Pretty much everyone I know with ADHD has a complex relationship with goals. I’m the same. There seems to be a constant struggle between different definitions of what the word or even the underlying concept means. One fact about my goals, however, is that I need to schedule them into my life or I won’t make any progress on them. I have recently discovered it is the same with fun.

I know many others, even those without ADHD, can fall into this same trap. We are so busy and stressed that when we do take time out from the stuff that needs to get done, we often default to social media or binge-watching Netflix. These aren’t work, but I don’t often feel they’re very much fun either. They’re just nothing, which is what I often think I want. When I don’t get enough fun in my life, however, I notice.

It struck me that one of the few geeky things I was guaranteed to engage with on a regular basis was Star Wars, because of May the Fourth Be With You. I decided to search for dates significant to my other big fandoms. I came up with a couple per fandom because I knew some would be near each other and part of my aim was to have semi-regular times when I could celebrate my geekiness. If I was doing this every day of September but April through May was empty, I wouldn’t be getting what was looking for. So I put them up on a board, cross-checked them all, and eliminated duplicates.

I had created my very own geek calendar. I have dates like Towel Day (May 25th, for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and Steve Roger’s birthday (July 4th, because I have nothing better to do that day, unlike July 1st). I check this calendar every week to see what I have coming up and plan to watch, play, read, or listen to some form of geeky awesomeness on those important days.

I could have just divided up my top fandoms and spread them evenly throughout the year, but this wouldn’t have worked for me because I would lack motivation. Having the knowledge that someone was born, died, published, or aired on a specific day gives me that little boost I need to actually make time for it in my life.

It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant either. On February 27th I downloaded a few episodes of Pokemon onto my Netflix app and watched them while I was doing laundry. This made my life that little bit better.

What fun things would make your life better, if they were scheduled?