Designing Personalized ADHD-Friendly Systems |
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Organization is a key executive function skill that can be a strength or a challenge for many.
Many of us already have some systems in place, but we are not giving ourselves credit.
Systems that work for you do not have to look like someone else's or be perfect to be helpful.
This month, we are diving into a hot executive function skill topic: designing personalized, ADHD-friendly systems that work for you. This is part of the organization executive function skill. Organization is an executive function skill (a brain-based skill). For some of us, it's a strength; for others, it's a challenge; and for many, it's somewhere in between, depending on the context or the specific task. Whether it is a strength, a challenge, or a moderate for you, you can improve. When inevitable mistakes happen (they happen for all of us), remember: It's not your fault. It's your brain doing its best. Try to have self-compassion even as you work to develop strategies and skills to maximize your functioning.
What Is Organization?
Organization is the ability to create and maintain systems for items, paperwork, electronic documents, and important tasks (Mutti-Driscoll, 2024).
A lot of organization comes from having systems. For a lot of us, we actually already have some systems in place, but we may not recognize them. The purpose of this post is to reflect on what you are already doing, so you have a foundation to build from.
Does your organization vary across contexts, like home versus work? I am pretty good at organizing tasks, but routines, papers, and physical items are tricky. For me, electronic documents are easier than physical papers. Routines, however, are pretty hard unless they are super duper simple.
Navigating gender expectations: Social expectations often dictate that girls and women should be naturally organized. Girls and women who struggle to clean up, organize their........