rheanna

I'm starting a thread so that we can list our How-To books in one place.

I ordered a couple of books that just arrived yesterday:

"Organizing Solutions for People with Attention Deficit Disorder" by Susan C. Pinsky

"ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life" by Judith Kolberg and Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D.

I haven't had a chance to do more than flip through them (an ADDer can always come up with excuses for not getting around to something ). The first thing that went through my mind was that the Susan Pinsky book is printed on glossy paper -- I was immediately irritated because it means that I can't put comments or notes in the margins because I can only write in pencil in books because it's a sin to write in books but if it's only pencil and not pen then it doesn't count because you can erase it but I can't even do that because it's glossy paper and didn't they think of that when they printed the book and ------ well, then I stopped my run-away ADD thoughts and agreed that perhaps I might actually need this book. Ahem.

At any rate, I will report on what I find in the books and if there's anything really useful for me in there.

My primary concern is NOT how to organize my housework. Sheesh. Housework is so low on my list of priorities. I can manage to get laundry done and the dishes get washed in the morning so that I can cook again and mess up the kitchen each day. The rest of the housework gets done when I realize that the cat hair is fluffing all over the place and it's time to vaccuum, and maybe we should invite some people over for dinner so that I feel it's worth it to tackle the grime.

No, what is really bothering me is that I have interests and hobbies that are languishing in the background. I have ideas for art projects and I have painting supplies and a room to paint in. I have ideas for sewing projects and I have sewing supplies and a room to sew in. (That's all the same room, or actually half of a room shared with other stuff, lest you think I live in a mansion.) I have a knitting machine that has never been taken out of its box. I have writing projects that I would like to attend to.

Basically, what I am lacking at the moment is a coach. I am hoping that these books will give me some ideas on structuring my time and figuring out how to break projects down into manageable tasks.

Some of you may want help in managing housework. Some may want help in managing work. Some may want to know how to combine housework and jobs and child-raising and appointments and all the myriad daily tasks that beset us as adults. And some of you may be younger and still in school or college and are hoping that you can figure out how to get better managing skills before you go off to the adult world of juggling jobs and other responsibilities.

So, I'm highlighting the books that I've listed above, so that they don't get lost in the sea of verbage that spills from my cyber-fingers.

Please add your own book suggestions (or tapes or DVDs) that you think might help others to learn better organizational skills.