Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, 3rd Edition: Tips and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized

by Susan C. Pinsky

One of the most difficult parts of any job—getting started—must be confronted and overcome multiple times for someone with ADHD to accomplish even the most banal of tasks. The attentionabled need to overcome inertia and motivate themselves only once to begin a task, while those who experience ADHD paralysis and executive dysfunction may have to motivate themselves four, five, or six times.

Reduce inventory enough to store things where they’re used—no crossing rooms or going to another room to put things away. Arrange possessions within activity areas or “zones.” Give everything a “home.” Take advantage of vertical storage space by using tall shelves and tall bureaus, so there is space to store items where they are used. Store things on the wall or on a shelf, never on the floor.

Schedule projects, allow extra time to finish, and plan to do only one at a time.

Name the days like ‘bill paying Monday’ and ‘laundry Wednesday.’ Attending to these jobs routinely keeps them small and underwhelming.

In designing the most efficient organizing system, we must ask ourselves: Can I find what I need? Is it conveniently located? Is it easy to retrieve and, more importantly, easy to put away? Does it require little or no maintenance?

Being resourceful with the few tools at hand will keep clutter at bay while playing to one of their greatest strengths—ingenuity.