The other night, I had a dream so bizarre that I actually laughed out loud thinking about it the next day. Picture this: I was living in a flat completely filled with salmon—yes, actual fish, just casually lying around like they belonged there. As if that wasn’t strange enough, I had unexpected visitors: an old business partner I hadn’t seen in years and, of all people, Elon Musk.
Elon, being Elon, seemed completely unfazed by the sheer absurdity of the situation, making himself at home among the salmon. Soon enough, my once fish-filled flat turned into a full-blown party, packed with people, many of whom I recognized from my university days. The whole thing had this surreal, dream-logic flow where nothing made sense, but somehow, it all felt completely normal.
When I woke up, I wasn’t just confused—I was amused. There’s something strangely delightful about how our brains mash up random elements from our lives and turn them into these cinematic fever dreams.
Managing Chaos: From Dreams to Reality
While my subconscious throws salmon at me, my conscious mind has been tackling something equally chaotic: managing my ADHD and getting things done. Over the years, I’ve learned that if I don’t have a system in place, tasks pile up, distractions take over, and I end up feeling overwhelmed.
This year, I’ve adopted two simple but powerful mantras:
1. “Don’t put it down, put it away.”
2. “Do it now.”
Both are aimed at cutting through the noise and making sure small things don’t spiral into big problems.
Mantra 1: “Don’t Put It Down, Put It Away”
ADHD often means living in a state of organized chaos. You put something down for “just a second,” and suddenly, it’s lost in the abyss of clutter that materializes out of nowhere. The first mantra is my defense against this. If something has a place, it goes back there immediately—no excuses, no procrastination.
It sounds simple, but this one shift has saved me so much time that would otherwise be spent searching for keys, chargers, notebooks, and that one pen I swear I just had a second ago.
Mantra 2: “Do It Now”
The second mantra is my battle cry against procrastination. If a task takes less than a few minutes, I handle it right away. No “I’ll get to it later,” no “I’ll just check my phone first.” Just action.
This one has been a game-changer. Emails don’t pile up, dishes don’t stack in the sink, and those tiny tasks that used to hover over me like a cloud of guilt? Gone before they can even become a problem.
Bringing It All Together
At the end of the day, life—much like my dream—is unpredictable, chaotic, and sometimes completely ridiculous. But instead of drowning in the randomness, I’m learning to navigate it with a little structure, a little discipline, and a whole lot of humor.
And if nothing else, at least I know that no matter how strange life gets, it’ll probably never involve a living room full of salmon and Elon Musk making himself comfortable in it.
Have any weird dreams lately? Or mantras that keep you on track? Drop them in the comments—I’d love to hear them!