While I like the fundamental principle behind GTD, as someone with ADD I found it too hard to implement all at once. The most useful part for me has been the concept of the "brain dump," i.e., writing everything down in a master list so you don't have to keep juggling it all in your head. I'm a very visual person so right now I'm looking into Goal Enforcer, which is visually-oriented software. I tried a demo of Life Balance, but again, setting it up was complicated enough that I never followed through. I need something I can use that will allow me to hit the ground running. I do check in sometimes on "Zen to Done," a website that takes Allen's principles and approaches them more slowly. Hope this helps!

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Hello, I looked into several different methods and theories to help me cut down on getting distracted from my current tasks. I use a combination of two methods; Take Back Your Life and GTD. My job is tech support so Take Back Your Life was easy for me to implement, using Outlook 2007. It also gave me a good lead in our R&D of Outlook 2007, HEHE. Take Back Your Life as a whole is very complex. GTD is also complex and they both have lots of details. I work best by implementing small pieces at a time and working them until I've developed the habit I need then I implement another piece. So, i took the Calendar specific orientation or Take Back Your Life and the "bucket" idea from GTD and havea system that works great for me. First and most important for me was to write down, create a task or calendar event for anything I needed to do. I mean ANYTHING! Guess what? It really did free up my mind!! I didn't have the extra anxiety of worrying about what I had forgotten or was about to forget!!! That alone was a HUGE weight off my shoulders. So, with all that said I recomend you pick one or two simple things from GTD that you think would have a significant impact for you and try them. I would recomend trying writing things down if you don't already, it's very powerful. Just put a piece of paper in your pocket or carry a notepad. I hope this helps.

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I'm 52 and just like a lot of other people I am seeing online, I just learned within the past three years (actually less than that) that I have ADHD-Inattentive. All those years, I thought it was my "strengths and weaknesses of my personality".... Nevertheless, I'm now an information junkie and taking every day as it comes. First, for over a dozen years and 4 or 5 apts. I have always had what I called "the room from hell".... all that clutter I couldn't get rid of followed me, from one home to another, and from one state to another... still carrying that negative energy, and you probably know the rest. I have finally decided to just finally go thru things. Hindsight, I have read Dr. Hallowell's first two books, which were terrific, and another one I love is "You mean I'm not Lazy Stupid or Crazy" and lastly Stephanie Sarkis's 10 SIMPLE SOLUTIONS FOR ADULT ADD. HERE ARE MY SUGGESTIONS: 1) I'm sure that book Getting Things Done is good, but we have ADDDD, we don't have time to read thru that for a "get started solution". I mentioned to a doctor nonetheless that I was working on my ADD and he handed me the book, so now it's on a bookshelf. That's what I thought of that. One day, I'm sure I'll peruse it. (I guess that was kind of a suggestion)... HERE IS THE SECOND... someone mentioned writing a list... here's what I did, when I decided I needed to get started.... I bought a 5-subject notebook at Walmart. Each section of the notebook was for different areas of my current life. Section 1, current things to do, Section 2, was a section of a self-employment job I do on a part-time basis (and starting on section 2 is the divider that has pockets on both sides, so if I have to write a small note and "not lose it" it goes in there before I transfer the info. to the notebook.... BY THE WAY, WHEN I SCRATCH OFF WHAT I FINISH (PHONE CALLS, ETC.) EVENTUALLY, I TEAR THAT PAGE OUT AND IT GOES IN THE TRASH CAN OR SHREDDER.... 3RD Section, personal business info,., i,e. important phone numbers or doc. or things i need to do, regarding maybe car ins. etc...SECTION 4, In the midst of me doing 2 jobs (before getting laid off in Nov. and having to think about starting to look for a new one,) I was planning my mother's 90th birthday party.... as I would drive, or while in a store, or just anywhere, I would think of a detail of something related to that, I would write it down in that section.... or if I got an idea at 4 am or saw something online.... SECTION FIVE IS MY FAVORITE..... MY GOALS OR LIST OF THINGS I WANT TO DO, OR BUY, OR VISIT (OR MY WISH LIST)..... ANYTHING I WANT TO DO BEFORE I LEAVE THIS PLANET.... i.e. see the rest of the USA.... have been to about half of the states already, go back to college to get a degree, etc, buy a new particular piece of furniture (no more charging)... THAT WAS THE FIRST THING TO GETTING THINGS DONE.... BECAUSE I HAD ALREADY DECIDED I WAS READY TO GET THINGS DONE!!! NEXT, I HAD A FRIEND COME OVER IS IS ALMOST OCD IN THE ORGANIZING DEPT. (so when it was my birthday, in September, I told her that's what I wanted as a gift).... She has a great eye, and with her help had me in the right direction. I NEEDED 5 BOXES..... (and of course... a large trash bag for what I had to throw out.... and she was like a coach....) got a lot done in about 2-3 hrs... no chit chatting either, which is diff. for both of us (small talk, that is) kept business at hand.... ONE BOX IS FOR WHAT I DEFINITELY WILL GIVE AWAY TO A SHELTER, GOODWILL, ETC. ONE IS A MAYBE BOX ONE BOX WAS FOR "GIFTS" I WAS GIVING AWAY TO PEOPLE.... SO MANY THINGS, i NEEDED A BOX FOR THAT, AND SHE TOLD ME I NEEDED TO STOP GIVING... (oh well).... I probably wont) ONE BOX FOR MY MAYBE'S....(Short term) ONE BOX FOR WHAT WOULD BE STORED AWAY OR READY TO FIND A PLACE FOR....

THEN, I PLOWED THROUGH MY DESK WITH ALL THE PAPERS.... SOME I KNEW I COULD SHRED... (DUPLICATES).... OR TRASH.... ALL JUNK MAIL.... I SHRED MY NAME AND OTHER PERSONAL INFO.... THEN I HAD READY TO GO A BOX OR TWO OF FILE FOLDERS AND HANGING FILES.... AND WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS PUT THE PAPERS YOU KEEP IN A FILE WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT.... (EVEN FROM WHAT A FORMER BOSS TOLD ME, FILE IT DOWN TO THE RIDICULOUS)..... I'M STILL WORKING ON THAT, BUT IT IS AN ONGOING WORK IN PROGRESS... BUT IS NOW MANAGEABLE.... AND SMALLER PILES.... I THROW AWAY THE JUNK MAIL RIGHT AWAY, AND AM LEARNING TO IMPLEMENT THE RULE OF ONLY HANDLING A PIECE OF PAPER ONCE... TWO MORE SUGGESTIONS, OK, MAYBE THREE..... ONE, WHEN GETTING SYSTEMS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BUY EXPENSIVE, WALMART, TARGET, GROCERY STORES THAT HAVE SALES, MICHAEL'S CRAFTS (THEY ALWAYS HAVE 40% COUPONS).... JUST ORGANIZERS THAT WORK. UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS PERSONAL, SO IT MAY TAKE GOING THRU A FEW BEFORE YOU FIND WHAT WORKS BEST... IF YOU DON'T TRASH IT, KEEP THE RECEIPT (IN A FILE POCKET NAMED RECEIPTS 2009 SO I CAN FIND IT... NOT ALL RECEIPTS WILL BE USED FOR TAX PURPOSES, BUT I CAN FIND THEM.... WHEN I WAS ALONE IN MY SPARE ROOM, I EITHER NEEDED TOTAL QUIET NOW (NO EXTRA STIMULATION) SO NO RADIO, NO TV, NO CD'S (MUSIC) AND NO INTERRUPTIONS. I PRETENDED LIKE I WAS AT WORK AND COULDN'T ACCEPT PHONE CALLS.... THAT WAS MY BIGGEST DOWNFALL... BECAUSE I LOVE THE "SOCIAL" ASPECTS, I WOULD ALWAYS GIVE MYSELF PERMISSION TO GET DISTRACTED. THAT'S WHAT VOICE MAIL IS FOR, SO I WOULD LISTEN TO MSG, AND IF IT WASN'T URGENT OR AN EMERGENCY, THEN IT WAITED UNTIL I WAS READY.... (FOR YEARS, IT'S HAPPENED TO ME WHEN FRIENDS WOULD SAY, "WE'RE EATING DINNER NOW" OR "i'M WATCHING A MOVIE,,, OR THE GILMORE GIRLS WITH MY DAUGHTER".... SO I'M LEARNING NOW HOW TO SET BOUNDARIES FROM THEM --- AS MY TEACHERS.... AND GET DONE WHAT I NEED TO FOR ME, SO I'M NOT UP UNTIL 2 OR 3 A.M. DOING IT, AND MESSING UP MY SLEEP PATTERNS.... WHAT I DID FIND VERY HELPFUL WAS.... I BORROWED FROM THE LIBRARY THE BOOK ON CD SET OF DRS. HALLOWELL'and RATEY'S BOOK, "DELIVERED FROM DISTRACTION" AND I WOULD PLAY THAT IN MY CD PLAYER WHILE TACKLING MY DESK AND IT WAS BRILLIANT. I WAS MOTIVATED TO KEEP GOING AND IF I NEEDED TO, I COULD PLAY IT OVER AGAIN FOR THE MESSAGE I WANTED TO HEAR, OR TOOK NOTES, ETC.... BUT I GOT A LOT ACCOMPLISHED. I ACTUALLY WAS ABLE TO CHECK IT OUT FOR EXTENDED TIME, SO I COULD LISTEN TO MOST OF IT TWICE, AND ALSO BROUGHT IT TO MY CAR AND LISTENED SOMETIMES WHILE DRIVING, AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT KEPT ME FOCUSED. I ALSO OWN THE BOOKS, SO I COULD FLAG EASILY THE CHAPTERS OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO ME... BUT SOMETIMES LISTENING IS BETTER, AND CERTAINLY FOR ME IT WAS ALSO A MATTER OF TIME MANAGEMENT. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST.... SET UP WINDOWS OF TIME TO DO IT SO THAT YOU DO ACCOMPLISH GETTING IT STARTED, ORGANIZED, IN AN ORDER TO GET IT COMPLETED --- one day at a time... 2 - 2 1/2 HRS. TOPS, THEN REWARD YOURSELF WITH A SNACK, OR A SHOWER, OR LEAVING THE ROOM AND SITTING IN FRONT OF TV, AND MAYBE DOING ANOTHER FUN PROJECT, (FOR ME WAS A SCRAPBOOK THAT I WAS ALSO WORKING ON).... or just relaxing, or returning calls, texts, whatever. Just a little reward.... THEN GET BACK TO IT. SET "REALISTIC" GOALS... I HAPPEN TO BE LUCKY IN THIS HOUSE, AS I HAVE A BASEMENT, SO THAT'S ON MY AGENDA ALSO, BUT I MOVED IN DURING THE MIDDLE OF MAY AND SET MY GOAL FOR WINTER TO DO IT, AS IT WOULD BE TOO COLD TO DO THE OUTSIDE THINGS AND RUNNING AROUND IS SOMETIMES TOO MUCH. SO I WENT DOWN THERE ONCE, AND IT WAS ACTUALLY 2 HRS. THAT I DID FIND WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR, SO THEN SORTED THE BOXES I NEEDED TO SORT SO WHEN I RETURN NEXT TIME, IT'LL BE READY TO GO. I WILL TAKE MY TRASH BAGS WITH ME, AND MY SHREDDER, SO I DON'T HAVE TO HANDLE SOME OF THEM MORE THAN ONCE.... AND EITHER I'LL TAKE AN OLD FASHIONED ALPHABETICAL FILE POCKET OR FOLDERS AND GET THEM IN THE CRATE AT THE SAME TIME, AND NOT DO THE CONTINUAL SAME TASK 15 TIMES... MOVING IT AND TOUCHING IT OVER AND OVER. I'M DONE LIVING THAT LIFESTYLE, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU HAVE TO BE TO GET IT STARTED. THEN YOU CAN BACK TO THE PROJECT IN THE ROOM, ORGANIZING, ETC. WHATEVER IT IS, WITH A CLEAR HEAD.... OUR BRAINS GET FOGGY AFTER A WHILE... SO AT LEAST NOW I KNOW WHY. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PACE... AND THAT WILL KEEP THE CONSISTENCY WHICH IS WHAT I SOMETIMES LACK, SO I'M SURE YOU DO TO. ONE BOOK I READY MANY YEARS AGO.... TO COMPLETION ON A TRAIN RIDE TO AND FROM NYC IS "CLEARING YOUR CLUTTER WITH FENG SHUI" --- IT'S IN PAPERBACK AND FOUND EASILY IN ALL BOOKSTORES. IT'S A KEEPER, SO IF YOU BORROW IT FROM THE LIBRARY, YOU'LL END UP WANTING TO BUY IT. AMAZON.COM HAS IT ALSO... AND MAYBE OVERSTOCK.COM WILL TOO. WOW, THIS ENDED UP BEING LONGER THAN I EXPECTED, BUT IT'S WORKING FOR ME, SO I WANTED TO SHARE IT... IT IS AN ONGOING PROCESS.... AND ALWAYS REMEMBER, DON'T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF, BUT THOSE BOOKS I MENTIONED AND WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN PLATINUM, NOT GOLD... GOOD LUCK!

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I'm 52 and just like a lot of other people I am seeing online, I just learned within the past three years (actually less than that) that I have ADHD-Inattentive. All those years, I thought it was my "strengths and weaknesses of my personality".... Nevertheless, I'm now an information junkie and taking every day as it comes. First, for over a dozen years and 4 or 5 apts. I have always had what I called "the room from hell".... all that clutter I couldn't get rid of followed me, from one home to another, and from one state to another... still carrying that negative energy, and you probably know the rest. I have finally decided to just finally go thru things. Hindsight, I have read Dr. Hallowell's first two books, which were terrific, and another one I love is "You mean I'm not Lazy Stupid or Crazy" and lastly Stephanie Sarkis's 10 SIMPLE SOLUTIONS FOR ADULT ADD. HERE ARE MY SUGGESTIONS: 1) I'm sure that book Getting Things Done is good, but we have ADDDD, we don't have time to read thru that for a "get started solution". I mentioned to a doctor nonetheless that I was working on my ADD and he handed me the book, so now it's on a bookshelf. That's what I thought of that. One day, I'm sure I'll peruse it. (I guess that was kind of a suggestion)... HERE IS THE SECOND... someone mentioned writing a list... here's what I did, when I decided I needed to get started.... I bought a 5-subject notebook at Walmart. Each section of the notebook was for different areas of my current life. Section 1, current things to do, Section 2, was a section of a self-employment job I do on a part-time basis (and starting on section 2 is the divider that has pockets on both sides, so if I have to write a small note and "not lose it" it goes in there before I transfer the info. to the notebook.... BY THE WAY, WHEN I SCRATCH OFF WHAT I FINISH (PHONE CALLS, ETC.) EVENTUALLY, I TEAR THAT PAGE OUT AND IT GOES IN THE TRASH CAN OR SHREDDER.... 3RD Section, personal business info,., i,e. important phone numbers or doc. or things i need to do, regarding maybe car ins. etc...SECTION 4, In the midst of me doing 2 jobs (before getting laid off in Nov. and having to think about starting to look for a new one,) I was planning my mother's 90th birthday party.... as I would drive, or while in a store, or just anywhere, I would think of a detail of something related to that, I would write it down in that section.... or if I got an idea at 4 am or saw something online.... SECTION FIVE IS MY FAVORITE..... MY GOALS OR LIST OF THINGS I WANT TO DO, OR BUY, OR VISIT (OR MY WISH LIST)..... ANYTHING I WANT TO DO BEFORE I LEAVE THIS PLANET.... i.e. see the rest of the USA.... have been to about half of the states already, go back to college to get a degree, etc, buy a new particular piece of furniture (no more charging)... THAT WAS THE FIRST THING TO GETTING THINGS DONE.... BECAUSE I HAD ALREADY DECIDED I WAS READY TO GET THINGS DONE!!! NEXT, I HAD A FRIEND COME OVER IS IS ALMOST OCD IN THE ORGANIZING DEPT. (so when it was my birthday, in September, I told her that's what I wanted as a gift).... She has a great eye, and with her help had me in the right direction. I NEEDED 5 BOXES..... (and of course... a large trash bag for what I had to throw out.... and she was like a coach....) got a lot done in about 2-3 hrs... no chit chatting either, which is diff. for both of us (small talk, that is) kept business at hand.... ONE BOX IS FOR WHAT I DEFINITELY WILL GIVE AWAY TO A SHELTER, GOODWILL, ETC. ONE IS A MAYBE BOX ONE BOX WAS FOR "GIFTS" I WAS GIVING AWAY TO PEOPLE.... SO MANY THINGS, i NEEDED A BOX FOR THAT, AND SHE TOLD ME I NEEDED TO STOP GIVING... (oh well).... I probably wont) ONE BOX FOR MY MAYBE'S....(Short term) ONE BOX FOR WHAT WOULD BE STORED AWAY OR READY TO FIND A PLACE FOR....

THEN, I PLOWED THROUGH MY DESK WITH ALL THE PAPERS.... SOME I KNEW I COULD SHRED... (DUPLICATES).... OR TRASH.... ALL JUNK MAIL.... I SHRED MY NAME AND OTHER PERSONAL INFO.... THEN I HAD READY TO GO A BOX OR TWO OF FILE FOLDERS AND HANGING FILES.... AND WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS PUT THE PAPERS YOU KEEP IN A FILE WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT.... (EVEN FROM WHAT A FORMER BOSS TOLD ME, FILE IT DOWN TO THE RIDICULOUS)..... I'M STILL WORKING ON THAT, BUT IT IS AN ONGOING WORK IN PROGRESS... BUT IS NOW MANAGEABLE.... AND SMALLER PILES.... I THROW AWAY THE JUNK MAIL RIGHT AWAY, AND AM LEARNING TO IMPLEMENT THE RULE OF ONLY HANDLING A PIECE OF PAPER ONCE... TWO MORE SUGGESTIONS, OK, MAYBE THREE..... ONE, WHEN GETTING SYSTEMS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BUY EXPENSIVE, WALMART, TARGET, GROCERY STORES THAT HAVE SALES, MICHAEL'S CRAFTS (THEY ALWAYS HAVE 40% COUPONS).... JUST ORGANIZERS THAT WORK. UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS PERSONAL, SO IT MAY TAKE GOING THRU A FEW BEFORE YOU FIND WHAT WORKS BEST... IF YOU DON'T TRASH IT, KEEP THE RECEIPT (IN A FILE POCKET NAMED RECEIPTS 2009 SO I CAN FIND IT... NOT ALL RECEIPTS WILL BE USED FOR TAX PURPOSES, BUT I CAN FIND THEM.... WHEN I WAS ALONE IN MY SPARE ROOM, I EITHER NEEDED TOTAL QUIET NOW (NO EXTRA STIMULATION) SO NO RADIO, NO TV, NO CD'S (MUSIC) AND NO INTERRUPTIONS. I PRETENDED LIKE I WAS AT WORK AND COULDN'T ACCEPT PHONE CALLS.... THAT WAS MY BIGGEST DOWNFALL... BECAUSE I LOVE THE "SOCIAL" ASPECTS, I WOULD ALWAYS GIVE MYSELF PERMISSION TO GET DISTRACTED. THAT'S WHAT VOICE MAIL IS FOR, SO I WOULD LISTEN TO MSG, AND IF IT WASN'T URGENT OR AN EMERGENCY, THEN IT WAITED UNTIL I WAS READY.... (FOR YEARS, IT'S HAPPENED TO ME WHEN FRIENDS WOULD SAY, "WE'RE EATING DINNER NOW" OR "i'M WATCHING A MOVIE,,, OR THE GILMORE GIRLS WITH MY DAUGHTER".... SO I'M LEARNING NOW HOW TO SET BOUNDARIES FROM THEM --- AS MY TEACHERS.... AND GET DONE WHAT I NEED TO FOR ME, SO I'M NOT UP UNTIL 2 OR 3 A.M. DOING IT, AND MESSING UP MY SLEEP PATTERNS.... WHAT I DID FIND VERY HELPFUL WAS.... I BORROWED FROM THE LIBRARY THE BOOK ON CD SET OF DRS. HALLOWELL'and RATEY'S BOOK, "DELIVERED FROM DISTRACTION" AND I WOULD PLAY THAT IN MY CD PLAYER WHILE TACKLING MY DESK AND IT WAS BRILLIANT. I WAS MOTIVATED TO KEEP GOING AND IF I NEEDED TO, I COULD PLAY IT OVER AGAIN FOR THE MESSAGE I WANTED TO HEAR, OR TOOK NOTES, ETC.... BUT I GOT A LOT ACCOMPLISHED. I ACTUALLY WAS ABLE TO CHECK IT OUT FOR EXTENDED TIME, SO I COULD LISTEN TO MOST OF IT TWICE, AND ALSO BROUGHT IT TO MY CAR AND LISTENED SOMETIMES WHILE DRIVING, AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT KEPT ME FOCUSED. I ALSO OWN THE BOOKS, SO I COULD FLAG EASILY THE CHAPTERS OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO ME... BUT SOMETIMES LISTENING IS BETTER, AND CERTAINLY FOR ME IT WAS ALSO A MATTER OF TIME MANAGEMENT. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST.... SET UP WINDOWS OF TIME TO DO IT SO THAT YOU DO ACCOMPLISH GETTING IT STARTED, ORGANIZED, IN AN ORDER TO GET IT COMPLETED --- one day at a time... 2 - 2 1/2 HRS. TOPS, THEN REWARD YOURSELF WITH A SNACK, OR A SHOWER, OR LEAVING THE ROOM AND SITTING IN FRONT OF TV, AND MAYBE DOING ANOTHER FUN PROJECT, (FOR ME WAS A SCRAPBOOK THAT I WAS ALSO WORKING ON).... or just relaxing, or returning calls, texts, whatever. Just a little reward.... THEN GET BACK TO IT. SET "REALISTIC" GOALS... I HAPPEN TO BE LUCKY IN THIS HOUSE, AS I HAVE A BASEMENT, SO THAT'S ON MY AGENDA ALSO, BUT I MOVED IN DURING THE MIDDLE OF MAY AND SET MY GOAL FOR WINTER TO DO IT, AS IT WOULD BE TOO COLD TO DO THE OUTSIDE THINGS AND RUNNING AROUND IS SOMETIMES TOO MUCH. SO I WENT DOWN THERE ONCE, AND IT WAS ACTUALLY 2 HRS. THAT I DID FIND WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR, SO THEN SORTED THE BOXES I NEEDED TO SORT SO WHEN I RETURN NEXT TIME, IT'LL BE READY TO GO. I WILL TAKE MY TRASH BAGS WITH ME, AND MY SHREDDER, SO I DON'T HAVE TO HANDLE SOME OF THEM MORE THAN ONCE.... AND EITHER I'LL TAKE AN OLD FASHIONED ALPHABETICAL FILE POCKET OR FOLDERS AND GET THEM IN THE CRATE AT THE SAME TIME, AND NOT DO THE CONTINUAL SAME TASK 15 TIMES... MOVING IT AND TOUCHING IT OVER AND OVER. I'M DONE LIVING THAT LIFESTYLE, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU HAVE TO BE TO GET IT STARTED. THEN YOU CAN BACK TO THE PROJECT IN THE ROOM, ORGANIZING, ETC. WHATEVER IT IS, WITH A CLEAR HEAD.... OUR BRAINS GET FOGGY AFTER A WHILE... SO AT LEAST NOW I KNOW WHY. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PACE... AND THAT WILL KEEP THE CONSISTENCY WHICH IS WHAT I SOMETIMES LACK, SO I'M SURE YOU DO TO. ONE BOOK I READY MANY YEARS AGO.... TO COMPLETION ON A TRAIN RIDE TO AND FROM NYC IS "CLEARING YOUR CLUTTER WITH FENG SHUI" --- IT'S IN PAPERBACK AND FOUND EASILY IN ALL BOOKSTORES. IT'S A KEEPER, SO IF YOU BORROW IT FROM THE LIBRARY, YOU'LL END UP WANTING TO BUY IT. AMAZON.COM HAS IT ALSO... AND MAYBE OVERSTOCK.COM WILL TOO. WOW, THIS ENDED UP BEING LONGER THAN I EXPECTED, BUT IT'S WORKING FOR ME, SO I WANTED TO SHARE IT... IT IS AN ONGOING PROCESS.... AND ALWAYS REMEMBER, DON'T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF, BUT THOSE BOOKS I MENTIONED AND WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN PLATINUM, NOT GOLD... GOOD LUCK!

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I developed the "brain dump" method of making lists to keep myself from going insane when I was in high school, to keep my homework assignments from constantly running around my mind. I guess that's part of how I coped with my then unrecognized ADHD problem. I am 53 and was diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type 2 or 3 weeks ago. Another thing I do, since I have a full-time job, 2 kids with activities and doctor appointments and college search etc, plus my own activities, is to write all appointments, activities etc down in a small planner that I tote with me in my purse. I would be lost without that. As for filing...........still trying to get that checked off my to do list.................

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It is much to procedural based and labor intensive.

I do like having an End Of Day/Plan for Next day Review and a Monthly cleanup and dump stuff.

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You might want to check out Getting Sh-t Done, it's a version of GTD that I created that's a lot easier and faster to implement, and has been working well for me for over five years now. It's at utilware.com/gsd3.html - let me know what you think.

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Thanks everyone for the feedback and suggestions. It's been some time, so I thought I'd just post an update. I decided to skip getting into GSD and just readquite a bit about different tips and strategies for organizing and productivity. I haven't implemented any specific system, but I did take a lot of little nuggets from various places and tried to use them in my own way. I've found a few things that have worked. At work, however, I still haven't really found a method that does much good because my work just isn't regular and routine enough for most systems. I do my best, but it is my biggest challenge.

Just a couple things that work for me at home (as a single person without kids): Each weekend, write on a markerboard the things I want to accomplish. Make a mark next to the task each time I make progress (a load of laundry in the wash), and cross out (not erase) when done. Start over the next weekend with a clean board.

Keep laundry basket in ONE place, and change clothes there. Dump dirties right into basket immediately. HELPS SO MUCH.

And I have to say, now that I am on some anti-depressants, it really helps me deal with the chaos of my way of living. For a while I felt like I needed very strict order, which just is not possible for most people, let alone an ADD'er.

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Cheri,

Remember that you do have strengths. It's just that your/our peculiar 'wiring' take our weaknesses and strengths to the extreme, usually for all to see. :)

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