Getting organized can be one part of an overall treatment plan to help manage ADHD. Structure can be tremendously beneficial to someone with ADHD. Organizing systems, lists, reminders, and calendars can help manage the chaos of daily life so that you can be more productive and feel more in control. I have worked with so many people living in "crisis mode", responding to crisis after crisis, letting life control them instead of controlling their life.
If you are:
- frustrated by the piles and the clutter
- rushing from place to place and always running late
- losing track of what you need to do
- wasting time searching for lost items
- missing appointments and deadlines
- surrounded by unfinished projects
We will work together to:
- clear your clutter and organize your space
- establish maintainable systems
- create and manage to-do lists
- develop a realistic weekly schedule
- establish routines that will help restore order
- utilize reminder tools to keep you on track
- manage and complete projects
Why is organizing such a challenge for people with ADHD?
ADHD affects the "executive functioning" part of the brain. That is the part of the brain that involves planning, organizing, time management, focus, memory, and decision making.
- If you don't plan ahead then you won't set time aside to get organized. You'll try to do it on the spur of the moment or in reaction to a crisis. Not the best strategy!
- Even once an area is organized, you will still need to have a time management strategy to set aside the time to maintain it. If you don't set aside the time to deal with the laundry, then it will just pile up all over again.
- If you have trouble focusing, then it is hard to stick with an organizing project for very long, especially when something more interesting catches your attention. How many times have you tried to organize one room and ended up in another doing something totally different?
- Do you leave things out so you will "remember where they are"? Chances are that strategy won't work, especially when you continue to leave even more things out as "reminders". You may know that you need to write yourself notes to help you remember things, but if the notes end up all over the place, it is hard to remember what to do.
- Clutter is often about unmade decisions. If you don't know what to do with something, you just put it down somewhere instead of putting it away or deciding to get rid of it. Eventually you are left with a big pile of unmade decisions.
There are effective strategies to deal with all of these challenges. Through study and observation, I have learned that having ADHD can be a gift as well as a challenge. The people that I have encountered are bright, funny, and creative. They are great at coming up with inventive solutions to problems and have taught me a lot about organizing. Specifically, that there is no "right" way to organize and that there is such a thing as being "organized enough". If you are ready to make a change in your life, then I can help get you there.
*It is important to note that I am not a medical professional who diagnoses and treats ADHD. I can help you organize your space and establish routines that will help you create the structure you need to succeed.