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Ben Glenn
Ben Glenn, of SimpleADHDExpert.com and ADDitudeMag.com blogger
Be a people person. Because my ADD/ADHD brain races all the time, I find it hard to organize my priorities. I have a "sympathetic encourager" -- a special person I trust, who understands the struggles of ADD/ADHD -- to help me separate my wants from my needs and focus on what's important now.
Track time. Tasks that I think will take an hour often take three or four hours. The Time Timer helps me track time's passage by showing me how much of it has lapsed. Since I've used the Time Timer, my daughter hasn't spent the evening at day care because Daddy forgot to pick her up.
Make a meeting place. I often lose my phone, keys, and wallet, and, after hours of looking, I find them in the strangest places (the freezer). To avoid such time-consuming disasters, I created my "essentials" spot, a place that I have trained myself to put all the things I need to have in hand before I leave the house. I use the top of the fridge -- hey, I'm 6'4" -- when at home and the top of the TV when staying in a hotel.
Go smaller. After losing a set of rental-car keys in the depths of my backpack, I decided to downsize to a messenger bag. It has pouches and pockets like a backpack, but, at half the size, it limits what I can keep in there. Its smaller size forces me to ask, "What do I absolutely need to bring with me?"
Go digital for organization. The iPad has organized my life. I no longer have to keep track of my laptop, two iPods, and a PSP. E-mail, blogs, games, movies, music, and calendar are on one device.
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