Let’s continue focusing on getting off the organizing roller coaster. If you missed the last issue of ADD Success you can read all about Riding the Organizing Roller Coaster here.
You’ll jump off the organizing roller coaster lots faster if you know one important point. Staying organized is a habit. And, like any habit you don’t use, it gets weak.
You wouldn’t try to run a marathon without doing any training would you? Okay, if you have ADHD you might, but you’d probably regret it.
Repeatedly dedicating precious time to extreme organizing sessions and expecting to stay clutter free is kind of like trying to run a marathon without doing any training and expecting to win.
Until you strengthen your organizing habits to help you stay organized the clutter will simply build up again.
I’m guessing since you’ve read this far you have a hard time staying organized. That means your disorganization habits are stronger than your organizing habits. In other words, your habits reinforce your disorganization.
Think about it. Do you throw the wet towel on the chair? Stack papers on the corner of your desk? Leave piles of mail on the dining room table? Then your muscle is weak.
How hard is it to stay organized with weak organizing habits? Close to impossible in our busy, possession filled society.
That’s why to stop the ups and downs of your organizing roller coaster you must form new habits to gradually strengthen your organizing muscle.
How To Strengthen Your Organizing Habits
Just like you would strengthen any muscle you make your organizing habits stronger a little bit at a time.
Start by picking one small area in your house or office to be your organizing focus. Maybe it’s the counter by the kitchen door, your night stand, or the top of your filing cabinet. Make sure it’s a small, visible area.
Next clear it off and over the next couple of weeks take a few minutes each day to put things away or in the trash and keep the area clutter free. Setting a reminder will help you remember.
Don’t worry that the rest of the room or the house is a mess. Just focus on that small area. Your purpose is to start building the habit of keeping something organized and clutter free.
Are you wondering how to go about clearing off the area to begin with?
You’ll find lots of information about clearing clutter and creating homes for your stuff here on the ADD Success blog. Subscribe to my ADD Success ezine and I’ll email you the answers to many of those questions and more each month.
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