Order from Chaos: The Everyday Grind of Staying Organized with Adult ADHD
- Downloads：2373
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-11 13:55:02
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jaclyn Paul
- ISBN：0578578875
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Stop paying the high cost of disorganization。
Late fees on forgotten bills。 A home full of clutter and unfinished projects。 Eroding respect with your friends， family， and colleagues。 Health worries from doctor's appointments you keep meaning to schedule。 Nonstop anxiety as you wait for the other shoe to drop。
You deserve better。
Order from Chaos will teach your how your brain works and how to stop getting in your own way。 Mixing stories from the trenches of her own experience as a mom and wife with ADHD with wise， well-researched advice from her years as a blogger at The ADHD Homestead， Jaclyn Paul shows you how to design your own system for restoring order。
Past failures don't have to define you。 Order from Chaos offers a helping hand to get you on the path to a more peaceful and rewarding life。
Late fees on forgotten bills。 A home full of clutter and unfinished projects。 Eroding respect with your friends， family， and colleagues。 Health worries from doctor's appointments you keep meaning to schedule。 Nonstop anxiety as you wait for the other shoe to drop。
You deserve better。
Order from Chaos will teach your how your brain works and how to stop getting in your own way。 Mixing stories from the trenches of her own experience as a mom and wife with ADHD with wise， well-researched advice from her years as a blogger at The ADHD Homestead， Jaclyn Paul shows you how to design your own system for restoring order。
Past failures don't have to define you。 Order from Chaos offers a helping hand to get you on the path to a more peaceful and rewarding life。
Reviews
Britt Any
，
I really enjoy this book。 I think that I got the most out of learning about the nuances of ADHD。 It felt revelatory。 I realized that instead of learning the nuances of ADHD throughout my life I had just defined my diagnoses by the stereotypes I had encountered。
Morgan
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500 billion stars。 I've read tons of books about organization and creating new habits/routines， trying to solve the problem of why I can never achieve long-term results and lasting change。 But those books are not written with the ADHD brain in mind。 This book IS， and that has made all the difference。I don't yet have an official diagnosis， but I have suspected for years that I've had inattentive ADHD for basically my entire life。 （Ironically， the condition itself is why I have such a hard time sc 500 billion stars。 I've read tons of books about organization and creating new habits/routines， trying to solve the problem of why I can never achieve long-term results and lasting change。 But those books are not written with the ADHD brain in mind。 This book IS， and that has made all the difference。I don't yet have an official diagnosis， but I have suspected for years that I've had inattentive ADHD for basically my entire life。 （Ironically， the condition itself is why I have such a hard time scheduling appointments to get help in the first place， and I always seem to land with a person who cannot help me in the specific way I need。） But up until now， it hadn't occurred to me to approach my issues in life from an ADHD perspective -- I've only ever tried to fit my demonstrably square peg into all the same round holes。 What an eye opening experience this book was。I grabbed my pack of little colored sticky arrows so I could mark all the passages that really stuck out to me。 I felt like I was actually reading about my own brain for the first time。 Other times， my mind was blown from the insights about problems I've had but never knew to consider from a different perspective。 For instance， the reason why certain items on my To Do list never seem to get done？ Because they're actually not single items。 They are merely nebulous suggestions of a series of other undefined tasks， none of which my brain can actually process without clearly outlined steps。 Writing "get new license plate" after moving to a new state， over and over and over again， has yielded no results after half a year。。。 because I don't actually know how to get started。 So my brain just ignores it in favor of more achievable （or pleasurable） tasks。 This might seem painfully obvious， but this had literally NEVER occurred to me before。I love how the author provides very specific examples for lots of different scenarios， and details the way our brains try to take shortcuts or avoid responsibilities。 It's not only helpful to learn about systems for organization and task management， but to hear about potential obstacles and how to set ourselves up for the best chance of success instead。 The writing is very clear and to the point， but still casual and conversational enough to avoid being dry or stuffy。 I can sometimes have trouble with non-fiction， self-help type books， but I completely devoured this one。 I think I actually hyperfocused on finishing it because I was so motivated by learning more about how I can try to address the issues that have plagued me for my entire existence。 The author is also apparently a bit of a nerd， and I loved the moments when that shined through。 The bit about having to give up World of Warcraft particularly hit really close to home。 I was an avid WoW player myself for years， and have played several other MMOs since。 Recently I've been addicted to Genshin Impact， a Gacha style game that is essentially a dopamine slot machine not unlike actual gambling。 I've maintained self control as far as money is concerned， but not with my time。 I know how hard it is to let go of something you really enjoy， especially when it feels like a part of your identity。 I've always wondered how I can lose hours and hours to a single video game， but not take five minutes to fold my socks and underwear。 Or do anything I allegedly *want* to do， like painting or drawing。 Or doing nice things for my friends and family， like the bare minimum gesture of remembering a birthday。 The book provides reasons why this happens， and why it is not actually a personal failure or a reflection of our character （even when it absolutely feels like it is）。 To paraphrase from another passage that resonated with me: when your car breaks down， you don't get mad and insist that your car just power through and get better at being a car。 You identify the problem and fix it so it will work for you again。This book is not therapy， and it is not the end-all be-all。 But I think this book will always be valuable to me as a reference for how to set up a system of organization that might actually work for me， and as a reminder of why my brain is the way it is and that I should continue exploring this and seek out the appropriate therapy and medication。 I cannot thank the human who wrote this enough。 I can only imagine how huge of an undertaking it is to write an entire book -- and it gives me hope that maybe even someone like me can one day actually do some of the bigger things I dream of， instead of watching all the plates I have spinning eventually crash to the ground。EDIT: Okay， now that I've had a few days to marinate in this information and go back to reference certain sections: my only issue with this book is that there are still some things I'm having trouble with getting started。 For instance， the author mentions creating a physical inbox to process incoming。。。 stuff。 Like receipts， mail， etc。 She also mentions that you need to get everything out of your brain and into a container。 So， does this mean that I need to write down every idea or thing I have to do on individual sticky notes， put it in the inbox， and decide what to do with it？ Where does a "to do" list come into this process？ Does the inbox generate the to-do list， or does the to-do list get processed via the inbox？ The Toodledoo app she suggests is also super overwhelming and I'm not exactly sure how to set everything up there。 I realize it's such a huge thing to tackle in a relatively short book， especially when she's trying to give people options for what works for them。 It all sounded awesome when I was reading about it， but when trying to put it into practice， I started stumbling。 And in the stumbling lies the danger of frustration and abandonment。 I'm not giving up， but it's still really hard to figure out the difference between things like goals， priorities， tasks， and projects。 Like I almost need a painstaking， step-by-step， explain-like-I'm-five-years-old instruction manual for how to decide what's what and how to figure out what to act upon first。 Jaclyn， if you're reading this， please be my organizational life coach/hand-holder。 I will pay。 。。。more
Brittaya
，
Pretty good Lots of helpful hints， even if a lot of it seemed overwhelming to me。 Going to try to implement some of it at least， like the micro tasks。
Bonnie Bluebonnet
，
I was diagnosed with ADD in the 1990’s。 As an adult， I am cultivating ADD proof solutions for quarantine。 My greatest success is a formal end to nail biting （115+ days！！）。 I agreed with the author’s overall message。 Create a practical why。 Make the results tangible。 Limit distracting detours。 The last tip is a personal work-in-progress。 Solutions during quarantine may not work out-of-quarantine。 Be flexible and forgiving。 My Best Tips1。 Automatic Bill Payment。 2。 Always check your pockets for ke I was diagnosed with ADD in the 1990’s。 As an adult， I am cultivating ADD proof solutions for quarantine。 My greatest success is a formal end to nail biting （115+ days！！）。 I agreed with the author’s overall message。 Create a practical why。 Make the results tangible。 Limit distracting detours。 The last tip is a personal work-in-progress。 Solutions during quarantine may not work out-of-quarantine。 Be flexible and forgiving。 My Best Tips1。 Automatic Bill Payment。 2。 Always check your pockets for keys， fidget items etc。 3。 Why？？ Ballpoint pens are messy inside the dryer。 。。。more
Chris
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As someone who wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until age 34 （and even then as a "borderline" case for medication）， I found this book very validating and insightful。 The experiences ring true to me while also emphasizing the diversity of experiences of people with this condition， and the need for carefully observing and adapting to each of our specific realities。I was shocked by how similar the author's task-organization system is to mine that I've developed over the last decade or so -- also based on As someone who wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until age 34 （and even then as a "borderline" case for medication）， I found this book very validating and insightful。 The experiences ring true to me while also emphasizing the diversity of experiences of people with this condition， and the need for carefully observing and adapting to each of our specific realities。I was shocked by how similar the author's task-organization system is to mine that I've developed over the last decade or so -- also based on a combination of GTD， bullet journaling， and other philosophies， adapted to the specific quirks of my brain。Where I learned the most was in physical-space organization。 Some of those things still feel way to daunting to me， like keeping everything in files。 Others seem like good ideas to try， like a personal physical "inbox" for each family member。This would be 5 stars， but the education nerd in me has to nitpick about the inclusion of "learning styles" as a guiding principle -- learning styles are a debunked theory。 The application to living with ADHD -- that some people are more apt to notice or ignore stimuli of different senses -- may well be sound， but basing this inference on a debunked scientific premise casts a shadow on its credibility。 。。。more
Mia Meade
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Didn't Really Learn Many Tips for ADHDOnly thing I learned from this book is her husband is dead weight around the house。 He doesn't seem to help much with cooking or cleaning or taking care of the kids， and meanwhile the author is writing， running an entire house， and literally doing stuff 24/7 to manage her ADHD while he does。。。 What？ Complain that the house is falling apart because of her when he's not lifting a finger？ As for ADHD tips， I guess there are some。。。 Mine would be leave the guy a Didn't Really Learn Many Tips for ADHDOnly thing I learned from this book is her husband is dead weight around the house。 He doesn't seem to help much with cooking or cleaning or taking care of the kids， and meanwhile the author is writing， running an entire house， and literally doing stuff 24/7 to manage her ADHD while he does。。。 What？ Complain that the house is falling apart because of her when he's not lifting a finger？ As for ADHD tips， I guess there are some。。。 Mine would be leave the guy and find someone who carries his weight。 。。。more
Saskia
，
So many useful prompts and insights。 I found myself and the problems I have with staying organized in many of Paul's anecdotes and descriptions and am looking forward to trying some of her solutions and recommendations。 I especially love her "create a system that works for you and your reality" approach because telling myself to just make something work because it works for others just fine has - shockingly - not worked out for me in the past。 So many useful prompts and insights。 I found myself and the problems I have with staying organized in many of Paul's anecdotes and descriptions and am looking forward to trying some of her solutions and recommendations。 I especially love her "create a system that works for you and your reality" approach because telling myself to just make something work because it works for others just fine has - shockingly - not worked out for me in the past。 。。。more
Brooke
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While maybe not the BEST。 ORGANIZATION。 BOOK。 EVER。 This one ranks high。 I feel like it has they most approachable system AND the most pieces I can implement quickly and have the greatest possibility of being successful for the ADDers in my life。
Veronica
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Actually useful takeawaysI can’t stand general and vague advice that I’ve read over and over on various blogs and in books about ADHD。I need specific things I can start doing right now that will help， and that’s what I got out of this book。 She tried her best to be concise。 Some anecdotes were wordy， so that’s why I didn’t give her 5 stars。
Dr Gillings
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If you have ADHD， or think you have ADHD， or even if you are in neither category， I think you should read this。 Some great ways to cope with having ADHD。 If you haven't got ADHD， you will pick up some true understanding of what people with this condition live with every day。 Thoroughly recommended。 If you have ADHD， or think you have ADHD， or even if you are in neither category， I think you should read this。 Some great ways to cope with having ADHD。 If you haven't got ADHD， you will pick up some true understanding of what people with this condition live with every day。 Thoroughly recommended。 。。。more
Mary
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A book written by someone who has learned how to manage some of her own executive functioning issues。 This is not an end all， be all answer book for everyone， but it does provide useful structures and ways of coping in the world。
Savannah Linders
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Valuable perspective on creating the life you want while maintaining reasonable expectations about ADHD。I love reading advice from real people living with ADHD。 Without shame or apology， Jaclyn Paul， a busy writer， wife， mom， friend， shares her ideas and strategies for creating an organized and peaceful home and life。 Full of great suggestions， and lots of understanding and support。
Mege Gardner
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This was a very helpful book。 Although I have struggled with attention problems for years， I have not had a diagnosis。 Many of the strategies in this book are things that I discovered before and found very helpful， and some of them I had forgotten about or abandoned over time。 Jaclyn Paul does a wonderful job of condensing the ideas and tools that are most helpful and puts them in an easy-to-follow and compassionate framework。While this is particularly suited to the challenges of an ADHD mom， an This was a very helpful book。 Although I have struggled with attention problems for years， I have not had a diagnosis。 Many of the strategies in this book are things that I discovered before and found very helpful， and some of them I had forgotten about or abandoned over time。 Jaclyn Paul does a wonderful job of condensing the ideas and tools that are most helpful and puts them in an easy-to-follow and compassionate framework。While this is particularly suited to the challenges of an ADHD mom， anyone could find some useful tips in here。 。。。more
Danielle
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Disclosure: I received an ebook copy of this in exchange for an honest review。 Also， as background， I came at this book as an adult without ADHD who has two kids who both have ADHD。 To be honest， whether you have ADHD or not， I would totally recommend this book to anyone feeling overwhelmed by the process of daily life。 It felt life-changing as I read it; now I just need to work on some things sticking and figure out how to make it work for me， bit by bit。One of the best things about this book i Disclosure: I received an ebook copy of this in exchange for an honest review。 Also， as background， I came at this book as an adult without ADHD who has two kids who both have ADHD。 To be honest， whether you have ADHD or not， I would totally recommend this book to anyone feeling overwhelmed by the process of daily life。 It felt life-changing as I read it; now I just need to work on some things sticking and figure out how to make it work for me， bit by bit。One of the best things about this book is that it takes concepts from a variety of organisational systems and weaves them together in a way that is wholly clear-eyed about how you can and do manage yourself already。 It's not asking you to transform yourself into an organising superhero （whew） but rather to understand how you and your household function， and then to design working systems around that。 It is a kind and sensible philosophy。 I had many moments when reading it when I just felt happy about the sense it was making。 I liked the way the book included both advice for the person struggling with disorganisation， as well as for readers looking to help another household member with disorganisation。 I also found the exercises designed to unpick the personal impacts of lack of organisation very enlightening。 A few surprises there for me。 I've finished the book but will definitely re-read when I'm further down the track。 I think I have a lot more basic work to do to sort out our poor neglected house， before I can get to the excellent maintenance routines described here。 I'm trying out Toodledo， one of the tools suggested， and have immediately noticed that I'm getting better at thinking of work-to-do as a number of manageable steps， rather than an overwhelming cloud of SOMEDAY。 Still not sure it's the tool for me， but there are some good alternatives suggested here too。 I've felt disorganised for a very long time but never really thought there was anything I could do about it but 'try harder' at some unspecified future time。 It's good to look at chaos and feel even a little less powerless。 。。。more
ALJScribbler
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