Living Life with ADD

See if you can relate to any of the following:

• Do you feel overwhelmed by home and work?
• Do you find that forgetfulness and lack of planning add to our daily stress?
• Do you feel that daily life is too complicated?
• Are you often late?
• Do you find that you don't have time to relax or enjoy life?
• Is it difficult for you to reach a decision - sometimes in the smallest tasks?
• Then, compensate by avoiding making decisions or letting circumstances make the decisions for you?
• Do you tend to develop addictive patterns of stimulation seeking?
• Do you let "escape" activities interfere with responsibilities?
• Do you tend to hyperfocus and lose track of time?
• Do you live in crisis mode, reacting to the demands of circumstance?
• Do you have a home cluttered with "reminders?"
• Are you often forgetful or have difficulty remembering to do future tasks?

All of these are characteristics of an adult who struggles with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Judith Kolberg and Kathleen Nadeau, PH.D. have written a book called ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life. It is a must read book for adults with ADD and all Professional Organizers or Coaches working with clients that struggle with ADD. The book is easy to read and provides specific organizational issues AND practical solutions. The solutions are provided in three levels:

1. Creating your own structure and support
2. Structure and support from family and friends
3. Structure and support from professionals (Professional Organizers, ADD coaches and Psychotherapists

So, you can implement the ideas immediately on your own and be guided to the support that you will need to keep on track and make changes successfully.

"SIMPLIFY" is the mantra for adults with ADD. Simplify your morning routine, your dinner menus, your laundry procedures, your kid's lunches, your closet and wardrobe options, your agenda, your information intake (newspaper, magazines, mailings...), your possessions, etc. Simplifying reduces the options available when making decisions. From there, with creative (and FUN) strategies, structure and support life changes can be made.

There is always hope for a better tomorrow. Take the first step. Read ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life and get the support you need to make some changes. Take small steps into 2009 and by the end of the year you will look back and thank yourself.

Parking in the Garage

The cold weather is coming!! One thing I am thankful for and love is going straight from my warm house to my car without stepping outside and without scraping the frost off the windshield!! But, for those of you whose garages serve as storage areas for excess stuff instead of a place to park your car, you may not have this luxury.

This was the case for a recent client. BUT, she decided to change that! She decided to have a party instead. She invited two of her wonderful, servant friends to help her and I clear out her garage. The weekend prior she and her husband did some preliminary work. They got rid of 15 bags of trash and had a general idea of what to keep and what to get rid of.

As you can see she hadn't parked in her garage for some time!!

The party started at 1:00!! Her and I started clearing things out of the garage and hauling things to the curb for a scheduled big trash pick up the next day. The first friend showed up at 1:30 and joined in. By 2:15 we had the garage cleared out, swept clean and ready to do the real organizing.

Remember, the first step is to plan. We talked through our zones and planned out the best locations for each. The second friend showed up just in time for the second step - sorting!! We sorted, went through each pile, contained, labeled, wrote a list of extra supplies she needed to purchase and hand-drew a picture for the tool zone and storage wall which will be finished at a later time.

Now, catch this...by 3:30 we were done!! Here is the picture I took at 3:30!

And here is the curb!

Aahhhhh, the freedom and "weight" that is gone when you simplify the stuff you own.

Some people may be groaning or getting hives just thinking about their own garages (or other problem areas) but DO NOT FEAR! Those of us, like me, who love to organize get a contagious, exhilarating feeling knowing what possibilities and amazing results can be achieved!! We can even have FUN! And we can help you have fun! Have a party with your friends! Give it a try!