Have you ever felt like you’re playing hide and seek with your own thoughts and to-dos? “Out of sight” really can mean “out of mind” for people with ADHD. On the other hand, sometimes too much visual information can be more like “out of your mind” because it’s overwhelming and distracting, making it hard to focus. ADHD visual tools can help you find the balance.
This post is focused on all the visual organizers, the people who want to see their stuff. We’re going to tap into some visual organizing magic today.
ADHD Visual Tool #1: Open Storage
The first tool is open storage containers. Open storage containers include things like open caddies and clear bins, such as these:
open shelves, like these:
Or cubby holes, like you see in a preschool room because you can see what’s on the shelf. These are all open storage containers, as well as open bins and baskets.
The main point is that you can keep things contained and organized while you have visual access to what’s inside. You can see through the clear container, or you can see what’s on the shelf. This makes open containers great ADHD visual tools.
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Visual Tool #2: Color Coding
Next up is color coding. Now, I’m not just talking about rainbow organizing because that’s hard to pull off, even though it can be useful sometimes. I’m not discounting it entirely, but what I’m really talking about is using colors that mean something to you or that will help you keep groups of things together.
For example:
I have these bins from when I was homeschooling my two kids, and I had a different color for each of them. This helped me keep things straight, and sometimes it helped them as well. One child was known as the Blue Dolphin, and the other child was known as the Green Panda. Blue Dolphin and Green Panda lent themselves nicely to using blue and green as my organizing colors.
When they were little, I had bins that they put things in. And when they got older, I started using colored folders that were blue or green. So, I could easily tell where I needed to put papers for each of them.
And my color was red, so if it went to Mom, they knew to put it in the red folder. That helped all of us stay a little more organized because we used color coding to our advantage. Color coding is a staple in visual organizing tools for ADHD.
Visual Tool #3: Labels
The third thing is labels and other visual markers. So, break out the label maker and go nuts because labels are super helpful. I have labeled some of my clear containers on the top because I keep them in a drawer, and I need to be able to know what is inside of them.
Even if you don’t have a label maker, you can buy a roll of painter’s tape, which is a blue, easy-peel tape. It’s not super sticky, and you can use it to make your own labels or to mark out spaces.
For example, if I had a space for toys on a shelf in a kid’s room, I could put tape and mark it out: this is where the building blocks go, and this is where the big airplane goes, and so forth. You can also use tape to make outlines. For example, this is where you park your bike. It’s super helpful to label or mark out where things go visually.
ADHD Visual Tool #4: Whiteboards and Sticky Notes
The next thing is whiteboards. They’re the canvas of your dreams because you can write, erase, doodle, and repeat as much as you want. When you finish something that you want to save, you can take a picture on your phone to make it portable and permanent. I like whiteboards because they help you think and plan visually when you need to.
Another great idea is to create a sticky note wall. Have you ever wished that you could just plaster your thoughts on a wall? Well, you can definitely do that. You can use a dedicated space if you have a blank wall in a hallway or an office.
But you can also use things like a whiteboard. You can put sticky notes on them, move them around, and rearrange them. The reason I like sticky notes is that they are easier than erasing things or moving things around on a whiteboard. You could use a sticky note in conjunction with your whiteboard if you need to move certain things around but also want to draw.
If you have a dedicated sticky wall note, then you know where to put all those little notes that you write to yourself. Get creative, use all the tools that you have to help you think and plan and capture your ideas.
Visual Tool #5: Mind Maps
The next thing is making mind maps.
You can do these on a whiteboard or on paper. They also make mind mapping software, which is sometimes really handy when you’re trying to create intricate plans or you’re brainstorming and want to type fast.
I find mind maps helpful for visual thinking. Then you can print it out at the end, or you can snap a picture so that you have a permanent record of what you’ve been thinking and doing. Mind maps and pictures are excellent ADHD visual tools.
ADHD Visual Tool #6: Calendars
The last thing is calendars. Never underestimate the power of a good old calendar! You can use paper calendars that you hang on the wall, whiteboard calendars, or digital calendars.
I have one like this:
That is made by Tactiled.
I like it because it is also a whiteboard and it’s magnetic. It comes with little tiles, hence the name “Tactiled.” You can write on them, put them up, move them around, and when you’re done, you can take them off or erase them.
They come with a bunch of different colored tiles so you can color code. For example, I can use different colors for different projects. I can use colors to tell me when I have open time or when I need to go out of my house to an appointment.
Any calendar will work. It can be a digital calendar on your phone. You can time block and use different colors and symbols to help you visualize how long something takes, or how many open spaces you have.
When you block time off on a calendar, it helps you realize how full your calendar really is before you accept more commitments. Instead of saying, “Oh, sure, I can do that,” you can look at your calendar and say, “Actually, I can’t do that tomorrow because there’s no time, but I could do it on Friday.”
Conclusion
Visual tools can empower you to stay more organized and help you focus on what’s important to you. And it’s crucial to experiment with different kinds of visual tools to see what works for your brain. Color coding really helps some people. Other people could care less about color coding or it’s too much work.
Don’t get stuck thinking you have to do it a certain way. Find ADHD visual tools that work for you. Function is the most important thing when it comes to staying organized with ADHD.