A few months ago I surveyed ADD Success readers about their biggest ADD challenges. A surprising discovery from the survey was how hungry readers are for stories of how others have overcome disorganization and ADD / ADHD. That’s why today I’m sharing my own success story of how I got organized with ADD.
If you have Adult ADD you already know that being disorganized is a drag. It’s frustrating, embarrassing and depressing. ADD on its own can make you feel like an out-of-control failure; being disorganized makes it even worse.
How do I know? Because for the first twenty-eight years of my life I lived in clutter and chaos.
Oh, I put on a good front and hid my disorganization fairly well from everyone except my family and roommates. Even my husband didn’t discover how messy I was until after we were married. Was he ever surprised!
One day for my sanity and self-respect, not to mention the health of my marriage, I decided I had to change my sloppy ways and learn to be organized. I simply couldn’t picture the rosy future I wanted any other way.
It wasn’t an easy path. I found truly useful organizing information hard to find. At that point I’d never heard of Attention Deficit Disorder. Eventually though, I was successful.
First, I signed up for a class on how to get organized at my local community center. The instructor was a lovely professional organizer and she had some decent ideas, but she was one of those born organized people who just couldn’t grasp my ADD challenges. Her organizing systems would have been helpful if I were organized, but at that point I wasn’t.
Next, I tried reading organizing books. I gleaned some ideas, but as with the organizing class, most were written by organized people who didn’t have a clue how I struggled.
Finally, I realized I’d have to figure out how to get organized on my own. Here’s what I did. I secretly studied the organized people in my life. These weren’t people with elaborate organizing systems, but regular folks – friends, relatives and co-workers – who managed to keep their homes and offices under control. I then took those same habits and techniques and adjusted them to work for me. (I call them the Secret Habits of Organized People and they’re now part of my Organized for Life program.)
It took some time and effort; about two years actually, but I did it. Eventually my home and office were tidy, comfortable and clutter-free. I still remember my surprise the day my friend Pam complemented me on how organized I was. After the shock wore off I realized it was true. I had become an organized person. Now, more than twenty years later, I am still organized.
That doesn’t mean our house is always perfectly tidy. It doesn’t mean a pile of papers doesn’t occasionally develop on my desk. What it does mean is I’m organized enough so I’m not embarrassed when someone drops by unexpectedly. And when things do get a bit cluttered I can straighten it all up again in a flash.
Getting that disorganized monkey off your back feels incredible. Life is much easier and more satisfying. That’s why it’s become my mission to help other people become organized, too. Teaching people to be organized is a big part of my ADD coaching work. That’s why I developed my Organized for Life program. It’s my small way of making the world a better place.
The Last Word in ADD Success
Here’s what I know. If I could learn to be organized you can to. I’m not any smarter than you. I struggle with ADD / ADHD, too. My gift is being able to figure out easier ways to do things, but I’ve done that for you in Organized for Life.
Learning to be organized so you stay organized isn’t rocket science. You just need a huge dose of determination, and be willing to work at it and get up and keep going when you slip up.
There you have it. My ADD Success story about how I became organized even while dealing with undiagnosed ADD. I hope you found it helpful.
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