Declutter with ADHD

ADHD-friendly support to manage overwhelm, control clutter and improve well-being

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Most decluttering advice aren't ADHD-friendly

ADHDers need quicker paths to dopamine

Some of the most popular decluttering advice, like Marie Kondo's KonMari Method, are too time-consuming and creates a bigger mess at the beginning, making it difficult to feel a sense of progress and build momentum. Researchers believe that ADHD is associated with dysfunctional dopamine transmission, so it is particularly important for ADHDers to pursue decluttering strategies that deliver a dopamine fix quickly.
ADHDers prefer unemotional methods that keep them on task

Overwhelm leads to avoidance, which leads to more clutter. Decluttering can invite lots of unwanted emotions for ADHDers. Advice from ADHD-friendly influencers like KC Davis and Dana K. White are designed to minimize emotions while also avoiding other kinds of distraction that can lead to misguided hyperfocus.
ADHDers want support to overcome executive dysfunction

Even if you know what to do and how to do it, ADHD is more "intention deficit" than "attention deficit," according ADHD expert Dr. Russell Barkley. The question is how to get yourself to do what you need to do. The key lies in having supportive peers who share your struggles and can help encourage you to "vote" for your better self.
🤔 Does that sound like you? Keep reading for decluttering tips that have worked for ADHDer that you can make your own.
Like a group workout, Decluttering Club motivates you to declutter.

How ADHDers Declutter

ADHD-friendly decluttering methods, sourced from the ADHD community.
1. "No Mess Decluttering" from Dana K. White's "Decluttering at the Speed of Life"

The goal is to declutter in a way that does NOT create more mess or trigger emotions. Get dopamine rewards every step of the way.

The first 3 steps are emotionless: pick up trash, return items to their homes, and find items for donations.

Then ask the Two Decluttering Questions for the rest of the items: “where would I look for this first?” and “If I ever needed this, would it ever occurred to me that I already have one?”

  • Get a trash bag (ideally black)
  • Look for trash and only trash
  • Make zero emotional decisions
  • Ignore things you’re not sure if trash
  • Look for items away from home
  • Bring the items home right away
  • Ignore things that don’t have a home yet
  • Get a Donatable Donate Box
  • Look for items to donate
  • Ignore things that you’re not sure about donating
  • Throw out trash or return items home as you find them
  • For each remaining item, ask Q1: “Where would I look for this first?”
  • If you can answer Q1, take the item there.
  • If you can’t answer Q1, ask Q2: “If I ever needed this, would it ever occurred to me that I already have one?”
  • If you answer NO to Q2, donate or trash
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2. “5 Things Tidying Method” by KC Davis

Regardless of what the room looks like, there are only 5 things here: trash, dishes, laundry, things that have a place, and things without a place.

Your goal is to very quickly get to a “liveable space” without having to make any decisions or get distracted.

  • Get a trash bag
  • Look only for trash and stick them in the bag
  • Put all the trash aside in a pile. Don't take it out
  • Don't go to another room. Don't get distracted
  • Grab laundry basket
  • Pick up laundry and shoes, toss in basket
  • Set basket aside. Don't take it anywhere, don't start laundry.
  • Take all dishes to the sink
  • Don't do the dishes, don't get distracted
  • Pick an area or corner of the room
  • Put away things you know have a place
  • Create a pile for things that don't have a place
  • Pick a different area of the room and repeat until all things returned to their place
  • Celebrate making your space live-able so quickly
  • Put on a podcast or netflix show 
  • Begin finding homes for the pile of things without a place
  • When ready, take out trash, do the laundry, wash the dishes
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3. "One room at a time" from ADHD Reddit

Overwhelmed by clutter? If you have limited energy and need dopamine quick. ADHD Reddit suggests focusing on one room at a time and follow these three rules: 1) Stay in one room. DON’T get distracted by the rest of the house. 2) Bring trash bag, donation box, and a container for “lost boys.” 3) Put items that belong in another room or don’t have a home in the “lost boys” container. DON’T begin sorting and returning items in this container.

  • Remind yourself: Practice self-compassion and expect emotions and imperfection
  • Pick a room, any room
  • If the room is big, choose a quarter or half of the room
  • Bring trash bin, donation box, and "lost boys" container for items away from home
  • Start to your left as you walk in the door. Work your way around, one section at a time
  • Take a picture of each section before the start
  • For each item, ask: Do I need this? Will I ever finish this? Put in donate box or trash if no.
  • For each item, ask: Is this item “lost” in the wrong room? If yes put it in the “lost boys” container.
  • Do not go to another room to put away anything from the “lost boys” container
  • Vacuum, sweep or wipe down
  • Take a picture of each section when finished
  • Empty trash bin
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💪 Need a push to declutter? Sign up for Decluttering Club to get invited to declutter with ADHDers

How To Start When Overwhelmed

Decluttering Club brings all the motivation necessary to help you declutter when you are overwhelmed or have little energy
Get INVITED to declutter together with ADHDers

Rather than having to motivate yourself to declutter, get regular invitations from fellow ADHDers to declutter together. Everyone's going through something similar, and joint commitments make it easier for everyone to show up and declutter.
Choose one of the recommended decluttering methods
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Once it's time, show up to the video appointments to get motivated to declutter. If you know what to do, share your goal with others to hold yourself accountable. If you're looking for suggestions, try one of our decluttering checklists or ask the host for advice.
Learn from other people's struggles and strategies

Before the session ends, use the opportunity to share with each other how it went. Share what worked well, what was difficult, and learn from each other's experience to declutter with more confidence and less overwhelm.
Just like how working out is motivating in a group, you never have to declutter on your own.
Flow Club is where ADHDers get things done together.

Our Members

400+

Hosts

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Supporting
Neurodivergence

94%

Report feeling supported in their productivity journey

Julie A.

University Professor
Friendly accountability and body doubling turned out to be the two key things I needed to effectively manage my ADHD. Flow Club provides both of those.

Ximena V.

Graduate student
Just having someone "next" to me doing their own thing is enough for me to focus. How body-doubling works is a mystery to me, but I've achieved more in the few months I've been with Flow Club than I have in years.

Bianca W.

Financial Analyst
As a chronic procrastinator who gets overwhelmed easily, I LOVE Flow Club. It’s the only thing that will have me not only start on tasks, but finish them.

Alex S.

Poet and Writer
Flow Club somehow brings the same support into my apartment as would a trusted friend — while simultaneously giving me the freedom to interact as much or as little as I am up to on a given day. Magic!

Rana K.

Designer
Before joining, I felt lost and alone in my struggles. But through Flow Club, I have been able to connect with a community of people who understand my experiences and provide valuable support and resources.

Lesly Q.

Writer, Learner, and Side Hustler
As someone with ADHD, I work best when I’m around noise and people. Flow Club provides me with the feeling of social stimulation while I work.

Erin R.

Freelance Writer
Sessions help me stay focused and productive by providing accountability, shared energy, and support.

Anonymous Member

Flow Club gave me a self esteem boost that showed I wasn't a time-wasting space cadet with my head in the clouds.

Janel K.

Business Development
I like that the interpersonal interactions are low-stakes and minimal - you don't have to talk or be on camera if you don't want to be.

Bethani L.

Customer Educator, Tech
My fellow Flow Clubbers keep me accountable to my goals, and they also encourage me to take breaks and practice self-care. There are so many other ADHDers in Flow Club, and I feel like I've really found my people. I've haven't met anyone from Flow Club IRL, but we still laugh, cry, work, and celebrate together. It's just a magical, supportive place.

Samantha G.

Founder
Flow Club has been amazing for my ADHD. The body doubling concept really does work.
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How Flow Club works

Debrief & Celebrate

Your session host will check in with you and bring the positive vibes. Not everyone hits their goals, but everyone made progress. We celebrate that.

Start doing

When the timer begins, the host will play focus-inducing music while everyone begins the muted, deep work segment. The music is optional, but doing your best to knock out the task at hand is not.

Share your goals

The simple act of sharing what you're going to do with someone else sets up external accountability and increases the likelihood that you'll get it done.

Show up

Willpower is overrated. Instead, draft off the energy of other people who also care deeply about their work.

Book a session

Research shows that you are more likely to achieve your goals when you pre-commit to it.

Designed for ADHD

Hosts and agendas keep the session organized
Timer and tasks always visible
A community of peers to keep you motivated

Easiest way to manage your ADHD

Flow Club combines scientifically proven methods shown to help with ADHD and boost productivity, so you can spend less time managing, and more time doing what you love.
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Body doubling

Increase motivation through positive pressure and co-action

Distractability delay

Distraction-free zone to guard your attention

Music

Binaural, lofi, or more— for the right level of stimulation

Activity scheduling

Time block to introduce structure and facilitate task initiation

Dopamine

Environment and interactions designed to keep you energized

Pomodoro technique

Combat time blindness and prevent misdirected hyperfocus

Supportive community

Learn how ADHDers reframe unhelpful thoughts and try new strategies

We're Sure You Have Questions

What is Flow State?

Flow, as defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a Professor of Psychology at Claremont Graduate University, is “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter.” This heightened state of focus and productivity often distorts our perception of time, diminishes anxiety and ego, and fosters a sense of effortless action. It's similar to what we frequently describe as being "in the zone," characterized by a deep sense of immersion and peak performance.

This concept of "flow" was first introduced to the broader scientific community by Csikszentmihalyi in 1990 through his seminal work, "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience". In this publication, he articulated the essence of being in flow and its significant benefits. Not only does it boost productivity, but it also increases life satisfaction and promotes better mental wellbeing. The study of flow began with Csikszentmihalyi's quest to identify the elements that lead to a life worth living, which you can hear about in his TED Talk: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow, the Secret to Happiness.

As modern knowledge workers, we rarely get to experience flow state. Even more elusive is the sense of progression and mastery of your work. When was the last time you felt accomplished? Do you feel like you are better than you were a month ago? The pursuit of flow state reminds us to asks these questions about the work we do everyday, and Flow Club is where we gather to do it.

How do I get in the flow?

While flow is a highly personal and subjective experience, researchers have identified conditions that can facilitate this positive state of being:

Challenge-Skill Balance: Choose activities that are just challenging enough for your skill level. Progress to bigger challenges as your skills expand. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi provides two insightful graphs to help visualize where you should aim to be.

Flow Channel

Clear, Attainable Goals: Have a clear understanding of what you need to accomplish. If your tasks seem too vague, refine them until they become more specific. If your tasks seem overwhelming, break them down into manageable pieces.
Unambiguous Feedback: You should know how well you’re doing as you’re doing it. Even with extensive and protracted tasks, set smaller milestones to help you gauge progress along the way.
Time-based Goals: When breaking down tasks or clarifying them proves difficult, use time-based goals rather than outcome-based goals. For example, if you're facing a major task, such as writing a lengthy report without a clear plan, set a goal like "write for 30 minutes." Make focusing for a specific period of time the goal itself.
Follow Your Energy Level: Pay attention to how your energy fluctuates throughout the day. Take advantage of the peak energy times to enhance your chances of achieving flow.
Designate Time: Schedule time to be in flow to block it out for yourself. Commit and let your brain prepare to fully immerse itself when the time arrives.
Eliminate Distraction: Before you start, eliminate any potential distractions. Place your phone out of reach and out of sight, close your room door, set your chat program to "Do Not Disturb,” etc.
Bring Intention: Bring a heightened level of intention and determination. This could be as simple as taking a deep breath, focusing your gaze, or performing a brief ritual that helps you transition into a more concentrated state.
Bring Personal Triggers: Recognize and leverage personal triggers that help you enter the zone. These could be a cup of coffee, a specific playlist, or a notebook open to a particular page.
Be In a Flow-Inducing Environment (eg Flow Club): Flow Club is a virtual environment designed to facilitate flow state that you can access any time, from anywhere. Some key features of an optimal flow-inducing environment include:
- Encouraging risk-taking through peer accountability
- Activating reward pathways to stimulate dopamine release
- Offering soundtracks conducive to work
- Inspiring awe and motivation
- Providing a comfortable and supportive atmosphere

What are the benefits of Flow Club?

Flow Club creates the conditions to help facilitate flow state. It's ultimately about improving mental fitness, feeling fulfilled at work and finding more time for life. The specific benefits you will experience include but are not limited to:

• Sharpened focus
• Minimized distractions
• Manage symptoms of ADHD
• Heightened intentionality and awareness of your work
• Motivation on demand
• More time for deep work, side pursuits, and life
• Increased confidence through a sense of agency
• Clearer delineation between work and rest
• More restorative rest
• Inspired company of peers and hosts
• Lower stress and anxiety
• More creativity

We hate BS too, and some of these things inevitably sound like BS. Best we can do now is to show you some testimonials, but you should stay skeptical and try it out for yourself.

See our Wall of Love.

How do you know that your method works?

Flow Club’s method is based on the popular Pomodoro Technique, which millions of workers around the world practice on a daily basis. The Pomodoro Technique helps people overcome discomfort by working in small time increments of 25-minutes, followed by a 5-minute of break. In Flow Club, the most popular length of session is 50 minutes.

Research shows that we put off work not because we are lazy or lack discipline. We do it to avoid negative feelings like overwhelm and uncertainty. We reach for distractions to soothe our negative feelings or busy work to help us feel productive. Instead, the Pomodoro Technique helps you focus by shrinking your goal down to the next few things you can do in the time allotted, making it easier for anyone to make real progress.

Beyond the Pomodoro Technique, Flow Club is intentionally designed to facilitate flow state and overcome symptoms of ADHD. To learn more, read our post on ADHD and Body Doubling.

Who are the hosts?

Our hosts are volunteers from the community. You can think of them as your primary accountability partner. Hosts help lead and give each session structure. They check in with you on your progress and bring their music and positivity to help propel you forward. You can become a host too after 10 sessions. You'll love hosting because it makes you even more accountable and you feel great having held space to support others in the process.

Do I have to keep video on?

As much as you can. Of course, if you need to turn off the camera, that’s okay. As a community, we keep our videos on to create an energetic virtual environment for each other while we work, like working at a cafe! This concept is actually called body doubling and is a useful technique for everyone to remain focused, present and reduce distractions.

The video boxes are small, and no one is looking at you because everyone is focusing. In case things go wrong, we enforce our community guidelines to keep out bad behavior.

How much talking is required?

Not much at all because we gather to focus on getting stuff done. We share our goals and progress with each other to keep each other accountable, that’s all.

If you prefer to not talk at all, there are non-verbal, chat-only options you can join.

How strict are your sessions’ rules?

To get the most out of a session, we recommend joining for the check-in at the beginning because declaring your intention to the group makes you more likely to accomplish your goal. Most people tend to stay for the entire duration and keep their video on, because it is helpful to them to do so. Staying until the end and celebrating with everyone is an extra boost of dopamine that can give you some extra pep in your step for the rest of your day.

Of course, if you need to join late, hop out early, or turn off video, that is completely fine with us. This is a tool that’s here to serve you, not the other way around.

Our sessions provide the flexibility for you to:
• Join at any time as long as you have booked the session in advance.
• Turn your video on and off anytime.
• Leave a chat message to your fellow attendees if you are joining late or jumping out early.
• We also offer chat-only sessions, where there is no spoken/verbal interaction at all.

I'm already productive working solo. How will Flow Club challenge me?

In Flow Club you are still working solo. What Flow Club adds is a layer of structure and external accountability to help you push yourself a little harder. It’s the difference between working out at home by yourself and going to a workout class. You’ll find lots of high performers like yourself in Flow Club, and you’ll be surprised by how much more you get done.

How is it possible that strangers keep me accountable?

To be clear, it’s still you who is keeping yourself accountable! There’s just no way around that. 🙂

But, it’s also clear that we are social animals. Many people work better when they are in the presence of others. The host in the room asks each participant to share their goals out loud. The act of sharing and being visible to others creates enough energy for our members to get started and to follow through.

For scientific research underpinning Flow Club's experience design, see the Science of Body Doubling

How should I prepare for Flow Club sessions?

Take a moment to think about what you need to do (anything goes — from drafting an important memo to cleaning your room), and then figure out the smallest first step you can take. Book a Flow Club to set aside time to work on it, and join the session from your computer with the intention of getting it done.

How is this different from video chat with friends?

Flow Club is a live, structured experience with specific choreography that is easy to participate and host in. As a member, you’ll find that it’s much, much easier than organizing your own group, whose members may or may not have the same commitment as you do.

We've thought through details to help people focus and remove overwhelm:

Flow Club's Schedule
Flow Club’s predictable schedule helps you create consistent daily routines. You can book ahead to help you block out time.

Norms around Accountability
Through the norm of sharing your to-do with your group and displaying your progress publicly, you use the group to hold yourself accountable.

Calendar Reminders
We send you a calendar invite so that you can make an appointment with yourself and others to remind you to show up. Your teammates will also respect your time because it appears as a meeting.

To-do List
The To-do list doesn’t carry over, which helps you start fresh each time.

Small Videos
Videos help people feel present. We display them in limited width and height so that they aren't overly distracting. Controls such as on/off toggles and background blur support your changing needs.

Optional Focus Music
Flow Club hosts play focus-friendly music in sessions to help cue your brain that this time and space is for work.

How much is Flow Club?

Flow Club is $40/mo or $400/year. We have 50% discounts for students and non-profits, and 50% discount for hosting a qualified number of sessions.

Can I get my company to pay for Flow Club?

Yes, Flow Club usually fits under a co-working or wellness stipend. Here’s a resource page on how to ask.

Do you offer discounts to students and non-profits?

Yes, we support full-time students and non-profit workers with a 50% discount. Learn more.

Join the Club

Try Flow Club now for free.
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