What keeps you organized and "normal"? | ADHD Information
post it notes in a rainbow of colors!!!
I put them on the fridge, on my laptop computer, and sometime on my shirt. LOL!
Palm pilot with alarms set for appointments and meetings.
Electronic postit notes on my computer at work to remind me of work related stuff. ( I find if I try paper post its at work they get lost, tried PDA for work related and I got overwhelmed with lists, if it's seperated, I feel like it works better.)
metadate CD taken at 7am and again at 11:30 am to help me to remember to look at the post it notes, PDA, and computer!!
I do not carry out all the organizational behaviors for more than a month. For some reason this stuff has been working for the past two months.. ( I don't know if it is a result of medication or of a placebo affect, or of I don't know something else new.. but whatever it is,, I'm glad it's working!)
ROUTINES!! I clean house on saturdays only. have a set routine for getting ready in the am. and I'm working on one for the evening.. I havent found one that works quite perfectly yet.
Sherry
oh , BTW, I do not consider myself normal.
That's just way tooooooo boring! LOL
Sherry
Organized = not missing work meetings. not forgetting to do projects. not forgetting to mail in or pay bills.Normal = not missing work meetings. not forgetting to do projects. not forgetting to mail in or pay bills.
Only missed one out of three meetings today. Must be improvement?
projects, bills - working on that.
Who's orgnized? Who's normal?
any organization tool doesn't do too much for me because I can only stay at it for a short while - my excitement for the thing wears off and it becomes just like everything else - lost.
so far the only "organization" tool I have is my wallet. It allows me enough space for all my credit cards, insurance cards, etc AND my checkbook. I don't know why it took me 15 years to get this thing, but now I have only lost my checkbook once. That is an accomplishment.
MY SPOUSE, and i bet that is the #1 answer.
Need to do a poll on this one.
bugzappers38647.5267361111Topic explanation: What keeps you normal? Is it meds? Yoga?
What keeps you organized? Is it a calendar? Post-it notes all over? A PDA? A computer calendar?
Mine:
- Meds: 30mgs of Adderall XR every morning about 7am, just before I leave for work.
-Organization: A Palm Zire 72 PDA and iCal on my work computer. I don't know what I would do without those two things. I can set alarms to remind me of meetings, my Zire syncs with my Mac computer's iCal so all my "to-do" lists and meetings are the same on my Zire and iCal. It has to be the best combonation ever. I can enter things in my Zire as they hit me OR, if I'm in the car, the Zire has a digital voice recorder so I can just speak my ideas and things to do into it and play them back later. I highly highly highly suggest getting a Palm PDA if you are horrible with "paper calendars" and date books as I was.
The combo of the meds, Zire and iCal keep me focused, organized and allow me not to miss meetings, bills or anything else for that matter. It's a glorious thing.
You mean ADHDers can be ORGANIZED & NORMAL?
I'm not there yet! 
[QUOTE=LTC1] You mean ADHDers can be ORGANIZED & NORMAL? I'm not there yet! [/QUOTE]
Well, with a lot of determination.. I think we can be MORE organized than what we currently are never totally tho..... umm but NORMAL???
NEVER!!!
sherry
LOL - wow - it's hard to get normally organized even with meds!
I have a perpetual calendar datebook. I went back lately to try and start it again - and noticed I had started it march, 2004, february, 2002 and april, 1999! So I said forget it and put it back in the storage box.
My best advice is the old KISS principle - keep it simple stupid! Reduce the strains on your life as much as possible - and work your way back up again.
I went from totally spinning in circles - trying to juggle WAY too much - now it's work, home and not much else. I am coming back up - but slowly so it's like coming up from deep water and avoiding the bends.
I think it's possible to do - but must be done in our time when we can handle it.
I go through periods where I'm lost, forgetting everything and let it all get out of control.
However, when I'm in control, organization (normalcy) look like this in our house:
1. Two wipe-off calendars on the refridgerator with the current month and next month. Everything for the kids, including school (library every Tues/Wed, strings...), sports (practices and games) and any other events such as b-days, etc. Also, my hubby's soccer games/practices and any work trips that take him away for more than a day. (Work stuff stays off this... home only). NOTE: My 10-year-old is responsible for looking at this each morning and telling me what's up for the day. :)
2. One wipe-off board on the refridgerator (under calendars) for making a grocery list and other notes.
3. PDA. This holds all my personal information that doesn't go on the family calendar. It is useful for notes, lists, and all types of information. It also has a great calendar that I try to duplicate from the family calendar... I use this during the day at work.
4. Post-its. I use these for things that have to be remembered ASAP. They usually end up on the counter by the phone or on my monitor at work.
5. Work calendar on desk. I also keep a calendar on my desk at work (month-at-a-glance) that I use to remind me of doctor's appointments or any work meetings, and any other appointments/events occurring between the hours of 8 and 5. This is prominent enough that I can't help but see it each day.
6. Meds. I drink a cup of coffee when I get to work. At 10am I take 36mg Concerta. Another cup of coffee before lunch and sometime around then, another 36mg of Concerta. I sometimes have another cup of coffee in the afternoon but this is just when I feel like I need it. I also take 300mg Wellbutrin (which I'm hoping to kick soon... a throw-back from mis-diagnosed depression before diagnosing ADHD).
7. Patient family, boss and co-workers. My kids and hubby are understanding, even when totally irritated because I forget something or just get out of whack for a week or so. I still mess up the bills and still forget to sign something for the kids or whatever but they now have an understanding of why I'm like this. However, I work hard to keep control because it feels so good. I'm a space-cadet but I have great abilities. I just need to keep the bad times down to a minimum and meds help that.
Everyone just needs to find their rhythm and not be discouraged during those times when we inevitably loose control. When you get it back, just go at it again!
What keeps me NORMAL!?It would take a lobotomy or the like to make me approach the souless emptiness I see as normal.
What keeps me organised, to a degree anyway, is my need to keep eating and paying bills.
Before doing these exercises I have never been organized, unless my sister comes over and cleans for me, or someone else takes the reigns and helps me out.
I've been doing the exercises from the book Stopping ADHD and now I are fairly organized at work. I can still do better, but I THINK about organization. I organize my desk at the end of the day. I organized my time better. It is weird, cause I usually don't even think about it at all.