How to Get Motivated with ADHD: 3 Motivation Tips to Take Action (Even When You Don't Feel Like It) with Seán Dowling #235

Why do you keep tidying the same rooms and still feel like the stuff is winning?We've been told the answer is to get more organised, so we keep throwing more effort at exactly that. The trouble is that some of what we do in the name of organizing is what keeps the piles coming back, and none of it means you're lazy or messy.In this episode, I'm sharing six uncomfortable truths about the decluttering mindset, the habits that look sensible and still keep us overwhelmed with too much stuff. That junk room you keep the door shut on has a price, and when I looked up what an ordinary UK spare room rents for, the yearly figure ran into thousands of pounds.You'll learn:What your junk room could be worth if it held something other than stuffWhy the answer to too much stuff not enough space is never another basketWhat hiding clutter in a drawer before visitors arrive does to the decision you postponedWhat out of sight does to returns, deadlines and paperwork when you're decluttering with ADHDFive questions to help you decide if ‘keeping things just in case’ is worth the spaceWhy keeping the dress with the tag still on won't bring the money backWhat five minutes and five items can do when you're stuck on how to start declutteringWhat helps when starting on your own is the hardest part of declutteringWhy your belongings might be taking more from you than they give backIf you're looking for how to declutter when you have too much stuff, or you keep asking why is decluttering so hard, this episode is for you.Here's to a home that makes room for the life you're living now,CarolineThis November I'm running the Financial Wins Challenge inside Clutter Free Collective, and for the first time you can join for just one month with no commitment to stay. Doors close on Saturday 7 November, and you can come and join us here: https://links.funnelscake.com/payment-link/6ade24e8ef1f4f0eb024ee05Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:Join my online membership Clutter Free CollectiveJoin my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | FacebookVisit my website www.caroline-thor.com Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

Have you ever wanted something so badly and still not been able to make yourself start?In this episode for ADHD Awareness Month, I’m joined by Seán Dowling, a fitness coach with ADHD who works with people living with ADHD, and we’re talking about task initiation and why it looks the same whether the job is a workout or a wardrobe. You’ll learn:Why ADHD and exercise follow the same stalling pattern as a cluttered dining tableHow perfectionism and unrealistic expectations can stop you from getting started.What motivation strategies work when you can’t simply decide to feel motivatedWhy Seán’s clients spend their whole first week only scheduling workoutsWhy Seán tells clients to focus on starting tasks and says finishing doesn’t count yetWhat an ADHD routine with a range in it does that a fixed one can’tWhy a plan handed down as orders feeds the shame cycle, and what Seán does insteadIf you’re looking for how to get motivated with ADHD, or you’ve typed motivation tips into a search bar more than once and still not put your sports shoes on, this episode is for you.Here’s to starting,CarolineConnect with SeánInstagram: @sean.dowling1Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:Join my online membership Clutter Free CollectiveJoin my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | FacebookVisit my website www.caroline-thor.com Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

Have you ever looked around your messy house and wondered why keeping on top of everything feels so difficult?If you're a mom with adhd, even simple household tasks can feel exhausting, especially when you're juggling children, work, and everything else life throws at you.In this episode, I'm joined by Morgana Beckly, known on Instagram as @adhd_mumof3_, for an open and honest conversation about motherhood, clutter, and the challenges of managing a home with ADHD.You'll learn:How late diagnosed adhd can change the way you understand years of struggling with household tasks, guilt, and shame.Why ADHD and perimenopause can make it harder to maintain a cleaning routine, even when you've had systems that worked before.How toy clutter and everyday family belongings can quickly take over your home, leaving you overwhelmed by clutter.Why clutter anxiety can affect your mood, patience, and family life, especially when you're an overstimulated mom.How to declutter with adhd by focusing on one manageable area instead of trying to organize your entire house.Simple home organization ideas that make it easier for young children to put away their shoes, coats, bags, and other belongings.How to let go of unrealistic expectations and feel more comfortable with a home that works for you and your family.If you've ever felt embarrassed by your home, struggled to get started with decluttering, or wondered why everyone else seems to find keeping things tidy so much easier, this conversation is for you.Here’s to a home that’s tidy enough for you,CarolineAll through October, Morgana is running a weekly ADHD Awareness Month giveaway on her Instagram, and I’m gifting 2  free online sessions on decluttering and organizing when you have ADHD. Head over to her IG @adhd_mumof3_ to see what’s up for grabs, and I’d love to see you at the session.Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:Join my online membership Clutter Free CollectiveJoin my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | FacebookVisit my website www.caroline-thor.com Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

Why do you keep walking past the same bag by the front door when you know exactly what needs doing with it?We tell ourselves that if we cared enough, we'd have done it by now. So when the bag has sat there for six weeks, we decide we're lazy, or messy, or just rubbish at this. What we never count is how many decisions that one small job is asking for before we've even picked it up.In this episode, I'm marking ADHD Awareness Month by talking about what I wish more people understood about ADHD and clutter, including why task initiation is so much harder than it looks from the outside. The women in my recent paper reset had put off their paperwork for months, some for years, and what got them going had nothing to do with motivation.You'll learn:Why decision fatigue makes putting one thing away feel enormousWhy you buy another one when you already own threeWhy out of sight out of mind makes clear counters backfire for some brainsHow clutter blindness stops you seeing the letter you left out as a reminderWhy being overwhelmed by clutter doesn't mean you're lazy or don't careHow making the job smaller gets you past task paralysisWhy decluttering is easier with someone alongside you than on your ownWhy a home that looks fine can still mean someone is strugglingWhy ADHD organization works better with fewer steps than with matching containersWhat question to ask yourself to find where to start declutteringWhether you're trying to work out how to start decluttering when overwhelmed or you want to understand task paralysis in someone you love, this episode is for you.Here's to asking what's making it hard,CarolineResources Mentioned:Episode 228: Why Mental Load Feels So Heavy When You're Relying On Visual Reminders To Remember Everything You're Trying Not To ForgetEpisode 231: Why ADHD Task Initiation Feels So Hard (and How to Get out of ADHD Paralysis Without Planning the Whole Project)Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:Join my online membership Clutter Free CollectiveJoin my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | FacebookVisit my website www.caroline-thor.com Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

What if the home you keep measuring against everyone else's has been good enough for a while now?When our homes don't measure up, we tell ourselves we're not organised enough or disciplined enough, and that other women manage this better. I know because I’ve spent years using other people's homes as a measuring stick, noticing what wasn't right. In this episode, I'm talking about comparing yourself to others, and why a decluttering mindset has to start with the standard you're holding your home to. You'll learn:What a pair of jeans in storage showed me about the standard I'd been chasingWhat turned other people's homes into a measuring stick for my own messy houseWhy I stopped chasing the perfect home and what I needed insteadWhy my home still gets messy, and why that's what a normal messy house looks likeWhat the paper reset asked instead of building the world's most beautiful filing systemWhy letting go of perfectionism started with my home before it reached my bodyWhat wanting a lived in home changed about who I'm keeping the house tidy forWhat question helps you stop comparing yourself to others when you look around your homeIf you've been searching for how to stop comparing yourself to others or overcoming perfectionism in the home you actually live in, this episode is for you.Here's to a home that's good enough for the life you're living,CarolineThanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:Join my online membership Clutter Free CollectiveJoin my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | FacebookVisit my website www.caroline-thor.com Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizerThanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:Join my online membership Clutter Free CollectiveJoin my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | FacebookVisit my website www.caroline-thor.com Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

Have you ever finally dealt with a pile you'd avoided for months, then wondered why you couldn't do it again the next day?We tell ourselves we were just motivated that day, and when it doesn't happen again, we decide something must be wrong with us. In this episode, I'm talking about ADHD body doubling and task initiation. There's a reason the pile you've avoided for months can suddenly feel doable on a different day, and it's easier to recreate than you'd think. You'll learn:What 15 minutes of virtual body doubling did for piles you'd walked past for yearsWhat sits underneath feeling ADHD overwhelmed by six months of paperwork on the kitchen counterWhy ADHD task initiation can be the hardest part of a simple-looking jobWhat the cafe where you answer emails has to do with body doubling for ADHDWhy the answer to “What is body doubling?” involves nobody standing over youWhat an ADHD accountability buddy asks you instead of why you didn't do itWhat the last job you finally tackled says about task initiation strategies that fit youWhy calendars, alarms and GPS change how you think about support in ADHD declutteringWhat question to ask about ADHD procrastination instead of wondering what's wrong with youIf you've been searching for “Why does body doubling work for ADHD?” or “How to get out of ADHD paralysis?”, this episode is for you.Here's to the conditions that make starting easier,CarolineIf you'd like these conditions around you every week, the ADHD branch of Clutter Free Collective is built for exactly that. For a limited time, everyone who joins gets a one-on-one session with me, and you can join here: Clutter Free CollectiveThanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:Join my online membership Clutter Free CollectiveJoin my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | FacebookVisit my website www.caroline-thor.com Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

If you've got unopened envelopes in bags under the bed and a form you've been walking past for weeks, come and deal with them with me during the Paper Reset starting September the 26th. Join me for three days and  leave knowing exactly what to do with the next pile and trusting that you'll come back to it. https://go.carolinethor.com/paper-reset-sept26podHave you ever felt frustrated that a pile of paper is still on the dining room table when you know exactly what to do with it?In this episode, I'm talking about why knowing what to do with paper doesn't make ADHD decluttering easier, and how ADHD decision fatigue grows with every piece you pick up. Sometimes it starts with one question, "Do I need this?", and ends with you on the floor surrounded by folders three hours later.You'll discover:What ADHD decision fatigue has to do with a leaflet you might want somedayWhy out of sight out of mind ADHD leaves a letter sitting on your kitchen counterWhat an ADHD filing system needs that 27 beautifully labeled categories can't give youHow ADHD shame can grow out of "I still haven't dealt with that"How a pile of paper turns into the cycle of ADHD avoidanceWhat a 12-minute job left for six weeks says about ADHD procrastinationWhy a five-minute job can bring on ADHD task paralysis when an interesting two-hour one doesn'tWhat ADHD organization tips can make a huge pile of paper small enough to start todayWhat a bill waiting to be paid changes about how to organize paperworkWhy paper with logos on it can feel too important to recycleIf you've been searching for how to declutter paper or how to reduce decision fatigue in a way that actually works for your brain, this episode is for you.Here's to one piece of paper and one decision,CarolineIf the avoidance cycle or leaving letters out as reminders sounds familiar, you may also want to listen to Episode 227, Why Do I Keep Avoiding Things I Know I Need To Do? The ADHD Avoidance Cycle at Home and Why Getting Started Has Nothing To Do With Motivation, and Episode 228, Why Mental Load Feels So Heavy When You're Relying On Visual Reminders To Remember Everything You're Trying Not To Forget.Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:Join my online membership Clutter Free CollectiveJoin my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | FacebookVisit my website www.caroline-thor.com Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

If you've got unopened envelopes in bags under the bed and a form you've been walking past for weeks, come and deal with them with me during the Paper Reset starting September the 26th. Join me for three days and  leave knowing exactly what to do with the next pile and trusting that you'll come back to it. https://go.carolinethor.com/paper-reset-sept26podWhy do you keep looking at what's left instead of what you just did?In this episode, I'm talking about what happens when you start something and don't finish it, and why progress not perfection is the only standard a home can hold. I walk you through the third option that sits between finishing the whole thing and not bothering at all, and how shrinking the job is what makes decluttering with adhd workable on a day when you've got 20 minutes. We'll also look at what's happening in your head when you stop halfway. You'll learn:What your brain does with the pile that's still on the tableWhy we decided a job only counts when the whole thing is finishedWhy adhd procrastination starts with a job that looks like hoursHow adhd overwhelm turns half an hour into a reason to not startHow to declutter with adhd when the whole job won't fit in your dayWhat to do when you keep expanding the job while you're doing itWhy unfinished tasks become evidence in a story you tell about yourselfHow stopping on purpose at 20 minutes builds self trustWhat to ask yourself before you walk away from a sessionWhy three days won't clear your paper clutter, and what it can do insteadIf you've been searching for how to start decluttering when the job feels too big, or for adhd decluttering advice that does not assume you've got a whole free afternoon, or for paper clutter organization you can actually keep up with, this episode is for you.Here's to leaving it better than you found it,CarolineIf this is something you struggle with, you may also want to listen to Episode 198 – Still Thinking About Decluttering but Not Starting? 1 Gentle Reframe That Changes Everything, and Episode #159 – How to Start Decluttering When You’re Overwhelmed — One 15-Minute Step at a Time.Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:Join my online membership Clutter Free CollectiveJoin my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | FacebookVisit my website www.caroline-thor.com Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

How many things around your home are there because you’re trying not to forget about them?The unopened letter on the counter. The parcel by the door that needs returning. The school form waiting for a signature. The insurance claim you still need to submit. Each one might seem small, but together they create a lot for your brain to keep track of.In this episode, I’m talking about the mental load of all those things we keep meaning to deal with, and why leaving a visual reminder out can feel like the safest way to remember it, especially if you have ADHD or recognise yourself in ADHD traits.You’ll learn:Why unfinished tasks often turn into visual clutter, even when you know exactly where those things belong.Why your brain may be relying on objects as reminders, and what happens when there are too many competing for your attention.Why an ADHD brain often needs to see things in order to remember themHow to notice paper clutter and paper piles before they build upWhy a seemingly simple task can feel much bigger than it looks, particularly when it involves several hidden steps.How putting things off can start costing you money as well as timeA simple way to look at the things sitting around your home differently, without immediately deciding you need a whole new organising system.And if paperwork is one of the things you’ve been telling yourself you’ll deal with later, this episode is your invitation to start noticing your own patterns with curiosity instead of judgment.Here's to noticing our patterns instead of judging them,CarolineI also touch on how this connects with Episode 193, Why Visual Reminders Turn Into Clutter, and Episode 173, Clutter Distractions, Procrasticleaning, and Mental Load.Struggling with Paper Clutter? Join the Paper Reset HERE!Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:Join my online membership Clutter Free CollectiveJoin my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | FacebookVisit my website www.caroline-thor.com Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

Why do you keep avoiding things you know you need to do?You know what I mean. The unopened post sitting on the side. The form that would probably take five minutes. The donation bag you keep walking past. The email you still haven’t sent.Task avoidance can be so frustrating, especially when you know the job itself is small. But avoidance is not always about how long something will take. Often, it is about the emotional weight attached to the task, the uncertainty around it, or simply not knowing how to begin.In this episode, I’m talking about ADHD avoidance and why small tasks can start taking up so much mental space when we keep putting them off. If you have ADHD, avoiding tasks can also be connected to executive function and task initiation, which can make getting started feel much harder than it looks from the outside.We’ll look at what is really happening when you keep putting something off, including the avoidance cycle that so many of us get stuck in, why telling yourself to “just do it” usually doesn’t help, and how to make taking action easier.You’ll learn:Why a five-minute task can feel much harder than it actually isWhat can be happening underneath avoidanceHow uncertainty and hidden steps can make small tasks feel overwhelmingWhy avoidance gives you temporary relief but can create more stress laterHow ADHD can affect task initiation and getting startedWhy the emotional weight of a task can grow the longer you leave itHow guilt and self-criticism can make task avoidance even harderSimple ways to make the first step feel smaller and more manageableHow to identify the next physical action instead of thinking about the whole taskWhy you do not need to finish everything for your progress to countIf you’re looking for help to take action the things you’ve been avoiding, this episode is for you. Here’s to fewer things competing for your attention,CarolineIf this is something you struggle with, you may also want to listen to Episode 203, 3 Shifts to Finally Start the Tasks You Keep Putting Off, and Episode 211, Why Tiny Tasks Start Feeling Huge When You’re Overwhelmed.Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:Join my online membership Clutter Free CollectiveJoin my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | FacebookVisit my website www.caroline-thor.com Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer