This is a collection of mental health resources and information that some of my clients have found helpful in the past, or may be helpful for addressing specific problems you are grappling with.
Many people can benefit by working on their own with mental health resources, but it is also very normal to struggle to implement these tools on your own. Sometimes people need to process past events, and address emotional, psychological, and practical barriers before they can use these tools successfully. A Counsellor can often help. If you are interested in counselling you can:
Most of the tools in this section are free, but some are not. I am not paid by any of the companies listed below, and try out using these tools before posting them.
Executive Functioning (Getting things done)
Executive functioning skills are the skills we use to get things done. They include things like planning skills, time management skills, remembering things, attention and focus, getting motivated, emotion regulation, and problem solving.
When you are stressed, or struggling with depression it can impact your Executive Functioning Skills. This makes it harder to solve problems, and can lead to even more stress. We also live in a world designed for Neurotypical folks, so sometimes it can be hard for other’s to understand why you can’t do some of these things automatically. If it were that easy, you would have done it already! So if you find you are struggling with Executive Functioning, some of these tools might help.
Tools for help with Getting Motivated:
When we look at a really big task and think about all the energy it would take to get it done, it can feel like too much to even start.
- However, for most tasks getting something done is better than having nothing done, AND accomplishing tasks is how we start to rebuild momentum.
- If it is a really big task, you can use this online tool to help you break down the task into smaller parts.
- If it is a task that only has one step but feels overwhelming to do completely, see if you can break it down into smaller chunks. Instead of picking all the clothes off of the floor, maybe you pick up 5 items, maybe you just pick up a sock.
This is a free phone application (as of March 2024 the subscription option gives you access to some perks but is not necessary to use the app).
- You have a bird, who you give energy to every time you complete a self care task (or other task) on your to-do list. When your bird has enough energy for the day, it will go on an adventure and learn something new about the world that it will come back and share with you. Your bird grows up and develops a personality over time, and nothing bad happens if you do not complete tasks.
- This is especially useful tool for people who are struggling to find the motivation to get out of bed, or get basic self care tasks done.
- It also works well for many folks with ADHD, especially if you use the widget feature so you don’t forget about it.
Many people, especially people with ADHD, struggle to do the same tasks every day. Strategies like making a task that is usually boring into a race against the clock or another person, spinning a wheel to decide what task to do next, or even making up a points system for yourself can help.
Putting on music that gives you energy, getting tools to make tasks you do regularly easier, picking a time when you are not already tired, and getting help are all potential ways of making normally unpleasant tasks a little easier. While we can’t avoid everything that is unpleasant, no one benefits from unnecessary discomfort.
While this may seem obvious, this can be a really tricky balance to find. Many people find they either feel guilty for taking breaks or only completing part of a task, and others find it very hard to know how and when to push themselves. If this is something that is difficult for you, it might be helpful to speak to a counsellor about it.
Humans are very social, and the majority of people find it is easier to get tasks done if you are around someone else who is also working.
Tools for help with Planning Tasks:
This website uses AI to help you break down a big task into smaller steps. It also can estimate how long each task might take.
Tools for help with Focusing:
Junebugging or Anchoring is a system you can use to minimize opportunities to be distracted by other tasks and return to what you were doing as quickly as possible when you are interrupted. It also lets you break up cleaning into smaller, less overwhelming tasks, so you can get some cleaning done even when you do not have the energy to get all the cleaning done.
- Identify a section of a room that needs to be cleaned. This will be your anchor, which you return to repeatedly until it is cleaned.
- Narrow the focus of your anchor as much as possible. Instead of planning to clean a full room, identify a single task within a room.
- Example: I want to clean my kitchen –> I want to clean off the counters –> I am going to clean off the counter by my stove
- Start cleaning
- Every time you find that you have gotten interrupted or distracted, either finish or stop the task that has distracted you, and return to your anchor location
- If you find something that’s home is somewhere else, put it away if it’s in the same room, but if it’s in another room put it at the doorway. Do not leave the room.
- If you find putting things away in the same room is getting you sidetracked from your initial task, just put them next to the place they go away
- Example 1: Clean clothes on top of the dresser, then return to cleaning the bed
- Example 2: dirty dishes next to the sink, then return to cleaning the dining table
- If there are other tasks running in the background while you’re cleaning (eg. Laundry) set alarms to keep track of them.
- If you have to leave the room to change the laundry, carry a reminder with you to return to your original cleaning zone, or set an additional alarm to remind you to return when that task is complete
- Once you are done cleaning the room you are in, gather up the items at the doorway in a basket or box, and carry them all with you as you put them away.
- This means you only have to look down to identify what you were doing or what you need to do next.
- Don’t put down the basket until you are done.