An ADHD-Friendly Way to Track Online Orders

Shopping online can be very helpful when you have ADHD. For example,

You can shop when you have mental energy, but not physical.
Less sensory overload, particularly during holidays when shops tend to be crowded, loud music, and bright holiday decorations.
Stop and start as needed, when you need a break from making decisions.
You can leave items in your cart and think about a purchase, rather than feeling pressured to get an item while you are in the physical store.
Frees up time because there is zero travel time, and clicking is faster than walking from store to store.
Zero logistics to navigate like shopping during business hours, finding parking.

It’s just you, your screen, and your shopping list.

Keeping track of your orders

That being said, there are some downsides to online shopping (a topic for another article), including keeping track of your orders, particularly if you order a lot of items at one time, perhaps for the holidays, decorating a room, or a family member’s birthday.

It’s hard to remember when an item is arriving, if it’s already come, or whether you actually ordered it or just did it in your imagination.

Some online stores send clear emails with status updates, such as when they received your order, when the item or items are shipped, and when they have been delivered. Others don’t send much at all.

There is also the possibility that your item was delivered, but to the wrong address or left on your porch, and you just haven’t seen it yet.

How do you keep track of everything if you don’t want to print lots of things, or have a spreadsheet, or a complex system?

Is there a system that works?

Absolutely!

The problem with online orders is that they are Out of Sight, Out of Mind.

They live in your inbox somewhere, and you have a vague idea that items are coming, but it’s hard for your brain remember everything, and that can feel disorientating.

What helps is making it visual.

Because when it’s in sight, it’s in mind,

You have a memory prompt, which reduces your mental load (because you aren’t trying to hold this information in your head)

You feel organized because you can see the whole picture at once.

Disorganization happens when information is scattered (some in your memory, some info in your inbox, and some missing completely)

The Simple Post-it Note Tracking System

It’s so simple, yet so helpful.

You just need:

post-it notes
a pen
a bit of wall space.

Step 1: Ordered

As soon as you place an order, write a Post-it note with

The store
The items you ordered (list them out, because sometimes companies will send items in separate packages that will arrive on different days)

Put the Post-it note in the Ordered section on your wall.

Step 2. Shipped

When you get an email or notification that your order has been shipped, move your post-it note to the ‘shipped section‘ on your wall.

This helps you to know what packages to keep an eye out for.

This is especially useful if packages don’t always get delivered in a predictable way.

Step 3. Arrived

When it has arrived, move your post-it note to the arrived section of your wall!

This shows you it’s physically in your possession, even if you haven’t opened it yet.

Step 4. Done

When you have opened the package, tried the items on (clothing), or checked that it works (gadgets), and know you’ll be keeping the item, rip the post-it note up and put it in the recycling.

Your job is complete!

You don’t need to track it anymore.

Step 5 Returns (If needed)

If you need to return the item for any reason, move the post-it note to the return section of your wall.

Returns can be very hard when you have ADHD, because it’s a multi-step process, and you might feel some guilt or worry that the return won’t be accepted.