The best book I have read on the subject is Judith Kolberg's "ADD friendly ways to Organize". There are many professional organizers (members of ICD) that specialize in clients with ADD www.instituteforchallengingdisorganization.org. There are also tips on the weblink

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This is a great question.

Over the past three years, since I first got diagnosed with ADHD at the ripe age of 46, I have done a lot of reading on organization as well.

First, I will say this: taking Concerta definitely helps my organization. It helps my motivation. It makes doing tedious tasks less intimidating. The meds help me carry out organization tasks that I already "know" I "should" do.

Second, being gentle on myself helps. The way this helps is that I now am realistic about what types of organization will work for me. I pick and choose better, and I'm very open-minded. I'll try a system to see how it works and then evaluate. Also, I now realize I will NEVER be as well organized as many other folks. Even at my best, there will still be glitches and gaps and problems, and I'm OK with that. I realize that the goal is to NOT get scared away from attacking life because I misplace things occasionally. (I just bought two bottles of lotion in the past 3 weeks, and I swear both have disappeared from my room. Where the heck could they have gone? ... Well, I probably threw them away in my hasty attempt to straighten up my living space.)

Routine can work for me, but it has to be simple routine ... Place my keys in the exact place each night. Try to pay attention whenever I'm at a counter and I take out my wallet (I've left many wallets behind in stores!).

One tip I can give is to not try to do too many things at once. I was at the bank a few months ago, and I had my wallet out, and a check out and I had to fill out a form and interact with a bank teller. Too much! ... I ended up leaving my wallet there. Thank God, a bank employee saw it and put it aside for me when I returned to get it.) But I thought about this experience and I realized I had too many things going on, and when I'm in situations like that, I really need to check for basics as I stand and as I leave. I'm constantly telling myself these days to "Put keys back in pocket." "Put wallet back in pocket (even if I'll have to get it out again in a minute.)"

I hope some of this helps. I think it's just trial and error. But I have to say the meds have really helped me as they keep me from being overwhelmed so easily. I still get overwhelmed but not nearly as often as before I started on the meds.

Tone

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I'm 52 and just found out that I have ADHD. Like you, I have tried many life-organizing techniques.

First, I am a 'gadget girl' and enjoy tech toys. I use a smartphone task organizer (Astrid for Android) and calendar (Google calendar). My phone backs up my calendar, task list and other info to my computer and/or the internet versions of these apps. Why? Because I lose things. Like smartphones. Keys. Wallets. Paper organizers. Paper lists. Etc.

Second, I follow most of the strategies suggested by "Getting Things Done," by David Allen. I found out about the book from my company-executive husband, whose corporation offered the course to management. GTD organization collects all of my personal and work tasks, helps me to break big projects into smaller pieces, and divides the task list by actions, not categories. This method helps me to relax about remembering and prioritizing THE LIST OF STUFF THAT I SHOULD DO. The book also suggests that any task requiring less than two minutes be done immediately, if you're in a position to do it.

In closing, give yourself a big pat on the back. If we've lived this long without knowing about our ADHD, we've likely developed many of the necessary coping skills on our own.

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I too was diagnosed later in life, around 55 about 5 years ago. My self-management/organizational skills were really dismal to put it kindly. I have been on Concerta but recently switched to the generic Methylphenidate extend release and that is a significant part of learning new organizational and management skills. First thing I did was to reduce my roles at work (Phillymanhere's advice) and try to find a way to impose more structure at work (not very successfully) and I started to implement GTD. I also read and recommend the book Smartspaces did but the more I got into GTD I couldn't see any aspect of it where tweaking it would make it better for ADDers. Where I think we need help is in the area of changing behavior, establishing habits (especially what David Allen calls the weekly review). The "ADD Friendly Guide..." book mentioned above recommends something like 3 levels of changing behavior or implementing its suggestions. 1. one your own (with input from books or forums like this), 2. with a buddy who can help keep you focused and accountable, and 3. professional help like a coach or therapist. Word of caution you may already be aware of, it usually doesn't work for a spouse to help with the number 2 if you've been married a while and there is a lot of frustration (a lot of hurt in my case) because of your ADD. I am finally able to work with a professional provided by my organization who specializes in Cognitive Behavior Therapy and I'm hoping it will help me make the changes, even the simple one of doing the GTD weekly review so that I can say GTD works for me all the time. I also found a couple other GTDers in my organization and we email the group when we've done our weekly review (or when we haven't) and we try and encourage each other.

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There is absolutely a difference in how ADD/ADHD-ers apply organizational tools versus NONS. I look at so many organizational tips and while they make sense to most people, I just see them as impossible in some cases, and a way to add more clutter in most. I was diagnosed with ADD when I was eight, but my parents never medicated me or even attempted ANY treatment. Now I am 29 and just starting to learn how to treat myself and getting medication. I have spent most of my life trying to learn how to cope with ADD w/o meds and after the birth of my second child, it finally got away from me completely, so I sought help. I used to be huge on finding new ideas for organization. I look at other people around me both with and without ADD/ADHD and compare how they and I do things. i still see that every person has their own form of organization that works for them. Personally, I HAVE to allow myself some mess in order to have anything organized. Like my clothes; folded and together a cubby, but never really separated. They look neat, which is appealing, but they really aren't. Anything I put over my head goes in the "tops" spot, and "bottoms" works the same. My undergarments live in a bag together; socks, underwear, and bras all share a home. I still have to hunt a bit, but it’s minimal, and I don't have to fight with myself to put everything in its place. It’s all in its place; it’s just all in the same place! I do this with other things in my home as well. I have tried to be more organized than that, but I can't ever maintain it bcz the over organization (at least for ME it’s over organization) frustrates me and is too easy to mess up. I wind up spending more time trying to do something I ultimately fail at than I do hunting a bit for the item I need that I actually KNOW the location of. I like this method too bcz I can limit myself in ways that work for me. Clothes get cubbies, and when a cubby starts puking cz it’s overstuffed, that means it’s time to sift and discard. Non-fragile personal items go in tubs, and the same rule applies. Occasionally I add a new tub, with keepsakes, but that tub doesn't get visual space so that I don't over clutter my home with junk. And once my keepsakes tub hole gets full, I do the same sift/discard process. I never found a true organizational method that worked for me, and I love the idea of junk drawers. So I turned my home into a giant divided and organized looking junk drawer. Learning to love my mess and make it LOOK organized has been a lifesaver. But as I said, everyone is different.

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I'm very interested in hearing about your experience.... and any additional insights.

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I'm very interested in hearing about your experience.... and any additional insights.

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I'm starting a self-employment business so must manage financial and professional/education materials better. I too have read about organizing in books/mgazines/and recently on the internet, eg www.about.com. Recently I filled out an ADD/ADHD evaluation and my Psychiatrist prescribed Ritalin. My Therapist downloaded/printed medicine info on it and it said I might consider getting another med because I have heart valve damage.Itook it in '70's for low Blood Pressure/slow heart rate. It constricted my throat so I couldn't sing in Voice sessions. I shook for 1 hour after taking it, so it made me spill my breakfast drinks. I "coped" by staying in my dorm room instead of joining my Room Mates in the Dining Hall. They got so angry because I wouldn't tell them what was "wrong " with me? I said I didn't know and Doctors were treating symptoms, but didn't tell me the cause. I think I've got to add an Rx or somethig to increase my alertness/cognitive abilities. Like to learn more ways to get the right brain waves/frontal and parietal lobes treatments. Any suggestions much appreciated. Years ago I read about a person with ADD using a computer to file everything in their home and their locations, an inventory so one can find things regardless where they were put. Is there something like that out there? And ASAP :o)

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I've made good use of Evernote lately. It's a free notebook program that runs on just about every platform (and mobile and web versions too) and syncs your files across all versions. I think with a paid account, you can upload word docs, etc, but with the free account, you can do just about everything you need. You can create notes in the program, upload pdfs or pictures, text and email notes to yourself, copy things in from a your clipboard, there are browser extensions, etc. Once things are in the program, you can have as many notebooks as you like to divide the notes into, and can easily move them around if needed. You can also tag notes, and the search feature (in case you, like me, forget where you put "Important Note X" is very good. It would be worth downloading and trying out, since it's free. You can also scan documents into it (I think saved as either pdf or jpeg) via a program (also free) called ScanDrop. Once you get evernote installed, look up and the top for a button marked "Trunk", which has listings of all the programs and services that work with Evernote, and it'll help you get started. I know my way around the program, so holler if you have more questions once you've had a chance to play with it a little.

http://evernote.com

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