7 Ways ADHD Impacts Organizing & 7 Ways to Overcome Them

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects significantly more than a person’s ability to focus. It has a direct link to a person's ability to organize their stuff, their time, and their thoughts. For today, let’s look at how ADHD impacts the organization of your physical “stuff”.

1. Impulsivity - Let’s start with where all the stuff came from. Impulsive purchases can lead to buying things you don’t really need or have room for. The allure of a new planner, container or system that’s “definitely the solution” leads to more clutter.
2. Overwhelm - When there’s too much stuff, people with ADHD can feel overwhelmed and unsure about where to start.
3. Procrastination/Avoiding - The clutter becomes overwhelming, and you’re unsure of where to begin. You probably have 10 other things that need to be done, so you tackle the things you know how to do. 
4. Prioritizing Tasks - Once you’ve decided to tackle a space, you still need to decide where to start. With ADHD, everything can seem equally important. As you progress in the project, there’s the added wrinkle of being sidetracked by less important activities or things. Think of the mouse in the kid’s book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”. 
5. Following Through - Starting organizing tasks with good intentions is common, but completing them can be difficult, leading to half-finished projects or plans. At some point you’ll probably run into decision making fatigue or get bored with the project. Following through can show up in finishing the project (the closet looks great!) but losing steam when you need to clean up or return other things to their homes (the donation bag stays in your car for 3 months).
6. Maintaining Organization Systems - Even when organization systems are in place, people with ADHD may find it hard to maintain these systems over time, leading to clutter and disorganization. Ease of maintenance is often overlooked. We may over-engineer a project because it’s incredibly interesting to solve a problem. Maintenance is much less interesting. 
7. Inconsistent Energy Levels - ADHD can come with fluctuating energy levels, making it hard to find the motivation or stamina for organizing and/or maintaining the system. 

Understanding and accepting that ADHD makes getting organized and staying organized harder is essential to making it do-able for the ADHDer. Thinking it “should” be easier isn’t helpful and takes away energy you need for the actual organizing project. Here are 7 tips for organizing with a party brain…
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1. Pause Before Purchasing - Ask yourself, “Do I really need this ________?”. Answer honestly.
2. Start small. Tackle one drawer instead of the whole kitchen.
3. Acknowledge Your Effort - In every step of the project, recognize the effort you’re giving…especially with starting. Getting started is often the hardest part, so acknowledge that you pushed through and started. Rewarding the effort is incredibly powerful. 
4. One thing at a time -Stay in the space you’re organizing and do not leave it. Create piles for categories like donations, things to sell, things to relocate, etc. 
5. Make a plan - Before even starting, schedule a donation pickup or have a plan of where & when you’re dropping them off. Have supplies like trash bags and boxes with you (to separate the piles you’re creating so that you don’t leave the space).
6. Keep It Simple - The simpler the system, the easier it is to maintain.  
7. BYOD (Bring Your Own Dopamine) - Find ways to maintain interest and energy, like playing music, having a body double, or setting time challenges. Also, make sure you’re properly fueled and hydrated.

If you want in-person, professional help, organizing your spaces, I recommend finding a Professional Organizer through the National Association of Productivity & Professional Organizers at napo.net. Please ask the organizer if they understand ADHD! You want support from those who understand the challenges ADHD brings to organizing. 

Coaching is another effective avenue to figure out a way to organize that works with your brain. I moved from organizing into coaching because success in organization depends on understanding how your brain works and setting up your space to support you. If you’d like to talk more about how coaching can help you get organized, I’d love to chat! You can schedule a free 30 minute discovery call here.

Whatever space you’re organizing, remember to acknowledge your effort and you’ll do great!