Organizing and ADHD
Many of our clients share with us their struggles with ADHD. Many of them only discovered they had ADHD after having their children tested! Some have struggled with it their entire lives. ADHD affects not only your ability to focus, but your ability to complete tasks the same way every time, to finish things you start, and to plan ahead and follow through on those plans. Your brain works differently and recognizing that will help you get and stay organized.
When I first became a professional organizer I tried to organize for every client the way I would want my own home or office organized. But I quickly found out that my cookie cutter organizing systems were working for some, but not working for others. I began reading every book I could get my hands on about organizing. Not just the common systems, but some that taught pretty different systems! I also started studying psychology and how our brains work. I found it fascinating how habits are formed and how our brains often sabotage our good intentions!
During this time I started work with a client who had ADHD. We had organized her office and some other spaces in the home, but she was still struggling to pay bills on time, to sort through her mail and follow the systems we'd set up for handling the trash and the things to keep. She asked if I could come and just sit with her to keep her accountable. I did. And she got more done in that session than she usually got done all month! Her bills were paid, her mail was processed, she acted on anything urgent and made sure the rest was recycled or filed. She set up auto pay for more of her bills so the next month would be a bit easier. She even called and set a doctor's appointment she had been putting off for several months. By the end of the session, she was encouraged, happy, and I could tell this was working for her!
We decided to schedule monthly visits right before her bills were due. We continued these monthly visits and sometimes we even scheduled another day in between those visits. We were organizing her basement one day, and she decided to donate all of her books on ADHD. She told me that she had been reading for years but the one thing she lacked was motivation. She KNEW in her head what she needed to do, but doing it was another story. By working with an organizer in person, she had conquered the messy areas of her home. But maintaining order was still a struggle. She realized she needed help STAYING organized, not just GETTING organized. The support I was offering her was helping her put the knowledge she had into practice. She laughingly told me I was even helping her keep her house much cleaner. She didn't want me to come when her house wasn't clean so she would really focus the day before our sessions and would get a lot more done!
Her need for regular support led me to create our current system. Once the purging, donating, and organizing of your spaces are done, you may still need additional support. Monthly or Bi-monthly visits allow you to focus your efforts every 30-60 days on getting things back to a state of order. Maybe you hate paying bills and procrastinate so much that you end up paying them late most months. Maybe your pantry quickly gets out of control and you have no time to put it back in order. Maybe you love to shop but aren't so good at getting rid of things to make room for the new things. These are things we can help you tackle! Call or email us today to set up a free consultation! (720) 663-7534 or domesticblisscolorado@gmail.com
