BRAIN DUMP

Mind clutter puts your brain in overdrive, saps your energy, and bogs you down

Do a Brain Dump - getting rid of the clutter in your mind

-get your thoughts out of your head

-let go of FOMO - fear of missing out

-get the things you need to do and thoughts that worry you out of your hea

-write them down

This will help improve focus & productivity

No right or wrong way to do a Brain Dump

Don’t worry about organizing it

You need to increase your awareness of time

Think about:

-what stopped you from completing the task?

-estimate how long it will take you to complete he task

-break it down into what needs to e done first

-then, complete the task at hand

Change your approach to getting thins done more effectively:

-Time block

-Put phone on silence

-get ready for the day before you start other things

=remember that life happen

Tracking Procrastination

Ask yourself:

-What is getting in my way?

-What have I been doing instead of -__________?

-What is it about tis particular task that is making it so difficult to get started?

Some root causes of procrastination:

-The task is boring, it’s lengthy, or it may be repetitive

—The task is intimidating or you don’t know where to start

You feel like you just don’t have the energy to do it

Things to do to help you stop procrastination using Mental Flexibility:

-Engage yourself while doing a boring thing

-Chunk it down and do the first step

-Find someone to help you with accountability - a friend or a coach

-Reward yourself for your efforts

-Tell your coach, a friend, or a family member why you are avoiding the task - make it know

-Manage your energy - find the best time to work on the task

-Carve out a specific time or th first step of your task keeping your energy needs in mind

-Make it REAL - put it on the calendar and tell someone - make a commitment

Envision Your Future Self

Who is the person you want to be?

Believe that you can do it

This is the year of ME

Create a Focus

Push until you’ve gotten to where you want to be

Tiny continuous improvements

Follow SMART goals

Specific

Measurable

Achievable - being realistic about what is positive

Relevant - something that matters to you

TimeBound - time in future when you will be done

You can nvere get to where you want to go from your comfort zone

What time choices do you need to make so you can have what you really want?

Failure come from making excuses

80% of Success is showing up

Make the choice to show up for what you really want

The more you accept responsibility for your choices, the easier it gets

Stop participating in toxic talk

We are the choices we make

Make your r4esolution a non-negotiable commitment in your life

Focus on how far you’ve come, not on ow much you have left to to

Summary Block
This is example content. Double-click here and select a page to feature its content. Learn more

Living with Clutter

Living with clutter can cause stress and impede your sense of well-being

Tidiness can be learned

Figure out what level of neatness works for you

Don’t strive for unrealistic goals

Design a system in which you can find what you need and which supports you and your organizational goals

Ask yourself what is standing in your way & making you indecisive

Figure out the reason why you want to be organized

Decrease the amount of stuff you have and edit what you have

Decide what to keep and what to let go of by asking yourself:

Does this add value to my life?

Is this item worth the space it takes up?

My mantra: If it takes 30 seconds or less, just do it.

Organizing tips:

Don’t buy more bins or baskets until you have edited your space

Don’t buy more bins & baskets just to store more stuff

Put things away immediately

Invest in organizing items to fit your needs

Go thru your stuff frequently

When you organizing things a little at a time, the task becomes less daunting

Managing Time Blindness

Time Blindness = difficulty perceiving time - estimating how much time has passed or how much time is left, time sequencing & time reproduction

Time blindness impacts the abllity to complete tasks, show up on time, hand in assignments, stick to deadlines, pay bills on time, staying with routines.

One can learn to manage time blindnes.

Learn to complete tasks on time using designated time frames by putting an emphasis on deadlines..

When hyperfocusing, individuals lose track of time

Ask someone to help you learn to deal with your time blindness - a friend, spouse or coach.

Adjust your schedule and environment.

Learn what accomoations will help you work with your time blindness.

How to Organize Your Closet

Make Getting Dressed Fun

Get Dressed - Don't Get Stressed

Do you find yourself scrambling every morning wondering what to wear?

Simplify your wardrobe to look and feel great

Learn how to organize your closet so it will stay organized

Learn how to figure out what to keep and what to donate

Get your closet organized so you can find things quickly, gain visibility to your wardrobe, and organize your laundry room to make the process even more streamlined. 

Be realistic and honest with yourself  

Avoid keeping things that are too small or too large, things that are out of style, unflattering fit, style or color. 

SME will empower you to achieve a look that will bring personal confidence and take the guess work out of getting dressed in the morning.

Organization gives you peace of mind.

Organization makes you feel powerful, confident and in control. 

KEEP. Clothing, shoes and accessories that fit and flatter

TRASH. Torn or stained items that are unwearable

DONATIONS. For charity

GIVE TO FRIENDS. Items you would like someone special to have

ALTERATIONS or REPAIRS. Items that can be worn again with a little help

CONSIGNMENT. Items you would like to sell instead of donate

SEASONAL. Items that need to be stores for another season

ELSEWHERE. Unrelated items that belong somewhere else and need to be put away

Sort the clothing you are keeping by season

         Then sort by TYPE

                                 SLEEVE LENGTH

                                         and COLOR

                         CASUAL,

                                   CAREER,

                                           and FORMAL WEAR

USAGE DETERMINES STORAGE. Prioritize place ant of your items by the frequency of their use. If you use it more often, make it more accessible. 

Consider purchasing new hangers

Create a place to keep empty hangers together so you can find them easily

Reclaim your space in your closet

Reclaim your space in your closet

Value your prime real estate

Save stellar spots for items you need and use frequently

Take a lifestyle reality check

Sometimes we try to live the life we want rather than the life we have

Create good karma

Re energize yourself and your space

Regain control in your closet

ROI. Return on your Investment of time, money, and energy

Back to basics

Keep it simple

Lighten your load

Let things go

Let your life back in

Create breathing room

Tackling Procrastination

Tackling Procrastination

Pressure can produce hyperfocus

Procrastination is a strategy that can create an environment that can get things done

Brain chemicals crank things up and help get the job done

Those brain chemicals are called adrenaline and cortisol - the ones our brain uses in survival mode, when in  distress, or when we are experiencing stress

Try to make sense of why you are procrastinating:

Ask yourself:

What is getting in my way of starting sooner?

What have I been doing instead of __________?

What is it about this particular task that is making it so tricky to get started on?

Some root causes of procrastination:

The task is boring, length or repetitive

The task is intimidating or you don’t know where to start

You feel like you don’t have it in you

Try to brainstorm ideas for how you might do thing differently

Use a key executive functioning skill:  Mental Flexibility

-Add something that can engage you while you do the boring thing

-Chunk it down - do the first step

-Find someone you can use to help with accountability - a friend or a coach

-Start a rewards system with an immediate win

-Tell your coach, a friend or a family member why you are avoiding the task -

Make it known

-Manage your energy - find a good time to work on the task

-Carve out a specific time for the first step of your task - keep your energy needs in mind

-Make it REAL - put it on the calendar and tell someone - make the commitment

ADHD & Adults

ADHD can persist into adulthood.

It is a condition with sensory overstimulation and easy distractibility.

One with ADHD may have difficulty focusing on one conversation and ignoring others.

ADHD is not a disorder, but rather a condition - it is a disability, but also a heightened ability.

Use your ADHD to your advantage and focus on the positives.

ADHD Triggers

ADHD Triggers

STRESS

Sustained anxiety decreases working memory performance, making it harder to retain new information and pay attention.

Approaching deadlines can cause anxiety, which in term leads to procrastination and the inability to focus on the work at hand, raising stress levels even more.

OVER-STIMULATION

Individuals with ADHD can experience sensory overload.  Over-stimulation makes it difficult for the brain to process what is going on.

TECHNOLOGY

Consistent stimulation from electronic devices may aggravate ADHD symptoms.  Excessive screen time harms the attention span directly, by encouraging us to cycle between multiple distractions rather than focusing on a single task.

CLUTTER

A messy home or office area could make some ADHD symptoms worse.

Piles of papers, books, laundry, or clothing are overstimulating and block you from getting anything done.

Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done

IT’S NOT ABOUT DOING MORE, IT’S ABOUT DOING THE RIGTHT THING MORE CONSISTENTLY, AND MORE EASILY.

If you have ADHD, you are constantly struggling with time management and productivity due to memory, focus regulation, motivation, time and other executive function challenges.

These challenges are due to not having the right systems in place, or not using tools that work for you.

You need to find tools that work for you.

Learn to do things differently if what you are doing is not working for you.

Learn to do things in ways that work for you.

Don’t let your days run you - you need to plan your days.

Take time to look at your calendar and to-do list at the end of each day or in the evening.

Pick out the three most important things to do first —  what are the essential things to accomplish to move you toward your goals.

Don’t try to think you can complete all you to-dos - that is too overwhelming and will set you up for failure.

Make your calendar your friend - use it!  Make sure that the things that are essential to you are on the calendar.

REMEMBER:  if it’s not scheduled, it won’t get done.

Don’t work on things that are going to keep you from achieving your goals.

The ADHD Brain & Clutter

Disorganization & executive functioning issues lead to distractibility and difficulty focusing, planning and organizing.

Trying to organize becomes overwhelming.

Procrastination and avoiding organizing are easier.

Simple de-cluttering tips to help make your life easier:

1.Don’t be impulsive when buying things. Sleep on it.

2. Keep your surfaces bare.

3.Hang clothing as soon as you take it off - use hooks

4.Discard papers & magazines routinely

Depression Rooms and Doom Piles

I read an article in the New York Times about “Depression Rooms” and “Doom Piles”

Abbe Lucia coined the term “depression room”.

The term “depression room” is relatively new.

Mental health experts recognize the link between messiness and mental health - it is real

I often find that my clients have experience some type of trauma or mental health issue and that is what led to their messiness.

Feelings of overwhelm loss, anxiety, or fatigue set off a spiraling, out of control chaos which leads to messiness and then no energy or desire to clear the clutter.

They are physically and mentally exhausted and not able to clean the house or engage in the decluttering process.

“A messy home can also contribute to feelings of overwhelm, stress an shame, making you feel worse than you already do. And while decluttering will not cure your depression, it can give you a mood boost.”

The NYT article goes on to say:

OPTIME YOUR ENERGY & YOUR SPACE

-Focus on function, not aesthetics

-Cocus on having a livable space, not a spotless one

-Things can be unsightly, but not unsanitary

-Make your home work better for you

“People who ar Neurodivergent, with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, or other executive functioning issues, also often struggle with excess clutter.”

Like “depression rooms”, the term “doom piles” has become popular to describe the random stuff that builds up, and you don’t know what to do with it

Many people feel like the clutter is endless and they are constantly cleaning and the clutter is still there

Find places for your items to live and put those things back in place after each use

Keep things at bay - spend a few minutes each morning and evening to put things away

REMEMBER: IT IS NORMAL TO HAVE SOME CLUTER IN YOUR HOME

TIME TO LET GO OF YOUR CLUTTER

PURGE PURGE PURGE

First think of things that would be easy to let go of

Grab trash bags to throw away items & boxes for items to donate

Here are some ideas of where to begin:

-Unused instruction manual

-Too many shopping bags (these can be recycled)

-Coupons (only clip the ones you will use)

-Things that are outdated, especially electronics that have been replaced

-Dry cleaner hangers - recycle them at the dry cleaner

-Orphan socks

-Old receipts - shred

-Empty shoe boxes

-Excessive cardboard boxes - limit to 3

-Toiletries that were free samples

-Junk Mail

-Gift that you will not use

Letting Go of Possessions

Decluttering can be a difficult task as possessions can create emotional baggage and unresolved issues.

We become attached to our possessions which leads to difficult in letting go of the items.

Try to think of reason to let go of clutter when struggling with getting started with the organizing process.

Ask yourself the following questions when going through the decluttering process:

  1. If I went to the store today, would I buy this item?

  2. Do I have anything similar that has more meaning?

  3. If I get rid of this item, would it impact my life?

  4. How much space is this item taking up?

  5. Would I like to make someone else happy with this item?

Think about your current life goals and if these items are adding value to you current lifestyle. Are your possessions getting in the way of you moving forward with your current goals?

Start with one area of your life, such as a closet or drawer or cupboard. Go through the area, purge and see how it feels to let go of unused or out of date items.

Happy Organizing

What do you need?

I read an article in which the author made reference to the song by the Rolling Stones, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” - a classic recording.

Individuals with ADHD don’t always get what they want because ADHD interferes with their needs.

Trying to find balance in one’s life is challenging and takes hard work and a lot of effort.

Discover what you need as an individual and what is best for you, not anyone else.

Identify YOUR needs and figure out your definition of success for YOU.

Find people and things that can help you get what you need to be successful. But make sure you define that success for you, and not for someone else.

Study Skills

Lack of structure and the act of sitting down to study is extremely difficult for students with ADHD.

Be sure to have various places to study. One place might be a bedroom with a desk or a loft area with a desk, another could be the kitchen table, or the library. The key is to find a comfortable environment. Change up where you study.

Have a plan for which tasks need to be completed and when. Use a calendar to log your daily to-do list.

Make sure you have all the tools needed to study - paper, pen, pencil, notecards, highlighter.

Sit or stand to study - whatever works best for you.

Be in a quiet environment, use classical music as background noise, or use a noise cancellation devise.

Sensory Overload

Something I just read about was entitles “Coping with Sensory Overload.”

What is Sensory Overload?

When one or more of the 5 senses get flooded with information. The brain cannot process all the information coming in.

Individuals with ADHD can become so overwhelmed that they shut down avoiding certain social situations, becoming quiet and withdrawn, or leaving a social gathering.