I thought we could designate this thread for MEN with AD/HD to share some organizing tips and suggestions. There is a similar thread in the Women with AD/HD section. It may be interesting to see how similar and/or differently male and female ADDers organize.

Get a palm pilot or a handspring visor, whatever. They have become an invaluable tool to me at work and at home.

Put the lid down !

**Covers her mouth shocked** Sorry.

Did you just get a sex change? lol

Lowers her voice

Why um, I seem to be losted, um wrong place, ignore that photo over there

lmbo Crissy!

How to organize? Lots & lots of lists! Paper lists, electronic lists, you name it. For me, its all about repetition.

I couldn't do my job without Outlook and my PocketPC to keep my task lists. Of course, I still don't do my job as well as I should, but it keeps me more on track, and fewer things get lost or fall through the cracks. One thing i have learned, though: Keep all your stuff in one place as far as notes or calendars... a Chinese proverb says "a man with one watch always knows what time it is, but a man with two is never sure." This is definitely true with me... If I keep two calendars, they invariably end up out of synch, and I miss an appointment or critical event.

Also, keeping my desk clean is important to my productivity... it's not clean now, which is probably why I am here, surfing the net! ;)

I too, utilize software tools like Act!, Outlook and others to keep my life in order

The palm pilot is a life saver for me. I tend to make a lot of lists. It is one step in getting better organized.

post its and my wrist notepad. And my casio data watch- can program text alarms (though I usually don't). PDA wouldn't work for me, too small a version of laptop, too big a version of the watch. Basically same problem as watch, too hard to input a reminder...

use your cell phone and send emails to it

Tara and jimmaa told me yahoo message center works well

Originally posted by Garry Lawton
use your cell phone and send emails to it

Tara and jimmaa told me yahoo message center works well


I have Just downloaded a program from the net that is an alarm schedular that will send a text message to your cell phone at the appropriate time .

It will even dial your internet connection and send the email automaticly


This will be great for myself but for it to be usefull to anyone they will need to have

A cellphone that has the ability to recieve text messages
( My provider allows me 2500 incoming text messages per month for free )

This is the link for the file

It has a 30 day free trial to see if it will work for you

http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/54059.shtml

cool beans, thanks Garry

I mostly write things down.

But I usually forget to read what I've written.

There is an ADD Magazine out there, I don't remember it's name, that I saw last weekend. There was an ad in it for a special ADD watch with up to 70 reminders & alarms in it. Along with the usual reminders it could be programmed at irregular intervals to signal you with a message that says "PAY ATTENTION", "GET BACK TO WORK" or similar messages.

Personally I'll stick to my pocket PC.

Mark

I make colorful weekly and monthly schedules using Adobe Illustrator, with differing styles for different appointments and meetings. It's not time-efficient, but I enjoy playing in Illustrator so it's not time wasted doing nothing either. It works for me.

I use Outlook for tasks.

Cary

I was at a local CHADD meeting last December and heard a presentation on organization by a local psychiatrist. I got three suggestions out of it that have worked well for me. First was to no longer say "Just for now" when putting a piece of paper, book, bills, clothes, etc. down. Save a lot of time just by putting it where it "belongs." lol My Mom would be proud of me.... Second was not to think of it as a static process, getting organized but as a system/process. For me getting organized meant cleaning up all the piles of paper, throwing stuff away, getting it all neat and tidy and then... chaos again within a few days- week max!

Third was to find a system that works for me, forget trying to use someone else's. She hit the nail on the head with that suggestion! Tried to think of where in my life I am organized... certainly wasn't in my checkbook. Realized that for me, the kitchen met her criteria. Always put the dishes away in the same place, food in the cupboard & fridge, pots, spices, etc. Didn't have to think about it, stuff just went where it was "supposed" to with no real effort on my part.

Once I got that, realized that maybe organization is possible for me... just got to find/create my own way of doing it. Have been able to transfer it over to my office and bookkeeping. It's been great since January!

Now, if I could just get one of the new cellphones with a built in pda....

yes, external organization is key...palm pilot for me too. Put everything in it's home.

The therapist I saw last week said that both he and the psychologist I'm seeing today (who has ADD) use Palm Pilots and strongly recommended them. I'm seriously considering getting one.

I'm pretty big on Goalpro.com . I work it every day and it works for me. IT has taken me about 6 weeks so far and I'm learning something new every day that I can do to use it to more advantage. I find the more i use it the more focused i am on getting important things done and not straying so far into my typical distractions. I am getting a better understanding of my goals and my time management from using it. This is a build-up experience, not at all the same experience on day one as on day 45. Its rare that I can do something like this for this long too, so that also speaks to its usefullness. There are a lot of tips and tricks I have developed for myself that don't come in the instruction box, so I guess I am taking off the shelf technology and making it work for me the way I like it. There is a free 30 day trial for goalpro 5.0, and im using 6.0 which is really outstanding. they are both good programs.

Jon

This is a repost from another thread on clutter that I responded to:

Clutter techniques I can pass on:

1) Giant gallon size ziplock bag EVERYTHING you are keeping.

2) Hole punch them - special technique for those interested

3) Binder them under alphabetic after labeling them with indelible marker on the plastic bags

4) Buy binders for special topics, like BANKING, BILLS, DIARY, EDUCATION, INVESTMENTS, HEALTH, CHILDREN, PRODUCT MANUALS, etc.

Next, get three bins (BIG) and label them, KEEP, THROW, and MAYBE.

Start dumping your clutter one piece at a time, in each of these bins. When the throw bin is full, empty it in the trash and continue. When the KEEP Bin is full enough, start plastic ziplock bagging stuff, and put them somewhere safe to be hole punched and bindered later.

Make dinner for friends, and pay for them to go to the movies with you, if they will come over and help you tackle some of this filing project. The system is so unique, they will probably learn something as well and appreciate the evening. If its your spouse, you will have to cook them dinner and take them to a movie too!!


Do this several days a week, a couple 2-4 hours a day, and you will see a difference in being able to find things, see things in their ziplock bags, and be able to start seeing the floor and the desk top.

Hope this helps

Jonathan
Hope that helps.

I use chameleon clock. I downloaded it the other day after reading through some old posts. It has a free trial mode which is good. If i'm still using it in a month or two then I will keep it; but at least I can try it for a while.

What I really like is I have a digital clock with the date...andt the seconds tick over as well. This movement draws my eyes to it; and helps me not get too caught up in doing something for too long. I can also set myself a timelimit for being online (like here).

I'm pretty impressed so far.

Sleepz

http://www.softshape.com/software/desktop/chamclock/features/

I always carry a steno pad with green tinted paper which I jokingly refer to as my brains. I have been doing this and filing them for about 10 years now. It is amazing how valuable they have been for referring back to addresses and phone numbers. BTW, I DO have a palm pilot.

Swede

BTW, be sure to put a LARGE name, address, and phone number label on the cover for the times you leeaave it at the home depot check out or in the grocery cart!

Swede

Originally posted by unreal33
IKeep all your stuff in one place as far as notes or calendars...

a Chinese proverb says "a man with one watch always knows what time it is, but a man with two is never sure."

This is definitely true with me... If I keep two calendars, they invariably end up out of synch, and I miss an appointment or critical event.

Also, keeping my desk clean is important to my productivity... it's not clean now, which is probably why I am here, surfing the net! ;)

Both are true for me. thoughi NEED to have another human knowing and checking my calendar. I am not enough.

BUT THE importance of having my EVERYTHING clean is unbearable in witness of the fact that i create chaos and clutter at an incredible rate!

When, by circumstance, i have had to share a work desk at a client site with other tasks when I'm not there, and all my stuff HAD to be put away in an orderly way, EVERYTIME, I did my best work, my happiest, even though the thought and pracice of spending time putting stuff away and getting it right back out the next time was an abomination to some part of my being, as utter waste of time and existence.

It worked great!

Finding a way to trap myself into that, and always have a place fo things BEFORE I bring them back, and always pay the piper to put the stuff away immediately is hard for me to contrive, it works so well when i do it!

Wheel,

I laughed with your post--it is soooo familiar!

This is my first post--another ADD board that I participated on disappeared and then became Pfiser, or some other huge drug company's property. OH Well.

I use Getting Things Done (book) and it has helped quite a bit, when I can focus enough to do the program.

http://www.davidco.com/

I also use Outlook, ACT, a PDA and a great little program called Powermarks.

http://www.kaylon.com/power.html

Powermarks will revolutionize your bookmarks or favorites. No more struggling with those.

But if you want a simple filing system, Use Powermarks to keep track of your NUMERICAL filing system. Here's how I do it:

I pre-make 100 labels, A-100 to A-199. I affix these to 1/3 cut manila folders. When I have something to file, I grab the next folder, say it's A-122. I open Powermarks (always in the Windows tray)
Name: Snow Blower Tune-Up
URL: A-122
Keywords: Snow Blower, Tecumseh Tune up Cold

I drop the tune up manual in the Manila folder, and deposit it in my filing cabinet right behind A-121. When I need to retrieve it, I open Powermarks, type in "cold" or tune-up and up pops A-122 Snow Blower Tune-up.

It helps to have just one manila folder inside ONE hanging pendaflex. About 100 of these will fit in your standard 26.5" file cabinet drawer.

I've got about 300 of these files now, and I can find anything FAST. The only downside is you can't create folders.

Lists are good in a way, shape or form, but the trick is to follow them.

PDA's and Desktop calendars on my outlook folder on my PC. They actually make noises at me to remind me to check 'em. :-)

A repeating timer on my wrist that goes off every half hour just to make sure I'm where I want need to be. It sounds so juvenile but it's working wonderfully. < g >

This month is the first that I'm totally dedicated to my pda. I have lived with daytimers for many years. The pen and paper have tremendous bandwidth though.. I've lost all the data on the pda once already to a hard reboot of the little devil! However I'm notching one up for user error and marching ahead.

Lists are great but honouring them is something else. Making notes so that ideas and task obligations don't get lost are standard for me. I love countdown timers.. what a kid!

Cheers! Ian

Originally posted by DarkHound
Get a palm pilot or a handspring visor, whatever. They have become an invaluable tool to me at work and at home.

I agree 100%. I got a small one with a good cover that I can keep in my pocket at all times. It has really helped me remember my tasks and stay focused when the brain wanders off.

I have found that doing less makes it easier to organize what I have to do.
I know that sounds weird or maybe even sarcastic. But I'm serious.

I think a big part of being able to stay organized is also knowing when to say NO. Say no to yourself and anybody else.
I learned how to do this by using this one tip that I read in a time management book. The tip is to schedule time everyday for YOU.
We are so busy scheduling out our lives we forget to take time to think about what we are doing. When you schedule that time you can either make it time for daydreaming or a specific thing you want to do for yourself.

Thats great advice. I've had trouble saying no to people on many occasions where I have wanted to say no. I've made enough changes in myself and what I do for other people that its time I focus on me and get me back in order.

Part of that is getting organized, and even realizing that I have to. Baby steps though. One section at a time.

Ken

Ken, baby steps is RIGHT!

What I found to work well at first is picking a day that I would say NO to any new requests of me. Then making it one day a month. Then one day a week. Then once a day.

It makes for great practice and after a while you learn to say no when appropriate ind don't have to have anything scheduled.

Also, I found that saying no DOES NOT always require an explanation. A simple No or No Thank You is enough. Sometimes I would end up saying yes after hearing my own "lame excuse" for saying no. I don't give any reason unles ABSOLUTELY necessary.
That way I don't end up talking myself into something I know I don't really want or have time to do.

Yeah, my problem has been my mom. She is always expecting I do everything she wants. My proudest moment was when she asked me what I was doing that I couldn't do something for her, or someelse I think.

I said "No, I'm going to be busy."
"doing what"
"its none of your business, I'm going to be doing stuff"
"it is my business, what are you doing"
I chuckled a bit and said it again, "none of your business"

Both of us were a bit rude to each other but that was one of the first times I didn't buckle and stood my ground. I wasn't doing anything important, it just wasn't her business and I didn't want to help at that time.

She can usually get things out of me because, due to impatience, I can't stand her asking me over and over and over and... you get the point.

She wasn't mad either, just gave up. So it felt good, I have to remember that feeling each time I decide "I don't want to, or I don't have the time, to do that. I will say no"

Ken

Originally posted by FightingBoredom
I have found that doing less makes it easier to organize what I have to do.

I find that too. In fact, I have tried to convince my boss and my wife that I should do as little as possible, so that I remain 100% organized. ;) Strangely, I am at my best when I am doing nothing at all! ;) Maybe I have found my calling.......

Originally posted by unreal33


I find that too. In fact, I have tried to convince my boss and my wife that I should do as little as possible, so that I remain 100% organized. ;) Strangely, I am at my best when I am doing nothing at all! ;) Maybe I have found my calling.......


My favorite saying of all time is:

"Lazy people find the BEST way of doing things so they can spend less time doing them".

To me Lazy is a great thing! I consider myself an efficiency expert. I like to do nothing so I spend all of my time trying to find ways to get everything done so I have time to DO NOTHING.

Trouble is: my wife finds stuff for me to do, so do my kids, and by the time I get that done..... my meds kick in and I remember all of the stuff I was suppose to get done B4 I do nothing.

I spend very little time doing nothing.... what is wrong with this picture?:confused:

There is some great advice in here. Thanks All.
In the last year or 2 I have began putting things in there right places , keys in one location. Customers names on my desktop calinder and in a daily log. I like the idea about a palm pilot but I know it will take a number of time useing it to get a rooteen down to do so. Sorry about my spelling. I was not very good in school because I could not pay attention.

i've found that a great tool for myself is Microsoft OneNote, part of office 2003. it's like those little yellow sticky notes, but for my computer. i think there's a similar program for macs. whenever i need to take down a phone number, remember to do something, or just general notes, i just open that up and write it down. the trick is, as always, remembering to go through them and do what they say.

I am in and out of the office a lot.

I have a PDA that synchronizes with my laptop (I use ACT!). But I have since moved to a paper calendar at the suggestion of an ADD coach. For one thing, I would always have to pull out the PDA, start it up, pull out the litlle stylus, then click through some screens to get to the month calendar. but then, I had to open up the week or day to see what was there. Then when I needed to "pencil in" a meeting, it was not easy to do on the little PDA. The coach told me that the PDA was not visual enough for me.

So now I have a weekly calendar with 15 minute intervals for each day. I try to schedule my entire day if I can the night before. So if I plan to get to the office at 8:00 I will go to the 8:00 slot and write "check email, voice mail, respond" and then draw an arrow down as far as I think that will take, like through 8:45. Then at 8:45 I may put "get coffee". Then at 9:00 I may have "Make Cold Calls" and I may have an arrow down for the next two hours. It really helps me to see the arrows as it is a visual cue as to how long I will do each task.

Then I bought a big black and white analog clock (hour hand and minute hand) that is right above my desk. My challenge is to make sure I keep checking my calendar and to take it with me everywhere.

I still use ACT! and my PDA to keep all my contacts. But I use it more as a contact manager and not for my main schedule.
I think everyone needs to find what works for them. The two keys I believe are:
#1 - There must be one place that is the authoritative source of your schedule, be it PDA, Day Minder, or steno pad.
#2 - That tool has be with us always and be regulary referenced.

Amen! I need to block out more of my time in a schedule. Thanks for the nod.
Cheers! ian.

Hi,
I just wanted to let everyone know that downloading Chameleon Clock infected my computer really badly. The spyware and adware is really HEAVY DUTY even my Ad-aware software couldn't clean it. It actually will not let you delete it even after you find it and it has about 15 variant names! It also gets past pop-up blockers. I spent about 3 hours on it last night but this morning I see that it has reinstalled itself I assume its because of the "hosts" but I have not figured out how to remove that part yet. I am sure all of this came from downloading the chameleon clock and the extra sounds and skins that they offer.

Its too bad because its really terrific software. I really appreciate all the gadget and software tips and recommendations that everyone posts. I don't know if you would still get infected if you order the CD and install it that way. It costs $25. If you have bought the CD and its been ok, please let me know.
thanks.
Moxee


I use chameleon clock. I downloaded it the other day after reading through some old posts. It has a free trial mode which is good. If i'm still using it in a month or two then I will keep it; but at least I can try it for a while.

What I really like is I have a digital clock with the date...and the seconds tick over as well. This movement draws my eyes to it; and helps me not get too caught up in doing something for too long. I can also set myself a timelimit for being online (like here).

I'm pretty impressed so far.

http://www.softshape.com/software/desktop/chamclock/features/

I have a "digital recorder" that in my case is made by Panasonic. Sony and others also make them. It is easy and since I am a rapid speaker it works a whole lot better than writing a note (forhich I will not take the time to include enought detail . . .) or using a palmcorder type of apparatus (too much hunting, pecking, and typing). With my QR-80 all I do is push a button and in less than a minute leave myself a detailed message. Messages are dated with a time and also numbered. You can quick "scan" through them and listen to only a few seconds to identify what it is all about. You can erase any single message without disturbing others. You can store 198 messages in one of two folders. Overall recording time depends on the quality setting (but at least an hour I think). Uses 2 "AAA" batteries and has "flash memory" which means when the batteries die or are removed you lose nothing!!

In fact my boss agreed to pay for it (approx $60) as he knew that it would help me remember things. It is not a panacea and you still need to listen to it to remember things . . . but for me it has been a great help!