?? The D.O.O.M. Pile: If you’ve ever experienced one, you know how overwhelming it can feel.
Ryan Mayer, MBA, ACC
#Neurodivergent | Certified ADHD Business Coach | Helping Business Leaders to See the Invisible
For those unfamiliar, a D.O.O.M. pile isn’t just a stack of random items – it stands for “Didn’t Organize, Only Moved.”?
It’s the pile of stuff we meant to put away, but didn’t quite have the time or energy to deal with. So we moved it… somewhere. And then, we moved it again. And again. ??
For many with ADHD, D.O.O.M. piles can feel like an endless battle. Here’s how it typically goes:
1?? You start with good intentions – Maybe you’re cleaning up your desk or organizing a room. A few things don’t have an immediate place, so you set them aside “for now” in a pile.
2?? You promise to come back to it – But by the time “later” rolls around, you’re already buried in a new task. You notice the pile, but now it’s just another item on your endless to-do list.
3?? The pile grows – Before you know it, it’s not just one pile. It’s two or three. Soon, the task of sorting becomes too overwhelming, and you hit that dreaded moment of choice paralysis: What do I even do with all of this?
4?? Decision fatigue takes over – You struggle to decide: What do I keep? What if I need this later? What’s really important here? The mental effort to organize it becomes too much, and often, it feels easier to just toss it all or let it sit. ???
For those living with ADHD, D.O.O.M. piles aren’t just about clutter – they’re a reflection of the challenges we face with task prioritization, decision-making, and sometimes, simply remembering where things go. It’s not laziness or neglect; it’s a real struggle with managing tasks and focus. ??
? But here’s the thing: There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to managing D.O.O.M. piles. Some people set a timer to tackle small bits at a time, while others ask for help from a friend or family member to break the cycle. The key is to find a system that works for you.
So, what about you? ??
?? Have you ever faced a D.O.O.M. pile??
?? How do you tackle the clutter, both physically and mentally??
?? Do you have any strategies that help prevent piles from growing in the first place?
Let’s open up this conversation. Share your story, tips, or even frustrations with D.O.O.M. piles in the comments! Maybe we can learn a thing or two from each other. ??
You can read more over on my blog as well --> Click Here!
#DOOMPile #ADHDStruggles #MentalClutter #TaskManagement #DeclutterYourLife #ADHDCommunity
Senior Software Engineer (Cloud Platform) at Latitude AI
1 个月I have and have had multiple DOOM piles. My wife is excellent at forcing me to go through them. One sunny Saturday we were planning what to do: Go for a hike, a nice restaurant, work on the garden? No! She wanted to go through one of my DOOM boxes. So we did, that was the only thing we did all day. What I realized is people who keep a clean house/space actually devote significant time to it. Sure there are ways to develop healthy habits to prevent the backlog from growing, but that isn't always possible, you have to invest continual effort in it. DOOM piles grow worse when there are long-term projects. I need my pile of tools to work on this project or that project, and shifting them just to keep a clean space feels like wasted effort, unless the pile grows and grows.