Laundry and Executive Dysfunction
Laundry is one of the most difficult tasks for me to complete. The multistep process is torture to my brain. My dryer is the worst machine on the planet so I have to run it twice for my clothes to dry, so I’ve learned to be really conscious of when I do my laundry. Weekends are my friends and I only do laundry every couple of weeks because I don’t want to inconvenience anyone… but I did anyway.
An Uncomfy Experience
Last Saturday night I started my laundry selfishly assuming that since it was a weekend no one would be in a hurry to do their laundry and I could do my laundry on Sunday too. I woke up, turned on the machines and went to Church thinking nothing of it… but then executive dysfunction creeped in and I couldn’t take my clothes out of the dryer because that would mean I had to fold them and I couldn’t fold them.
It was 2 o’clock and I got a text from a roommate asking me to switch over my laundry. I jumped into action and quickly switched my clothes from the washer to the dryer. I tried to force myself to fold my clothes but all I ended up doing was laying them out into piles and went back to doing something less mentally straining.
Two hours later I went to turn on the dryer again and found my wet clothes on top of our dirty dryer. I got really upset because there was stuff all over my wet clothes and I had to redo the whole load and spend more time excruciating over laundry. It was the worst and I got really upset that someone touched my clothes. I got yelled at in the end for being too immature.
But I was at fault for taking too long.
Doing something wrong is not ever going to be fun, but I needed that reality check to refocus and improve.
The Hard Truth
Executive dysfunction is not a good enough reason to be inconsiderate, which hurts because only people who suffer from it really understand how hard it is, but that’s the truth. It isn’t an excuse you can use when you didn’t do something you knew you had to do.
Although there is a difference between being intentionally inconsiderate and letting your executive dysfunction inconvenience someone else’s life unintentionally. Executive dysfunction is hard and it is hard to manage. But it is something we have to take control of or else we’ll never be able to function on our own properly.
Remember. The goal is to be independent and self accountable.
Executive Functioning Tips
Here are some tips you can try when you can’t do what you want to do
Say your task out loud
Talk or write down the steps of your task
Repetition. (laundry, laundry, laundry)
Positive self encouragement! ex: “I can do this.”
Write down a to do list
Time block
Keep it simple
Use a timer (10 minute timers work best for me…It helps me refocus when I get distracted)
Prioritize tasks. One thing at a time, don’t over exert your brain.
Breathe. The world is not going to end if you make a mistake or drop the ball.
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