ADHD strategies Archives - Loving GrADDitude

Creating a Home Work Space for All Family Members: Establishing Boundaries

LovingGrADDitude
March 17, 2020
ADHD, ADHD families, ADHD strategies, COVID-19, new normal

I’m a tip kind of person so I’ve created a series of videos to help you reduce the stress, overwhelm, confusion and uncertainty of how you can adapt to the new logistics in your ADHD home and world due to COVID-19.

This first video focuses on establishing boundaries when your home is now a living space + office + classroom with many moving parts.

Spend 6 minutes to learn how you can set everyone up in your family to remain respectful, sane and succeed!

OWN Your ADHD

Why My ADHD Marriage Works So Well

LovingGrADDitude
February 12, 2020
ADHD marriage, ADHD relationships, ADHD strategies

10 is the number. It’s my number with my ADHD husband…with the Love of my Life in my ADHD marriage. And, yes, I keep score, so I know the number is 10.

There seems to be a running joke in our home…Who have I asked a question to the most and how many times have I asked it? It’s always my husband and 10 is the number. What does the number 10 mean?

Organization

4 Steps to Get ADHD Organized

LovingGrADDitude
January 15, 2020
ADHD, ADHD strategies, organization

I love to clean, file, purge, fold, re-organize and create more space in our home. My mind thrives in order and if things aren’t in place, I feel as if I’m not in MY place: my happy, calm and peaceful place, that is.

(As I’m typing this and walking through in my mind how I organize, I realize my heart flutters a bit more and races when my house is not in order. Anxiety over disorder? I suspect so!)

So it’s inevitable that during the Christmas and New Year season you will find me reorganizing shelves, taking everything out of drawers or closets and making it all look nice again. Maybe even re-doing something I just did so it fits better!

In order to be successful and get into the “mood of organizing,” the following are a few steps I take to begin (and stay on) any organizing task!

1. Set the Mood / Atmosphere!

Why is this important? I need to be mentally ready, interested, focused and determined to begin something or there is a high probability it will not get completed! I can’t just start something on a whim (sometimes it takes me days or weeks to get my head around organizing – what takes me from thought to action is when I “just can’t take it anymore!”). I have to be in the right mood and this begins with getting my atmosphere ready.

What’s my atmosphere, you may ask?

A cup of hot green tea, TV (hardly even watch it, just listen) or Alexa playing music in the background. Or maybe I listen to a podcast… depends on the location of the room and the length of the task.

2. Tools, Glorious Tools!

I always, always, ALWAYS ensure I have all the tools I need before I even begin my organizing.

Tools? Yes, tools. People with ADHD often start in the middle of a project without thinking through what they’ll need to complete the task at hand.

And when the tools are not in place, the ADHD brain shuts down because the task at hand is too hard and long and they don’t know where to begin. (True? Lightbulb moment here? Did you just have an “A-HA” moment?)

Therefore, offices have even more piles on them, kitchens are aghast with containers covering the countertop, and closets are jammed and crammed, with nowhere to throw anything accept on top of the heaping pile of clothes already there! (I won’t even address playrooms!)

The result: very little gets accomplished when it needs to.

So in order to begin a project, you must think through ALL you’ll need to complete the project.

Things like: Plastic bags for trash, files, folders, tabs, pens, pencils, hangers, paper, boxes, containers, stamps, iron, folding table, tape, etc.

And yes, that may mean you need to take a quick run to Staples or Walmart or Target or The Container Store (my bff!) for supplies! But do not let that deter you! Once all the tools are in place, you will be good to go and you won’t have an excuse to not get it done!

3. Break it down!

Some organizing tasks take time and can be overwhelming. Things like your dining room covered with bills needing to be sorted and filed and left there for days on end. Or a kitchen that has all the plastic containers out of the drawers because you cannot find the lids!!!

To tackle these tasks, break them down and take small piles at a time. Set reasonable and attainable stopping points so you don’t become weary and not complete all the filing. Use timers if you have to!

Figure out what is YOUR way to best accomplish the task from beginning to end!

4. The End Game!

Taking the mindset that for everything there is a beginning, a middle and an end — what is your end game?

Maybe you just want to organize your papers and put them in piles. Maybe the end game is to put all the papers away in a file cabinet. Maybe your end game is to just hang clothing instead of folding them. Know your end game and this will make the task at hand attainable!

Bonus: 5 Questions About Stuff in Your Space

Often one of the things that stop us from successfully organizing our SPACE is feeling overwhelmed with what to do with all the STUFF.

Now if you signed up for my Holiday Survival Guide last month, you know I break my thought process down into questions and bullet points as this is how my mind functions.

So, in staying with true Kelly fashion, when I organize, I look at the whole space and ask myself a few questions:

What is used most often? (think accessibility)
What will fit here the best? (think best use of space)
Can I condense something? (think add more space)
What is the best use of this drawer, cabinet and shelf? (think functionality)
How much time am I committing to this and what can I reasonably get accomplished? (think succeed and complete project)

If you’d like to know more about me and keep up with me on Social Media, here is where you can find me and become a member of my community:

www.LovingGrADDitude.com

Kelly@LovingGrADDitude.com

IG: @lovinggradditude

FB: @lovingradditude

Here’s to a Happy Organizing New Year!

Kelly

ADHD Life Coach, CALC

ADHD Strategies

Let Them Jump!

LovingGrADDitude
June 15, 2019
ADHD hacks, ADHD strategies, ADHD teens, executive functions, exercise and ADHD, frontal lobe

I love trampolines. I love watching children jump, roll, flip, laugh, giggle and smile whilst playing. They are my preferred choice of activity for our boys and if space allotted, I think every house should have one (or even two if there’s space for both). I love how multifunctional they are: yes – they are more than entertainment for our children. They are a hidden gem of ADHD hacks!

Trampolines are one of the best forms of entertainment and activities for children. They can be a study tool, an excellent means of exercise to release dopamine and they help with proprioception (awareness of where your body is in relation to the environment) in the body…all wrapped up in…well…can’t really wrap it up, but all presented in the round mass it is! Besides the obvious “fun” part of jumping and twisting and turning and falling, it’s total entertainment for those participating!

How Trampolines Help Those with ADHD

It’s been said that one hour of hardcore exercise (or trampoline jumping) is the equivalent of 3-4 hours of a focused mind (no brain fog): think homework, projects, studying for exams and reading comprehension. What would it look like if your child were able to sit and do homework for 2-3 hours without focus challenges? If an hour of exercise seems too long, what about 25 minutes? That’s easy for a child who loves to jump and fall and twist and maybe even shoot hoops on their trampoline.

Now let’s “jump” further along (all the pun intended here!): What about merging the two? A great study hack and tool is using the trampoline to study – how much more fun would homework and studying be for spelling words, memorization of math facts, history facts, etc, giving your children verbal quizzes while they are jumping all around – what about throwing a ball while they tell you definitions? How would studying look for them if the trampoline was perceived not only as a source to get the wiggles out, but also as a study tool and concentration? Maybe even allowing them to sit and do homework on the trampoline?

No, you don’t need go and buy a big one although they won’t break the bank! The one we own can easily be moved from room to room. And, no, you don’t necessarily need a trampoline, BUT, what ADHD’ers need to help with after school focus when the meds wear off is EXERCISE to trigger the dopamine which helps to activate the frontal lobe. So, whether it’s a trampoline, or jumping jacks, or running, or basketball, or Parkour EXERCISE, EXERCISE, EXERCISE after school, find something – anything – that your children will engage with exercise -wise! Why? Your body needs it to decompress from the day and your brain needs it to help better support its function of helping you focus.

Tag : ADHD strategies

Creating a Home Work Space for All Family Members: Establishing Boundaries

This first video focuses on establishing boundaries when your home is now a living space + office + classroom with many moving parts.

Why My ADHD Marriage Works So Well

4 Steps to Get ADHD Organized

I love to clean, file, purge, fold, re-organize and create more space in our home. My mind thrives in order and if things aren’t in place, I feel as if I’m not in MY place: my happy, calm and peaceful place, that is.

(As I’m typing this and walking through in my mind how I organize, I realize my heart flutters a bit more and races when my house is not in order. Anxiety over disorder? I suspect so!)

So it’s inevitable that during the Christmas and New Year season you will find me reorganizing shelves, taking everything out of drawers or closets and making it all look nice again. Maybe even re-doing something I just did so it fits better!

In order to be successful and get into the “mood of organizing,” the following are a few steps I take to begin (and stay on) any organizing task!

1. Set the Mood / Atmosphere!

What’s my atmosphere, you may ask?

A cup of hot green tea, TV (hardly even watch it, just listen) or Alexa playing music in the background. Or maybe I listen to a podcast… depends on the location of the room and the length of the task.

2. Tools, Glorious Tools!

I always, always, ALWAYS ensure I have all the tools I need before I even begin my organizing.

Tools? Yes, tools. People with ADHD often start in the middle of a project without thinking through what they’ll need to complete the task at hand.

And when the tools are not in place, the ADHD brain shuts down because the task at hand is too hard and long and they don’t know where to begin. (True? Lightbulb moment here? Did you just have an “A-HA” moment?)

Therefore, offices have even more piles on them, kitchens are aghast with containers covering the countertop, and closets are jammed and crammed, with nowhere to throw anything accept on top of the heaping pile of clothes already there! (I won’t even address playrooms!)

The result: very little gets accomplished when it needs to.

So in order to begin a project, you must think through ALL you’ll need to complete the project.

Things like: Plastic bags for trash, files, folders, tabs, pens, pencils, hangers, paper, boxes, containers, stamps, iron, folding table, tape, etc.

And yes, that may mean you need to take a quick run to Staples or Walmart or Target or The Container Store (my bff!) for supplies! But do not let that deter you! Once all the tools are in place, you will be good to go and you won’t have an excuse to not get it done!

3. Break it down!

Some organizing tasks take time and can be overwhelming. Things like your dining room covered with bills needing to be sorted and filed and left there for days on end. Or a kitchen that has all the plastic containers out of the drawers because you cannot find the lids!!!

To tackle these tasks, break them down and take small piles at a time. Set reasonable and attainable stopping points so you don’t become weary and not complete all the filing. Use timers if you have to!

Figure out what is YOUR way to best accomplish the task from beginning to end!

4. The End Game!

Taking the mindset that for everything there is a beginning, a middle and an end — what is your end game?

Maybe you just want to organize your papers and put them in piles. Maybe the end game is to put all the papers away in a file cabinet. Maybe your end game is to just hang clothing instead of folding them. Know your end game and this will make the task at hand attainable!

Bonus: 5 Questions About Stuff in Your Space

Often one of the things that stop us from successfully organizing our SPACE is feeling overwhelmed with what to do with all the STUFF.

Now if you signed up for my Holiday Survival Guide last month, you know I break my thought process down into questions and bullet points as this is how my mind functions.

So, in staying with true Kelly fashion, when I organize, I look at the whole space and ask myself a few questions:

What is used most often? (think accessibility)

What will fit here the best? (think best use of space)

Can I condense something? (think add more space)

What is the best use of this drawer, cabinet and shelf? (think functionality)

How much time am I committing to this and what can I reasonably get accomplished? (think succeed and complete project)

If you’d like to know more about me and keep up with me on Social Media, here is where you can find me and become a member of my community:

www.LovingGrADDitude.com

Kelly@LovingGrADDitude.com

IG: @lovinggradditude

FB: @lovingradditude

Here’s to a Happy Organizing New Year!

Kelly

ADHD Life Coach, CALC

Let Them Jump!

How Trampolines Help Those with ADHD

I say, “Let them Jump!”

With Much GrADDitude (and lots more jumping!),

Kelly

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