Guest Author - Megan Dlugokinski

One of the symptoms of ADHD is disorganization. I know from personal experience, from working with clients and observing friends that this is a very common symptom that most of us wish we didn’t have. Those on the highly organized end of the scale tend to make it look easy and it does ‘seem’ easy in theory but in reality our brains just don’t work the same way. It doesn’t mean that we can’t be organized it just means that we need to approach the situation differently and not try to fit into one particular mold of what being organized means.

When you are constantly on the defense about your lack of organizing skills it is harder to find a solution that truly works for YOU. If you hire someone to come organize your life for you, the chances of you staying organized a month later are very small. Why is this? First of all we are all different in how we organize and what we consider to be organized. If someone organizes something for you and it isn’t organized in a way that fits your unique style then it will fail every time. You will get frustrated and revert back to your old habits in no time.

Recently I decided to do some remodeling in my house that I’d put off for a long time. I decided to put new carpet down and paint the walls while I was at it. It seemed like a really great plan at the time since I would only have to move my stuff once instead of twice. I still agree with that part of my plan but what I wasn’t prepared for was the utter chaos it causes during the process. It is like moving but you’re not. I mean everything had to be off the floors and the walls – basically I had to pack up everything and put it into boxes.

So for the last two weeks I’ve been really battling my ADD traits big time. I LOVE the carpet and the walls but now I’m left with the unpacking and putting everything away part. I have way too much stuff as most of us with ADD do. I collect stuff without intending to. Mostly because I can’t find something, don’t realize I already have something or just impulsively felt it was a good thing at that particular moment in time.

Luckily I have help from friends and family who are helping me get rid of a bunch of my ‘stuff’ so that I can really organize what is left. Part of the problem with getting rid of stuff is indecisiveness about what is important and what isn’t. Then there are the sentimental reasons but I won’t go into that today because this article would get way too long. I’ll save that topic for another day. I am stuck doing all of this at one time rather than over a period of time, which would be a better option for most people.

I am not having my family and friends help me get organized, they are just helping me decide what I truly need to keep and what I should part with. The ultimate decision is still mine which makes it easier. If I’m told what to get rid of I will hold onto it for dear life as if some rebellious inner child in me gets triggered and says “it’s mine and you can’t make me get rid of it.” I need to make the decision ultimately but having good advisors is a necessity. Once all the extra ‘stuff’ is gone I can then organize it myself in a way that works for me. Even though I’m an ADD coach myself I still plan on using my own ADD coach to help me organize what’s left.

What has worked for me in the past to get organized and have control over my home was a web site called Flylady. She talks about how we tend to always live in CHAOS (Can’t have anyone over syndrome). Even though we have good intentions and have usually tried almost every organizing system out there we still tend to fail repeatedly and drag our self esteem down. Luckily we are determined and persistent and keep trying anyway.

I plan on using the flylady system to not only help me with getting rid of my clutter but also to reintroduce the systems that have worked for me in the past and have made my home a much cleaner peaceful place. It all starts with baby steps because our ADD tendencies have us try to do it all at one time but then we can’t keep it up. So after I declutter I’m going to start my habits all over again from the beginning.

It will always be something we have to work on because it goes against our natural tendencies but once you put those habits into autopilot they then become your natural tendencies. Just like you don’t have to think about the steps you need to take when you go to the bathroom, you won’t have to think about what you need to do each day to keep your home clean and organized, it will just be a good habit.

So if you’re disorganized at all please go read the Flylady's website or buy her book Sink Reflections. Also join me on the ADD forum and let me know what has worked for you or what hasn’t. We can provide support for each other as we change bad habits into good habits. If you’d like to find out more about ADD coaching please send me and email and I will get back with you.