Introduction: When Disorganisation Feels Like Turning Chaos into Routine
Disorganisation is often what people see first when they think of ADHD: messy desks, missed meetings, piles of “stuff,” forgetting where things are. If you have ADHD, you might feel like you’re perpetually chasing your tail—no matter how hard you try, the chaos creeps in.
But here’s what isn’t said often enough: overcoming disorganisation isn’t just about organising your space. It’s about organising you—your mind, your rhythms, your environment—and doing so in a way that respects the way your brain actually works.
In this article, I want to walk you through what disorganisation really is when you have ADHD, why the usual organising advice often fails, and what you can do instead—practically, compassionately, and sustainably.
What Disorganisation Really Means for ADHD
When people talk about disorganisation, they usually imagine clutter or missing deadlines. But ADHD disorganisation is deeper. It often involves:
- Executive dysfunction: difficulties planning ahead, prioritising, sequencing tasks.
- Working memory challenges: forgetting what you were just going to do, losing track of steps.
- Time blindness: underestimating how long something will take, ignoring transitions.
- Sensory and attention swings: being overwhelmed by stimuli, shifting from hyperfocus to distractibility.
So, disorganisation isn’t just a messy room. It’s a sign that the usual organising systems (designed for people without these struggles) are misaligned with how your brain actually functions.
Why “Just Get a Planner” Often Doesn’t Work
You’ve probably seen advice like:
- Buy a fancy planner
- Set reminders on your phone
- Use to-do lists
All those are helpful when they fit with how you work, but often they don’t, or they stop working. Why?
- They assume consistent executive functioning—something ADHD disrupts.
- They assume you’ll always remember to use them.
- They often create more friction (another thing to manage).
- They don’t account for energy fluctuations or emotional load.
What tends to happen is: you try for a few days. Then you skip, you forget, you feel guilty, which causes more disorganisation, more shame, and the vicious cycle continues.
So the question isn’t “what’s the plan?” but “how can I build a system that works with how my ADHD works, not against it?”
Principles for Real Change
Here are some guiding principles that I’ve found essential in helping people overcome ADHD disorganisation in a sustainable way:
- Reduce friction – Make doing the right thing easier than doing the wrong thing.
- Visible cues – Your environment should remind you of the things you tend to forget.
- Chunking & small wins – Break big tasks into tiny pieces, so progress is visible and feels doable.
- Rhythms over rigid structures – Rather than strict schedules, build flexible routines that adapt to energy levels.
- Prioritisation with compassion – Deciding what must get done vs what would be nice.
- Recovery and buffer zones – Building in space so when things go off-plan, you don’t collapse.
Practical Tools & Strategies
Below are concrete strategies that align with the above principles. Pick a few to try — this is n ot about fixing everything at once, but about tilting the balance towards more ease and less overwhelm.
| Strategy | What to do | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| “One-touch” rule | When you pick something up, deal with it immediately: file, act, or discard — no “set aside.” | Reduces accumulation and decision fatigue. |
| Visible containers | Clear bins, open shelves, labelled boxes. | Visual cues reduce mental load (you “see” what’s there). |
| Timed decluttering bursts | 10- or 15-minute decluttering sprints. | Makes organising less daunting. |
| Daily & weekly shutdown | End of day: review tasks, clear desk; week’s end: plan for coming week. | Helps with mindset and prevents things slipping through. |
| Use “anchor tasks” | Pair something you enjoy (music, coffee) with a task you avoid. | Helps you start when motivation is low. |
| Physical reminders | Sticky notes, alarms, timers, visual checklists. | Helps bypass memory / working memory limitations. |
| Adapted to-do lists | Colour-coded by urgency, time estimates, visual priority icons. | Makes prioritisation clearer; avoids overwhelm. |
| Batching similar tasks | Group emails, bills, errands, etc., and handle them in dedicated time slots. | Reduces context switching, which is especially costly with ADHD. |
Myths That Keep Disorganisation Locked In
- Myth: You just need stronger willpower. Reality: ADHD isn’t lack of character. It’s brain wiring. You need strategies, support, self-understanding.
- Myth: Structure equals rigid schedules. Reality: Structure is helpful if it flexes. Rigidity often backfires when ADHD disrupts your ability to stick to fixed plans.
- Myth: If you organise once, you’ll stay organised. Reality: It’s maintenance. It’s rethinking, tweaking, adapting. What worked last month may not work now.
- Myth: Others’ organising systems should work for you. Reality: You are unique. What works for someone else may add friction for you.
Taking the First Steps: What to Try This Week
Here’s a doable plan to begin overcoming ADHD disorganisation. The aim is to build momentum without overwhelming yourself.
1. Pick one space to organise
Choose a drawer, a shelf, or a corner. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Tidy / sort / throw / rearrange. Celebrate finishing.
2. Establish a one-touch rule for paper / mail / digital files for the next 3 days. Notice how often you set things down “for later.”
3. Create a shutdown ritual at end of each day: tidy the workspace; list what must happen tomorrow; then switch off.
4. Visual priority board: write (or stick) 3 top things you must do each day in view. Keep it somewhere you’ll see it — by your desk, fridge or mirror.
5. Track what derails you: for 2 days, note when disorganisation happens — what led up to it, how you felt, what you did. Use that insight to adapt your strategies.
6. Rest & permission: allow yourself rest if things spiral. It’s part of the process, not a failure.
Dealing with Setbacks: The Invisible Work of Regrowth
Disorganisation doesn’t get “fixed” in one go. There are setbacks, relapses, guilt. Dealing with them well is part of the real work.
- When disorganisation returns, don’t shame yourself. Ask: What changed? What support is missing? What small tweak can I make?
- Recognise the emotional toll: the shame, frustration, exhaustion. These feelings are valid. Acknowledging them helps, more than suppressing or ignoring them.
- Give yourself buffer time. If something takes longer than you expect (which often happens), having slack in your schedule prevents overwhelm.
- Celebrate tiny wins. Every evening you use a shutdown ritual, every time you leave a space tidier than when you arrived — these count.
Identity, Disorganisation & ADHD: Rewriting the Story
Disorganisation often becomes a part of the narrative: “I’m messy,” “I’m unreliable,” “I can’t do this.” These labels hurt because they’re identity statements. But you are more than those things.
Here are some identity-shifts to practice:
- From “I’m disorganised” → “I have unique ways of organising; I’m learning the ways that work for me.”
- From “I fail at structure” → “Structure looks different for me; what I build will honour my brain.”
- From “Everyone else has it together” → “Everyone else has hidden struggles also; I deserve grace.”
When you shift identity in this way, you open up space for new patterns to grow, rather than fighting against who you are.
When to Seek Additional Support
Sometimes, despite best efforts, disorganisation keeps overwhelming you. That doesn’t mean giving up it means getting help.
- Coaching specialised in ADHD: someone who understands how ADHD brains tend to drift, and who can help you build personalised systems.
- Therapy: particularly CBT for ADHD, or therapies that address emotional regulation and shame.
- Peer / support groups: talking with others who have similar struggles can reduce shame, offer tips, and give you community.
- Workplace or home adjustments: asking others to share responsibilities, using assistive tools, delegating when possible.
Conclusion: Embracing the Mess and Building the Map
Overcoming ADHD disorganisation is not about achieving perfect order. It’s not about conforming to someone else’s ideal of tidy or productive. It’s about finding your own version of order — a version that honours the way your mind works, that includes space for rest, recovery, mess, and surprise.
The real work is messy. It’s iterative. It’s compassionate. And it never ends entirely. But the progress — clearer spaces, fewer missed deadlines, less hidden stress — is real.
If you take one thing from this: small, aligned action beats grandiose plans. Begin somewhere small. Be forgiving of your setbacks. Notice what works. And know: in the midst of disorganisation, growth is already happening.
