Organizing with an ADHD Brain

Organizing with ADHD Brain

ADHD and organizing don't play well together. They are constantly battling with each other.  If you or someone you love has ADHD, please know that it's not easy to be organized with that brain structure. But it IS possible. Knowledge is power and learning how to work with an ADHD brain is key to getting organized and staying that way.  Work with your brain, not against it!  

After getting my ADHD diagnosis at age 40, I dove into books to learn more about it and how it affected the way I lived. My favorite organizing book is ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life by Judith Kohlberg.  There are so many useful and truly "ADD-Friendly" organization tips in her book.  An excellent resource for understanding Adult ADHD is More Attention, Less Deficit: Success Strategies for Adults with ADHD by Ari Tuckman, PsyD.  Humorous and easy to read, you will get a real education on how an adult ADHD brain works. 

So how can you become more organized without reading lots of books?  Start with a small change and make that change stick before diving into all the tips. Here are three of my favorite tricks to improve your everyday organization or productivity...

1. Post-its.  When you need to stay focused, have a pad of post-its next to you.  Anytime a thought (unrelated to what you should be doing) pops in your head, jot it down on a post-it.  You have now relieved your brain of having to try to remember that other thought and you can get back to work.  

2.  Noisli is a website which creates background noise when you are working on the computer (they also have an app for your smart phone).  Helps improve focus and productivity.  It's free to try, so there's nothing to lose.  I'm listening to it as I type this newsletter! 

3.  Give yourself a break - Are you really going to be able to do all 15 items on your to-do list today?  Or will you feel overwhelmed and, most likely, not accomplish any of them?  Know yourself and give yourself approval to only put 3 items on that daily to-do list.  Add the other items to a "maybe do" list.  If you get around to some of them, great!  But don't heckle yourself for not doing them. 

Pick 1 of these 3 tricks and try it out.  Not just once, but keep trying it until you start to see success...which you will! 
 
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