All In Order » Organizing http://www.allinorder-professionalorganizing.com Professional Organizing Wed, 06 May 2009 21:08:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Tips for Organizing with ADD ADHD http://www.allinorder-professionalorganizing.com/tips-for-organizing-with-addadhd.html http://www.allinorder-professionalorganizing.com/tips-for-organizing-with-addadhd.html#comments Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:26:12 +0000 admin http://www.allinorder-professionalorganizing.com/?p=34 All In Order specializes in helping people with ADD/ADHD get and stay organized.

1. Establish routines. Routines help you learn to be proactive instead of reactive which is difficult for most people who have ADD/ADHD.
2. Schedule down time for yourself but use a timer as a reminder to get back to work.
3. Schedule plenty of transition time between appointments, tasks, etc.
4. Set goals by time spent instead of by tasks completed.
5. When scheduling tasks, give yourself twice as much time as you think you’ll need to account for distractions and the unexpected.
6. Break tasks into small 15-30 minute steps and use a timer. Make sure the time is short enough that you don’t get frustrated or overwhelmed. If you feel able to continue, set the timer again and continue. If you can’t, stop and continue at a later time.
7. Try talking out loud to yourself to keep on task. For example, chant “I’m looking for my keys” softly to yourself as you search for your keys to keep yourself focused.
8. Remember that a task is not complete until it has been cleaned up and put away.
9. Reward yourself for each completed task.
10. Make sure each item in your house and office has a “home”. Use labels whenever/wherever you can.
11. Try to clean as you go through the day. If you are finished with a piece of paper, file it. If you open a drawer, shut it. If you fill a trash can, empty it. Etc, etc, etc….
12. Spend 10 minutes at the end of each day doing a quick pick up.
13. Keep a list of things to-do so that you don’t have to worry about forgetting something and to prevent yourself from jumping from task to task throughout the day.
14. Keep a success journal. Every day, write down what went right with your day to switch the focus from what you’re doing wrong to what you’re doing right.
 

]]> http://www.allinorder-professionalorganizing.com/tips-for-organizing-with-addadhd.html/feed 0 Organizing Tips For Your Office http://www.allinorder-professionalorganizing.com/organizing-tips-for-your-office.html http://www.allinorder-professionalorganizing.com/organizing-tips-for-your-office.html#comments Thu, 11 Sep 2008 02:51:00 +0000 admin http://www.allinorder-professionalorganizing.com/?p=8 1. Ask these questions about each item in your office. If you answer “NO” to either question, it’s time to let it go! 1) Do I need it? 2) Do I have a place for it?
2. Designate a place for everything in your office. Make your stuff fit the space you have designated for it or find it a new home.
3. Don’t expect clutter to disappear in a short amount of time. It took a long time for you to accumulate the clutter and will take time to get rid of it.
4. Make sure you have all the tools you’ll need before starting to organize. Don’t take out more than you can sort and put away within your time frame.
5. Have your timer end 15 minutes before you need to end a project so that you have time to clean up after yourself.
6. Set up routines for your day and week. When you have a time for each task, you don’t have to worry about it all week!
7. Set aside the last 15-30 minutes of each work day to clean off your desk and straighten up your office. Make a list of things you need to do the next day. You’ll come back to a clean space ready for work first thing every morning.
8. Don’t bring anything into your office if you don’t have a specific place for it already cleared out. If someone else brings it in, find a home for it immediately.
9. Clean up before moving on to your next task. You’ll have a much more organized office and important documents won’t get lost.
10. Keep a “time log” for a week to figure out what you enjoy doing and find ways to eliminate or delegate those tasks you dislike.

You may also be interested in our Time Management Workshops.

by Anne Busse of All In Order, Professional Organizing

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