The ADHD Search Party: Locating Lost Items
Case Study
Tom's daily routine included a frustrating treasure hunt for his keys, phone, wallet, and whatnot.
The time wasted searching for his items left him irritated & greatly impacted his productivity.
Improving one specific thinking skill gave him back hours and Tom found himself more focused, efficient, and of course, using his time on more important tasks.
Thinking Skills
While you are doing any task, you (without even realizing it!) are using your 28 thinking skills.
When the thinking skills you need to use are strong, doing the task is easy.
If the thinking skill you need to use is weak, doing the task will be a challenge.
The struggle that Tom had, came from a weak thinking skill of systematic search.
Systematic Search
The thinking skill of systematic search is just what it sounds like - searching in a system.
Often when we look for items, we look in the same place 3 times and we don’t look where the item actually is.
You want to create a system and look in that system.
For example, if you’re looking for a book, your system might be to look top to bottom of the bookshelf and then left to right on each shelf.
If you’re looking for your keys, it could be from the right side of the room to the left side of the room, top to bottom.
It doesn’t make a difference what the system is as long as you follow the system.
Why Systematic Search Works So Well
You might be thinking, like Tom did, “That’s just gonna take forever.”
But guess what? It actually saves a lot of time for 3 reasons:
- You don’t waste time looking in the same place more then once.
- The more you do systematic search, the better you get at it. You come up with better systems and also look faster.
- As soon as you have a system your brain calms down and often you’ll find yourself remembering where you actually put it.
Don't Lose Your Items
Another thing that really helped Tom was making sure every item has a HOME. A place were you keep it.
You want to make sure the home for each item is in the most convenient place.
Keep it where you use it.
The car keys? Hooks near the door for you to grab as you walk out.
Phone charger? Near the outlet, you use to charge your phone most often.
Your Challenge
If you are frustrated by how many times you have to buy something because you misplaced it or how often you are late ‘cuz you can’t find you’re car keys you simply need to improve your thinking skill of systematic search.
Your challenge this week is every time you are missing something, create a system and look in the system.
Over time, it will start to happen naturally and you wouldn’t even have to think about doing systematic search it will happen by itself.
Cheers to Peak Brain Performance!
Hi, I'm ST,
Just like you, I want to be more efficient and effective.
Most entrepreneurs want to grow their business but already got a lot of stress.
At LifePix University we help you rewire your brain to become more efficient and effective while experiencing more inner peace.
Learn more here.
Your Essential Guide
to Cognitive Functions
This guide will give you all you need to start improving your cognitive functions. Learn what all 28 thinking skills are, how they apply to you and what you can do today to begin improving them.
Cognitive Functions Assessment
Thinking is not one big thing. Thinking is made up of 28 parts, called cognitive functions.
Take the FREE assessment to see where each of your cognitive functions are currently at.
We're on for 1M downloads
By the end of 2025
Can you help us reach our goal?
Share this podcast with someone you love!
The ADHD Search Party: Locating Lost Items
Case Study
Tom's daily routine included a frustrating treasure hunt for his keys, phone, wallet, and whatnot.
The time wasted searching for his items left him irritated & greatly impacted his productivity.
Improving one specific thinking skill gave him back hours and Tom found himself more focused, efficient, and of course, using his time on more important tasks.
Thinking Skills
While you are doing any task, you (without even realizing it!) are using your 28 thinking skills.
When the thinking skills you need to use are strong, doing the task is easy.
If the thinking skill you need to use is weak, doing the task will be a challenge.
The struggle that Tom had, came from a weak thinking skill of systematic search.
Systematic Search
The thinking skill of systematic search is just what it sounds like - searching in a system.
Often when we look for items, we look in the same place 3 times and we don’t look where the item actually is.
You want to create a system and look in that system.
For example, if you’re looking for a book, your system might be to look top to bottom of the bookshelf and then left to right on each shelf.
If you’re looking for your keys, it could be from the right side of the room to the left side of the room, top to bottom.
It doesn’t make a difference what the system is as long as you follow the system.
Why Systematic Search Works So Well
You might be thinking, like Tom did, “That’s just gonna take forever.”
But guess what? It actually saves a lot of time for 3 reasons:
- You don’t waste time looking in the same place more then once.
- The more you do systematic search, the better you get at it. You come up with better systems and also look faster.
- As soon as you have a system your brain calms down and often you’ll find yourself remembering where you actually put it.
Don't Lose Your Items
Another thing that really helped Tom was making sure every item has a HOME. A place were you keep it.
You want to make sure the home for each item is in the most convenient place.
Keep it where you use it.
The car keys? Hooks near the door for you to grab as you walk out.
Phone charger? Near the outlet, you use to charge your phone most often.
Your Challenge
If you are frustrated by how many times you have to buy something because you misplaced it or how often you are late ‘cuz you can’t find you’re car keys you simply need to improve your thinking skill of systematic search.
Your challenge this week is every time you are missing something, create a system and look in the system.
Over time, it will start to happen naturally and you wouldn’t even have to think about doing systematic search it will happen by itself.
Cheers to Peak Brain Performance!
Hi, I'm ST,
Just like you, I want to be more efficient and effective.
Most entrepreneurs want to grow their business but already got a lot of stress.
At LifePix University we help you rewire your brain to become more efficient and effective while experiencing more inner peace.
Learn more here.
Your Essential Guide
to Cognitive Functions
This guide will give you all you need to start improving your cognitive functions. Learn what all 28 thinking skills are, how they apply to you and what you can do today to begin improving them.
Cognitive Functions Assessment
Thinking is not one big thing. Thinking is made up of 28 parts, called cognitive functions.
Take the FREE assessment to see where each of your cognitive functions are currently at.
We're on for 1M downloads
By the end of 2025
Can you help us reach our goal?
Share this podcast with someone you love!
