Neurodivergent Organization Strategies That Actually Work
Neurodivergent Organization Strategies That Actually Work
BY MOTLEY BLOOM TEAM
Productivity apps, fidget toys, countdown timers, and of course, ADHD planners: it seems everyone has the perfect tool to help neurodivergent minds get organized, amp up our productivity, and tick off that to-do list.
But our brains all work differently — so it makes sense that we’d all need to develop our own systems of organization.
Here’s a wild thought: trying to fit into boxes in other people’s systems is ultimately why we struggle with executive function. Our need to create something new and to be original is what drives us, and our ability to organize. Our brains aren’t the problem — doing it other people’s way is.
Some of us are motivated by the dopamine burst of a reward or good visual stim. Some of us need to see the big picture by having everything out in front of us, while others have to get everything else out of sight in order to focus.
The key is understanding your style — and building an organization system that works for you.
So we asked our community for their favorite personal strategies. Out of all the expert-recommended systems, which ones do they really use? How did they modify, adapt, and personalize them for their own unique blend of traits?
Will these work for you? Maybe. Or perhaps you’ll use them as a launching point to create your own unique system.
Here are some of our readers’ top organization strategies:
The Death Of Planners: An Ode To Notion
Dani Smith, AuDHD Warrior, Chaos Engineer, All-Around Awesome Person
Planners are the bane of my existence. As a neurodivergent person, I need flexibility, novelty, and most importantly, originality — things most planners don’t offer.
That’s why Notion works. It’s a platform with a template marketplace where people share setups like student planners, habit trackers, and budgets. But I don’t just download and use them as-is — I reshape them into my own system. I move databases around, swap out sections that don’t fit, and add colors, gifs, and icons that hold my attention.
Traditional planners are static; you can’t rearrange them. In Notion, the system is alive — I can recolor dashboards, swap covers, cycle through gifs, or reorder entire pages until they click. Sometimes I rearrange blocks and redo dashboards just for the dopamine hit — shifting a column, dragging a toggle, or swapping an icon. The act itself becomes a stim: predictable, satisfying, and under my control. That responsiveness keeps me engaged long after the novelty of a blank planner would have burned out.
The customization allows me to build a dashboard that isn’t “close enough.” My dashboard mirrors how my brain actually works — chaotic but patterned, flexible but structured. In a paper planner, the layout dictated my behavior. In Notion, the layout bends with me.
My main dashboard began as a student planner, and now I can run my life with it. I track deadlines, log tasks, and keep a bullet-journal-style spread for my week, all in one place. Since I tie it to school and projects, reminders and alerts slide naturally into my day — checking it isn’t another chore; it’s already part of the flow.
Interacting with my dashboard feels active, not forced. Instead of squeezing myself into someone else’s system, I can experiment, adjust on the fly, and keep everything connected in a way that makes sense for me.
Goodbye Notification-Overwhelm, Hello Approachable Notes To Self
Natasha Etzel, Writer, Traveler, Lifelong Learner
As a neurodivergent writer, I find it helpful to maintain some sense of organization. I've tried using task management apps, but found the notifications overwhelming. I've swiped away app alerts before reading them, usually hitting my phone's "clear all notifications" button after ignoring alerts all day. I've even muted app notifications forever.
What has helped me stay on top of my professional and personal responsibilities? Emailing myself.
Once a thought enters my mind, whether it's to text the cat sitter, pitch an idea to an editor, or cancel a subscription before the free trial ends, I send a quick email to myself. I include essential info in the subject line and leave the message unread until I complete the task. Then it gets deleted.
This strategy works because maintaining a clutter-free inbox makes my brain happy. When I open unread emails and delete junk emails, I get a dopamine boost. It feels like a fun race to keep my inbox organized — which means my emails don't pile up for too long. And this approach feels less jarring than phone notifications that seem to pop up at the worst times. When I see an unread note to myself, it's a gentle reminder to take action.
The $30 Whiteboard Calendar My Neurodivergent Family Can’t Live Without
Elizabeth Austin, Writer, Tattoo Collector, Solo Cancer Mom
As a single mom to 2 teens, my mental load is consistently at max capacity. We all fall somewhere on the neurodivergent spectrum, and I’m constantly considering how our brains need information delivered. Relentless verbal questions — “What time do I have guitar tomorrow? Are we going to Uncle James’s on Saturday?” — can send my executive function into overdrive, but without advance information, my teens are awash with anxiety.
For most neurodivergents, the trait of object impermanence — or “out of sight, out of mind” — makes digital organization tricky. Enter our simple $39.00 whiteboard calendar hanging on our kitchen wall. It’s the visual processing tool I didn’t know we needed.
Color-coded and mounted at eye-level, it takes our busy schedules out of the Cloud and into physical form our brains can digest at a glance. Family plans are written in red, my son’s activities and appointments in dark blue, my daughter’s schedule in light blue, pet appointments in purple, and household chores in orange. Any information my kids and I need is available at a glance, with minimal processing. I add appointments and events as they come up, and on the last day of every month, I wipe the entire calendar clean and start all over again.
The calendar supports our neurodivergent household’s natural processing styles, honoring how my family functions. Getting the clutter of appointments and activities out of my head and onto a physical, color-coded board that we all have access to 24/7 allows me to shed some of the mental load of running our home and raising my kids. As a result, I have more mental energy to give to my kids and myself.
Our calendar is a small but significant reminder of how we can find success working with our brains instead of against them.
On The Menu: Writing This Quick List Helps My Decision Fatigue And Food Waste
Brianna Schubert, Writer, Cat Mom, Neurodivergent Girly, Foodie
My fiancé and I tend to forget what’s in the fridge about a day after we go grocery shopping. Out of sight, out of mind, so more than a few bunches of kale or oat milk yogurts have gone bad without us even realizing it. It’s also hard for us to figure out what we want to eat. We’re an ingredient household — we try to avoid having a lot of processed foods around and instead opt for ingredients we can use to cook something — but that can make it difficult to decide what we want to eat or make. So often, we end up ignoring our hunger cues altogether, ordering out, or digging in the back of our freezer for frozen dumplings.
That’s why I created a system to help us visualize and remember what we have to eat. Every Sunday after grocery shopping, I write up a little “home cafe” menu, with snacks, grab-and-go lunches, and drink ideas based on what we have in the fridge. I write out Monday-Friday what we’re going to have for dinner, including the sides — grilled chicken with roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli, for example. And then I write out a list of snacks, like cheese and crackers, grapes, yogurt; drinks, like tea, coffee, lemonade; and grab-and-go items, like any leftovers we have in the fridge already, salad kits, or anything else we can easily take for a quick lunch.
With this list, we can quickly glance at the menu posted on the wall near the kitchen entrance and have an idea of what to grab when we’re in a hurry. We don’t waste time wondering what to eat — and we’ve greatly reduced our food waste, too.
BinBoxxing
Tish Cowan, Motley Bloom CEO & Founder
One of the best things I ever did was to let go of the pressure to file papers. I completely ditched the idea that papers are best when in neatly sorted folders hidden away behind a cupboard door or drawer. After all, that’s the easiest way for me to forget about it — or spend 30 minutes looking for it.
Instead I invested in open storage. Because I care about aesthetics, I chose one type of bin — sea grass and rattan baskets in a natural woven earthy brown — so it looked semi-coordinated. I bought a lot of them, but never the same one twice. I built in nuance based on the size or weave of the basket, while maintaining a cohesive look.
But the real key to purchasing different-sized bins is that it allowed me to create an easily identifiable system for what goes where. Small with two-toned edge: bills. Extra large with handles: home design info. Medium solid: story ideas. Small square: business and gift cards. Match that with drop-zone trays or dishes, and everything has a place. The bonus is, I don’t have to open a door, find the file, and insert. When I see it, I drop it. Easy peasy.
Staff recommendation: If you want the functionality of a whiteboard but live and die by your digital calendar, Skylight is a great option. It’s a touchscreen whiteboard that syncs with your cloud-based calendar, allowing you to assign colors to tasks and family members. You can add chores, appointments, meal planning, and more. It’s like a home assistant.
We’re curious. Which of these strategies would you use? Share your thoughts on social and don’t forget to tag us @mymotleybloom!
