Tag Archive for: AD/HD

ADHD Friendly Ways to Clear Clutter and Organize Your House

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adhd friendly ways to clear clutter and organize your home

 

 

Here is a 15 minute tutorial for ADHD Friendly Ways to Clear Your Clutter and Organize Your House.  

Please print this handout before you begin the tutorial.

ADHD Friendly Ways to Clear Clutter and Organize Your Home

(Handout)

 

 

Getting started

  • Start Small
  • Plan your time
  • Challenges of Perfectionism and procrastination
  • Emotional attachments
  • Financial attachments

 

Organizing strategies for your stuff

  • Plan your work and work your plan
  • Letting go (consignment, Facebook Marketplace, philanthropies)
  • Categorizing and organizing
  • A “Home” for your items
  • Organizing products
  • Working your plan and keeping organized

 

 

Tips for Getting and Staying Organized

  • Create routines for you and your home (Admin Day, Decluttering appointments)
  • Tricks and tips of labelling
  • Strategic work zones in your home
  • Finding a partner with a clutter buddy, body double, or paper partner
  • Make it fun with a playlist or reward

 

 

Resources

ADD Friendly Ways to Organize

The Magic of Tidying Up

Professional-Organizer.com Ellen’s Blog

 

Decluttering questions to ask yourself

 

Questions about use

  • Questions about use help you determine how often you use an item and if so, whether to keep it.
  • Do I love it or use it?
  • When was the last time I used it?
  • If it is less than $20 and it takes less than 20 minutes to get it again, can I let it go?
  • If you could fit in this right now, would you wear it?

 

Questions about quantity

  • Questions about quantity help you let go of excess.
  • How many of these do I need?
  • Would I buy this again today?
  • Where do I store it to find it again?

 

Questions for lifestyle

  • Questions about lifestyle help you acknowledge your feelings about an item.
  • Does this help me be my best self?
  • Will my future self use this?
  • Is this holding me back?

 

Questions about emotional attachment

  • Questions about emotional attachment define whether to keep an item or let it go.
  • Is this something that makes me sad or reminds me of a sad time?
  • Does this make me smile?
  • Do I honor it as a keepsake?

 

Questions about finances

  • Does this have value greater than $50?
  • Should I sell this or donate it?
  • Can it be a blessing to others who have great need?

 

 

 

3 ADHD Productivity Tips

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3 adhd productivity tips

 

ADHD and other brain based conditions impact productivity. It’s the quest to “get stuff done.” You start and are interrupted by other people, social media or the thoughts in your head.  With so much going on in your head, it’s difficult to focus. With each distraction, it takes an average of 15 minutes to regain complete focus.  It can be hard to get started on a task or to go back to a task the next day.  All of these aspects of executive function interfere with productivity.  Here’s help to address distractions and productivity.

Task batching

Task batching is multiplying the same task or do the same task repeatedly in a sequence. It’s when you bake 4 banana breads instead of 2, write 12 blog posts correlating to your themed blog calendar, or make 4 calls back to back.  The reason task batching helps is you have gotten past getting started and now you are in the flow of getting a task done.  You minimize distractions with staying focused on one task or series of tasks.  A few of my favorite task batching ideas are to answer email 3 times a day, block times of the day to respond to phone calls, or do your marketing on the same morning each week.  Task batch with any action by doing these together at the same, established time.

 

Chunk your task

Do you have items like this on your list: do taxes, send newsletter, or write a book?  Each of these tasks is a multiple step project requiring many small tasks for completion. Splitting these tasks into smaller chunks, or even micro-chunks, can help you get stuff done.  Start by capturing your task on a list.  Write the next step for the task and a completion date.  Write this as a series of steps and check these off as you accomplish each. Another option is Trello, an online task management tool, to break down a project to make it more manageable. A mindmap can help too.  Breaking a task into smaller, manageable, chunks helps you accomplish more.

 

Write it down when interrupted or the at the end of the day

You are about to finish up your day and you are in the middle of your work.  Write down where you are and what you are doing.  Writing this down helps you start back up where you left off and gives you a frame of reference for your work. If you are in the middle of your work and you are interrupted by a phone call or colleague, use a post it note to write down where you are.  It’s not surprising that these notes not only save time, and also keep you at a high pace of action.

 

These 3 options are small ways to be more productive. Here’s a daily tool for productivity!

 

Sign up for productivity tips here!

Why can’t I do this myself?

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why cant I do this myself

 

It’s a sentence I hear from many clients.

 

Why can’t I do this myself?

 

What’s behind this question?

 

It takes a new way of thinking to accept help at times.

 

Recently I heard of a perspective shift from a client.  As a single entrepreneur woman, she had a lot on her plate. She also had her cats to think of.  In thinking about how she was trying to do it all herself, she reflected on some tv shows from her youth. There was the Courtship of Eddie’s Father with Mrs. Livingston, there was the show Hazel and there was the Brady Bunch with Alice. It was an aha moment as she realized she needed help!

 

It takes awareness to reach this new perspective and reach out for help.

It takes courage to accept help in your personal space. It’s about a trusting relationship.  It’s about knowing that there is no judgement in working with someone.

 

It’s acknowledging your need for help is not a lack of your skill or lack of determination.  The most commitment need help too.

 

It’s acknowledging that your brain works in a certain way. It’s knowing that having someone else in the space helps your brain work best, helps you process in a way that works best for you and helps get the job you started finished.

 

It’s in finding who is a good fit for your team.

 

There are lots of potential members of your team. It’s  your counselor, Stephen Minister, professional organizer and coach who create all the different successes.  Finding the fit of many different people who can help you is what’s important.

 

There are many answers to why can’t I do this myself.  There may be more than a single reason. Find what works for you and you can move forward with whatever task you are doing.

 

More ideas and resources for your team here.

Just diagnosed with ADHD

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adhd

 

 

All of your life  you thought, hmmmm, I may be a little different than others in the way I organize, get things done, and generally fit in.  You may have had trouble completing projects, getting motivated and getting started, and organizing your thoughts and your stuff.   You decide it is time to learn more about yourself, and learn you have ADHD.  Looking with objectivity of this diagnosis is difficult. If you have been recently diagnosed with ADHD, there’s a lot of information that can make a difference.

 

Think of this diagnosis as one that includes challenges to Executive Function, a part of your brain that involves planning and processing.  It is more than just attention and hyperactivity.  Executive function can affect your daily life including being on time, transitions, getting started, organization, prioritizing, motivation, and working memory.   You will want to create a team that educates, informs and addresses ADHD challenges.

Associations are a way to connect and learn.

  • Attention Deficit Disorder Association (www.adda.org)
  • CHADD (www.chadd.org)
  • These associations have online, national and local presence for you to tap into and learn about ADHD.  Finding a local chapter makes for support and a sense of belonging in your community.

Reading may be a top priority for you.  Blogs and books offer a look into the life of families and individuals with ADD.

Asking for help and creating your team are vital to your success.  In the medical area, doctors, therapists, and psychiastrists will be vital.  ADD Coaches are available to help you learn more about yourself and create the successes you need.  Certified Professional Organizers will partner with you to create successful organizing solutions.  Learn what your strengths are and work from that vantage.   Most important, surround yourself with nurturers who will help you set boundaries and help you be accountable.    Success is around the corner!

 

Learn more ideas about ADHD on my pinterest board.

 

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Fall Classes 2010

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Fall means back to school! The sunny days of summer are over and fall is a great time to tackle those home projects.    Join me in learning more about organizing strategies at these upcoming events! 

Fall Refresh on September 14

Fall Refresh is an engaging afternoon program about organizing and interior design.  Certified Professional Organizer Ellen Delap will present Out with the Old .  Interior Decorator Leslie Sarmiento will present Company’s coming!  Refresh your home by decluttering and adding the latest in decorating trends.    Bring at friend and join us at this free presentation at Kingwood Public Library at 1 pm. 

 Organizing for Academic Success on September 20

Struggling to help your child with school success?  Join me in sharing techniques and tools to help your student get into the groove of school again.  Class is offered by phone at 7 pm central time.  Fee of $29. http://theprofessionalorganizer.com/organizingclasses/back-to-schoolwork/organizing-for-academic-success/ 

Organizing for Academic Success  for the AD/HD Student on September 21 

Join me for strategies to help your student with AD/HD achieve the success she/he deserves.  Class is free at Kingwood Public Library at 1 pm.

 Clutter Support Group beginning September 21

Have you had a life long struggle with being organized?  Need support from a community of people who are equally overwhelmed?  Join me in learning from others in the Clutter Support Group. This membership based group is the starting point for your journey in transforming your life, helping you define, establish and maintain an uncluttered lifestyle.  Group meets for 6 weeks, starting September 21.  Fee of $120.  Contact Ellen for details. 

Organizing for the Busy Mom and Dad  starting October 5

Take a fresh perspective to improve your and your family’s quality of life!   The Family Manager™system transfers management skills and strategies  from the business arena to running your home and personal life.  Family Manager skills help you reduce daily stress, create a smoothly running home, and have time for self care and recreation. Four weekly one hour teleclasses on  October 5, 12, 19, and 26.  Fee of $49.  Contact Ellen for details. 

ADD and Follow Through

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My clients with ADD are passionate about their projects.  Their energy for a project is an incredible resource and an important aspect for follow through and completion. As a task moves forward, the energy wanes and people with ADD are less enthusiastic.  Staying engaged in the task and completion is equally important.  In addition, people with ADD have trouble breaking down ideas into a series of smaller scheduled steps that help them make progress toward their goals.  They tend to procrastinate which compounds the situation. 

 

Creating a time line is important in following through for people with ADD.  People with ADD know what they want, but how much time it will take and what sequence to work in often elude them.  Start with the goal in writing and write out the specific steps in the project.  Assess the time each step will take.  Work backwards in a time line with a month at a glance calendar  and write in a workable time line for completion.  For people with ADD, enlisting help to get through the detail work with partners and designing a plan with accountability is a significant step.   Help them find incredible partners who are have the skills they lack, whether it is knowledge of technology or other skills sets.   Acknowledge the procrastination that can occur with people with ADD and find a trigger to help move forward.   The trigger can be a simple one, such as a great location to work in, background music, or establishing a time of day to work. It is in partnering and accountability that completion occurs. 

 

Trouble completing a task or project? How did you get to completion?