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Chores
How to start chores when you have ADHD
Chores are hostile to starting because they are never finished. The sink fills again. That is not a reason to wait for a free Saturday. It is a reason to make the start smaller than the chore.
One chore, one container, five minutes
Dishes: run the water and wash what five minutes can hold. You may stop with a dirty sink. Leave the drying rack as the proof. Do not also unload a full dishwasher and scrub the pots unless the five minutes are done and you choose to continue.
Laundry: gather one load from the floor or the chair and start the washer. Folding can be a later start. "Just the shirts" is a complete task. Mail and admin: one envelope or one message. Open it, decide trash or one action, and write that action if you cannot do it now. Do not sort the whole pile as the price of reading one bill.
The old chore is not a bigger start
A chore that has been sitting for three weeks gets the same first five minutes as a chore from today. Age is not size. If the place feels too far gone to finish, pick the corner you walk past most often. Trash, one container, five minutes. The goal of the first session is a visible change in that corner.
A messy room is the same idea with a doorway and a zone. The room page stays on one surface. The 5-minute rule is the ceiling for either one.
Leave the next cue where you will meet it
Before you walk away from the washer, write "move the load" where you will see it. A dryer beep is a weak cue if you already know you tune beeps out. The next start should be written, not remembered.
Some people start more easily with another person nearby. Inchly does not include a live room, a camera, or a co-working session. If a person helps you, use them. Alone, the tools here are a short timer and a list you can edit.
Do it in this order
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Name one chore
Dishes, one load of laundry, or one piece of mail. Not "the house."
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Pick the container
The sink you will use, the basket, or the envelope in your hand.
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Set five minutes and start
You may stop when it ends, even if the chore is unfinished.
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Leave proof
A drying rack, a running washer, or one opened envelope. Visible, not perfect.
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Write the next cue
The following action goes in one line before you leave.
Where Inchly fits
Type "laundry" and the on-device breakdown suggests gathering one load, starting the washer, moving it later, folding the shirts, putting those away, and leaving the rest. Edit it if your machines are down the hall. The first line should still be something you can do where you are. Repeating chores can sit in a routine. The free plan includes two routines. A note with three lines also works.
Questions
What if the whole place is too far gone for five minutes?
Then five minutes will not finish it. Pick the corner you walk past. Remove trash and fill one container. A visible change in that corner is the session.
Do I need another person in the room to start?
Some people do start more easily with company. That is optional, and this app does not provide a live session or a camera. A five-minute timer still works when you are alone.
How do I remember the second half, like moving laundry?
Write the next line before you leave: "move the load." Do not rely on a beep you have missed before. The written line is the next start.
Try a 5-minute start
Open Inchly in the browser, or get the Android app. No account and no ads. Capture, on-device steps, and the five-minute timer are free to start.
Try the web app Get it on Google PlayAndroid package com.montgomeryappworks.inchly.