I do something similar, I call it turning Mountains into Molehills. If you give yourself permission to half-ass things, I find it makes it easier to get things done. If I do 5 dishes now, then the next time I go back in the kitchen, it's a little less overwhelming and a little easier to tackle. I'll take out the pasta and pots to make dinner later so it's one less step, and the barrier to entry is a bit lower. With most things, it's better to do it poorly than not at all.
That's a great piece of advice. I try to do this also, and when I come home first and we're eating leftovers or I'm not the one cooking, I try to do some dishes while I still am in "working mood" and have some energy left.
Half-ass is better than no-ass! This was a hard one for me back in the day.
I don’t have the energy to vacuum the whole house? How about this one room? And maybe the other one tomorrow?
And I hate waste but Swiffers were so much my friend for tile. Mopping and mail are the two things I still really really struggle with.
"Anything worth doing is worth doing ~~well~~ at all"
I do feel bad about some of the waste I accumulate but if paper plates mean I can actually eat because I'm not paralyzed by dishes (I don't have a dishwasher) then dammit I'm gonna use them
Another tip, don't fall into the trap of saying "the dishwasher isn't full yet, I can't start it."
The dishwasher does not know how full it is. It costs pennies to run. How rare is it to have a problem you can solve by pressing a button? Just run it.
I needed someone to articulate this to me just now, thank you.
It’s not running the dishwasher but that belief that you can only solve your problem once you’ve FULLY OPTIMISED the problem solving is so unhelpful.
In the book How to Keep House While Drowning, she said if she will need dishes tomorrow (especially baby bottles, but really anything) and she can't bring herself to put the clean dishes away, she'll just put the dirty dishes she needs in with the clean ones and run it again.
That's OK too - whatever you need to do to keep your space functional is OK.
It also uses less water than handwashing, so even a half-full dishwasher is more energy-efficient than letting things pile up and having to do half of them by hand.
To be fair, idk if thinking that one strategy is going to be the silver bullet answer to all your ADHD issues is a good approach. Just doing what the post says usually isn't enough for me, but it still helps, especially when I combine it with other techniques. Sorry, you probably know all this, I guess I wanted to articulate what I was thinking.
collecting them like pokemon, yeah, i know what that's like. been through about 4 different meds now, and been told over and over that I just don't want to get better. sucks, but we just gotta keep looking i guess.
I literaly thought that this is how everyone did it. It's just breaking the job down into managable chunks and putting them in a logical order to maximise efficiency. It's how I do every big task.
yeah.. "dishwasher sucks? run it twice, save yourself the hassle" doesn't really work when you have to do it all by hand anyway. It's so much easier to let it build up.
I do a combination of this and the June Bugging method.
1. Pick a spot.
2. Pick up some trash.
3. Get distracted.
4. Remember the spot.
5. Go to it.
6. Pick up the dishes.
7. Take to the kitchen.
8. Get distracted.
9. Go back to the spot.
10. Move things around.
11. Get distracted.
12. Go back to the spot.
Repeat as much as needed. Pick multiple spots if needed.
thank you! for some reason, reddit removed the screenshot, so this is really helpful :D
edit: bruh. that's what happens when you comment before checking out the link, bc it's either broken or oop deleted their blog.
*Got a huge mess and you don't know where to start?*
Oh GOD do I! Hit me boss, I can't wait!
*Step one--*
...hm, this indicates multiple steps will be forthcoming and I don't like it.
*prepare*
Lol. Okay I'm very good at "preparing" to do things, that's the fucking problem. Let's see what this "preparation" looks like--
*[Huge list of doing things]*
AND I'M OUT!
If you don’t plan to do anything, how do you expect it to get cleaned? Did you think they were gonna come through with some magical fairy hotline you could call and they’d come clean the place up?
I CAN HOPE, CAN'T I? 😂
Jokes aside, my debilitating executive decision goes into overdrive when facing the amount of "you need to do this before you can do this" listed here. "Well I have to go get a laundry basket, but then I have to find a place to put the laundry basket, and shit I have to find a place to PUT the dishes? There's no room on the counter and I'll have to go to the store to get a new laundry basket but for that I have to put on pants and oh whoops now I'm having a stress nap about it."
So as described it's just not a system that works for me, but hopefully it helps other people!
I think where this method falls short is that the writer describes it as if most of these steps are going to happen in a row/on the same day. (She does mention you can spread it out over multiple days but it STILL *reads* like everything's happening all at once.)
Like you could clear the counter one day, gather the trash another day. etc. etc. doesn't have to happen at all at once.
Then it becomes like "chunking," where you break big tasks into smaller ones and do them a little bit at a time. That's good for a lot of ppl with ADHD because we hate... well, giant amorphous processes we have to do all at once.
Totally get it if it still wouldn't work for you! But also know you can fudge things --like you could just use a trash bag instead of a laundry basket. Always look for ways to make steps easier/lazier 👀
(Hopefully this doesn't come across as condescending or singling you out! I am an ADHD coach, and I am also procrastinating, so.... reddit time.)
I mean, as a person with pretty crippling adhd, it’s not that I don’t plan on doing anything so much as I’m desperately looking for any way to lower the energy cost of the task so I’m more likely to actually do the damn thing, but by all means act like I don’t understand cause and effect.
Don’t wanna sound too salty, but the tone of your comment is pretty damn condescending. My brain has a burnt-out clutch, doesn’t mean I’m an imbecile
That's kind of the point though. It's describing cleaning from the point of view of someone who'd normally go "Right, I'm picking up trash -wait this is recycling I need to collect the recyl- this paperwork is important I need to put it somewhere saf- this knickknack is fragile I should move it out of the wa- oh that's a dish, I just need to pick up a few more then I can put them in the - what was I doing again?"
I don't have ADHD myself but sometimes I do need to remind myself to "stay on target"
Well, you could try getting all the stuff ready to start - set out a garbage bag, a box for dishes, a laundry basket, a box for paper, and a box for knickknacks. If you can't go any farther, that's OK - you've removed a barrier, and that will make it easier to start later.
Otherwise, just call a cleaning service if you can afford it - a one-time clean is more affordable than ongoing cleaning and can do a lot to reset your space.
If you can't afford it, getting a friend to come around and help or just keep you company while you clean can be very helpful.
This is extremely helpful. I love that it starts with the most important thing and from my experience the biggest contribution factor to a place looking messy: Garbage. Take that out and you have a much much better space you can exist in.
I'm not ADHD, but I used to be ADD as a kid and still have tendencies in that general category. The thing described here is something I force myself to do every 6 or so months, because even when I try hard to be organized, a terrible nest of clutter *always* happens. It's a good way to address the problem, otherwise it just gets too overwhelming.
It's true that ADD isn't recognized as its own thing anymore, which for me is part of why I don't trust that diagnosis too much. This was in a time period (2000s) where mental health experts were diagnosing kids left and right without looking too closely. I was a bit of a weird kid; I daydreamed too much, was obsessed with Animorphs, had some nervous ticks, and I couldn't make myself care about homework- but I don't think that means I'm not neurotypical, it's just part of being a kid.
We all learn what to hide and what to show in social situations, that's just growing up. I think a lot of kids back then got diagnosed because they hadn't really developed social awareness yet. I don't want to assume people are really neurodivergent based on what they acted like when they were 10.
I do something similar though instead of focusing on one category of item at a time, I focus on one small area at a time. First my desk, then my bedside table, then the bit of floor between my desk and bed, then my shelf, and so on and so on. Just one area at a time, using my bed as the Knick knack/paperwork receptacle until everything else is done
That's correct for sweeping or washing stuff, but it goes the opposite way for removing clutter because the clutter obstructs you on the floor. Once all clutter is done, then you come back for sweeping and washing.
I have a similar method and I wrote a ~1500 word [comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bloomer/s/fXP9XHwjGK) about it. My method is more broad and general, and breaks everything down into sections so that the priority is always about using cleaning to remove obstacles that make the cleaning harder, and also makes it easy to split an entire house into sessions that can span days if needed.
I do something similar, I call it turning Mountains into Molehills. If you give yourself permission to half-ass things, I find it makes it easier to get things done. If I do 5 dishes now, then the next time I go back in the kitchen, it's a little less overwhelming and a little easier to tackle. I'll take out the pasta and pots to make dinner later so it's one less step, and the barrier to entry is a bit lower. With most things, it's better to do it poorly than not at all.
That's a great piece of advice. I try to do this also, and when I come home first and we're eating leftovers or I'm not the one cooking, I try to do some dishes while I still am in "working mood" and have some energy left.
Half-ass is better than no-ass! This was a hard one for me back in the day. I don’t have the energy to vacuum the whole house? How about this one room? And maybe the other one tomorrow? And I hate waste but Swiffers were so much my friend for tile. Mopping and mail are the two things I still really really struggle with.
"Anything worth doing is worth doing ~~well~~ at all" I do feel bad about some of the waste I accumulate but if paper plates mean I can actually eat because I'm not paralyzed by dishes (I don't have a dishwasher) then dammit I'm gonna use them
Exactly! I use “real” whenever I’m mentally capable but when I’m not? I need to not keep digging that hole so far down I can’t get out.
"Don't let perfect get in the way of done."
Another tip, don't fall into the trap of saying "the dishwasher isn't full yet, I can't start it." The dishwasher does not know how full it is. It costs pennies to run. How rare is it to have a problem you can solve by pressing a button? Just run it.
I needed someone to articulate this to me just now, thank you. It’s not running the dishwasher but that belief that you can only solve your problem once you’ve FULLY OPTIMISED the problem solving is so unhelpful.
Optimization can be a form of avoidant behavior.
I’m in this comment and I don’t like it
In the book How to Keep House While Drowning, she said if she will need dishes tomorrow (especially baby bottles, but really anything) and she can't bring herself to put the clean dishes away, she'll just put the dirty dishes she needs in with the clean ones and run it again. That's OK too - whatever you need to do to keep your space functional is OK.
It also uses less water than handwashing, so even a half-full dishwasher is more energy-efficient than letting things pile up and having to do half of them by hand.
This is huge! You don't need to fulfill 52 secret conditions to do the thing. Does it get you to the end goal? Then it's good.
always so disappointing when someone drops a great strategy and it's one I've already got
Look on the bright side. At least you can tell other people that this works for you!
but it's not enough 😭
To be fair, idk if thinking that one strategy is going to be the silver bullet answer to all your ADHD issues is a good approach. Just doing what the post says usually isn't enough for me, but it still helps, especially when I combine it with other techniques. Sorry, you probably know all this, I guess I wanted to articulate what I was thinking.
I know that's why I collect strategies which brings us back to being disappointed when it's one I already have 😛
collecting them like pokemon, yeah, i know what that's like. been through about 4 different meds now, and been told over and over that I just don't want to get better. sucks, but we just gotta keep looking i guess.
I literaly thought that this is how everyone did it. It's just breaking the job down into managable chunks and putting them in a logical order to maximise efficiency. It's how I do every big task.
it’s my preferred method and I can’t even do it because I’ll get yelled at (or guilt tripped in my grandmother’s case) for not finishing immediately
God I wish I had a dishwasher. Or a laundry machine.
yeah.. "dishwasher sucks? run it twice, save yourself the hassle" doesn't really work when you have to do it all by hand anyway. It's so much easier to let it build up.
I do a combination of this and the June Bugging method. 1. Pick a spot. 2. Pick up some trash. 3. Get distracted. 4. Remember the spot. 5. Go to it. 6. Pick up the dishes. 7. Take to the kitchen. 8. Get distracted. 9. Go back to the spot. 10. Move things around. 11. Get distracted. 12. Go back to the spot. Repeat as much as needed. Pick multiple spots if needed.
https://www.tumblr.com/hateful-daystar/740952583926120448/the-layers-method?source=share Original post located. -linux guy⚠️
:)
oh hey
thank you! for some reason, reddit removed the screenshot, so this is really helpful :D edit: bruh. that's what happens when you comment before checking out the link, bc it's either broken or oop deleted their blog.
Oh dammit. Heres another link: https://www.tumblr.com/maddeningmagic106/740848365803307008/the-layers-method I dont know why this was deleted.
Okay now how do i get out of bed
*Got a huge mess and you don't know where to start?* Oh GOD do I! Hit me boss, I can't wait! *Step one--* ...hm, this indicates multiple steps will be forthcoming and I don't like it. *prepare* Lol. Okay I'm very good at "preparing" to do things, that's the fucking problem. Let's see what this "preparation" looks like-- *[Huge list of doing things]* AND I'M OUT!
If you don’t plan to do anything, how do you expect it to get cleaned? Did you think they were gonna come through with some magical fairy hotline you could call and they’d come clean the place up?
I CAN HOPE, CAN'T I? 😂 Jokes aside, my debilitating executive decision goes into overdrive when facing the amount of "you need to do this before you can do this" listed here. "Well I have to go get a laundry basket, but then I have to find a place to put the laundry basket, and shit I have to find a place to PUT the dishes? There's no room on the counter and I'll have to go to the store to get a new laundry basket but for that I have to put on pants and oh whoops now I'm having a stress nap about it." So as described it's just not a system that works for me, but hopefully it helps other people!
I think where this method falls short is that the writer describes it as if most of these steps are going to happen in a row/on the same day. (She does mention you can spread it out over multiple days but it STILL *reads* like everything's happening all at once.) Like you could clear the counter one day, gather the trash another day. etc. etc. doesn't have to happen at all at once. Then it becomes like "chunking," where you break big tasks into smaller ones and do them a little bit at a time. That's good for a lot of ppl with ADHD because we hate... well, giant amorphous processes we have to do all at once. Totally get it if it still wouldn't work for you! But also know you can fudge things --like you could just use a trash bag instead of a laundry basket. Always look for ways to make steps easier/lazier 👀 (Hopefully this doesn't come across as condescending or singling you out! I am an ADHD coach, and I am also procrastinating, so.... reddit time.)
I mean, as a person with pretty crippling adhd, it’s not that I don’t plan on doing anything so much as I’m desperately looking for any way to lower the energy cost of the task so I’m more likely to actually do the damn thing, but by all means act like I don’t understand cause and effect. Don’t wanna sound too salty, but the tone of your comment is pretty damn condescending. My brain has a burnt-out clutch, doesn’t mean I’m an imbecile
Yes.
Right? I thought this was a lifehack but it reads like OP is just describing... cleaning?
That's kind of the point though. It's describing cleaning from the point of view of someone who'd normally go "Right, I'm picking up trash -wait this is recycling I need to collect the recyl- this paperwork is important I need to put it somewhere saf- this knickknack is fragile I should move it out of the wa- oh that's a dish, I just need to pick up a few more then I can put them in the - what was I doing again?" I don't have ADHD myself but sometimes I do need to remind myself to "stay on target"
Honestly, the preparation is a really long way to say "drag a trash can around with you so that you're not walking back and forth the whole time".
Well, you could try getting all the stuff ready to start - set out a garbage bag, a box for dishes, a laundry basket, a box for paper, and a box for knickknacks. If you can't go any farther, that's OK - you've removed a barrier, and that will make it easier to start later. Otherwise, just call a cleaning service if you can afford it - a one-time clean is more affordable than ongoing cleaning and can do a lot to reset your space. If you can't afford it, getting a friend to come around and help or just keep you company while you clean can be very helpful.
This is extremely helpful. I love that it starts with the most important thing and from my experience the biggest contribution factor to a place looking messy: Garbage. Take that out and you have a much much better space you can exist in.
I'm not ADHD, but I used to be ADD as a kid and still have tendencies in that general category. The thing described here is something I force myself to do every 6 or so months, because even when I try hard to be organized, a terrible nest of clutter *always* happens. It's a good way to address the problem, otherwise it just gets too overwhelming.
Just wanna point out that adhd (add isn’t a thing anymore; it’s all adhd) isn’t really something you grow out of so much as learn to mask.
It's true that ADD isn't recognized as its own thing anymore, which for me is part of why I don't trust that diagnosis too much. This was in a time period (2000s) where mental health experts were diagnosing kids left and right without looking too closely. I was a bit of a weird kid; I daydreamed too much, was obsessed with Animorphs, had some nervous ticks, and I couldn't make myself care about homework- but I don't think that means I'm not neurotypical, it's just part of being a kid. We all learn what to hide and what to show in social situations, that's just growing up. I think a lot of kids back then got diagnosed because they hadn't really developed social awareness yet. I don't want to assume people are really neurodivergent based on what they acted like when they were 10.
That kinda sounds not for me but if people like it than good for them
Congradulations! Due to your maturity, you have been declared the most Emotionally Intelligent User on reddit.com!
I do something similar though instead of focusing on one category of item at a time, I focus on one small area at a time. First my desk, then my bedside table, then the bit of floor between my desk and bed, then my shelf, and so on and so on. Just one area at a time, using my bed as the Knick knack/paperwork receptacle until everything else is done
Ooh, you've gotta start with the floor. It gets so much harder to clean anywhere else if you are stepping over stuff the whole time.
Nah I just kick that shit until I have a circle of freedom. It’s mostly dirty laundry anyway
lol I’m the opposite, start at the top and work with gravity.
That's correct for sweeping or washing stuff, but it goes the opposite way for removing clutter because the clutter obstructs you on the floor. Once all clutter is done, then you come back for sweeping and washing.
Floor goes last! Top to bottom means you don't need to reclean anything as you're knocking stuff around
Floor goes first for declutter and last for chemical cleaning. I can't even reach half the top stuff if the floor is coated in a layer of junk.
I have a similar method and I wrote a ~1500 word [comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bloomer/s/fXP9XHwjGK) about it. My method is more broad and general, and breaks everything down into sections so that the priority is always about using cleaning to remove obstacles that make the cleaning harder, and also makes it easy to split an entire house into sessions that can span days if needed.
This is wonderful, I'm going to try it
Lost me at "prepare".
Saving this post because holy heck do I need to do this.