Hello brains. While researching
overwhelm and all the way oh messages it
it affects those of us with ADHD the
election and what we can possibly
Thanksgiving already! All the things we
can do about it I realized something
important! I have to do laundry
no. I realized I'm also a little
overwhelmed
One of the reasons those of us with ADHD
get so overwhelmed is we have trouble
with executive functions. One of which is
inhibition. Whoa, what does inhibition
have to do with getting my house clean?
Turns out, plenty. We often try to tackle
too much at once because we'll be
working on this, oh but that needs to get
done. Oh but, that needs to get done and then
we have to do this! And pretty soon we
realize we've done a lot. But, we haven't
really gotten anything done.
Simply having someone in the room with us can
help with inhibition because their
presence can be a gentle reminder of
what we're supposed to be working on.
But, when things get really out of
control
we might need a little extra help.
I'm here to help! Meet Erica. Are you terrified? Horrified?
No, I'm not terrified because
i also have a ADD and so this very familiar
and I have found that the best
way to conquer the monster is one little
step at a time
this is usually the part where I dive
right in and tackle whatever comes to my
attention but clearly my way isn't
working.
Thanks, lack of inhibition! So we're gonna
try Erica's. I like to make a list.
I'm the queen of lists.
So we are
going make a list
Erica what are we, what are we making a list of?
First, draw a line down the center of the
paper and then create a box for every
room in your house. Then head to each
room and inside each box make a list of
the tasks that need to be done in that
room.
This gives you an idea of which rooms
will take 20 minutes and which rooms
will take...more.
I'm already overwhelmed.
At this point I was not sold on this
system yet but I was willing to give it
a try
once you've got your list step 2.
make copies! Apparently, you're going to live
in the same house probably
the next time that you clean so you
you only have to do this once!
I was slightly more sold on this system
step 3. it's go time. First we're going to
start in the room that overwhelms us the
least. Music station very important!
I usually work clockwise
it's good to sort of like ignore the rest of the
Chaos and just sort of work step-by-step
I can make my little trash pile here but
then i thought my trash bags right here
so soon as this is getting overwhelming
i just be like put in. Getting rid of
that sensory input. It helps with the
overwhelmed. This is working Erica
It's working. Yay!
step 4. Sometimes part of the cleaning
experience is you do shuffle things like
if you have a bunch of shoes, well you
move them into the closet for now but
don't get stuck in the closet. Just take
it there and put it down and walk away!
step 5
step 6
so with the completion of each room
you're gonna have a bag recycling and a
bag of trash. Take him out. Get him out of
there to complete that room before you
move onto the next thing. So it's out of
your space
this makes a room look clean which makes
it feel like a room can be cleaned.
It like just being able to see that
possible, is really helpful. I actually
made a little relaxation station for
myself too. With like the adult
coloring books and colored pencils and
markers and fidgets! All we have left to do is
All we have left to do is vacuum!
<>
Did I get my entire house clean?
no
But, I have proof that this system Works
and my house can actually be clean
and now i have a video to teach me how
to do it again in case I forget.
Bonus!
even when Erica is not here to help
the system itself can help me with my
inhibition issues by keeping me on task
and reminding you what needs to get done
and helping me work on one thing at a time
And, until then I don't have to think about it.
That's it for this week next week
we'll be tackling the paper monsters
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thank you to all my Patreon brains you
guys help keep the overwhelm at bay
let me know how the system works for you
comment below. Hit me up on Facebook or
Twitter and i will see you next week
Bye Brains! Question time. Do you know what
your Myers-Briggs personality type is?
I don't know how accurate the tests you
take on the internet are but I took one
for fun and I am apparently right on the
border between ENFP and INFP. Which, if
you think about me makes sense. I linked to
the test I took in the description below