The ADHD Filling System

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Jacqueline Sinfield, One of Thousands of ADD ADHD Coaches on Noomii.

Do you have a filing system? Or more of a piling system? If you have ADHD then probably the very thought of filing things away fills you with terror and you would much rather stick with your piles. However, filing systems can be your friend. If you develop a filing system that works for you, you will know where everything is and save tons of time when you need to find something.

Here are four tips to creating a system that works for you:

1) Keep it logical

Keep it logical and intuitive for YOU. Not anyone else. You don’t need to create elaborate systems or even alphabetize it. You just need to know where the logical place for you is. So, if I said ‘car’ you would know where all your car information is.

2) Keep It Current

Very often filing systems become grave yards for old information. If your filing cabinet or box gets full, or the files no longer reflect your life, you stop using it. Then you revert back to your piles. Remember you don’t need to keep everything forever. Even tax documents you can throw out after 7 years. Only keep what you need.

Many items that use to be on paper are now available digitally. From bank statement to tax returns. Do as much as you can digitally because paper documents cause so much mental anguish when you have ADHD.

3) Keep Files Manageable

When a file gets too full, break it into two or more…and label it accordingly, e.g. part 2 of 3.

4) Label Every File

Label everything. Even if you think you will remember what is in it…you probably won’t. So label every file with a label that is meaningful to you.