Planning & Organization Difficulties: Causes & Treatment

Struggling to think ahead, keep a single goal in mind, and juggle multiple things at once are signs that someone has difficulty with planning and organization. Typically, people with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have these challenges, but other mental health conditions can cause them, too.

There can be a lot of stigma attached to these difficulties. Some people are labeled as flaky, unreliable, or messy. While it can look like just a need to get more organized, there are several cognitive and neurochemical differences that explain why someone might struggle with these skills.

This page will cover:

• What planning and organizational difficulties are in terms of cognitive and executive function skills.
• Signs someone is having difficulties.
• How ADHD and mental health conditions cause organizational and planning difficulties.
• Treatment options for ADHD and other conditions.

What Are Planning and Organization Difficulties?

When people struggle to plan and be organized, it can have a large impact on their daily life and how other people see them. For example, ADHD is a widely misunderstood condition, and those with the condition often receive negative labels from people who don’t understand the symptoms.

In reality, there are many complex neurological processes that affect planning and organizational skills.

Executive Dysfunction and Cognitive Skills

Organization and planning skills are directly connected to a set of cognitive (brain) abilities that allow people to identify and meet goals. Crucially, “goals” doesn’t mean getting a promotion or losing five pounds; “goals” in this context can mean:^[1]

• Getting out of bed.
• Having breakfast.
• Getting ready for the day.

To carry out daily tasks and responsibilities effectively, we need many cognitive skills to align. For instance, working memory is an essential part of planning and organization. This is the ability to hold relevant information in mind temporarily to complete an activity.^[1]

For example, keeping in mind a dinner guest’s allergies, how long different dishes take to cook, and the time guests are arriving when hosting a dinner party. Without good working memory, the planning, organization, and execution of the dinner party would be very difficult.

Organization and planning skills come under the umbrella of executive function skills. Broadly, these are the cognitive skills that allow us to:^[2]

• Complete tasks.
• Meet goals.
• Be adaptable.

Executive dysfunction is a key characteristic of ADHD, which we explain in more detail below. When executive skills are impaired, it can make it hard for people with ADHD to:

• Think flexibly.
• Monitor themselves.
• Mentally update and manipulate information.
• Exclude information that’s irrelevant to current goals.
• Adjust behavior to make it appropriate for the current context.

When executive functions are impaired, it can hinder daily life in many significant ways.^[2] One common outcome of this is poorer organization and planning skills. Those signs are often mistaken for character flaws when they’re nothing of the kind. Someone may struggle to:

• Think ahead.
• Juggle goals.
• Manage their time.

Signs and Impacts of Planning and Organization Issues

If someone has difficulties with planning and organization, it’s likely to show up in many aspects of their life. You might notice that you or a loved one shows some of the following signs:^[1][2][3]

• Habitual lateness.
• Forgetfulness.
• Inability to complete tasks.
• Difficulty following instructions.
• Lack of adaptability.
• Constantly missing deadlines.
• Frequently fixing crises last-minute.
• Procrastinating at the beginning of projects.
• Becoming overwhelmed easily.

When someone has struggled with planning and organization for a long time, the impacts on their life can be significant. These include:^[1]

• Less personal and academic success throughout adolescence and adulthood.
• Difficulties in creating and maintaining relationships.
• Problems at work or with finances.
• Using alcohol and/or substances to cope.
• Fatigue or burnout from working in intense bursts.

These difficulties can build on one another. A missed deadline can dent your confidence, and low confidence can make your job more difficult. This can affect your finances, which then affects your relationships or leaves you relying on drugs or alcohol to cope with the stress.

It’s rarely one big failure, and more often a slow accumulation that wears a person down.

Causes of Planning and Organization Difficulties

Before you can begin to effectively manage planning and organization difficulties, you first need to know what’s underneath them. Here’s how ADHD and other mental health conditions can cause these issues.

ADHD

Executive dysfunction in ADHD is mostly responsible for planning and organization difficulties. When executive function skills are impaired by ADHD, it’s not possible for someone to simply decide to be good in these areas. This is because ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition whereby the brain structure and chemistry are different.^[1][3]

Furthermore, the other main symptoms of ADHD can worsen planning and organization difficulties, depending on their severity.^[1] For example:

• Inattention: When someone’s ADHD is the inattentive type, they struggle most with sustaining focus and holding information in mind. This makes it very difficult to prioritize tasks, follow instructions, aim for a single objective, and be detail-oriented.
• Hyperactivity: If someone has the hyperactive type of ADHD, they feel a constant inner motor that keeps them feeling restless. As a result, it can be extremely difficult to slow down long enough to make a plan. They might also find it hard to switch between activities without a sense of order.
• Impulsivity: Often accompanying hyperactivity, impulsivity is another ADHD symptom that’s at odds with cognitive organization. Impulsivity means that someone with ADHD may simply take action without considering the consequences and change their plans spontaneously. This makes it very difficult to plan and be organized.

Another reason for organizational difficulties is the ADHD brain’s aversion to delay.^[1] Since organizing and planning don’t offer rewards immediately, someone with ADHD may struggle to feel motivated. This can mean they’re likely to gravitate towards activities that gratify them instantly.

This may make it seem like the person doesn’t care about the task, which can be a big problem at work or school. But it’s more that their brain doesn’t supply the same small pull toward a reward that is coming at some point in the future.

Mental Health Conditions

Anxiety and depression are also linked to executive dysfunction, whether someone has ADHD or not.^[1][4] This is because of the way anxiety and depression impact cognitive functioning. Research finds that:^[4]

• People with depression tend to have moderate difficulties with attention, memory, and processing speed.
• Those with anxiety tend to perform lower on working memory tests.
• People who have had depression for longer tend to have poorer working memory skills.

There are many possible reasons why mental health can impact someone’s planning and organization skills. Depression and anxiety can reduce attention, working memory, and processing efficiency, leaving fewer cognitive resources available for planning and organization.

The constant worry and rumination can also cause mental overload, making it harder for someone to use their brain power for other tasks. A mind that’s already full of worry simply has less room left for planning the week.

Treatment for Planning and Organization Issues

For those who are being affected by ADHD or mental health conditions, professional treatment for planning and organization may be necessary.

Many people who lack productivity skills, time management, and task prioritization struggle a great deal in daily life. Work, relationships, and self-esteem can all suffer when someone has difficulty with their executive functioning.

Here’s how treatment can support you:

ADHD Treatment

ADHD treatment is deeply personal, with the right approach varying from person to person. It may include:^[3][5]

• An assessment: Getting a diagnosis of ADHD can be highly validating for people who have lived with their symptoms throughout their whole life. Not only can it be personally validating, but it can also open doors for reasonable adjustments at school or work which make your life easier.
• Medication: There are both stimulant and nonstimulant options available for people with ADHD. Both are found to be effective in different ways, such as calming you or improving your focus.
• Skills development: Formal ADHD treatment can help you develop various techniques for life organization. They might help you with routines, daily planning, and task management, which can be applied to many areas of life. New organization systems can help you make plans, stay focused, and manage your time.

Psychotherapy for Planning and Organization

If you need more in-depth or long-term support, psychotherapy can help with planning and organization, as well as the associated difficulties. Here are some of the ways psychotherapy can help:^[5][6]

• New learning skills: Counseling, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), can be tailored to learning new skills and behaviors. It can help you improve time management, reduce impulsive behavior, and develop better problem-solving skills.
• Emotional support: Psychotherapy can help you process the emotional difficulties associated with planning and organization struggles. Social stigma, shame, identity, and relationship difficulties are common for people with executive dysfunction.

Therapy can help you come to terms with previous disappointments, improve your self-esteem, and process the relationship difficulties you’ve had. The work might also focus on healthier coping strategies if you’ve previously used substances to get by.

Get Therapeutic Support for Planning and Organization Skills at Mission Connection

Whether the hardest part right now is the practical side, the deadlines, the routines, or the toll it has taken on how you see yourself, Mission Connection can help. You don’t have to keep managing this on your own, and you don’t have to have it all figured out before you reach out.

Our team of licensed mental health professionals goes beyond traditional treatment and provides life-changing care. Treatment is personalized and includes a range of evidence-based therapeutic approaches and medication management if appropriate.

We offer several options for effective outpatient treatment, including in-person programs at our locations in California, Virginia, and Washington, virtual telehealth, and a hybrid program that combines in-person and virtual care.

If you already have an ADHD diagnosis, or you’re only starting to wonder whether it explains difficulties you’ve lived with for a long time, we can help you work out where to begin. Mission Connection accepts most major insurance providers. Reach out to us online or call us at 866-833-1822 to find out how we can support your long-term recovery.