This week: Catching Up Edited by: Kit  
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It is difficult to be organised all of the time. What is your best tip for catching up on tasks and chores?
This week's Action/Adventure Newsletter is all about those times we fall behind.
Kit |
I’m way behind on stuff. Like, really behind. It happens sometimes. Life gets in the way, and I don’t have the time nor the energy to do everything I need to do, and before I know it I have hundreds of emails sitting in my inbox, and all these WhatsApp messages waiting, and I know I need to get to all that stuff but I just… can’t. Then it gets worse, and worse, and increasingly awkward to actually have to face up to. Until I do it and discover it wasn’t that bad after all, and I should have handled it ages ago.
I’d say it’s one of the ‘joys’ of Autism and ADHD, but I don’t want to make excuses. Even though, yes, executive dysfunction is real, and I do suffer from it. I believe in accountability – I know that I suffer from it and, therefore, it’s up to me to find ways around it. Just… that’s easier said than done. I don’t struggle with it every day. I may not struggle with it for weeks, or months. Then it happens again – I never know when or where or why it strikes. And it can happen to anyone, for whatever reason. You don’t have to have Autism or ADHD to experience it.
We all get side-tracked in life. We all have periods of time when we simply cannot cope with everything that we’d like to – or even need to – cope with. Work can take over, relationships (or the end thereof), loss and grief, even that computer game you’ve been waiting for all this time that now absorbs your attention. There are countless reasons, and most people will understand that you cannot pay 100 percent attention to everything 100 percent of the time. The thing is, priorities matter and whatever gets left behind does need to be caught up on sooner or later. That’s if it has any value to you, anyway.
I have stopped paying attention to things before and then realised that, actually, I could do without them. That’s been the case with social media such as Facebook and Twitter, streaming websites I had subscriptions to that I eventually cancelled because it’s a waste of money to keep them, old web forums, computer games… it’s been okay to leave those behind when they no longer served my needs. It’s different with other aspects of life, though. Beyond the basics we always need to tend to – family, work, studies, bills, our home, and so on – are those things that we do value but don’t always get around to. If we ignore them too much, we may end up in a position where we regret our neglect, so it’s important to catch up as quickly and effectively as we possibly can.
What helps me in such situations, when I regain some of my energy and headspace, is to first of all make a list of everything that I need to do. I just write everything down, no matter how much it is. It may seem daunting to do so and may induce guilt and anxiety, but it’s important to not leave anything out.
Anything that seems too big and daunting at first I break down into small steps. Steps that are less daunting, maybe even quick and easy to do. This serves two purposes – first of all, if it’s quick and easy I may actually do it, and it also gives me something to cross off my list. Crossing things off my list gives me a feeling of accomplishment and an incentive to keep on going.
Once I have my big list sorted, I prioritise and make a smaller list for that specific day. I’ll give myself an achievable amount of tasks that I can fit around whatever else I need to do that day. Every time I complete a task I’ll cross it off the daily list and the big list for extra motivation. Sure, it’s just a psychological trick but if it works, why not?
Depending on how much I need to do, I may even promise myself a reward when I’ve caught up on everything. That doesn’t need to be big. An e-book, or something nice to eat. I don’t know about you, but positive reinforcement works on me. I’m all about the carrot, rather than the stick.
You may have a different strategy. If so, feel free to write in – I am always interested in suggestions that help me organise my life. If you’re like me, though, and kind of stuck at the moment, I hope you’ll be able to catch up soon, and I hope that knowing that you’re not alone makes a difference.
All the best,
Kit
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Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,
The Action/Adventure Newsletter Team
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Action/Adventure: August 13, 2025 Issue [#13288]
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