ADHD Homeschooling & Working mom hack

If you follow our family on Instagram, you have heard me say, "It's a Tens Day." I have been using this method I created for myself for almost twenty years. I have ADHD, but I did not know it until later into adulthood. Before then, I was constantly coming up with ways to keep myself productive. I am really good at getting a lot of things done in a short amount of time, and this is how I do it. The Tens. Trademark coming soon.

The Tens is simple. I use this on the days when I am completely overwhelmed with work, the house is a mess, and I need to homeschool the kids. I call out, "TENS DAY!" and my husband and kids know exactly what is happening.

First, I make a list of the things that need to be done that day.

Then set a timer.

I cannot tell you how many times a day you'll hear me saying, "Hey Alexa. Set my timer for ten minutes."

Once that timer begins, I get to work. I take something on my list and I do it for ten minutes. That task is usually not complete by the end of the timer, but no matter what, when that timer goes off, I stop what I am doing and start the next thing.

I rotate my tasks so that everything and everyone is being attended to in a short period of time. This helps to calm my brain because before I know it, the house becomes cleaner, my work to-do list gets smaller and smaller, and each child has been given love and attention. It works wonders for my ADHD and I know has helped families all around the world who now use this method in their homes. I cannot wait for you to try this!

Some days our timers are set for fifteen, twenty, or thirty minutes. I usually do not have the attention span for a thirty-minute timer because within that thirty minutes my mind wanders too much.

I like ten, fifteen, and twenty-minute timers because I can be intentional! When you take the ten minutes to be completely focused on what you are doing and think or act on nothing else, you are working smarter. You are being intentional.

The kids LOVE this. When they know it is their turn for a ten-minute mommy time, they know I'm all theirs.

Here is an example of how I would do The Tens and when I would use it.

Set the Scene: I am standing in our downstairs and see messes everywhere. The sink is full of dishes, someone spilled yogurt on the living room rug, our youngest is screaming wanting his favorite show turned on, our oldest is asking me how she can earn ten dollars to buy a new toy for her hamster, and I'm trying to give snuggles to our very cuddly middle-child. All of this is happening while I need to answer five messages in my Etsy inbox, finish writing a curriculum, and homeschool the kids at some point. (This is real life by the way).

I look around, want to cry, and then call out (usually scream it out), "Ok guys! Time for The Tens! Alexa. Set my timer for ten-minutes!"

The timer starts. I begin to clean. The yogurt is now cleaned up. Our oldest is now helping me clean. The toys on the floor are all picked up. I tell our younger daughter she is now "Lead Helper" for the day, and she is distracted by how proud she feels.

Timer goes off. Living room is now clean. I feel calmer already. I set the timer again and this time we get out the LEGO bucket and we PLAY. Repeat.

After I've played LEGOs for ten-minutes, I now head to my computer and set that timer again. This time I answer the five Etsy messages that were waiting for me.

In just a half hour, the house got cleaner, the kids had love and attention given to them, and I could breathe easier knowing my Etsy inbox was empty.

I swear to you, this method helps relieve anxiety in our home. It solves most of our hard days. I feel calm just thinking about it.

I will say. I am like a squirrel collecting nuts for the winter when the timer is on and it is time to clean. It can make my husband Matt feel a little anxious watching me because it stresses him out how quickly I run around. It's a bit comical actually. I am giggling to myself as I write this, thinking about how funny I probably look trying to beat that timer.

In our home, The Tens is a way for everyone to know what needs to be done and for the kids to know where my attention will be.

They know my cycle. In this example, it was house, kids, work. I repeat that cycle until tasks for the house or work are done. Then all the time for the rest of the day is for the kids. And this is how we do life a lot of days!