The Structured space series #4 By Carmen Nave, PHD

My sister Carmen was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and came to me for collaboration and help.  Over the course of several months, we worked closely together to address the difficulties she was having in her home and work.  We came up with a lot of solutions that I wanted to share about design solutions, work patterns and setups.  First posted in 2020 (before a major website overhaul) these 5 posts form a series called “The Structured Space” and are written by Carmen because as she is the person WITH ADHD, as well as having a background in studying ADHD behaviours, she is better able to speak about both the process and the outcomes.  Her fourth post is below.

The next phase of my ADHD-friendly office redesign is to create a “nomadic office.” Once it’s fully functional, I think it’s going to rival my standing desk as a work-flow game changer!

Lenore developed the concept of a Nomadic Office in order to assist with my ADHD and at the same time meet our whole family’s needs in relation to my work space. So she’s going to take over the next few sections to explain it!

After Lenore’s section, I’ll explain how to get started on creating a Nomadic Office for yourself.
This week, we’re going to stick to the concept: how we came up with it and the general principles that anyone can use. 

The design challenges

A major challenge in Carmen’s office is that she and her husband John share the desk. While they each have laptops, they also use a desktop computer for editing photos. John also uses the desk and computer for his music hobby.

Another challenge is that the office area is part of a larger family room. It’s next to the tv, near the couch, and in the same room as their daughter’s art supplies.

Additionally, the room has multiple windows and doors as well as a pull-down staircase to an attic. This limits the possible furniture arrangements and organizations of the zones

Design Analysis

Our analysis combined self-observation and discussion. Carmen’s ADHD is a prominent issue for her. She’s never had a workspace that fully worked for her, and her needs can seem quite random.    [It’s totally true!!!!-CN] 

For example, she realized during her self-observation that creating a tight feeling on her scalp helps her concentrate when writing. Because of this she needs a place at her desk for hair elastics and headbands. Neither of us had ever thought of these as office supplies before!

By observing her and talking with her, I came to the conclusion that what she needed was an office that could be easily transported to wherever she was most comfortable working that day.

We often find Carmen in the dining room

The concept: easy to move, easy to tidy

For the ADHD component the main thing was to have everything she needed visible and within reach when she needed it.

Just as vitally important, she needed to be able to put things away super easily.  This is something that while certainly not unique to ADHD, tends to be a larger stumbling block for those who have it.

‘Easy to tidy up’ was also important because the desk is visible while relaxing and watching TV, so any mess or unfinished work is prominent and can add stress to family members using the space for relaxing.

It’s also important that the desk itself can be a workspace for the different members of the household without their work or hobbies interfering with each other.

This tin contains Carmen’s essential office supplies

We worked through the activities that happen in the space for each household member, and then developed easy-to-move, easy-to-tidy solutions. The main activities are:

There were also some permanent storage needs. These were:

Some of these things, such as the Midi board, only have to move from a storage area to the desk and back. The laptop charging station was moved to an area near, but not on, the desk. 

This solved most of the room-sharing problems. But additionally, we wanted to meet Carmen’s tendency to work all around the house and occasionally outside of it.

For this, we have a number of nesting components. A small hanging file box holds her planning file and has room for growth. We bought a large tin box that holds a few pens, business cards, the hard drive where she stores photos, a USB key, and post-its. This and her bullet journal fit into the hanging file and can be easily moved around the house.

What could be easier than chucking your stuff in this container?

Carmen here again!

When Lenore brought up the idea of a Nomadic Office, it made immediate sense to me.
Self-assessment was a major part of this office redesign, and when I started thinking of my needs in terms of embracing my “nomadic” tendencies, I realized that I needed some non-design additions in order to support my work habits.

For example, I bought a solid-state hard drive to store my photos on. I wanted to be able to access them without internet (so no cloud) and in a variety of locations on different computers. 
It took about 4 months of self-assessment, but that included a lot of thinking through my actual work flow. Since my work needs have changed a lot, this was more than a design project on my end. If you already have pretty clear work habits, your self-assessment might be much shorter!

Self assessment

To begin your self assessment, you basically need to create a baseline and then spend some time thinking about what is working and what isn’t.

1.Write down everything in your space, at least in broad terms.
2.Tidy up your space to the point that it is comfortable or at least workable.
3.Note anything that doesn’t have a good storage place but should remain in the space. Things that don’t need to be in that space can be taken elsewhere (even if they don’t have a good spot in the place they need to be).
4.Over the next week or so, note what things find their way back to your space.
5.Note anything that you want to have but isn’t there.
6.After the first week or so, start a master list of “must haves” in your space.
7.On a separate sheet, start a master list of activities that happen in your space.
8.You can start problem-solving now, or repeat the first steps, and reassess periodically until you feel your master lists are complete.

Once your lists are complete, you’ll start to see the patterns in your work and your space. Think about grouping things according to activity, and planning storage places based on frequency of use and ease of access.

I work on my office floor a lot too!

The Structured space series #3 By Carmen Nave, PHD

My sister Carmen was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and came to me for collaboration and help.  Over the course of several months, we worked closely together to address the difficulties she was having in her home and work.  We came up with a lot of solutions that I wanted to share about design solutions, work patterns and setups.  First posted in 2020 (before a major website overhaul) these 5 posts form a series called “The Structured Space” and are written by Carmen because as she is the person WITH ADHD, as well as having a background in studying ADHD behaviours, she is better able to speak about both the process and the outcomes.  Her third post is below.

Creating a supportive environment is not a quick fix, so as much as I want to do a big reveal of the new office, it’s still a work in progress. Today I’ll share what we’ve changed and how we’re going forward, because working in stages is important when designing for ADHD or any highly specific needs.
(You can read the start of the journey here)

Colour

We completed the painting for the whole room, which is actually a large multi-use space that includes a working area, a tv-games area, and a playroom area.

When researching the little information about ADHD and design that is out there, I frequently came across advice saying to paint “calming” colours. I don’t know about you, but I found this unhelpful to say the least. It’s mildly insulting: just like for anyone, it isn’t necessarily the case that a person with ADHD need to be “calmed” in order to function. When I’m working, I want to be engaged and energetic, not “calm.”

That said, we chose to repaint in the same neutral colour, mainly because we know that it is bright and cheerful in this north-facing room, and a neutral wall is best when working with photographs, which I do.

We did create a vibrant bright accent wall on the opposite side of the room, where my daughter’s desk and play/craft area is. We removed a dark green rug from the tv area and added a vibrant, stripped woven rug that has all of the colours from the room and more in it.
Overall, with the fresh higher quality paint, new rug, and accent wall, the room feels much brighter and lighter, and I’m super happy with it.

Everyone needs a mascot! Mine is Chewy Hams.
And how awesome is that rug?

Desk

My partner and I have been looking for a standing desk for a long time. He prefers them at work, and I have some back issues that flare up and make sitting difficult, so we wanted one that would look good and function well.

We finally found one (in Owen Sound of all places!) that wasn’t overbuilt, making it reasonable for a home office. Getting it was what prompted the whole office redo.

It’s all set up, and deserving of a post of it’s own! I’ve discovered that it not only is good for my back, but useful for my ADHD as well. I talk about it in more detail HERE.

TV area

This is not super important to the work space, but we moved the modular storage system of dark black cubes I inherited from my grandparents to the living room, where it looks infinitely better. We swapped it with a console table which has never had a perfect home since we moved from the place we lived when we bought it, but with the colour changes of the desk and rug, it now fits really nicely in the office!

You’ll see in the picture that two of the black cubes are left. This is an interim solution to the amount of actual storage space that has not been replace. Which brings me to what is still in progress.

Tracking my work

Before we move forward with wall storage or any other storage, I want to know what it is that I really need in my space. There are some things that belong to my partner which will stay as well, because we really only want one desktop computer in the house, and he has a number of digital hobbies he’ll be keeping up with.

So for now we’re letting the desk accumulate some things, and tracking what is piling up, and what is missing.

I jot down things while I work, as they come up

What’s missing

So far, I’ve realized that I need a place for hair bands and elastics, because I use too-tight ponytails as a way to help focus (this is sort of like a fidget, but keeps both hands free when I’m typing). I waste a fair amount of time wandering around the house trying to find hair elastics.
I’ve also realized I need a spot for my sweater. Now that we have the standing desk, the back of the chair is no longer a way to keep it close at hand.

These aren’t earthshaking realizations, but taking the time to think about them, as well as figure out what is always around the desk and thus needs a place (head phones, charging laptops, bullet journal) is going to make the final storage solution much more efficient, and also make sure that everything I need to work – even the weird things – has a place to live permanently in my work area.

Eventually, we’re going to do something with the Ekat series from Ikea, and probably some cork board and hooks and stuff as well. Not to mention cord control, because while this room is so much more functional than before, those chords are unsightly!

The Structured space series #2 By Carmen Nave, PHD

My sister Carmen was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and came to me for collaboration and help.  Over the course of several months, we worked closely together to address the difficulties she was having in her home and work.  We came up with a lot of solutions that I wanted to share about design solutions, work patterns and setups.  First posted in 2020 (before a major website overhaul) these 5 posts form a series called “The Structured Space” and are written by Carmen because as she is the person WITH ADHD, as well as having a background in studying ADHD behaviours, she is better able to speak about both the process and the outcomes.  Her second post is below.

I expected a standing desk to be helpful for my back; what I didn’t expect was that it would be even more helpful for my ADHD!

In order to explain, let me talk for a moment about the ADHD mind, and how distractability and impulsivity both benefit and get in the way of my creative work.

People with ADHD often talk about how they have many thoughts at once. There is a neurological reason for this (one of my favourite sources for learning about ADHD are these talks by Dr. Richard Barkley), but basically it boils down to this: we don’t filter out our sidetracking thoughts as well as neurotypical people.
This can lead to fantastic creativity and outside the box thinking. As an academic, people liked the unusual connections I made between different topics.

It’s hard to keep track of these thoughts!
From Dirk’s Big Bunnies

But for me, the more intensely I am thinking about something, the more overall thoughts I have and the less ability I have to focus on a single train of thought. So, I pretty regularly go from having creative insights to pacing around the house giving imaginary speeches, having imaginary arguments, or accepting my imaginary Oscars.

The pacing is always part of it for me, as well. The creative energy builds up until I end up doing circuits around my main floor at top speed. Even if I stay on topic, I become too energetic to sit at my computer and write about it.

As readers of the Structured Space blog series know, I am involved in updating my office. The main functional change has been to replace my old sitting desk with a new standing one.

We chose this desk because I’ve been having back problems. My partner has used one for years at his work, and we’ve been on the look out for one that wouldn’t feel too utilitarian in our home. We finally found one and set it up in March.

I had been expecting to sort of hate it. Standing at my desk sounded tiring.

But instead I found that I loved it, not for my back, but for my ADHD.

Now when the creative energy builds up, I can start to pace but still write as I pass by my computer. And I can move more as I think, burning up some of that energy without pacing.

It’s now so easy to leave AND come back to my computer, that I can stop myself from going all the way to Oscar speeches. I can pause and think about the memes that might go with this post, but not lose myself in wondering about the historical significance of stick figures in the 21st century.

I’m really excited about the difference this makes, but truthfully, I still do a lot of writing on the couch or on the floor. My back problems have left me tired, and also, I’m not in the habit of using the desk.

And as weird as it sounds, I keep forgetting that the desk is useful when I USE it, not just because I know that it’s useful.

Obviously, the desk doesn’t actually solve everything. I don’t know whether it’s ADHD or just my personality, but I tend to be all-in like that when something that works, and then disappointed when everything is not actually solved.

One of the reasons I want to try to develop my space not just in terms of organization but in terms of design is to keep a larger picture in my head… the picture of how I use my space and what supports me and what holds me back. I want to tweek these things until I can create the most supportive space possible, and not get hung up on one individual element.

The Structured space series #1 By Carmen Nave, PHD

If you are diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, one of the first pieces of advice you’re going to come across is to create a structured environment. But a lot of the practical how-tos on doing so are aimed at kids. There’s plenty of advice about setting up homework space, but much less about making the kitchen less overwhelming or how to create visual reminders without post-its.

My sister Carmen was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and came to me for collaboration and help.  Over the course of several months, we worked closely together to address the difficulties she was having in her home and work.  We came up with a lot of solutions that I wanted to share about design solutions, work patterns and setups.  First posted in 2020 (before a major website overhaul) these 5 posts form a series called “The Structured Space” and are written by Carmen because as she is the person WITH ADHD, as well as having a background in studying ADHD behaviours, she is better able to speak about both the process and the outcomes.  Her first post is below.

ADHD affects space in a few ways. People with ADHD tend to like visual reminders of what they’re working on as a memory aid. Combined with difficulty organizing and initiating uninteresting tasks, this tends to lead to some pretty messy spaces. And while messy is not inherently bad, it can pass a threshold where it goes from creative clutter to pure overwhelm.

What I’ve noticed is that while there are organizers who address ADHD, there isn’t much about design. And while organizing is an important piece of the puzzle, the solutions can tend towards the utilitarian or childish (colour coded boxes and post-its come up a lot).

This is not a post about how Lenore can solve all your ADHD problems with design. This is about me, Carmen, who has been recently diagnosed with ADHD trying to combine ADHD advice with design principles to see what happens.

I’m at the beginning of my journey. The official diagnosis is just a few weeks old, although the process has been going on for some time. I’m starting to rearrange my life around the idea of an external support structure that helps me stay on track with my goals (and my housework).

Not all of that requires changes to the house, of course. There’s stuff about setting up routines and schedules and alarms and things like that. But the space is definitely part of it… and since have a sister with an interior design business, it seems like an obvious thing to take advantage of.

I’m sharing this for a couple of reasons. For one, I think it goes to show that design isn’t just about fashion or style. It’s very much key to solving problems. That is a core mission statement of Lenore Brooks Design, and now I have the chance to show how that focus came into play in my own life.

The second, and maybe more important, reason is because I know that there are a lot of other adults out there like me, recently diagnosed and wondering how to climb this hill of “creating a structured environment” when that’s exactly the thing that’s been impossible all these years and why they finally sought help in the first place!

“The Structured Space” is a blog series about figuring out how to use interior design as a part of creating a supportive space that is also an adult space.

Ah well. One thing you learn when you have ADHD is to roll with the mistakes. So this week’s blog has before and during pictures, and perhaps next week we will have some afters to show.