The System Did Not Fail. One Part Did.

You build a system, follow it for a day and a half, hit one day where it falls apart, and decide the whole thing was never going to work anyway and throw it out the window. Sound familiar?

That pattern is very common with ADHD, and, yet, it is not really about the system. It is about how we grade it. Most of us treat a system like a pass or fail test. One missed day, one skipped step, and the whole thing gets filed under “things that do not work for me.”

Here is a different way to think about it. When a system stops working, the whole system is rarely the problem. Usually it is one specific part: the time of day, the number of steps, the amount of decision making it asks of you in a moment when you have none left to give. Or maybe you just had a bad day.

So instead of asking did this work, try asking what part of this worked. Keep that part. Change the piece that broke. You do not have to start over. You are adjusting one part in something that was already mostly right.

This shift is small, but it makes systems easier to trust. You stop collecting abandoned planners (Yay!!) and start building on what you already know about yourself.

I talked about this during my interview with Mindy Leonard, a professional organizer who works with a lot of ADHD clients. She talked about why there is no one-size-fits-all system for organizing, and how she helps clients treat their systems as something to adjust, not something to pass or fail.

🎧 Listen to the full episode HERE or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts or 👀 Watch on YouTube

What is one system you gave up on that might have just needed one piece adjusted? Hit reply and tell me or let me know in the comments. Remember - the more people share the less people feel alone.

Stay curious!

~ Jorie