Organizing for High Associative Thinkers from a Chicago Home Organizer Who Knows
When One Task Becomes Ten And What This Means For Home Organizing
Picture this…
You’re headed outside to water the garden when you notice your running shoes by the door and think, “I need to get back to the gym.”
The gym makes you think of your water bottle, which is where, exactly? “Oh, yeah. It’s in the car.”
But then you think, “Wait a second, my car’s out of gas.”
To which your brain responds, “Did I remember to pay the credit card I use to buy gas?”
The next thing you know, you’re sitting at your laptop paying bills. The garden’s not watered, the gym is forgotten (again), and the car is still perilously low on gas.
If this scenario sounds familiar, you’re likely a high-associative thinker, a common trait of ADHD. And it can have a big impact on how we try (and often struggle) to declutter and organize our homes.
WHAT IS HIGH ASSOCIATIVE THINKING?
High associative thinking is when your brain makes connections very quickly. One thought leads to another, and another, until you’ve built a long list of associations in the time it takes someone else to tie their shoes.
To others, you may appear distractible or scatterbrained. But you aren’t jumping from one thing to the next randomly; there is a straight line in your mind that leads you from point A to point B (or point G). You just happen to think of ten things near-simultaneously and act accordingly.
THE CHALLENGE AT HOME
Can you relate to any of these scenarios?
You open the closet to put something away, notice a shirt, remember it needs a button sewn on, grab the sewing kit, see that it’s missing scissors, go looking for them in the kitchen, and end up making a snack. Now the original item, the shirt, and the sewing kit are sitting out, abandoned.
Or maybe you decide to do a little tidying up, but each item you encounter sparks a new task, and items end up in DOOM piles, boxes, and bags. (DOOM = “didn’t organize, only moved.”)
There is evidence of effort, but not completion, and advice like “touch an item once” or “just stay focused!” doesn’t help when your brain is wired differently.
We want to complete tasks, but our brains aren’t wired to think in neat, single-task increments. High associative thinking is a common feature of the ADHD brain, but it’s not a flaw.
REFRAMING HIGH ASSOCIATIVE THINKING
Fast-linking thinkers jump rapidly between ideas. In decluttering, this can look like:
· Picking up an item, being reminded of a memory, and suddenly pivoting to a new project.
· Getting distracted mid-task by a “better” idea.
· Starting to sort through many piles but not finishing one.
While it may not appear logical to an outsider, the associative brain is firing on all cylinders in its quest for novelty, connections, and creativity. And that can actually be an asset.
Strengths of high-associative thinkers:
Creative Categorization. Seeing unconventional connections between items helps create personalized systems that actually fit.
Rapid Problem-Solving. Quick pivots make it easier to find new alternatives when traditional methods don’t work.
Energy Bursts. Short bursts of attention can be harnessed for highly productive sprints (like a 30-minute closet declutter).
Novelty as Motivator. The endless ways to tackle decluttering (different rooms, gamified challenges, themed sessions) can be very appealing.
Storytelling Strength. Associative memory helps decide what’s truly worth keeping by attaching meaning.
High-associative thinkers are highly capable of solving their own problems. If they struggle with clutter and organization at home, they may just need to do some self-discovery to find a way that fits for them. A professional home organizer or ADHD coach can be a powerful partner in helping them discover and unlock their decluttering and organizational powers!
TYPES OF THINGS HIGH ASSOCIATIVES MIGHT TRY
Instead of going against the grain, savvy home organizers and trained coaches partner with their clients to identify and leverage strengths.
Here are a few creative ways people have harnessed associative thinking for organizing. But don’t let this limit your thinking! High associate thinkers are endlessly creative, and are perfectly capable of finding unique methods that fit them.
Micro-projects: Declutter in very small units (a shelf, a box, a category). Quick wins can give closure before distraction sets in.
Gamification: Use timers, checklists, or celebrations for mini tasks completed. Novel reward systems can help keep the mind engaged.
Externalize the Connections: Use a “parking lot notebook” for ideas that pop up mid-declutter. This will honor associative leaps without derailing the task at hand.
Body Doubling: Invite a partner (home organizer, ADHD coach, friend, or family member) to hold space for you during work. This simple support dramatically boosts focus and completion for many people.
Flexible Systems: Think in broad categories (“Travel Gear,” “Creative Supplies”) instead of rigid ones. This creates a spaciousness for a wide range of intuitive associations.
A high-associative thinker isn’t too distracted to organize! They’re wired to create systems that are personalized, flexible, and deeply meaningful because they see connections others overlook.
YOU’RE BRAIN’S NOT BROKEN, IT’S MISUNDERSTOOD
I recently learned in a coach training course that everyone is neurodiverse. If our thought patterns conform more easily to societal norms, we’re called “neurotypical.” But those norms are social constructs shaped by larger forces (capitalism, patriarchy, racial inequality).
Different ways of thinking and processing often clash with expectations in families, schools, and workplaces. People labeled as lazy, scatterbrained, or unreliable are often none of those things. We just haven’t learned to build lives that fit us in a world that largely doesn’t recognize our strengths.
Many adapt to neurotypical norms, but with difficulty. Masking and over-compensation is exhausting and unsustainable.
My long-term professional goal is to contribute to a movement to normalize and celebrate a wider range of differences. Why normalize? Because unnecessary suffering is happening. And why celebrate? Because every neurotype has gifts. Many ADHDers, for example, struggle with daily tasks and chores while out-performing “neurotypical” peers on complex, demanding, or creative projects.
My hope is that with greater understanding will come greater self-acceptance, and social structures that accommodate a wider range of thinking. Just like I tell my Chicago home organizing clients: we don’t have to do things the way they’ve always been done. People, and yes, even whole societies, can change.