My client was talking about how Time Boxing doesn't work for her as a time management technique. It’s just too rigid and even boring, she needs some spontaneity.

I agreed, saying so many of my activities depend upon weather that I can't possibly plan for Idaho's changeable climate.

At that exact moment, the sun came out, burning off the persistent freezing fog and melting the hoar frost.

"Case in point!" I said, "Now that the sun has come out, I'm changing my afternoon plans. After our appointment I'm going outside to practice sai. Handling metal weapons in cold temperatures is miserable, but with the sun out I need to jump on that opportunity!"

The temperature was just above freezing, but wearing black in the sunshine it was actually pretty nice.

And yes, I did give her a time management technique that might work for her and her ADHD.

When my kids were babies, and my life felt like it was spinning out of control, I developed a technique I call “Focus Days.” Other people have come up with similar things called by different names, but I figure if more than one person independently came up with the same idea then it must be good.

Here’s how you do it.

1. Choose five tasks you need to tackle but have been struggling with. If you have more than five, pick the top five, and keep the rest on standby.

2. Assign one task to focus on each day for five days of the week. Use the remaining two days as “float days” for catching up, taking a break, or adjusting your schedule as needed.

3. On each Focus Day, prioritize your assigned task, but you’re free to work on other tasks too. If you don’t finish the others, that’s okay—they’ll have their turn within a few days. This approach relieves the guilt and pressure to do everything at once.

In my own experience and that of my clients, it takes only about two weeks to start feeling like your life is back under control.

Life isn’t rigid, so why should your time management be? For ADHD brains, flexibility is often the key to success. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s finding a method that works for you. How would you tweak this technique to fit your life?