#executive function hacks

[xerserise]

Executive function tip for when you are stuck in a loop and don't want to be.

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Notice. Pause. Identify. Work Toward.

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Notice: Scrolling and cycling between apps, getting my brain all anxious about all the bad things happening in the world, while struggling to get myself to start my day? Unproductive. But it happens. A lot. And there are other unproductive and actively harmful loops I can get stuck in.

So, when I notice that I'm getting locked in an unproductive loop, I try to pause.

(Rest is productful, though. I'm not against mindless scrolling when it's actually useful for me, such as for decompression.)

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Pause: I used to try to get myself to 'go do the thing' while I was still stuck in a loop, and that rarely worked. Asking myself to pause—usually entailing a looking up, a deep breath, a small stretch, and/or focusing my eyes on something at a different distance from me than the thing I'm stuck on—creates almost no demand and requires no preparation.

There's no commitment. It's just a breaking of concentration when I'm not happy with concentrating on the thing I'm stuck on.

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Identify: Once I've paused, I can think a little more clearly about the loops I'm stuck in and what things I may want/need to work toward to that require not being stuck in those loops. That's when I identify something to work toward (or a less stressful way to occupy idle time).

The currently identified thing is 'get out of the bedroom'. No specific plans after that, just generally start my day.

Sometimes it's a bigger thing, a project that I want to work on, but even then I try to identify the thing to work toward as the getting myself in the general proximity of the tools required. It allows me to regularly check in with myself and see what my capabilities at the moment are.

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Work Toward: Once I've identified something to work toward, I can start taking steps in that direction. Currently, I'm working toward leaving the bedroom by tidying up the bed that I've been sitting on. Which included putting away the laptop, with a minor tangent of writing this post.

Sometimes it means gathering supplies. Sometimes it means putting everything away. Sometimes it means going somewhere and pacing around and looking at things and thinking.

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Notice that you're stuck and don't want to be. Try to pause for a moment. Once paused, identify something small that will lessen the likelihood of going right back into that stuckness. And take steps toward that.

[smileyisawesomeable]

The best think I have done for my life thus far (aside from a bitchin chore chart) is to stop caring about laundry rules. I used to put off laundry because I didn't want to fold it or hang it up, until I had no clean clothes left. Now I wash all the laundry at once and just throw it in my closet in one big pile. No more trying to fit pants in a drawer or clearing space for special clothes to air dry. Everything gets the washer then the dryer then straight to the clean pile. Life changing stuff

[cynicalclassicist]

Wow. Got to like that cake shape!

I have come to discover that the most efficient way for me to get housework done is to allow myself to just do task grazing. I start one thing and once I've got the ball rolling, I may notice another task I could do while doing the first task, and just let myself wander around the house, bumping into something I could fix, fixing it up, and heading back off to a random direction, like a roomba with hands. I didn't plan to do housework today, but I decided to bake a cake.

There was no real need for a cake, but I allowed myself to bake one nonetheless. Getting started on the batter, the butter I was melting in the microwave popped over slightly, so I neded up washing the microwave plate and dome. Looking for cinnamon, I re-arranged the spices into a slightly more logical order. Turning the oven on, I noticed that the dirty oven tray inside - that we had left in there to cool since there's no way to wash it while it's hot - was still there, so I figured I'd wash it, too.

So while the cake was in the oven, I ended up washing the dishes from the sink, and discovered that there's no way to fit the oven tray in there with them. So it's best to wash the oven tray in the shower. Scrubbing the tray in the bathroom and rinsing it off with the showerhead, I noticed the burnt gunk collecting on the floor. Getting a cleaning rag and wiping the gunk off, I noticed the dust in the corners of the bathroom floors, and figured I might as well wipe those through.

Had I sent out with the intention to spend today cleaning, and made it my task to clean the whole kitchen and to mop the bathroom floor, I would've never managed to actually get up and go do it. I would've spent the whole day frozen in place, beating myself up about not getting up and getting anything done, and wasting the entire day achieving nothing and still being exhausted by the ordeal of spending the whole day fighting myself.

But instead, I let myself bake a cake.

[chipmunkweirdo]

AuDHD hack I found for when executive dysfunction kicks in.

The munks and I made a random spinny wheel with all the stuff we want to do on it. So when we can’t choose and get overwhelmed, we spin the wheel and it chooses an activity for us!

If for whatever reason we CAN’T engage in the selected activity, then we spin again!

SUCH A TIME SAVER! No more 30 minute to an hour buffering time between activities!!!

[poppiesforthirteen]

Time to pump up the jam

Come on I want to finish this fic today. Only 40 minutes & 10 pages to go

[kiyomitakada]

TURNED IN MY (OTHER) HOMEWORK LETS GO!!!!!!! CHAPTER 2 TIME

[xerserise]

Portable Organized Messes

If you're one of the people who completely forgets about the existence of a thing within moments of it leaving your sight, this is for you. To combat object permanence issues, consider open shelving and shallow open-top containers (bins, boxes, tubs, trays).

If all the basic office supplies are in a tray on a shelf near where you usually need them, you can grab individual things at need or take the whole tray to a new location instead of gathering the specific things you think you may need.

Assembling bins of the things that will be needed to work on a task and putting those bins in the middle of the floor or where the task will be performed gives a visual reminder to do the thing, gives a mental preparation for the task, and reduces barriers to starting the task.

I have garage-type shelves in my bedroom, with milk crates and bus tubs and lidless shoe boxes and shoebox lids and even dollar-store metal trays on them, each with a selection of related things, arranged so the things I want to remember most are at eye height, the things I will access the least at the bottom. My bedside table is a counter with open-front shelving, set at an angle so that I can access the shelves from bed. It's amazing. My room is semi-cluttered, but still organized, and I have been able to maintain it and keep it at least tidy enough to keep stuff off the floor a good portion of the time (which is honestly amazing).

[mckitterick]

the most amazing executive-function tool:

just input the task you want to do, hit the doohickey, and voila! your process list is ready, myne liege

having one of those executive function days where everything is too many steps

[eslamdahab-dhb]

From the Heart to Heart P3

Life, in general, has laws that govern it, and these laws are not affected by any person or situation; they apply to everyone in the same way. This truth can be helpful at times, but it can also be difficult at other times, especially if we don't fully understand these laws.

Why do I say this? Because one of the important things we need to understand is that excess, in general, is a mistake, whether it’s in habits or behaviors. Even if the excess is in something healthy, overindulgence can still be harmful. For example, overeating causes health problems, and overworking negatively affects both your health and your social life.

If we put aside all the firmly held beliefs about the concept of addiction and focused on another point: if we start treating addiction consciously as a form of excess, then once you accept this idea, you will naturally begin to think in terms of moderation. This is a key point in true recovery and in understanding the kind of experience you’re going through. Because, in the end, no matter what the experience is, it’s part of your life, and you can deal with it better if you understand it deeply.

[natbplease]

roommates have pros and cons but honestly they’re a godsend for adhd/general motivation problems

[waffle-sorter]

By making the "reward" an audiobook, I can have it alongside the next thing, rather than either delaying the reward or splitting the routine I'm trying to establish.

By making it a library audiobook, I don't have to worry about cost.

By making it an audiobook I've previously read and enjoyed, I remove (perceived) negative consequences of not "earning" it (e.g., what if it has to go back before I finish), thus reducing the temptation to "cheat".

By having other audiobooks, podcasts, music, etc. available, I further reduce the temptation to cheat, because it's not a this-or-nothing scenario.

[tielt]

->

[littlemssam]

!Important Warning!

These Days some Mods containing Malware have been uploaded on various Sites.

The Sims After Dark Discord Server has posted the following Info regarding the Issue:

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Malware Update: What We Know Now To recap, here are the mods we know for sure were affected by the recent malware outbreak: "Cult Mod v2" uploaded to ModTheSims by PimpMySims (impostor account) "Social Events - Unlimited Time" uploaded to CurseForge by MySims4 (single-use account) "Weather and Forecast Cheat Menu" uploaded to The Sims Resource by MSQSIMS (hacked, real account) "Seasons Cheats Menu" uploaded to The Sims Resource by MSQSIMS (hacked, real account)

Due to this malware using an exe file, we believe that anyone using a Mac or Linux device is completely unaffected by this.

If the exe file was downloaded and executed on your Windows device, it has likely stolen a vast amount of your data and saved passwords from your operating system, your internet browser (Chrome, Edge, Opera, Firefox, and more all affected), Discord, Steam, Telegram, and certain crypto wallets. Thank you to anadius for decompiling the exe.

To quickly check if you have been compromised, press Windows + R on your keyboard to open the Run window. Enter %AppData%/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/UserData in the prompt and hit OK. This will open up the folder the malware was using. If there is a file in this folder called Updater.exe, you have unfortunately fallen victim to the malware. We are unware at this time if the malware has any function which would delete the file at a later time to cover its tracks.

To quickly remove the malware from your computer, Overwolf has put together a cleaner program to deal with it. This program should work even if you downloaded the malware outside of CurseForge. Download SimsVirusCleaner.exe from their github page linked here and run it. Once it has finished, it will give you an output about whether any files have been removed.

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For more Information please check the Sims After Dark Server News Channel! Or here https://scarletsrealm.com/malware-mod-information/

TwistedMexi made a Mod to help detect & block such Mods in the Future: https://www.patreon.com/posts/98126153

CurseForge took actions and added mechanics to prevent such Files to be uploaded, so downloading there should be safe.

In general be careful, where and what you download, and do not download my Mods at any other Places than my own Sites and my CurseForge Page.

[xerserise]

Executive function hack:

Wandering around my home with my eyes half-closed, to reduce external stimuli and prevent me from forgetting what I was doing when I walk through doorways.

[wumiings]

“kdj cheats instead of putting in effort to learn new skills” homeboy is the no.1 believer in the 80-20 rule and working smarter not harder. king of executive functioning hacks. my adhd ass has the utmost respect for a man who will get shit done however it needs to be done instead of getting stuck when the ‘proper’ way isn’t working

[talenlee]

Game Pile: Ironsworn

First up, this is a free game, and you can go get it. For free. I can’t repeat this enough. This game asks zero dollars of you and you should grab it and check it out right now because don’t kid around here, you’re probably going to buy something on the steam sales you don’t need and aren’t going to get around to play. Ironsworn is, no matter what else I have to say about it, interesting.

Ironsworn is an easily accessible, well-laid out and approachable RPG which is suited for multiple ongoing sessions to construct a campaign with an ongoing narrative. In an indie TTRPG space that is overwhelmingly dominated by single session, highly specifically flavoured game systems about campaigns with niche experiences and sometimes ambiguously structured mechanics, Ironsworn sets itself apart. It is presented in a single pdf, it is made to be printable easily and conveniently, and while it does have some need for dice you might not already have kicking around the house, they’re d10s, so it’s not like you need particularly special dice or commercially centralised ones.

Everything else I think about it aside: Ironsworn is a good, free and convenient RPG for you to pick up and go for if you’re looking for professionally presented high-quality material. You can just go grab the pdf right now and check it out, for free.

Ironsworn guides you through how to follow its process, it has a degree of success and failure system, it even uses its dice choices to create a little bit of the ole theatre. It’s a dice system that mathematically shakes out to be generally uncertain, and that means there’s always a chance you can fail at something you’re good at and always a small chance you can succeed at a long shot. There are no overwhelming opportunities for success and excellence, because the dice are set up so if there’s no reason to roll, you shouldn’t roll, and if you should roll, there’s always a chance the dice kick you in the pants.

This is a very functional game, it has no meaningful problems on that front, and while I have beef with it in its presentation (why did you spend eight pages on table of contents that’s what the index is for), it is easily one of the best of its type I’ve ever seen. Because of its easy availability and quality execution, I don’t intend to do a lot to talk about Ironsworn as a system or give you its special hallmarks and signifiers or even dig deep into the mechanical structures of it.

Still, even with those caveats, it isn’t really what I’d consider a perfect Decemberween game, though, and that’s because I can’t imagine showing up at a family gathering with some paper and pencils and go: hey everyone, I’m gunna drag this group of us into another room and we’re going to go have an adventure telling a story together, because the story that Ironsworn seems to want to set up is not exactly… party vibes.

It’s hard to talk about what Ironsworn is for or whom, because with just the text, I don’t have access to the author. When I talk about what this game is for, what it offers, I have to base it on the text present, and the only source I have for inspiration or framing in the start of the book is referencing its mechanical forebears: Apocalypse World, City of Judas, Dungeon World, Fate, and Mythic. That is to say, the first Powered by the Apocalypse game, a dark fantasy hack for it, a fantasy dungeon crawler hack for it, a universal roleplaying system, and a popular solo RPG system. This is good sourcing, but it also speaks to a particular space of inspiration and mechanical relationships. Based on that, at its heart, Ironsworn feels like its defining mechanical provenance is ‘more Powered by the Apocalypse.’

I want to say it reminds me of 13th Warrior, or The Northman or Beowulf, but none of those really capture everything going on here, because those are short, abrupt narratives about highly deadly scenarios and also they’re very homogenised culture spaces. Maybe Samurai drama, recontextualised away from an Orientalist lens? I can’t point to a particular piece of fiction and say ‘that kind of thing.’ I can’t point to an existing game space and say ‘Ironsworn is like that.’ By no means is any of this that Ironsworn is bad. It’s actually really impressive that Ironsworn is so singular in its identity that it resists any useful or reasonable reference frame.

Ironsworn is its own identity, it has its own structure, and while that is by no means bad it does mean that there’s no immediate, convenient on-ramp to get a friend into it. It feels like it’s a game system that is in conversation against things, rather than with them. That is to say, it feels like it’s for constructing gritty, lossy, despair-tinged stories of warriors setting themselves up for potential tragedy or desperate success in pursuit of potentially conflicting dramatic needs.

It feels, and I say this without it being an insult, it feels like someone was repelled by Dungeons & Dragons, then appreciated the comparative gritty lethality of OSR games, but found some reason to not produce in that space, and instead took those ideas and concepts to work in the Powered by the Apocalypse space, resulting in something that is itself, very new. Which is to say, I don’t feel like I can present Ironsworn to someone going ‘hey, this game lets us tell and play stories like these common signifiers,’ but instead, ‘hey, do you know how those common signifiers are bad? What if they were instead-‘

It is a good game that I checked out because someone asked me to check out Ironsworn. It is by no means a game I would recommend checking out for its theme or the stories it lets you tell. It is a game that I recommend because hey, get a load of how well presented and unique this thing is. Excellently constructed, mechanically coherent, well delivered and just… missing a hook that I understand.

I really think at some point in the new year I need to dedicate some time to finding someone who can run or show me Powered by the Apocalypse being run because it really looks at this stage like a system that’s perfect for just absolutely impeding an otherwise really good creative writing exercise with the besties.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!