Executive Functioning Skill: Organizing

Organization is something that is easy to understand and identify but difficult to define. It’s the part of the brain that is able to recognize when something is out of order or misplaced. Organization in relation to executive functioning can be as specific as how to write an essay to as mundane as where to place your coat in your house. One of the tell-tale signs of ADHD is a messy room, but it’s also generally an indicator of executive functioning malfunction. Human beings (especially those that have estrogen dominant brains) do not like clutter. The United States has taken over consumption to a level that is not present in other countries. Sometimes clutter can actually produce a cortisol response which is the stress hormone. This means that the more cluttered a space the more likely for the reaction to be stress. The outside environment is a mirror to the inside environment. The first step in undertaking any new task or anytime I want to change my habits or introduce something new into my life: I organize which includes moving furniture around and working with the energy of the room. Spaces should be open because they feel better. What does this have to do with organization? The best way to build organizational skills is first to talk about the environment and the tools that are needed in order to begin the task (this also helps with task initiation discussed last week). Anyone who has had to help an older relative downsize knows that it is completely overwhelming in terms of where to start. Organization creates a built in model for how to begin and also how to continue. When making a sandwich you don’t start with the finished product, you have to start the process first. This means that the more consistent you are with a student the less likely they are to get lost because they know the process because it’s already organized for them, and all they have to do is execute. Growing up every year at school we’d get a new agenda book (that’s what they were called) and it would be where we were supposed to write down assignments. With the digital age everything is on the phone, yet they are not often used by students to keep track of things. So the first step is to help students create an organizational system that works for them. There are tons of options which means the choices can be overwhelming. Developing a routine with cues to create good habits is also required. Students with ADHD in particular need to constantly be cued which means forming habits takes longer for them than for others. However, phones in general allow people to offload things that in the past they would have memorized or just known. Phone numbers are the best example of that. I still remember my grandparent’s phone numbers even though they are no longer with us. Organization is an underrated skill but one that can make the rest of the process run smoothly and help with problems linked to other aspects of executive function. In short: organize rooms, backpacks, and even cell phones to provide a way to seamlessly transition from task to task or to make the process flow.