Our ADHD and health coach, Helen Bick, shares her top tips for anyone who struggles with organisation skills.
We see so many people in clinic who struggle with organisation – both with and without ADHD. They recognise the food and lifestyle changes they need to make, but struggle to put them into place, often due to challenges with organising tasks.
This blog is a must read for anyone who finds organisation difficult, with some simple tips you can start to implement straight away, to help support your organisation skills.
Why do ADHDers struggle with organisation skills?
People who have ADHD struggle with what’s called Executive Function. This impacts their ability to plan, focus and prioritise tasks. Alongside this they can be easily distracted and problems with working memory mean they may struggle to remember deadlines, break tasks down and stay on track.
If you struggle with organisation and you’re faced with a lot of tasks, it’s also very common to feel a sense of overwhelm. This can make you freeze, feeling like you just don’t know where to start.
It is no surprise that if you have ADHD, it can be tough to stay on track and meet health and life goals, no matter how much you want to be successful.
So here are my top 5 tips for ADHD’ers and anyone who struggles with organisation.
1. Break It Down
The desire to want it all now can actually stop us from breaking tasks down and taking the first step. Chunk each task down into manageable, easier steps.
Think… ‘”what is the first step here?”
Remember every step, no matter how small, is a step forward.
2. Use a Timer
Using a timer can be really helpful. For example, set yourself 30 minutes to do the first step, and then stop. You are telling yourself you only have to do it until the timer goes off.
This can be really helpful with overwhelm and time blindness. It can help you start a dreaded task, as you know you only have to do it for the time set.
After the timer goes off, take a break. Stand up and move, shake it out, stretch, go for a little walk, whatever your body needs before starting the next task.
3. Use Technology
Every smart phone should allow you to set alerts for each task you need to do. They can be a really helpful tool to help organise your day and remind yourself when to start and stop tasks.
There are also some brilliant apps out there that can make life a lot easier.
Some of my favourites are:
- Goblin tools – breaks tasks into smaller steps, helps estimate timeframes and more.
- Todoist – a good planner to add tasks, plan work, view lists in projects, links to calendars
- Evernote – brings notes all together, store articles, web pages, links etc (Links to todoist)
- Finch: an app that gamifies daily self-care and wellbeing tasks. Great for children and adults.
4. Use Reward
Many people with ADHD respond really well to rewards. Whether that’s a reward chart (you would be surprised how many adults love this!) or a physical reward for completing a task.
Think about how you could build reward into your day.
It can be as simple as, “when I finish this, I can make a cup of tea.”
Make it fun if that helps.
5. Accountability
Have someone who you can be accountable to.
Having accountability is often the key to unlocking success with organisation. Commit to a friend or family member what you plan to do and have them check in with you to make sure you have done it.
Consider working with a body double. This can be through an organisation that offers this service or with a friend or colleague. Agree a time where you will both sit down and work on your individual tasks, at the same time. This can be in person or online, using something like Zoom. Check in at the end of the session to see what you have both achieved.
Consider working with a coach. An ADHD coach, like myself, can help you create a clear picture of what you want to do, break tasks down into manageable steps and keep you accountable along the way.
If you’d like to find out more about working with our ADHD and health coach, Helen Bick, please do get in touch here.