Ever find yourself with a brain full of unwanted guests?

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) brains have a way of
filling up with negative thoughts. They can build up to a
point where it becomes hard to move forward in your day.
This is what I call a state of "mental clutter."

Mental clutter is made up of many different kinds of
negative thoughts. Think of them like characters.

Regrets Of The Past and Worries About The Future come over
uninvited and park themselves on your brain's couch, where
they can brood with each other for hours.

Self Doubt rings your brain's doorbell with a new criticism
every chance it gets. When you don't answer the door, it
leaves messages on your answering machine telling you why
you suck.

Self Pity gets in your brain's way. It's an annoying little
character that frequently sprawls out on your brain's floor
and throws a tantrum.

And, of course, All Those Shoulds hide in the corners of
your brain and whisper "You should do this!" and "You
should do that!" when you least expect it.

Mental clutter can take over the ADD brain and cause
stress, overwhelm, and sometimes even paralysis. Mental
clutter creates an atmosphere of chaos and gets in the way
of you being calm, productive, happy, and successful.

When mental clutter starts blocking your progress, it's
time to take out the trash!

The best way to clean up mental clutter is to attack it
head on. This means acknowledging all those characters and
the messages they send, and then kicking them all out on
their butts.

Talk with Regrets Of The Past and Worries About The Future.
Find out what they're on about and ask them a few
questions. Does Regrets Of The Past have any wisdom to
share that might be helpful in the present? Does Worries
About The Future have any plans or solutions to offer?

Tell Self Doubt to F--- Off. The only way to deal with Self
Doubt effectively is to put up really strong boundaries.
Let it know, in the most direct and vulgar manner possible,
that it's not welcome in your brain.

Give Self Pity a Time Out. Empathize with Self Pity and let
it express its concerns. Find out why its so upset.
Reassure it and make it feel better. Give it a toy to keep
it busy.

Sweep Up All Those Shoulds. Collect All Those Shoulds from
the corners of your brain and have a look. If you find a
few gems, then by all means hang onto them. Throw the rest
out the window.

Don't let mental clutter take over. When you find yourself
with unwanted guests, take a little time to clean out your
brain!

About the Author:

Jennifer Koretsky is the Founder of the ADD Management
Group, Inc. and the author of Odd One Out: The Maverick's
Guide to Adult ADD. Jennifer and her team work with ADD
adults who are overwhelmed with everyday life in order to
help them simplify, focus, and succeed. To learn more
about the ADD-friendly method for dealing with clutter,
visit http://www.ADDclutterbusters.com .