By Jeff Copper, MBA, PCC, PCAC, CPCC, ACG – September 2, 2019
If you’re reading this blog post, chances are you were drawn to it by the word “disorganization.” Many of those with ADHD look at the clutter and their seemingly inefficient systems and proclaim themselves disorganized. But more often than not, this is an appearance-based judgment.
In helping those with ADHD learn how to problem-solve, I have found it to be very beneficial to address disorganization with an industrial engineering mindset. In other words, the first thing you need to do is map out your existing organizational system. As odd as that sounds, you would not have gone this far in life if you weren’t organized to some extent. I find most people don’t realize what their existing organizational systems are, because their systems often don’t look how one thinks they should.
I can help you change that mindset.
In the past, I’ve written about ugly organizational systems. Often, people associate organization with being pretty (based on appearance). However, I find the definition of “organized” to be more like this: If you can put your hands on it now, I don’t care if it is pretty or not.
It’s been amazing to me how many times I’ve worked with those who proclaimed themselves to be disorganized. After mapping out all of their existing organizational systems, we realized that only a few small tweaks needed to be made in order for them to be much more efficient.
Sometimes, people let how they want things to look get in the way of functionality. But in the end, most people with ADHD have an organizational system that is efficient for them, because it’s more brain-based and more suited to their specific needs.
In this blog post, I tried to explain that, if you’re going to design or improve your organizational system, consider starting with mapping out your existing processes first. This will help you understand why you get things done when you do. This might be a bit of a challenge for you, but coaching can help.