The Tools That Are Actually Helping Me & my ADHD

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I’ve tried every productivity tool under the sun.

Some have been game-changers. Others? Let’s just say they didn’t last long.

So today, I want to share what I’ve been using, what’s working, what’s not, and how I’m keeping my ADHD brain (somewhat) organized.

Let’s get into it. 👇🏽

🚀 The Game-Changer: WhisperFlow 🎤📝

I talk more than I type (because ADHD), so having something that transcribes my thoughts into text? Game-changer.

✔ Lets me talk into any tool & transcribes it.
✔  It helps clean up my thoughts so I’m not staring at a chaotic word dump.
✔ It makes it 10x easier to organize notes, emails, and ideas—especially when I’m working, wrangling kids, or just need to talk things out instead of type.

I’ve always needed something that could bridge the gap between my brain and structured output. And this? Does exactly that.

What I Want to Love, But… 🤷🏽‍♀️

Obsidian

Obsidian is a great note-taking app—in theory.

✔ It’s like a souped-up version of Apple Notes with backlinking and fancy features.
❌ But it’s not intuitive to set up in a way that actually works for me.
❌ I know it can do more, but the learning curve is driving me insane.

I haven’t given up on it yet, but if I have to spend 10 hours building a system before it’s useful… is it really useful?

If you’re the type of person who enjoys building your own complex knowledge system, you might love this.

Notion: I Keep Trying, But…

Listen. I love Notion. I want to love Notion. But every time I try to fully integrate it into my life, I run into the same issues:

❌ The process of creating a structured database that actually works for me? Exhausting.
❌ The automation is meh—I spend more time setting up workflows than actually using them.
❌ The setup takes more mental energy than I usually have to give.

So I keep trying to make it work… but I always end up going back to Google Sheets (which I also don’t love, but at least I can move quickly).

What’s Become My Everyday Go-To

🤖 ChatGPT:

Everyone’s talking about ChatGPT like it’s just a business tool. Nah. I use this for EVERYTHING.

📌 Figuring out ways to tweak recipes to help with my PCOS (because the internet is chaotic).
📌 Fundraising ideas for my kid’s PTO (because I’m not selling wrapping paper again).
📌 Craft ideas for holidays that are actually doable (i.e., not requiring a trip to six different stores).
📌 Story prompts for bedtime because sometimes my brain is too tired to be creative but my kids demand it.
📌 Writing polite but firm PTA emails because some people need to be told things nicely.
📌 Helping me figure out if I should go to the doctor (but let’s be real, WebMD still wins in making me panic).

And yes, I also use it for work—turning meeting notes into action items, drafting emails, summarizing articles, making this newsletter coherent, etc.

But mostly? It’s my ADHD personal assistant, and I’d be lost without it.

The Tool I’m Most Excited About: CORXLY's Chrome Extension 🚀

You know when you open a tab for a specific reason—but 20 minutes later, you’re staring at it like, "Why did I open this?"

That’s what the CORXLY Chrome extension is solving.

✔ Keeps track of why you opened each tab.
✔ Helps you stay on task when you start tab-hopping.
✔ Gently reminds you what you were actually doing before you got distracted.

I’ve been testing it out for the past few weeks, and it’s already helping me focus—especially when I’m deep in client work.

📌 Update: We submitted the paperwork to get it verified on the Chrome Store! 🎉 Once that’s done, we’ll do some final testing and get it live for you all.

Speaking of Productivity, Burnout & Work...

One of the biggest productivity traps we’ve all fallen into? Tying our self-worth to how much we get done.

💡 If that’s you, join me and Katie Dunn on March 4th for a live conversation on:

🔥 Why productivity ≠ personal value (and how to unlearn that mindset)
💸 How financial security influences our ability to set work boundaries
🤖 Whether AI tools actually help prevent burnout or just shift the workload

If you’ve ever felt like your worth is tied to your work (because same), this conversation is for you.

📅 March 4, 2025 | 🖥 LinkedIn Live
🔗 Register here

✨ A huge thank you to Katie Dunn for sharing her expertise—if you’re a founder, leader, or just someone who’s tired of feeling like they have to hustle 24/7, this is for you.

Now, I Want to Hear From You

What productivity tools have you been using?
What’s actually working for you right now—and what’s been a total fail?

Hit reply and let me know! I’m always looking for new things to test! Also if you want to chat about tools, productivity systems of want to need to convince me about any of the above - shoot me a reply.

Till next time,
Ariana