Resources for staying organized

[BaylorPRSer]

I'm not organized.  I've always been disorganized when it comes to pretty much everything.  I was diagnosed with ADD when I was young and put on meds for it.  I ceased the medication when I was 18 or so, but unfortunately, I began smoking marijuana shorty after that.  I'm 27 now and have been weed-free for two months.  I still drink alcohol, but I rarely get drunk.  I'll be giving up alcohol at some point soon.

 

I say this because I'll accept any resources designed to help ADD people (or people who struggle with concentration for those who are skeptical of ADD) or resources that help disorganized people become organized.  I'll likely start with one resource and stick to it.

 

Any suggestions?

[rosencrantz]

Sorry to read that I use a GTD-like system that helps me organized. 

[villagewisdom]

I have taught this to those with ADD with great success. Even two months of daily practice can produce noticeable improvement. It requires 10 minutes' practice every day. 

 

Daily Concentration Exercise

Tools: candle, paper and writing instrument, timer

1. Light candle

2. Place paper in comfortable writing position, point of pen or pencil in place

3. Focus on candle flame

4. Each time you notice your attention is not on the candle flame, make a mark on the paper

5. Focus attention on mark, then move attention to candle flame

6. Continue for 10 minutes

The point of this exercise is not the number of marks on the paper. Any given day you may have many and another not so many. That tells you nothing. You could have been very focused but you also could have been distracted for long periods of time.

 

The point is you being in charge of your attention.

 

Should you choose to use this method, let me know if you have questions or if you need feedback during your practice. 

[BaylorPRSer]

I've been doing anapana and Vipassana meditation, but my practice has lacked consistency. I'll give your technique a shot, but it's takes me awhile to form good habits. It took me years of starting and stopping exercising before I finally started doing it consistently.

[Boss]

You say you will give up alcohol at some point soon, if you feel the need to give up something, why not do it now?

 

I used to struggle with staying organized, I remember I used to lie to myself saying "I will organize all this soon", I never did. I remember thinking, if I make an agreement with someone and they dont honor it, I would lose trust in them. Then I realized, I was making agreements with myself and not honoring it. I then made new small agreements with myself that I could honor to build my self trust up. Now, any agreement I make for myself and others, I strive to honor it. An agreement I remember making to myself, was to spend 1 hour organizing my work files. I remember being surprised how easy it was. 

As far as resources that may help, I recommend The power of habit by Charles Duhigg and Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith

[BaylorPRSer]

Thank you very much for the recommendations! I'm afraid I'll set myself up for failure if I pledge to not drink over the holidays. I live in Vietnam, but am returning home to TX this week for the holiday season. I don't think my will power is quite at the level necessary for me to be around people I haven't seen for a year and not drink.

 

I love your analogy though. Very helpful. I'll use it as motivation to form and break new habits.

[DaVinci]

What do you want to get organized for? If you look at any place that produces just about anything there is a mess. A wood working shop has shavings and dust. A researcher has stacks of books, paper, and clutter. An artist has drop cloths covered in paint splatter, jugs full of random paint brushes, boxes of supplies, tubes of paint sitting on every flat surface, etc.

 

Creating usually causes a mess. So what are you creating? Are we just talking about cleaning your house? 

[BaylorPRSer]

Room is a mess. A lot of the time. I let my email inbox build up and I get worried I'll delete an important email. I'll start cleaning my room and get sidetracked easily. I misplace things often because I don't designate proper places for things.

 

I just answered the first things that came to mind when reading your reply. Honestly, after reading it, I realized that I'd never asked myself those follow up questions and that "getting organized" is a vague and imprecise phrase. I'll mull this over more.

[Joseph Hebert]

Baylor, this is what helps me.

 

First, in organizing your thoughts, the subjects you're studying, the tasks you need to get to, and what aspect of your life to which they pertain, I have been using a basic version of Evernote, a freeware I found online. You can organize notes within "notebooks", and quickly click between them. So, for example, if you're in your "Subjects" notebook and adding text to your "Pre-Socratic Philosophers" note, and you suddenly realize you want to want to learn how to perform the theme song from "Raising Arizona". Your mind will do that forever, deal with it. You could type it into the relevant note, go back to your notes on Democritus, and you'll be able to comfortably delve into it because your other beautiful thought is in no danger of being lost. Do not spend time organizing how you will organize, just start using it (if it please you), and the most beneficial mode will emerge. I use a notebook for each facet of my life, and each facet has a "to do" list on the top. I can check them at a glance and decide which item to work on, which helps me delve into the task confident that there is not something else I ought to be doing.

 

Also, I bought a moleskin planner; it's half weekly planner and half ruled paper. It's been a tremendous help to me. I carry it with me, I have a thought, I right it down, I move on.

 

Also also, if I guess correctly, you need a routine. Make a list of "action categories" with the most urgent at the top. Produce before practicing piano. Clean the house before producing. Wash up before cleaning the house. Et cetera, ad libitum. Go down the list every day.

 

Meditation will give you perspective, but I don't think it will help you focus. Corny as it sounds, you have to love what you're doing, and that will only happen when you are focused on the task and not on performing the task. The drugs help you because they provide a short-circuit to fascination, to love. A good analogy is married sex. The mystery, so to speak, is gone, so you don't think about what you are doing... you're just doing it... there is only "us". You are only able to love something like that if you spend a lot of time on it in large chunks; partitioning your life into hourly units and fluttering from one thing to another will not help (although setting short-term goals like "I want to finish such-and-such within the hour", will). If I want to research predicate logic and restrain myself to an hour, fine.  But when producing, like writing a story or a piece of music, that has to be in large chunks. Like a date. One simply allots a swath of time to be with their lover, and, with time and repetition, comfort comes and you are increasingly there with them. That's love. You can get that love with time or drugs, and yes, adderall helps... at least in the short-term. Paul Erdos used amphetamines. Carl Sagan used cannabis. However, until you have tried good diet and exercise, don't even think about it. Drugs work, but love/dedication is more enduring, and health is foundational. 

 

In short: organize your thoughts, develop a routine, and love what you're doing. I've been in your same position and am still trying to climb out of the morass, but the Universe will have to kill me before I quit.

[thecurrentyear]

I've been doing anapana and Vipassana meditation, but my practice has lacked consistency. I'll give your technique a shot, but it's takes me awhile to form good habits. It took me years of starting and stopping exercising before I finally started doing it consistently.

 

Oh hey...some good stuff here I think I can bring to the discussion. Villagewisdom's technique sounds great btw, and I will give it a try myself. I have a hard time staying focused as well.

 

But what I wanted to point out here, is that you are labeling yourself, and thereby limiting yourself, by using past actions as a predictor of future progress/success/failure. I just want to point that out, because you are in charge and can make the decisions that CHANGE this pattern. You do not need to hang onto it as if it is part of your personality or engrained in your very being. Your past patterns are a result of early childhood experiences. Being aware of that (relationship between parenting relationship and past patterns) and them -- the patterns & experiences themselves -- enables you to make different choices going forward. Isn't that liberating to know!?!

 

You do not have to be "the person who takes a long time to pick up new habits" forever. There were reasons why you resisted consistent exercise in the past. But whatever they were, you OVERCAME them in order to do what you wanted/needed (exercise) consistently in the present. NEW PATTERN! Congratulations! Now here's another. And since you've been able to overcome whatever was in your way from exercising consistently, you now have the experience to make changes much more quickly going forward...This is getting easier! You are doing big and great things for yourself. Way to go!!!

Baylor, this is what helps me.

 

First, in organizing your thoughts, the subjects you're studying, the tasks you need to get to, and what aspect of your life to which they pertain, I have been using a basic version of Evernote, a freeware I found online. You can organize notes within "notebooks", and quickly click between them. So, for example, if you're in your "Subjects" notebook and adding text to your "Pre-Socratic Philosophers" note, and you suddenly realize you want to want to learn how to perform the theme song from "Raising Arizona". Your mind will do that forever, deal with it. You could type it into the relevant note, go back to your notes on Democritus, and you'll be able to comfortably delve into it because your other beautiful thought is in no danger of being lost. Do not spend time organizing how you will organize, just start using it (if it please you), and the most beneficial mode will emerge. I use a notebook for each facet of my life, and each facet has a "to do" list on the top. I can check them at a glance and decide which item to work on, which helps me delve into the task confident that there is not something else I ought to be doing.

 

Also, I bought a moleskin planner; it's half weekly planner and half ruled paper. It's been a tremendous help to me. I carry it with me, I have a thought, I right it down, I move on.

 

Also also, if I guess correctly, you need a routine. Make a list of "action categories" with the most urgent at the top. Produce before practicing piano. Clean the house before producing. Wash up before cleaning the house. Et cetera, ad libitum. Go down the list every day.

 

Meditation will give you perspective, but I don't think it will help you focus. Corny as it sounds, you have to love what you're doing, and that will only happen when you are focused on the task and not on performing the task. The drugs help you because they provide a short-circuit to fascination, to love. A good analogy is married sex. The mystery, so to speak, is gone, so you don't think about what you are doing... you're just doing it... there is only "us". You are only able to love something like that if you spend a lot of time on it in large chunks; partitioning your life into hourly units and fluttering from one thing to another will not help (although setting short-term goals like "I want to finish such-and-such within the hour", will). If I want to research predicate logic and restrain myself to an hour, fine.  But when producing, like writing a story or a piece of music, that has to be in large chunks. Like a date. One simply allots a swath of time to be with their lover, and, with time and repetition, comfort comes and you are increasingly there with them. That's love. You can get that love with time or drugs, and yes, adderall helps... at least in the short-term. Paul Erdos used amphetamines. Carl Sagan used cannabis. However, until you have tried good diet and exercise, don't even think about it. Drugs work, but love/dedication is more enduring, and health is foundational. 

 

In short: organize your thoughts, develop a routine, and love what you're doing. I've been in your same position and am still trying to climb out of the morass, but the Universe will have to kill me before I quit.

 

Great post! Love it! Quite inspiring.

[villagewisdom]

 

 

In short: organize your thoughts, develop a routine, and love what you're doing. I've been in your same position and am still trying to climb out of the morass, but the Universe will have to kill me before I quit.

 

I agree with thecurrentyear, inspiring. 

[Guest Gee]

I have add. My problem is not organising or planning or systems or routines, my problem is sticking to the plan. What has helped me is sentence completion work in the morning and very regular memory games through the day (lumonisty on the ipad but a good hard n-back or duel n-back game will do it). I find this bleeds off that restlessness and I get pretty great benefits.

 

Oh, for notes I use https://gingkoapp.com

 

And the candle thing sounds great, I'm going to start doing that too.

[BaylorPRSer]

Baylor, this is what helps me.

 

First, in organizing your thoughts, the subjects you're studying, the tasks you need to get to, and what aspect of your life to which they pertain, I have been using a basic version of Evernote, a freeware I found online. You can organize notes within "notebooks", and quickly click between them. So, for example, if you're in your "Subjects" notebook and adding text to your "Pre-Socratic Philosophers" note, and you suddenly realize you want to want to learn how to perform the theme song from "Raising Arizona". Your mind will do that forever, deal with it. You could type it into the relevant note, go back to your notes on Democritus, and you'll be able to comfortably delve into it because your other beautiful thought is in no danger of being lost. Do not spend time organizing how you will organize, just start using it (if it please you), and the most beneficial mode will emerge. I use a notebook for each facet of my life, and each facet has a "to do" list on the top. I can check them at a glance and decide which item to work on, which helps me delve into the task confident that there is not something else I ought to be doing.

 

Also, I bought a moleskin planner; it's half weekly planner and half ruled paper. It's been a tremendous help to me. I carry it with me, I have a thought, I right it down, I move on.

 

Also also, if I guess correctly, you need a routine. Make a list of "action categories" with the most urgent at the top. Produce before practicing piano. Clean the house before producing. Wash up before cleaning the house. Et cetera, ad libitum. Go down the list every day.

 

Meditation will give you perspective, but I don't think it will help you focus. Corny as it sounds, you have to love what you're doing, and that will only happen when you are focused on the task and not on performing the task. The drugs help you because they provide a short-circuit to fascination, to love. A good analogy is married sex. The mystery, so to speak, is gone, so you don't think about what you are doing... you're just doing it... there is only "us". You are only able to love something like that if you spend a lot of time on it in large chunks; partitioning your life into hourly units and fluttering from one thing to another will not help (although setting short-term goals like "I want to finish such-and-such within the hour", will). If I want to research predicate logic and restrain myself to an hour, fine.  But when producing, like writing a story or a piece of music, that has to be in large chunks. Like a date. One simply allots a swath of time to be with their lover, and, with time and repetition, comfort comes and you are increasingly there with them. That's love. You can get that love with time or drugs, and yes, adderall helps... at least in the short-term. Paul Erdos used amphetamines. Carl Sagan used cannabis. However, until you have tried good diet and exercise, don't even think about it. Drugs work, but love/dedication is more enduring, and health is foundational. 

 

In short: organize your thoughts, develop a routine, and love what you're doing. I've been in your same position and am still trying to climb out of the morass, but the Universe will have to kill me before I quit.

Using the Evernote Web Clipper to keep this handy.  Cheers.  I'm going to implement a lot of this. 

[Guest Gee]

Oh, i forgot, when I am trying to study something or work I have some ambient-ish background noise playing through ear phones.

 

 <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gpvznAiKblU"frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

or RainyMood.com

 

Give it a try.