Organizing with ADHD
I am a professional organizer who was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) later in life. This diagnosis was completely shocking. I was always top of my class, compulsively organized, and, on the outside I seemed to always have my life in order. Many of my friends and family didn’t believe the diagnosis made sense. Like me, they thought of ADHD as the disorder that made people chronically messy, twitchy, and even a little flighty. I have always struggled with anxiety, panic attacks, and often just didn’t feel right, but nothing about those conditions were considered a byproduct of unmanaged ADHD. Over the years I have learned quite a bit about this diagnosis and how the presentation can be drastically different from person to person. Many of my clients have been diagnosed with ADHD, were diagnosed after we started working together, or have suspected they have it. ADHD can make organizing a challenge for some people.
Some Symptoms of ADHD:
Inattention or hyperfixation
Misplacing items or forgetting things
Problems completing tasks
Impulsivity
Issues regulating emotions or anxiety
Inability to start tasks that seem overwhelming
Executive dysfunction
Time management issues
These are a few of the tips I pass along to my ADHD clients or anyone who has tried other methods and can’t seem to maintain a sorted space.
Body Doubling - Literally, just have another person in your space while you are working on a task. The person doesn’t have to be helping you, doing the same thing you are doing, or, necessarily even be in the same room as you. Because of our executive dysfunction, ADHDers get distracted, impatient, and overwhelmed easily - especially when doing something that isn’t “fun” (i.e. organizing chaos). A body double gives us accountability. Tell your body double what your goals are, use them as a sounding board, have them redirect you when you get distracted, and provide emotional support when needed. Body doubling could be a video chat or phone call too.
Categorize - Categorizing is the linchpin of organizing. First, categorize items by room. If you go through each room in your house you’ll likely find items that don’t belong there. Relocate those items to the room they belong in. For example, if you go to organize the kitchen but find a hammer in the drawer, move the hammer to the garage. Just focus on moving things to the right room before you clean or organize any further. After all unwanted items are out then you can start categorizing the items left in the room into smaller categories and find an appropriate home for them. Part of the categorizing process is rounding up similar things from around the house. The round up provides you with an opportunity to evaluate whether a collection needs to be purged a little before stored or displayed.
DOOM box - A doom box is a catch-all bin for anything that you don’t have a designated spot for or don’t have the mental capacity to deal with - Didn’t Organize, Only Moved. Doom boxes are very useful during the round up and categorizing phase of getting organized. Have a doom box for each room in your home so your decluttering and categorizing process will be quicker and easier. By designating an allotted amount of space for “clutter” you can control how often you need to review items in your doom box to determine if they indeed have a space in your home or if you need to create a spot for them. Some people just need one doom box in their house, some people need one in each room. *Doom boxes are not for important papers or information. They are temporary holding places for things that need to be organized, not long term storage.
Visibility - Out of sight, out of mind is absolutely one of our biggest downfalls. If we don’t see it or know immediately where something is, it doesn’t exist for us. So, as much as we may want cute colored boxes to hide our clutter, they often just perpetuate our disorganization. Clear is key! In addition, lids can be problematic. Find solutions that allow for easy accessibility without having to take a top off a box. Use your vertical space better so you can see things quickly and access them easily. Storage racks, shelves, clear drawers, and labels are great investments for ADHDers to maintain an organized space.
Time Management - ADHDers commonly struggle with time blindness. We have no concept of how much time has passed or how much time something may take to complete. In short, we suck at time management. In order to combat this we need to dramatically overestimate how long we think it will take to do something. When it comes to organizing, ADHDers need to do small spaces at a time. Do not plan to clean and organize the whole house in an evening. It won’t happen. Plan for a whole day in one room, or a whole weekend doing a large space. Have your body double check in with you and keep you on task.
ADHDers typically aren’t great at planning. Because of impulsivity, procrastination, and time management issues we struggle with breaking things down and following through. Getting organized can be very overwhelming and emotional for someone with ADHD. If you have, or suspect you have ADHD and haven’t been able to organize yourself, professional organizers are great resources. By developing sustainable organization systems, being the body double, helping categorize, picking the right products, and keeping you on track, a professional organizer could change your space, and your life.
