ADHD-Friendly Organisation Hacks
As ADHD impacts executive functioning, organisation does not come naturally to us. I like to think of it as organised chaos'. It's my 30th birthday in 2 weeks, and my book ADHD: an A to Z comes out in 1 month, but every time I try to organise something for these events my brain starts shutting down.
Living like this can be SUPER frustrating, so here's some ADHD-friendly organisation tips from chapter 'O is for Organisation' of ADHD: an A to Z. Above all, the secret is making the things we don't want to do easier, and the things we do want to do harder.
Organising your home
Check out the advice I gave Stylist Magazine on the 'Cluttercore' trend here
Have pretty washing baskets & boxes EVERYWHERE - perfect for scooping mess into!
Have giant water bottles in every room to avoid bringing cups in.
Get groovy cleaning equipment and ideally sell it on after you lose interest: I am currently obsessed with my new cordless hoover (having given my robot hoover away...)
Ask friends & family for help. My sister Verity Maskell literally made me a cleaning product list as I got so overwhelmed!
Set yourself cleaning playlists and try to get as much done as possible in 5 minutes.
Build homes for your belongings, like certain bowls or hooks for keys!
Use whiteboards and other visual reminders (such as photographs of loved ones!) - we tend to be very visual people.
Give a spare set of keys to someone you trust!
Organising your health
Get an alarm clock & charge your phone outside your room. Literally life changing.
Get a slow cooker, and cook gigantic meals (like lasagna) in them on the weekend. Yes, I may eat lasagna for most meals this week, but no, I have zero problem with that.
Exercise first thing in the day, and got to sleep in your gym clothes. Works every time!
Have snacks out to remind you to eat.
You can also get water bottles with GPS trackers inside them, that flash up and remind you to drink. I LOVED mine but I left it on a plane!
Buy pre-chopped and frozen healthy food, like fruit and vegetables. Pre-chopped garlic is one of the best inventions ever!
Organising your work
Set yourself calendar reminders for everything!
Pick ONE objective per day. Ideally, do this (or something else you don't want to do) first.
Put your phone away - whether that's in another room, a draw, wherever - just make sure it's out of sight.
Use apps like Freedom if you want to concentrate.
Identify 'dopamine seeking' activities (like me writing this on social media) vs those that are less interesting but more important (like invoices!). Try to ensure you swap these around.
Get a virtual assistant like Beth Lewis and/or coach like Jacqueline McCullough (or myself!) to help you stay accountable and break work down into chunks.
Do body doubling, such as with Focusmate, or join a community such as Ellie Middleton's (Un)masked to help with accountability.
Set up routines, like doing accounts on the 1st of the month.
Use password holders such as LastPass.
Use only ONE system or 'to do' list: simplify your life and decisions as much as possible!
Remember, if it's not a yes, it's a 'not now'.
Plan out your week every Sunday, and your day every morning. Try to identify things you DON'T need to do!
To join the ADHD Course, head here.