As someone who just started on methylphenidate this year with good results:
- I initially started on Concerta but found that I was burning through the dose way faster than advertised (4hrs vs 8hrs) and experiencing an unpleasant crash at the end where I felt zoned out, emotionally flat and unable to focus at all; and this was with the supposed holy grail Janssen variant.
- IR was slightly better but the rush up and crash down wasn't stable enough for me throughout the day, and managing the doses is an imperfect science / requires awareness of time (obviously not my strong suit).
- Going onto an XR variant (generic for Metadate, capsule with extended release beads) has been the best so far. It lasts throughout the workday, has a smoother onset and "landing" that for the most part doesn't send me into a crash, and is available to me as a very cheap generic.
- I take it first thing in the morning, take my dog out for a walk (~30 mins), and the timing works out perfectly for when I get back and get started with work. If you have a gauge of how long it takes to start working, then maybe work backwards and build a routine around that (e.g., when you arrive at work, before you leave, etc.). Ideally it's latched to something in your existing routine so you don't forget.
- Regarding the period where medication is wearing off, this tends to align with when I finish up my work throughout the day (which the proper dosing should achieve), and I usually go to the gym to lift weights shortly after. This works for me as a transition to doing something productive / good for my health, and the exertion seems to help with the slight withdrawal sensation during this period. Otherwise I tend to trail off into mindless internet browsing once I check out of work.
- Organization-wise I just maintain a simple to-do list so I have it on hand when I get started with my day. It seems to work best when I have it updated from the day before so that I can just sit down and get started without having to figure out what to do first. Granted I do still have a tendency to jump around between things throughout the day, but having that reference on hand definitely helps me to stay productive instead of going down rabbit holes.
- I also somehow semi-quit social media after years of trying to no avail. Namely Instagram, which for me was the lowest resistance / easiest to slip into an endless time-suck on, as well as my Reddit homepage (I only check two sports subreddits which don't move that quickly). I hid Instagram from my home screen, and created two browser bar bookmarks to the individual subreddits to avoid going to the homepage so if I have an impulse I can take a quick break, but won't have enough content to stay on for long. The endless scroll is a son-of-a for folks like me. YouTube time has gone up, but at least with the content I watch there I'm learning something related to my hobbies.
- I'm sure you already know but always good to mention food and water, I went through a short stint where I had to take antacids because the combination of medication + some acidic foods (I think it was greek yogurt) were messing with my stomach.
Definitely still doing some fine-tuning myself, but the medication has been so helpful in the sense that I can actually implement lifestyle / habit adjustments without them immediately falling by the wayside. Currently my main issue is managing my sleep schedule - I've always been a night owl but also know that I feel much more calm when I can wake up earlier and get a good start to the day. Seasons have also always hit me pretty hard energy / mood wise, especially during the daylight savings transitions. I use light therapy to help stave that off.