Living with ADHD as an adult doesn’t have to be unmanageable. As a commonly co-occurring disorder with alcohol and drug addiction, many adults are surprised to learn they’ve been living with unmanaged ADHD most of their lives. Here are four simple tips for managing your ADHD in everyday adult life.

Use Your Phone For Good, Not Distraction

Smartphones are loaded with ways to manage your ADHD in adulthood. You can use a calendar with color coordination, keep a check list of to-do items, set alarms, set reminders, and even download apps to prevent you from accessing all the distracting parts of your phone when you need to concentrate.

Don’t Worry About Being a Chronic Checker

In the digital age of social media and smartphone addiction, constantly checking your phone is seen as a bad thing. When you’re living with ADHD in adulthood, it can be a tool for managing distraction and keeping track of things to do. You can chronically check your calendar and your to-do lists to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything and to keep yourself on track. Forgetfulness and being unorganized are common symptoms of living with ADHD. Be careful- checking your phone to much could tempt you to get into other distractions. Try setting a timer when you open your phone to give yourself only 1-2 minutes to check what you need. The timer will remind you to lock your phone again and focus.

Create a Personalized Planner

For some people, their phone is too much of a distraction to organize their life in. Instead, opt for another major trend: personalized planners. Staying highly organized is trendy these days, giving you tons of options for custom building a planner to best suit your needs. Full of tabs, organizers, pockets, stickers, specific lists and journals, there will be a place for everything to keep you organized.

Eat a Brain-Healthy Diet

To manage ADHD, you want to maintain a diet that puts emphasis on brain health rather than brain stimulation. Diets high in sugar, carbs, caffeine, and even soy, can make symptoms of  adulthood ADHD worse instead of better. Instead, opt for whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats with Omega-3 fatty acids. Exercise has been found to be extremely helpful in regulating ADHD by giving all of the hyperactive energy somewhere to go.