dyslexia or whatever. You know, they're just struggling with reading. And can you give me some suggestions? And doing read alongs is really great. So, like, every night not every night. Sometimes we don't have time. But, like, we usually have a chapter book that we're reading together, me and the boys, and we read one chapter every night before bed. So them listening to you read is also great. Audiobooks are great.
Patricia Sung [00:19:36]:
Our library, you can check out the electronic books that you can see the words on the page. You can see the book, and it has the audio reading it. And, usually, it, like, highlights the word that they're on as it talks. Not always, but sometimes. Like, there are so many ways to make this more accessible and easy for your kid. But a lot of times, there is a lot of shame and embarrassment, and they don't wanna admit that, like, they're not doing as well as the other kids in their class. Like, if they're struggling reading, like, they don't wanna read a baby book, they wanna read a big kid book, like, their friends can, but they also don't wanna read a big kid book because it's harder, like, ask for help. The librarians are excellent at what they do most of the time.
Patricia Sung [00:20:10]:
And if they don't know, then they'll know another librarian who can help with that. Like, reach out to this very free network to help your kid. Is a really dry. If it doesn't work, I understand, but I love me some library. Anyway, side tangent. Close it off. Okay. Back on track, Patricia.
Patricia Sung [00:20:23]:
Okay. So it was bundling things together with something else. So the fact that we do the library on piano day, And then putting the library card in the library bag, but, like, it's in a zipper pouch, so we're we're not gonna lose it. But rather than keeping it in my wallet, it is there in the bag because the bag goes with us. And then my kids can do the little self checkout machine computer thingy, like, put the thing where you use it even if it's not the most conventional. And then you have a routine or a rhythm, if you like the word routine, is that when we come home, we empty the bag, put it out, all the red books go in the bag, and then the bag can just go back. So we have this system that, like, is not perfect because sometimes my kids forget to put the books in the bag and then, you know, then we have to go through all the books and be like, did you read this one? Did you read this one? Did you and sometimes we do that. But generally speaking, it runs fairly smoothly and my kids know that's the rhythm to it.
Patricia Sung [00:21:15]:
And so it gets easier with time. And, you know, I don't expect them to be perfect. I wish they were. But even if they do it 80% of the time, it makes it easier. So creating these little patterns of doing things a certain way, again, takes the decision requirement off your plate and makes it easier. So that was kinda like a three in one, bundling it with something similar, keeping things you need, like, in the place you actually use them, and then creating that rhythm around it so that there's not as much, like, thinking. So reviewing. There was number five.
Patricia Sung [00:21:45]:
Number one is writing a list and just recycling it. Number two was the medicine pillboxes for the whole month. Number three was the Alexa routines that keep me on track. Number four is the 4PM status check text with my husband. And number five was the, well, I guess, the triple library one. So these are five plus bonus hacks that are making my life easier. And then once you learn those skills that make sense for, like, the way that you do things, you can then apply those over and over again in other places in your life. Create other visual reminders of things that need to get done.
Patricia Sung [00:22:17]:
Put other things next to the things where you actually use them. Bundle things together so that you can run two errands at one time. Any way that you can take decisions and effort off your plate and make them easier for you is super helpful because you are one human with varying capacity and already responsible for a lot of things. So any way we can make that simpler, round of applause, let's make your life easier. So if you give any of these a try, shoot me a note on Instagram, send me an email, tell me what worked, tell me what didn't. I love hearing from you. And I super love when people write me a note. They're like, I listened to something because then it's not just me sitting here by myself talking to myself.
Patricia Sung [00:22:51]:
I know that you're there. Oh, speaking of which, I haven't mentioned in a while. If you have not rated the podcast, please head over to your app and hit five stars and leave me a note so I know you're listening. Alright, successful mama. I will talk to you very soon. For more resources, classes, and community, head over to my website motherhoodinADHD.com.