The Bucket System:

A to-do list strategy that actually works for ADHD brains

We all know the standard to-do list system. You have all the things on a piece of paper (or 3 pieces of paper, a sticky note, and the back of your hand). Maybe you’ve even split things into work and home lists. Or maybe you have grocery and a target list in there too.

But the problem with to-do lists is they still take a lot of effort (read: executive functioning energy) to figure out what to do and when. Either you need to plan ahead or spend some of that precious resource grabbing the right thing at the right time. And too often, we end up just grabbing the closest shiny thing in that one precious moment of possible productivity.

The Role of Energy Levels

I’ve talked a lot about the importance of understanding and being aware of your energy levels. We all have our ups and downs throughout the day.

Some people start the day out strong and then fade by lunch to have a resurgence in energy again around 5 or 6. Others have a slow build and peak much later- sometimes 4 or 5 and then have their second burst closer to 10 or 11 at night.

You may have an exercise routine or meditation routine, which helps give you energy and clarify your thinking at specific points of the day. Or you maybe take your medication at particular intervals throughout your day, leading to highs and lows.

Either way, as you start to become aware of your energy levels, you will begin to notice a trend. You’re likely to have:

High-energy times which are great for deeper focus and heavier thinking
Moderate energy times where you can focus on tasks that hold some of their own momentum- tasks with a deadline or some form of accountability built-in
Low energy times where short discrete tasks like emails or timesheets or returning phone calls are all you can manage.
Fuzzy brain times: Fuzzy brain times may happen at specific intervals throughout your day, or they may seem more random (though they are likely caused by a combination of lack of sleep, lack of exercise, lack of medication, or low blood sugar). Regardless of when they happen, if you are like most with an ADHD brain, your brain can sometimes feel like trying to make your way on a white road, at night, in a snowstorm.

The Bucket System

This is where the bucket system comes in. Having buckets (or smaller, categorized to-do lists) of things that you do at specific times based on your energy level cuts down the possibility that you’ll wile your prime energy time away on things like emails or grocery shopping or doing the dishes.

Now, it’s important to remember that everyone’s buckets are different. What might be a great fuzzy brain bucket task for me might be a low or moderate task for someone else or the other way around. Everyone’s brain, affinities, and job roles are different, and therefore everyone’s buckets are different too.

How to make your buckets:

Making the bucket system work requires forethought (best done during a high-energy bucket time).

Define your buckets — Name your buckets:
For some high, medium, low, and fuzzy brain buckets are all you need. For others, you may notice that you also have a creative energy time or an insecure or “RSDy” time or maybe you will notice that for you low energy and fuzzy brain are the same thing. Think through the past 3-4 days. What were the 3-5 mood or energy states that you found yourself in? These will define your buckets.
2. Fill your buckets:
**With recurring tasks:** Once you have your buckets named, imagine yourself in each scenario. What are the things that you can do at those times? What are the recurring tasks—the things that you do at least once a week— that feels manageable in those situations? Write them down under each bucket.
**With to-do list tasks:** Now, look at your to-do list. What specific items fit in each bucket? What energy or mood do you need to be in to get each one done?

3. Grab your bucket and go!
Congrats! You have your buckets, and you are ready! You don’t have to worry that you are wasting precious energy planning or choosing the wrong thing- Notice your energy state and grab a task and go for it.

Tips for makings buckets work for you:

Write it down- this is not a system to live in your head- it’s too many items and creates too much work at the moment to think it through.
Don’t have too many- 3-5 buckets max. You don’t need to cover each possible moment perfectly- just get a rough idea of categories.
Identify energy cues: Think through what cues you for the different energy or mood states. These are the things that will trigger you to grab a specific bucket.
Start tracking your energy: In addition to the cues, if you start tracking your energy, you’ll notice that you likely have a pattern. Knowing when your high and low energy times are will help you plan your day and make sure you have the right bucket ready when you need it.
Don’t judge your buckets: There is no right or wrong thing for any one bucket. Fill your bucket with what best fits your brain, don’t worry about what someone else does with theirs.
Keep your fuzzy brain bucket close. You may want it on your desktop or on a note taped to the side of your desk or on the first page of your phone. But have it handy. You don’t want to have to go searching for the right task when you can’t see through the fog of your brain.

What buckets fit your life? What goes in your fuzzy brain bucket?

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