4 Tips for Getting Organized with ADHD

While thought of as a condition that affects children , ADHD can continue to impact you for the rest of your life. The symptoms of ADHD do not mix well with the added responsibilities of adulthood, such as work, paying the bills on time and other task associated with running your household and life. Disorganization can be disastrous and it is often a major problem for people with this condition. If your ADHD makes it hard to keep your life in order, take heart in the fact that there are some simple strategies that are applicable to anyone looking to get more organized; the only difference is, because of your condition, you will need to be more diligent in applying them consistently to make them work for you.   

Use a Calendar

One of the keys to getting more organized is bringing all the stuff you need to remember out into the world in physical form rather than trying to track it all in your head; even someone without ADHD can easily become disorganized trying to operate in this mode. A calendar is a great way to keep things in order. If you have a family, assign each person a color to easily track whose information is whose. You do not have to use a calendar just for activities; you can write down the due dates of your different bills and anything else where you need to remember to do something at a certain time or a certain day.

To-Do Lists

To-do lists can be a life-saver for someone with ADHD. They are great for creating order in your mind and will eliminate the possibility of you forgetting to do something because it slipped your mind. When it is written down, you will quickly be reminded. It is best to set up your list for the following day the night before; then when you wake up, you can start tackling what you have written down. This will probably also help you sleep a lot better since you will not be worrying about trying to remember all the things you have to do the next day. As someone who has recently taken to writing out to-do lists for my daily work tasks, I can personally speak to the effectiveness of this method; not to mention, the awesome feeling of satisfaction each time I cross something off the list.

Develop a Simple System for Storing Important Documents

Finding a way to keep all of your paperwork organized is an important part of your overall organization  efforts since this is one area where many of us tend to falter—bills laid out all over the kitchen table, important letters and documents nowhere to be found. Systems are supposed to make things easier so a key component of their design is simplicity. The easier your system for storing important documents, the more likely it is you will stick with it. You might consider getting different colored file folders or colored labels for each of your different types of documents. One folder might be all the bills for the house while another might be insurance paperwork or documents needed for your taxes .

Clear Out the Clutter

Mess and organization really do not go together and if you want to get organized, you are going to have to commit to creating a clean, orderly environment. To avoid overwhelm, start out small. Do a little something each day or commit to one day a week where you will spend a good chunk of time going through and cleaning everything up. Once you get everything settled, schedule regular times, perhaps once a week, where you will de-clutter and prevent a big pile-up of mess.