Mental Health September 2026

Every year around this time I keep coming up with “A Plan.” “The Plan.” The plan to fix all of my personal organization issues, keep a house, manage the yard, be a good parent, pet parent, regularly exercise, be creative, achieve my writing goals, stay hydrated, and maybe squeeze in paid employment.

As you can probably tell by how that prior paragraph is written, “The Plan” doesn’t usually work more than a few days.

I have ADHD.

Not super bad. I have compensating mechanisms in place–daily alarms, habits for where I put my keys, keeping my glasses on a lanyard thingy, and so on.

But I still feel like the massive underachiever. Like, I could be one of “Those” people. The people who keep their eyes on the prize and ACHIEVE THINGS. Not even big things. Just not having 8 million craft projects, 12 manuscripts and story ideas in various stages of, and a house I always mentally cringe about.

“The Plan” is supposed to be a schedule type of thing. I allot time for specific tasks. I’ve used many different methods over the years: time blocking, alarms, making my bed first thing in the morning, thought dumping at breakfast, planners “designed for ADHD!”

They don’t seem to work.

Last night I did it again. I created a loose time-blocking schedule. From 6am to 10am, I need to accomplish these things, daily. 10am to 2pm is writing time. 2pm onward is crafting, reading and whatever else I need to slam out before bed.

In theory it should work. I don’t have to trim all the bushes on day 1, then weed the yard on day 2. Just 20 minutes in the yard. I don’t have to vacuum the whole house, just one room. I do have to do laundry everyday, but only 1 load. I should walk the dogs everyday, because they really need that activity for their best doggy mental health.

As I look at the schedule I crafted, I wonder how I can shove more in. Can I food prep on the weekends to just grab and go breakfasts? What if I set the washer to go at 430am? Should I just wear a weighted vest while walking the dogs to cover the strength training exercise requirement?

And then…it doesn’t happen. Sometimes it’s because I just…don’t. Other times I keep it for a day or 2, but then something else happens: Errands. Doctor appointments. Feeling run-down that day. Unexpected problem number 37 jumps into the fray, requiring I spend 14 hours on the phone to clear it up.

I absolutely know that I can pick up at the next time block, or even start over fresh the next day, but it doesn’t happen.

So if I know that’s the case, as history has repeated itself for decades, now, why do I keep trying to make yet another “Plan?”