A journey to Inner Healing

If you struggle with ADHD I’m sure you understand how much a mess will affect your anxiety and ability to move past analysis paralysis.

It is something I had personally struggled with for many years. Because I had been in a deep depression during that time I didn’t fully recognize just how much clutter really affected me mentally. It was only after I began to really prioritize cleanliness that I was able to FEEL the difference in myself when it came to productivity. Simply said, if my environment was messy I was quite unproductive in the areas that mattered but if my space was more organized I was able to think more clearly about what what was important to me.

My thoughts would often stray to what I needed to get done but kept avoiding such as putting away my mountain of books and journals or hanging up the clean clothes I had piled on top of a chair. I would sometimes just stand in the middle of the room looking around as I mentally planned out how I would get it all done within a day. Because I would overthink, I would burn energy as I got stuck in analysis paralysis eventually deciding I would get to it another day.

It’s clear to see why that would be a problem. I think my biggest issue was that I believed I had to get it all done within the day. Another issue I had was whenever I would start one area I would find something that didn’t “belong” there I would then take it to a different area only to start organizing there leaving behind a mess in the first area. The cycle was endless and eventually I would burn out and stuff everything back, refusing to even look at it.

I eventually came up with a system that worked for me. I would grab a box and choose one small area that I would work on organizing that day. I placed everything I no longer needed or wanted in the box and put it outside my room so it would not distract me as I pulled everything off the shelfs or emptied a cabinet. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist but it helped me when I would dust and wipe down the area before mindfully organizing what I had left. If there was something I no longer wanted to keep in that space but wanted to keep in general I would put it off to the side in another area.

The key is to not overthink it and remind yourself that you will choose that area the following day or the following week to organize. I have also found it to be helpful to have a flexible schedule. I used to get too much in my head, when I placed tasks on a certain days and not get to it that day. I would be a little hard on myself and feel quite disappointed. So I began to just write a lists such as:

Day 1: Organize bathroom cabinet and wipe down sink counter

Day 2: Clean shower and toilet

Day 3: Hang up clothes

This is just an example, it allowed me to break things up so as to not overwhelm and burn myself out. I also make little checkboxes next to each item, it gives me a good feeling every time I get to check one off. And because there are no dates its easy to just get to it when your able to, or better yet when you feel called to do it. If you struggle to remember that you even made a list, tape it somewhere you will for sure see it. I personally have a general planner that I bought for 3 dollars and keep it open to the page for the next day on my desk with a focus list of everything I want to get done for the day, so I am able see it everyday. But you could also tape the list on your bathroom mirror because you will make your way there at least once or twice a day.

By continuing to only clean and organize small sections I was able do it properly and moved through the space a lot quicker because I wasn’t making a larger mess in general. It also made it easier to maintain the already organized areas because I would put things back after I was done using them to their original place.