Resources that are changing my life… for the better.
If you’re anything like me (read: neurodivergent or are managing ADHD), finding out what tools work for you is a tremendous journey. Building an acting career while balancing my financial goals requires organization and multiple brains that work to keep me working on the items of highest priority as consistently as possible. Moreover finding a tool that I actually stick with almost never happens! The more tools I try, the more I value simplicity and how easily the program integrates with things I am already using. Here are three resources that are changing my life.
Sunsama
The app that helps makes a life that looks like this, manageable.
Founded by BIPOC developer Ashutosh Priyadarshy, this app integrates with Google Calendar, Gmail, Outlook, and so many more applications so you can view your whole life in one glance. My primary struggle is with distractibility and motivation. I can get started on one task with the intention of working on it for 15 minutes, check the clock after getting started and find myself working on 5 other tasks - not even the one I started on - 2 hours later. Ouf. With this app not only can I use my calendar to realistically plan my day and keep me on schedule, it tracks how I’ve spent my time, align my tasks with my goals and can provide me with a report on how I’ve spent the week in case I need to make changes.
Protagonist
Screenshot of Protagonist in action.
A visual of how chaotic my career options are… but Protagonist makes it better. :)
Decisions, decisions, decisions… raise your hand if making decisions sends you into a cold sweat, complete with recurring nightmares, anxiety attacks, and mental anguish. No one? Just me? Well, I hope this app helps you anyway.
As an individual inclined towards decision paralysis, visualizing and making decisions based on data is a no brainer; whereas if I have to rely on my feelings to come to a conclusion, we will be here until a deadline pressures me to make a choice. Protagonist allows you evaluate multiple options based on the criteria that matters to you and uses a simple, colorful interface to visualize the options and decision factors. Having an organized customizable place to unpack my crowded brain when I want to take action that relies on data makes my ambivalent artistic heart happy.
Pzizz
I’ve been using this app for about 3 years now and I am CONSISTENTLY happier the nights I use it before bed than the nights I don’t. I am not the type of person able to fall asleep just because a room is dark and quiet because often my brain or body is often vibrating with anxiety about the future or some mistake I’d made during the day among other things. Pzizz blends beautiful soundscapes with the dulcet tones of some talented actors (Pzizz - I am open and available for work :) ) leading you through a sleep meditation, a non-traditional version of a bedtime story, or even some sleepy history. The app plays the soundscape for as long as you’d like and then plays an alarm instructing you to wake up! Yes - there is man who says, “it’s time to wake up” LOL. Set the timer for how long you want to sleep (the Nap option is my favorite) and snuggle with your boo or duvet knowing you’re going to sleep like a baby.