#186 10 executive dysfunction tips and tricks to help people who hoard, whether we have ADHD or are neurodivergent or not - Hoarding Awareness Week 2025

That Hoarder: Overcome Compulsive Hoarding

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For Hoarding Awareness Week 2025, I’m focusing on executive function - the brain’s control centre for planning, starting, and finishing tasks - and the small, practical hacks that can make a genuine difference for people who hoard, whether or not we have ADHD or are neurodivergent. I talk about real-life tips for breaking the overwhelm, managing perfectionism, building momentum, and overcoming shame, all with the aim of making progress sustainable and achievable in your day-to-day life. This episode is all about honest advice that actually works, whether you’re in the thick of it or just looking for a few smarter ways to approach this.

Hoarding Awareness Week 2025 and its theme: Hoarding & Executive Function
Recognition that executive function challenges impact both neurodivergent and neurotypical people
Executive Function and Hoarding
Previous podcast episodes relating to executive function, ADHD, and hoarding
Importance of using effective hacks and techniques, regardless of neurotype
Emphasis on finding what works personally for each listener
The Realities and Challenges of Tackling Hoarding
Overwhelm and daunting feelings about dehoarding
Breaking tasks into small, manageable parts
Focus on actionable, day-to-day strategies rather than long-term, rigid planning
Understanding Executive Function
Explanation of what executive function is (control centre for planning, focus, and impulse control)
Factors that can impair executive function (neurodivergence, mental health, stress, lack of sleep, etc.)
Universality of executive dysfunction - everyone struggles at times
Emotional Barriers: Perfectionism and Shame
The cycle of shame and self-blame in executive dysfunction and hoarding
Societal judgment around hoarding, and its paralysing effects
Strategies for stepping back, naming emotions, and cultivating self-compassion
Core Executive Dysfunction Tips and Hacks
Breaking Tasks Down
Setting realistic micro-goals
The concept of “towards” vs. “away” moves in progress
Tracking Progress
Counting bags/items leaving the house
Caution against tracking becoming burdensome for some
Using Timers
Setting short (e.g., 5-minute) timers to help with task initiation
Use of voice assistants to avoid distraction
Reverse-timer technique to use end of music/podcast as a cue for action
The Two-Minute Rule
Limitations and personal adaptations of rule
Identifying Motivations
Creating visual or written reminders of why you want to dehoard
Acceptance of some tools working only temporarily, and switching when necessary
Reward Systems
Small, non-material rewards for completing tasks
Linking listening to desired media (like the podcast) with decluttering activities
Non-Negotiable Rules
Creating routines to reduce decision fatigue (e.g., charity bags leave home immediately)
Body Doubling
Doing tasks alongside others (physically or virtually, like in the host’s Zoom sessions)
Emotional/moral support of parallel accountability
Alternative ways to body double if group support isn’t accessible
Time Blocking and Scheduling
Using calendars and reminders to schedule decluttering sessions
Flexibly adapting this strategy based on personal response
Habit Stacking
Linking a new task to an established routine (e.g., unloading dishwasher while kettle boils)
Using “add-ons” for frequently-visited spaces (e.g., clearing five things each time you enter the bathroom)

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