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ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life: Strategies that Work from a Professional Organizer and a Renowned ADD Clinician
A professional organizer and a renowned ADD clinician join forces to present this guide that addresses the unique needs of adults with ADD. It offers organizing advice that ranges from self-help to utilizing the help of nonprofessionals to using professional assistance.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 30, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 221 reviews
February 23, 2011
This book has some good ideas and helpful suggestions. The authors clearly understand their subject matter. That's why I didn't rate it any lower. However, I am very glad this was not the first book I read on the topic or I think I would be in a state of despair now. The two authors are a counselor and professional organizer. They are not only of the opinion that such services are the best way for someone with ADD to succeed (and they're probably right there), but that such services are the only way someone with ADD can succeed. They also seem to operate under the misapprehension that everyone can afford professional organizers and counselors. The book continues with the assumption that you have an abundance of helpful friends and family who will cheerfully take on the roles of "Time Tutor" and such as well. Over and over again, the authors say, "You will not be able to do this, so ask your counselor/professional organizer/time tutor to do this for you." I want to believe they didn't intend it this way, but the message is repeatedly hammered home, "If you aren't upper middle class, you are doomed to fail at life."
Not all of us have supportive family and, as other sources on this topic have pointed out, toxic help (the kind of help that comes with nagging and ridicule) is worse than no help at all. As for my circle of friends, we're friends because we are all eccentric in our own ways and none of us have the capacity to write a budget or schedule for each other. And for a fair number of people, a library book is as close as we will ever come to a professional organizer.
I recently gave a so-so review to Marla Cilley's Sink Reflections. I was initially put off by that book's cheesiness, but I'm now inclined to bump it up a star. Unlike these authors, Cilley recognizes that sometimes your family won't help, most people can't afford professionals to take care of things, and in the end you have to find tactics that will allow you to do what you need to do anyway. Sink Reflections felt empowering. ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life contained many helpful tips, but ultimately felt dis-empowering.
Not all of us have supportive family and, as other sources on this topic have pointed out, toxic help (the kind of help that comes with nagging and ridicule) is worse than no help at all. As for my circle of friends, we're friends because we are all eccentric in our own ways and none of us have the capacity to write a budget or schedule for each other. And for a fair number of people, a library book is as close as we will ever come to a professional organizer.
I recently gave a so-so review to Marla Cilley's Sink Reflections. I was initially put off by that book's cheesiness, but I'm now inclined to bump it up a star. Unlike these authors, Cilley recognizes that sometimes your family won't help, most people can't afford professionals to take care of things, and in the end you have to find tactics that will allow you to do what you need to do anyway. Sink Reflections felt empowering. ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life contained many helpful tips, but ultimately felt dis-empowering.
Read
February 16, 2011This remains a slow read, though it isn't the book's fault. The shock of recognition that comes every few pages elicits an emotional response from me, and then I need to put the book down for a few days and read something else.
Update: I seem to have lost the book. And honestly? I think that it's the book's fault. Given the subject matter, there should be a chapter that deals with what to do in this eventuality.
Update the Second: It may be permanently shelved, as just too deflating. Lots of variations of: "Have your family members help you by blah, blah, blah. And if you live alone, you can just set timers!!!"
It made me grumpy.
Update: I seem to have lost the book. And honestly? I think that it's the book's fault. Given the subject matter, there should be a chapter that deals with what to do in this eventuality.
Update the Second: It may be permanently shelved, as just too deflating. Lots of variations of: "Have your family members help you by blah, blah, blah. And if you live alone, you can just set timers!!!"
It made me grumpy.
November 12, 2010
At last, a book that actually demonstrates an understanding of the ADD brain, and gets why normal organising methods just don't work for us. I felt like it was written for me. Uh, probably because it was.
Even the typography and layout is ADD-friendly. It's one of the few books I haven't struggled to stick with - it has large typefaces, clear headings, short sections, and lots of graphical elements. I wish all books looked like this.
I had one lightbulb moment after another while I was reading it. The authors don't just hand you a big box of productivity suggestions; they also explain WHY these methods are more likely to work than the million other "organising tips" and "productivity hacks" you've tried before.
If you have ADD and battle to keep your life and home in order, get the book. If you don't have ADD, maybe reading the book will give you a bit of insight into the ridiculously simple things we struggle with, and will help you to understand that ADD is not just about being distracted by shiny things.
Even the typography and layout is ADD-friendly. It's one of the few books I haven't struggled to stick with - it has large typefaces, clear headings, short sections, and lots of graphical elements. I wish all books looked like this.
I had one lightbulb moment after another while I was reading it. The authors don't just hand you a big box of productivity suggestions; they also explain WHY these methods are more likely to work than the million other "organising tips" and "productivity hacks" you've tried before.
If you have ADD and battle to keep your life and home in order, get the book. If you don't have ADD, maybe reading the book will give you a bit of insight into the ridiculously simple things we struggle with, and will help you to understand that ADD is not just about being distracted by shiny things.
June 9, 2013
Oddly, I feel the LEAST EFFECTIVE PAGES in this book are in the Foreward, the Preface, the Acknowledgements, and Chapters 1, 2, and 3!!!
Oh, woe to anyone who picks up this book and starts reading from the very beginning!
Thank goodness I didn't do that, or I would have given up and thought the book was just a bunch of platitudes and generalized advice.
Luckily, when I received my copy of this in the mail, I was in the middle of reading another book. So I started this book without intending to start, if you know what I mean. I just flipped it open and started reading whatever pages and titles caught my eye.
The first chapter I happened to read was CHAPTER SIX - "B-o-r-i-n-g: Managing Stimulation Hunger and Hyperfocus." Even though the stories of Jerry and Marge were very different from each other, I definitely related to both. I often feel like my creative ways of mismanaging my time and other shenanigans are so "OUT THERE," that no one would believe it. So! Seeing right here in print, two people doing things exactly as I would do them, and to see that they got help and improved their situation ... well, I must say it was very heartening.
The next chapter I happened to read was CHAPTER FOURTEEN - "Overcoming Overcommitment." OH BOY. When I read the story of Ted, who works for an educational think tank, and who overcommits to the exciting creative things going on at work, and who frequently comes home late, missing evenings planned with his wife; I couldn't believe I was reading this! The story of Karen, the people-pleaser, who says "yes" to her boss, and "yes" to her daughters for every time-sucking thing they ask for, despite of how sleep-deprived she is, from too much overcommitment ... well, I could totally relate to all of this!
The next chapter I happened to read was CHAPTER THIRTEEN - "Time Out" which is about losing track of time, running out of time, and having difficulty finding time to do the things you had INTENDED TO DO, even when you are given an abundance of time to do it. They tell the story of Phyllis and her daughter Kelly. Once again, their stories really hit home for me.
After reading at least the introductory parts of Chapters 6, 14, and 13, I was stoked that I had found a book that truly understood me and couldn't WAIT to read more. Unfortunately, a couple days after reading that last bit in Chapter 13, I MISPLACED THE BOOK! ARGH! I was so excited about reading more, and I couldn't find it!!! I waited a few months, hoping it would turn up. It didn't. So I checked a copy out of the library. When I got my library copy, I committed to giving this book my full attention, so I started on Page 1. Actually Page vii, the Foreward.
Starting from the first page boy, was it DRY and UN-INSPIRING! How dreadful!!! Gosh, I had been so EXCITED (AND TURNED ON, EVEN !!!) by the book in October 2012, and now, here I was ... after just a 5 month absence ... starting from the first page, trying to do it right ... and the magic was gone. :( But I knew I had read some really cool stuff before, so I kept with it and kept reading. I did end up finding some good kernels of wisdom in there, but the honeymoon was over. ha ha.
Yes, the beginning part is pretty dry. But they do have some good ideas in there. One of them that I really like and that I found true for me is the idea of the BODY DOUBLE. When I'll all alone (and not about to leave to go somewhere else), it is so hard for me to focus and get things done at home, like doing my laundry, putting my finances together, sorting out and getting rid of clutter, etc. BUT, if there is someone there with me, especially if the person is there only for a limited time ... it puts some pressure on me, and then I can do it just fine.
Actually, I'm GREAT at doing my finances, sorting clutter, doing laundry, etc ... once I get going ... the problem is, most of the time, I drag my feet and don't get started. So ... I decided ... instead of spending money going to a shrink, to talk about how frustrated I am about "not getting my act together" and all that crap (which I have done before) ... I decide to invest in having a maid come to our house twice per month. The maid works 2 hours for $80, and that's actually a lot cheaper than a therapist ($130 for 50 minutes!!!). On top of that, a therapist wouldn't mop our floors, but the maid does! Woo-hoo! Historically I've been pretty frugal about spending money on myself, so the idea of hiring a maid seemed extravagant at first. But when I read about the BODY DOUBLE, suddenly a light bulb went off in my head ... that this would be money well spent ... way better than taking ADHD medication, and I'd be providing a job for someone (the maid), helping to boost the local economy ... and it would help me get done what I needed to do.
And guess what, IT IS WORKING!!! When the maid comes, I work on picking things up and general (not detailed) organizing in the house and doing my laundry. So far that's all I have time to get done during the 2 hours that he or she is here cleaning. BUT IT REALLY HELPS. It helps me not to get so far behind on my laundry, and it helps that I don't feel overwhelmed with the idea that I need to vacuum and dust and mop the floors and all that junk. The house is clean, so that FREES MY MIND to deal with the various projects around the house and other things that I'm hoping to finally "get around to doing." After 6 months of this, no, I'm not all caught up with every little project around the house, but I am making progress.
Whew! So yes, the BODY DOUBLE thing actually is helpful. From the reviews on goodreads, perhaps some people think it's insulting to insinuate that one may need sort of a "babysitter" in order to get work done. Well, I ain't ashamed to admit it ... in my case, it's TRUE!!! A big part of ADHD, I think, is realizing WHAT YOU NEED in order to get your work done. If a babysitter is what you need, then go ahead and get it! Sure beats screwing up your body with medications, doesn't it?
That is, if you can afford it, of course! That's the other complaint I saw in the reviews. Yes, unless you've got a good friend who will come over and be your "Body Double" for free, it does cost money to get someone to come to your house. But that's not the ONLY recommendation they make in this book. They are just saying that this is one effective way to get help.
Interestingly, another thing that acts as a "Baby Sitter" for me (and this isn't covered in the book), is the feeling that "now it's time to go ... " like if I'm about to leave the house for work. When it's close to time to leave, suddenly I have focus and all kinds of energy to work on cleaning and organizing and sorting through mail and doing all kinds of great things at the house. Conversely, if I'm at work, I may have had trouble focusing all day ... but when it gets to be "time to leave" ... now suddenly I dig into my projects, working at "warp speed," getting all kinds of things done, quickly and efficiently. Why? Because I know that the SECOND I FINISH THIS, I CAN LEAVE!!!! So I've got a lot of pressure on me to get it done, NOW, and AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. I wish there was some way to harness this ultra-productivity to my advantage. Oh well! This particular phenomenon (and a solution to it) is not covered in the book.
They do talk about Procrastination Propulsion (p. 191), but it's not talked about in the same way that I experience it.
Looking at the Table of Contents, here are my opinions:
PART ONE - GETTING STARTED
Chapters 1-3
Some helpful bits (Body Double), but mostly not very helpful; too general, too many platitudes, not enough concrete advice.
PART TWO - TAKING CHARGE OF A.D.D.
Chapters 4-8
Helpful for the anecdotes (recognizing I'm not alone in this craziness), but the specific pieces of advice / remedies didn't look very promising. Nonetheless, just RECOGNIZING what I'm doing, and how destructive it can be on relationships, etc ... was very illuminating.
In Chapter 7, Page 73, the advice on "Rotating Priorities" I thought was very helpful. Because of that, I got the idea that I can make the month of May my biking month, June can be running month, July can be rock climbing month, August can be back to biking again, etc. I don't have to try DOING ALL of my activities at once 365 days out of the year! There are so many things I want to do, and sometimes I beat myself up for not being able to do all of it, all of the time. Why not rotate your activities from month to month or season to season? RIGHT ON, COOL IDEA.
In Chapter 8, page 80, I found this to be helpful (regarding how to get out of "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" Syndrome:
Instead of cluttering your environment with visual cues, contain yourself with visual cues. When you view your things, it directly "tickles" your memory to take action. The trick is to make things visible and visually appealing at the same time. Open baskets, clear shoeboxes, acrylic bins, see-through plastic drawers, even large plastic food storage bags are great in-sight in-mind tools. Put everything you possibly can in clear containers that reveal the contents but are attractive to look at.
So far the advice is working well for me, but ... my sweetheart (who I suspect also has ADHD) has the habit of laying everything that he wants to work on (receipts, bills, mail, etc) out on the dining room table. He is afraid that if he puts it away, he'll forget to deal with it. I hoped he could use the clear boxes the way I am doing, but so far it's not working. No matter what shapes and sizes and colors of clear boxes I get for him, he still keeps putting those things directly on the table. Oh well!
I used to put my receipts in file folders or binders, but now that I have the clear plastic boxes, I like them much better. Now I can SEE if those clear boxes are getting full, and that signals that it's time to get on Quicken and start entering those receipts.
PART THREE - THING ORGANIZING
Chapters 9-12
This was OK, but they go into detailed instructions on how to maintain your laundry schedule, mail sorting routine, dishwashing procedures, etc. Much of it seemed way too specific to be appropriate. I kind of felt like I was in a "Home Economics" class! However, I did find one helpful thing: the idea of VISUAL CUES to trigger you into regular sorting / tossing of things like reading materials (magazines, newsletters that come in the mail) building up. You can set aside a small reading basket. Toss your reading materials in there as the mail comes in. When it gets full, that's your cue to look through it, sort and toss, to make room for new incoming mail. GREAT IDEA!!!
When I read this, I realized that for the past 15 years, I've been effectively using the VISUAL CUES technique (without knowing it), for books ... I'm constantly acquiring new books, but I have only one bookcase. All my books must fit on those shelves. When the books don't fit in there anymore and start stacking on the floor in front of the bookcase, that's how I know it's time to sort through my books and donate the ones I can part with. It's a good system! I can't wait to try it out for my newsletter-type reading materials that come in the mail.
PART FOUR - TIME ORGANIZING
Chapters 13-16
These chapters were very helpful for me, especially the anecdotal stories which again (similar to PART TWO), I super-duper related to. Unfortunately, most of the stuff in the advice sections I have already heard from the FLY-LADY and have so far FAILED to implement in my life. Obviously simply reading about it here in this book will not help me any more than 10 years of simply reading the FLY-LADY e-mail's. Most of it was good advice, but some things I thought were downright silly, like the Bites, Munchers, and Gobblers section. I guess that was supposed to make it "fun" to prioritize, but sorry, I ain't biting. HA.
PART FIVE - PAPER ORGANIZING
Chapters 17-19 (Fear of Filing, Information Overflow, Managing Money)
These chapters were OK, but personally I didn't find much of any useful advice in these.
PART SIX - CONCLUSION
ok!
PART SEVEN - RESOURCES
ok!
In summary, I think this book is worthwhile, but it's not super-awesome. Probably if you read the whole thing, you will glean some kernels of wisdom or think about a few things in a new way. But if you read the whole thing, you'll also spend a lot of time reading various pages of un-inspiring un-awesomeness. For me, personally, the most helpful parts were the anecdotes of the people who have ADHD and seeing what their lives are like. If you want, you might try that ... just read the introductory parts at the beginning of the chapters dealing with the problems that are most challenging for you.
Oh, and by the way ... a couple days after FINISHING my library copy and turning it back in at the library ... my ORIGINAL COPY showed up! This was about six months after I originally misplaced it. I KNEW it would show up again, someday! :)
Oh, woe to anyone who picks up this book and starts reading from the very beginning!
Thank goodness I didn't do that, or I would have given up and thought the book was just a bunch of platitudes and generalized advice.
Luckily, when I received my copy of this in the mail, I was in the middle of reading another book. So I started this book without intending to start, if you know what I mean. I just flipped it open and started reading whatever pages and titles caught my eye.
The first chapter I happened to read was CHAPTER SIX - "B-o-r-i-n-g: Managing Stimulation Hunger and Hyperfocus." Even though the stories of Jerry and Marge were very different from each other, I definitely related to both. I often feel like my creative ways of mismanaging my time and other shenanigans are so "OUT THERE," that no one would believe it. So! Seeing right here in print, two people doing things exactly as I would do them, and to see that they got help and improved their situation ... well, I must say it was very heartening.
The next chapter I happened to read was CHAPTER FOURTEEN - "Overcoming Overcommitment." OH BOY. When I read the story of Ted, who works for an educational think tank, and who overcommits to the exciting creative things going on at work, and who frequently comes home late, missing evenings planned with his wife; I couldn't believe I was reading this! The story of Karen, the people-pleaser, who says "yes" to her boss, and "yes" to her daughters for every time-sucking thing they ask for, despite of how sleep-deprived she is, from too much overcommitment ... well, I could totally relate to all of this!
The next chapter I happened to read was CHAPTER THIRTEEN - "Time Out" which is about losing track of time, running out of time, and having difficulty finding time to do the things you had INTENDED TO DO, even when you are given an abundance of time to do it. They tell the story of Phyllis and her daughter Kelly. Once again, their stories really hit home for me.
After reading at least the introductory parts of Chapters 6, 14, and 13, I was stoked that I had found a book that truly understood me and couldn't WAIT to read more. Unfortunately, a couple days after reading that last bit in Chapter 13, I MISPLACED THE BOOK! ARGH! I was so excited about reading more, and I couldn't find it!!! I waited a few months, hoping it would turn up. It didn't. So I checked a copy out of the library. When I got my library copy, I committed to giving this book my full attention, so I started on Page 1. Actually Page vii, the Foreward.
Starting from the first page boy, was it DRY and UN-INSPIRING! How dreadful!!! Gosh, I had been so EXCITED (AND TURNED ON, EVEN !!!) by the book in October 2012, and now, here I was ... after just a 5 month absence ... starting from the first page, trying to do it right ... and the magic was gone. :( But I knew I had read some really cool stuff before, so I kept with it and kept reading. I did end up finding some good kernels of wisdom in there, but the honeymoon was over. ha ha.
Yes, the beginning part is pretty dry. But they do have some good ideas in there. One of them that I really like and that I found true for me is the idea of the BODY DOUBLE. When I'll all alone (and not about to leave to go somewhere else), it is so hard for me to focus and get things done at home, like doing my laundry, putting my finances together, sorting out and getting rid of clutter, etc. BUT, if there is someone there with me, especially if the person is there only for a limited time ... it puts some pressure on me, and then I can do it just fine.
Actually, I'm GREAT at doing my finances, sorting clutter, doing laundry, etc ... once I get going ... the problem is, most of the time, I drag my feet and don't get started. So ... I decided ... instead of spending money going to a shrink, to talk about how frustrated I am about "not getting my act together" and all that crap (which I have done before) ... I decide to invest in having a maid come to our house twice per month. The maid works 2 hours for $80, and that's actually a lot cheaper than a therapist ($130 for 50 minutes!!!). On top of that, a therapist wouldn't mop our floors, but the maid does! Woo-hoo! Historically I've been pretty frugal about spending money on myself, so the idea of hiring a maid seemed extravagant at first. But when I read about the BODY DOUBLE, suddenly a light bulb went off in my head ... that this would be money well spent ... way better than taking ADHD medication, and I'd be providing a job for someone (the maid), helping to boost the local economy ... and it would help me get done what I needed to do.
And guess what, IT IS WORKING!!! When the maid comes, I work on picking things up and general (not detailed) organizing in the house and doing my laundry. So far that's all I have time to get done during the 2 hours that he or she is here cleaning. BUT IT REALLY HELPS. It helps me not to get so far behind on my laundry, and it helps that I don't feel overwhelmed with the idea that I need to vacuum and dust and mop the floors and all that junk. The house is clean, so that FREES MY MIND to deal with the various projects around the house and other things that I'm hoping to finally "get around to doing." After 6 months of this, no, I'm not all caught up with every little project around the house, but I am making progress.
Whew! So yes, the BODY DOUBLE thing actually is helpful. From the reviews on goodreads, perhaps some people think it's insulting to insinuate that one may need sort of a "babysitter" in order to get work done. Well, I ain't ashamed to admit it ... in my case, it's TRUE!!! A big part of ADHD, I think, is realizing WHAT YOU NEED in order to get your work done. If a babysitter is what you need, then go ahead and get it! Sure beats screwing up your body with medications, doesn't it?
That is, if you can afford it, of course! That's the other complaint I saw in the reviews. Yes, unless you've got a good friend who will come over and be your "Body Double" for free, it does cost money to get someone to come to your house. But that's not the ONLY recommendation they make in this book. They are just saying that this is one effective way to get help.
Interestingly, another thing that acts as a "Baby Sitter" for me (and this isn't covered in the book), is the feeling that "now it's time to go ... " like if I'm about to leave the house for work. When it's close to time to leave, suddenly I have focus and all kinds of energy to work on cleaning and organizing and sorting through mail and doing all kinds of great things at the house. Conversely, if I'm at work, I may have had trouble focusing all day ... but when it gets to be "time to leave" ... now suddenly I dig into my projects, working at "warp speed," getting all kinds of things done, quickly and efficiently. Why? Because I know that the SECOND I FINISH THIS, I CAN LEAVE!!!! So I've got a lot of pressure on me to get it done, NOW, and AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. I wish there was some way to harness this ultra-productivity to my advantage. Oh well! This particular phenomenon (and a solution to it) is not covered in the book.
They do talk about Procrastination Propulsion (p. 191), but it's not talked about in the same way that I experience it.
Looking at the Table of Contents, here are my opinions:
PART ONE - GETTING STARTED
Chapters 1-3
Some helpful bits (Body Double), but mostly not very helpful; too general, too many platitudes, not enough concrete advice.
PART TWO - TAKING CHARGE OF A.D.D.
Chapters 4-8
Helpful for the anecdotes (recognizing I'm not alone in this craziness), but the specific pieces of advice / remedies didn't look very promising. Nonetheless, just RECOGNIZING what I'm doing, and how destructive it can be on relationships, etc ... was very illuminating.
In Chapter 7, Page 73, the advice on "Rotating Priorities" I thought was very helpful. Because of that, I got the idea that I can make the month of May my biking month, June can be running month, July can be rock climbing month, August can be back to biking again, etc. I don't have to try DOING ALL of my activities at once 365 days out of the year! There are so many things I want to do, and sometimes I beat myself up for not being able to do all of it, all of the time. Why not rotate your activities from month to month or season to season? RIGHT ON, COOL IDEA.
In Chapter 8, page 80, I found this to be helpful (regarding how to get out of "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" Syndrome:
Instead of cluttering your environment with visual cues, contain yourself with visual cues. When you view your things, it directly "tickles" your memory to take action. The trick is to make things visible and visually appealing at the same time. Open baskets, clear shoeboxes, acrylic bins, see-through plastic drawers, even large plastic food storage bags are great in-sight in-mind tools. Put everything you possibly can in clear containers that reveal the contents but are attractive to look at.
So far the advice is working well for me, but ... my sweetheart (who I suspect also has ADHD) has the habit of laying everything that he wants to work on (receipts, bills, mail, etc) out on the dining room table. He is afraid that if he puts it away, he'll forget to deal with it. I hoped he could use the clear boxes the way I am doing, but so far it's not working. No matter what shapes and sizes and colors of clear boxes I get for him, he still keeps putting those things directly on the table. Oh well!
I used to put my receipts in file folders or binders, but now that I have the clear plastic boxes, I like them much better. Now I can SEE if those clear boxes are getting full, and that signals that it's time to get on Quicken and start entering those receipts.
PART THREE - THING ORGANIZING
Chapters 9-12
This was OK, but they go into detailed instructions on how to maintain your laundry schedule, mail sorting routine, dishwashing procedures, etc. Much of it seemed way too specific to be appropriate. I kind of felt like I was in a "Home Economics" class! However, I did find one helpful thing: the idea of VISUAL CUES to trigger you into regular sorting / tossing of things like reading materials (magazines, newsletters that come in the mail) building up. You can set aside a small reading basket. Toss your reading materials in there as the mail comes in. When it gets full, that's your cue to look through it, sort and toss, to make room for new incoming mail. GREAT IDEA!!!
When I read this, I realized that for the past 15 years, I've been effectively using the VISUAL CUES technique (without knowing it), for books ... I'm constantly acquiring new books, but I have only one bookcase. All my books must fit on those shelves. When the books don't fit in there anymore and start stacking on the floor in front of the bookcase, that's how I know it's time to sort through my books and donate the ones I can part with. It's a good system! I can't wait to try it out for my newsletter-type reading materials that come in the mail.
PART FOUR - TIME ORGANIZING
Chapters 13-16
These chapters were very helpful for me, especially the anecdotal stories which again (similar to PART TWO), I super-duper related to. Unfortunately, most of the stuff in the advice sections I have already heard from the FLY-LADY and have so far FAILED to implement in my life. Obviously simply reading about it here in this book will not help me any more than 10 years of simply reading the FLY-LADY e-mail's. Most of it was good advice, but some things I thought were downright silly, like the Bites, Munchers, and Gobblers section. I guess that was supposed to make it "fun" to prioritize, but sorry, I ain't biting. HA.
PART FIVE - PAPER ORGANIZING
Chapters 17-19 (Fear of Filing, Information Overflow, Managing Money)
These chapters were OK, but personally I didn't find much of any useful advice in these.
PART SIX - CONCLUSION
ok!
PART SEVEN - RESOURCES
ok!
In summary, I think this book is worthwhile, but it's not super-awesome. Probably if you read the whole thing, you will glean some kernels of wisdom or think about a few things in a new way. But if you read the whole thing, you'll also spend a lot of time reading various pages of un-inspiring un-awesomeness. For me, personally, the most helpful parts were the anecdotes of the people who have ADHD and seeing what their lives are like. If you want, you might try that ... just read the introductory parts at the beginning of the chapters dealing with the problems that are most challenging for you.
Oh, and by the way ... a couple days after FINISHING my library copy and turning it back in at the library ... my ORIGINAL COPY showed up! This was about six months after I originally misplaced it. I KNEW it would show up again, someday! :)
January 3, 2008
This book is full of fantastic ways to organize your life, particularly if you have ADD. People with ADD often have to use coaches to help get them on track. While I'll almost certainly need a coach in the future, this book helped me organize my life in meaningful ways:
*Banish bureaus. I use a large clothing rack so I can easily see what clothes I have AND they stay ironed.
*Give-away-bag. Use a plastic trash bag to organize clothes you want to give away. Leave them there for 3 months. If you haven't touched them in that time, you can probably give them away. :-)
*Paperwork night. Dedicate a night to dealing with mail, paying bills, and all the little annoying stuff.
*Banish bureaus. I use a large clothing rack so I can easily see what clothes I have AND they stay ironed.
*Give-away-bag. Use a plastic trash bag to organize clothes you want to give away. Leave them there for 3 months. If you haven't touched them in that time, you can probably give them away. :-)
*Paperwork night. Dedicate a night to dealing with mail, paying bills, and all the little annoying stuff.
June 17, 2013
This book covers a lot of ground I already knew, but it's very comforting to hear other peoples struggles (way worse than our households!) with keeping on top of things with ADD. There is some good advice in there, and as with any self help book there is some crazy stuff that I thought "who would do that?" but you know, maybe someone else would think that idea was the best!
I...................... do..... have........... to ........... say that ..... the .... narrator............. is un... believably... bad. She........ talks... as.... if someone........................ programmed her to space............ her............. words ........... out in the most odd ways. But she is not a computer. ..... She is........an......actual real human being.... who just................Sucks. Sometimes it doesn't................matter. But... other... times... her....... bad..................timing............is so awful ........... it changes ............ the whole.....meaning of the sentence. Because ...........you've ........... put ........... the period ,,,,,,,,,,,, in the ...............wrong. ........... Place.
I cannot believe the authors let this woman read this book. She has a soft nice voice so I'm sure that's what sold them but her timing is so bad I could barely finish the book. Over and over again I'd turn it off. And put it down for weeks at a time to pick up later again when I'd forgotten how rotten of a narrator she was. There is no reason to talk to someone so slow, and spaced so badly. As if we were all incredibly stupid. They have ADD. Not a low iq. Speed it up and read properly. Like you know what word is coming next... you know? Ugh... I hope I NEVER have to listen to that woman narrate again!
I...................... do..... have........... to ........... say that ..... the .... narrator............. is un... believably... bad. She........ talks... as.... if someone........................ programmed her to space............ her............. words ........... out in the most odd ways. But she is not a computer. ..... She is........an......actual real human being.... who just................Sucks. Sometimes it doesn't................matter. But... other... times... her....... bad..................timing............is so awful ........... it changes ............ the whole.....meaning of the sentence. Because ...........you've ........... put ........... the period ,,,,,,,,,,,, in the ...............wrong. ........... Place.
I cannot believe the authors let this woman read this book. She has a soft nice voice so I'm sure that's what sold them but her timing is so bad I could barely finish the book. Over and over again I'd turn it off. And put it down for weeks at a time to pick up later again when I'd forgotten how rotten of a narrator she was. There is no reason to talk to someone so slow, and spaced so badly. As if we were all incredibly stupid. They have ADD. Not a low iq. Speed it up and read properly. Like you know what word is coming next... you know? Ugh... I hope I NEVER have to listen to that woman narrate again!
January 3, 2023
Matig boek, kleine letters en veel tekst. Zou voor adhd’ers geschreven zijn maar had nog (veel) beter gekund met blokken waarin de ervaringen van anderen beschreven worden, theoretische achtergrond van adhd brein en tips en trucs.
Veel herhalingen. Veel ‘successen’ uit andere boeken zonder bron en beetje aangepast. Bijvoorbeeld het concept van Marie Kondo uit haar boek ‘Opruimen’ - en slecht gekopieerd ook.
Ik miste minimaliseren (hele woord wordt niet genoemd) als belangrijkste tip tegen ADHD al wordt er wel omslachtig gesproken over opruimen en minder spullen.
Al die bakken bij de deur vind ik maar niks en sommige oefeningen/structuur dingen vergen weer zóveel dat ik denk dat je daar met een adhd brein niet eens toe komt.
Héél vervelend dat in ELK hoofdstuk coaches, personal organisers en (minder vervelend) therapeuten wordt genoemd. Wie heeft nou zoveel geld om MAANDELIJKS met je financieel adviseur te zitten om brochures door te nemen??
Erg Amerikaans tintje.
Persoonlijke tips:
- zoek uit wat voor jou de beste manier is om te minimaliseren (voor mij werkt Marie kondo) - minder spullen is meer geluk, belooft!
- werk volgens het 1% principe. Verander niet alles in één keer maar schuif telkens 1% op naar waar je naar toe wil.
- Lees! Vraag! Probeer, zoek uit! Wat voor jou werkt, wanneer je meest productief bent, waar je energie op leegloopt, handige apps, en geef niet op!
- ga in therapie, ACT is een goeie daar leer je ook om te gaan met de mindere dingen die nou eenmaal zo zijn.
- schakel hulp in als je er niet uit komt. Een buur, een vriendin, wie dan ook. Soms kan je het niet alleen.
Veel herhalingen. Veel ‘successen’ uit andere boeken zonder bron en beetje aangepast. Bijvoorbeeld het concept van Marie Kondo uit haar boek ‘Opruimen’ - en slecht gekopieerd ook.
Ik miste minimaliseren (hele woord wordt niet genoemd) als belangrijkste tip tegen ADHD al wordt er wel omslachtig gesproken over opruimen en minder spullen.
Al die bakken bij de deur vind ik maar niks en sommige oefeningen/structuur dingen vergen weer zóveel dat ik denk dat je daar met een adhd brein niet eens toe komt.
Héél vervelend dat in ELK hoofdstuk coaches, personal organisers en (minder vervelend) therapeuten wordt genoemd. Wie heeft nou zoveel geld om MAANDELIJKS met je financieel adviseur te zitten om brochures door te nemen??
Erg Amerikaans tintje.
Persoonlijke tips:
- zoek uit wat voor jou de beste manier is om te minimaliseren (voor mij werkt Marie kondo) - minder spullen is meer geluk, belooft!
- werk volgens het 1% principe. Verander niet alles in één keer maar schuif telkens 1% op naar waar je naar toe wil.
- Lees! Vraag! Probeer, zoek uit! Wat voor jou werkt, wanneer je meest productief bent, waar je energie op leegloopt, handige apps, en geef niet op!
- ga in therapie, ACT is een goeie daar leer je ook om te gaan met de mindere dingen die nou eenmaal zo zijn.
- schakel hulp in als je er niet uit komt. Een buur, een vriendin, wie dan ook. Soms kan je het niet alleen.
April 18, 2012
I totally started somewhere in the middle of the book when I picked it up off the floor and one of the headings caught my eye. Then I went in bits and started to clean as reading the tips triggered a sorting mood. The ones I couldn't work on but look good, I dog-eared the summary pages for later. I also dog-eared the ones that I started, so I have something to remind me that I started to implement whatever and might want to check how that's going.
It is a lot to take in. I definitely recommend starting as you go, at least with some of the smaller things, and then keeping it somewhere visible and slightly underfoot, so that you keep going. Literally underfoot, if necessary... though, if you haven't yet tackled your floor, you risk it blending in until you finally bury it in another last-minute search.
Other than the amount of possibilities and improvements it presents, it's a pretty easy read. You can connect with the anecdotes, and the layout and font size make it pretty digestible for a book. I'm quite optimistic about how much I might improve my life, tailoring the suggestions to suit my resources and personality--knowing some of the 'whys' behind their reasoning makes that easier.
It does push the 'get help' a little much, but the rest makes it well worth it, and informed me of options I didn't know of before.
All in all, worth the purchase. An incredibly helpful resource for those who need to know.
It is a lot to take in. I definitely recommend starting as you go, at least with some of the smaller things, and then keeping it somewhere visible and slightly underfoot, so that you keep going. Literally underfoot, if necessary... though, if you haven't yet tackled your floor, you risk it blending in until you finally bury it in another last-minute search.
Other than the amount of possibilities and improvements it presents, it's a pretty easy read. You can connect with the anecdotes, and the layout and font size make it pretty digestible for a book. I'm quite optimistic about how much I might improve my life, tailoring the suggestions to suit my resources and personality--knowing some of the 'whys' behind their reasoning makes that easier.
It does push the 'get help' a little much, but the rest makes it well worth it, and informed me of options I didn't know of before.
All in all, worth the purchase. An incredibly helpful resource for those who need to know.
Read
March 13, 2019I highly recommend this book for anyone with ADHD. it's broken up into sections tackling common issues, and each section has three levels of actions: helping yourself, help from friends and family, and help from a professional.
one thing this book didn't talk about was therapy. it was briefly mentioned as a last resort at the end of a chapter, e.g. struggling with packrat syndrome, but wasn't integrated throughout. medication wasn't talked about at all, but I understand that wasn't the point of this book.
overall, I feel empowered after reading this. I read through it with a highlighter and that helped. for others, I'd recommend maybe looking at sections most relevant to you—however, sections I would have skipped over were still useful.
one thing to note is that this book is geared toward women, and read a bit dated to me. there is a lot of discussion on struggling to balance work and childcare. there was an example of a woman who had difficulty getting kids to school, getting ready for work, and cooking dinner in the evening in addition to other paperwork. after a meal plan was set, she was like "haha even my husband can grocery shop now" and I was FLABBERGASTED THAT SHE HAD A HUSBAND. anyhoo, just an warning/observation.
one thing this book didn't talk about was therapy. it was briefly mentioned as a last resort at the end of a chapter, e.g. struggling with packrat syndrome, but wasn't integrated throughout. medication wasn't talked about at all, but I understand that wasn't the point of this book.
overall, I feel empowered after reading this. I read through it with a highlighter and that helped. for others, I'd recommend maybe looking at sections most relevant to you—however, sections I would have skipped over were still useful.
one thing to note is that this book is geared toward women, and read a bit dated to me. there is a lot of discussion on struggling to balance work and childcare. there was an example of a woman who had difficulty getting kids to school, getting ready for work, and cooking dinner in the evening in addition to other paperwork. after a meal plan was set, she was like "haha even my husband can grocery shop now" and I was FLABBERGASTED THAT SHE HAD A HUSBAND. anyhoo, just an warning/observation.
December 24, 2012
Got a hold of this audiobook some time back and figured might as well give a listen.
The way everything is presented just seems as if someone were to give you this, they are probably insulting you or your intelligence. The people featured in the book (first name only, of course) sound fictional and probably are exaggerated composites of people the author knows. The way they are described makes them sound like children who never learned even the most basic discipline, the terminology author uses (which includes tossing "itis" after a lot of words) similarly sounds condescending, and the suggestions do not get much better. I rated it 1 star, initially waffled on whether to do 2 stars, but whatever a reader might find helpful is easily drowned out in being made to feel like a (wo)man-child if you think this applies to you.
Worth commenting that the whole vague "symptoms" of ADD mentioned are often opposite to one another, as supposedly you might have it if you make impulsive decisions. You might also have it if you make slow decisions or procrastinate. Plus one of her characters "thinks" she might have it but hasn't been diagnosed as such. Just seems like how low our society has gotten (and I do believe it will get worse whether it ever does get better) thanks to socialists/communists insisting "It's not your fault" (STAY AWAY FROM PEOPLE WITH THAT MENTALITY, for the sake of your well-being!) for why these people can't take responsibility for failures/shortcomings. Reminds me of a (de)motivational posted by my gym some time back to fb: Those who do find a way. Those who don't find an excuse. (Clearly you don't want something badly enough if you fall short and can't figure a way to attain. On the other hand, we do live in a society where things seem "good enough" that it is too easy to be dragged into the fiery pits of mediocrity.. not to mention people who would be eager to point out that if you do put forth an extra effort, it will only be taxed.)
I find it questionable how this author recommends people seek (translation: $$$$) professional help as well as "helpers" to help them organize their lives, as it is clearly a revenue/services perspective. (Especially since some of the people in the book are BAD at personal finances!) Seems you probably would be better bartering with people you know to help them solve their problems and perhaps have someone more intimately interested in your success outcome while also realizing they are likely not perfect either but at least you are both trying to get better.
Books I have read this year which I found way better were Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney, The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal (I prefer former over latter, despite Goodreaders in aggregate rating the latter slightly higher), and The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. The latter book featured the account of a woman who started off being a smoker and just irresponsible (which included leaving threatening calls to and even visiting and, in a drunk episode, banging on the door of her ex-husband's new love interest), yet did a surprising transformation over what seemed a relatively short time (maybe a couple years) which ironically began with a credit card debt-financed trip to Egypt. Definitely was a much worse situation than any of the characters featured in Kohlberg's book, but does seem to fit the archetype of Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.
So all in all, I would think you should move along and consider some other book unless a friend you know insists this book has information that can help you.. probably not. Even the reader for the audiobook seemed rather annoying.
The way everything is presented just seems as if someone were to give you this, they are probably insulting you or your intelligence. The people featured in the book (first name only, of course) sound fictional and probably are exaggerated composites of people the author knows. The way they are described makes them sound like children who never learned even the most basic discipline, the terminology author uses (which includes tossing "itis" after a lot of words) similarly sounds condescending, and the suggestions do not get much better. I rated it 1 star, initially waffled on whether to do 2 stars, but whatever a reader might find helpful is easily drowned out in being made to feel like a (wo)man-child if you think this applies to you.
Worth commenting that the whole vague "symptoms" of ADD mentioned are often opposite to one another, as supposedly you might have it if you make impulsive decisions. You might also have it if you make slow decisions or procrastinate. Plus one of her characters "thinks" she might have it but hasn't been diagnosed as such. Just seems like how low our society has gotten (and I do believe it will get worse whether it ever does get better) thanks to socialists/communists insisting "It's not your fault" (STAY AWAY FROM PEOPLE WITH THAT MENTALITY, for the sake of your well-being!) for why these people can't take responsibility for failures/shortcomings. Reminds me of a (de)motivational posted by my gym some time back to fb: Those who do find a way. Those who don't find an excuse. (Clearly you don't want something badly enough if you fall short and can't figure a way to attain. On the other hand, we do live in a society where things seem "good enough" that it is too easy to be dragged into the fiery pits of mediocrity.. not to mention people who would be eager to point out that if you do put forth an extra effort, it will only be taxed.)
I find it questionable how this author recommends people seek (translation: $$$$) professional help as well as "helpers" to help them organize their lives, as it is clearly a revenue/services perspective. (Especially since some of the people in the book are BAD at personal finances!) Seems you probably would be better bartering with people you know to help them solve their problems and perhaps have someone more intimately interested in your success outcome while also realizing they are likely not perfect either but at least you are both trying to get better.
Books I have read this year which I found way better were Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney, The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal (I prefer former over latter, despite Goodreaders in aggregate rating the latter slightly higher), and The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. The latter book featured the account of a woman who started off being a smoker and just irresponsible (which included leaving threatening calls to and even visiting and, in a drunk episode, banging on the door of her ex-husband's new love interest), yet did a surprising transformation over what seemed a relatively short time (maybe a couple years) which ironically began with a credit card debt-financed trip to Egypt. Definitely was a much worse situation than any of the characters featured in Kohlberg's book, but does seem to fit the archetype of Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.
So all in all, I would think you should move along and consider some other book unless a friend you know insists this book has information that can help you.. probably not. Even the reader for the audiobook seemed rather annoying.
September 15, 2011
Full disclosure: I don't have ADD, but NLD (nonverbal learning disorder). Different name, but I tend to share a lot of ADD traits: Poor executive function, easily distracted, difficulty prioritizing, etc. With me, if it's not written down, it's like it doesn't exist--I'm that person with post-its stuck everywhere. I thought this book was a good overview and I felt like the authors "got me" better than a lot of other organizational experts do. That said, if you've already spent some time seeking out organizational strategies, a lot of the information here might seem overly simplistic or be things you've already heard. Some suggestions seem fairly obvious to me; some are less so. What I like is that everything in here has a high likelihood of working for people with ADD-type issues, so that you don't necessarily have to experiment and fail with a lot of different strategies.
The book does assume that you'll have a posse of friends and family who can help you with your organizational struggles, but not everyone has such supportive (or organizationally-inclined) people in their life. It also assumes that you're able to hire professional organizers. Some of the ideas "to do with professional help" can be done on your own, but it seemed so strange that having your own professional organizer is portrayed as a given. I'd like one, but I couldn't afford it!
The book does assume that you'll have a posse of friends and family who can help you with your organizational struggles, but not everyone has such supportive (or organizationally-inclined) people in their life. It also assumes that you're able to hire professional organizers. Some of the ideas "to do with professional help" can be done on your own, but it seemed so strange that having your own professional organizer is portrayed as a given. I'd like one, but I couldn't afford it!
December 31, 2019
As someone who exhibits many of the symptoms of adult ADD, this book was not the silver bullet I'd hoped. It wasn't bad, and there were certainly some great tips and ideas to work through here. But it's written by a professional organizer, and many of the chapters end with the advice to just hire a professional organizer. Uh huh... I mean, if you're a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail, right? The other advice they often fall back on is to get help from family members. My family loves me, and wants to help as they can, but I don't need to give them 100 new things to do just to help me with my lack of organizational skills. So overall, take the good from this, and prepare to jettison a lot that's just unhelpful.
February 15, 2022
Een heel praktisch en inspirerend boek voor mensen met ADHD.
December 2, 2019
Tons of thoughtful and practical tactics for understanding and working with your ADD/ADHD instead of against it. Highly recommended for those struggling with the constant overwhelm of ADHD.
July 23, 2013
I had this book in my bag when I was in an ADD support group, and the topic was procrastination. Everyone kept saying, "But how do I do this?! What about this?!" And I pulled out the book and said, "This book totally addresses this and has lots of great ideas." Of course there was the usual response of "But I don't read books!" and someone else suggested the Audiobook. Well, if there's anything I gathered from the other reviews of this book -- DO NOT GET THE AUDIOBOOK.
The print book has -- big headings! Short chapters! PICTURES!
When I brought out the book a second time, I prefaced it by saying I wasn't making any money off of promoting this book. In fact, I even had a library copy--although next pay day, I plan on buying it, because it had THAT MUCH useful information.
Okay, so get to the point, Beth -- what's so great about this book? It really gets inside the ADD brain. Most of the critical reviews of this book are from people who don't have ADD. Well, I have ADD, and I can see how it would be useless to people who don't have it. You just don't think the same way as those of us with ADD. It would be like me picking up a book called "How to eat right -- a guide for anorexics" and being upset that it keeps talking about ways in to tricking myself in to eating. OF COURSE people without ADD are going to think this stuff is obvious, but to the rest of us, it's not. Another criticism was how unbelievable the scenarios are.. clearly, that person has never had ADD. If you have ADD, NONE of the scenarios sound unbelievable.
I have read a couple other books on organizing, and by far this is the best one I've read -- at least for my brain. There are easy tips, there are so many things you can put into action right away. You won't just be doing some big project; it's a process!
Another criticism was that this book kept saying that you "need" professional help, and you need to spend money. Maybe this was implied by the narrator on the audiobook, but I didn't get that sense at all from the print book. Of course every single chapter lists ways that a professional's services could help you.. but at no point did I feel that was something that they were insisting was necessary.
I would love to see this updated for 2013 (it's from 2002) with some guidelines for electronic stuff and money in 2013.. but let's be honest, most of us ADD-ers still have tons of paper around anyways.
So to reiterate: I don't care how bad your ADD is, you CAN read through this book, one tiny chapter at a time. DO NOT get the audiobook. THE END!
The print book has -- big headings! Short chapters! PICTURES!
When I brought out the book a second time, I prefaced it by saying I wasn't making any money off of promoting this book. In fact, I even had a library copy--although next pay day, I plan on buying it, because it had THAT MUCH useful information.
Okay, so get to the point, Beth -- what's so great about this book? It really gets inside the ADD brain. Most of the critical reviews of this book are from people who don't have ADD. Well, I have ADD, and I can see how it would be useless to people who don't have it. You just don't think the same way as those of us with ADD. It would be like me picking up a book called "How to eat right -- a guide for anorexics" and being upset that it keeps talking about ways in to tricking myself in to eating. OF COURSE people without ADD are going to think this stuff is obvious, but to the rest of us, it's not. Another criticism was how unbelievable the scenarios are.. clearly, that person has never had ADD. If you have ADD, NONE of the scenarios sound unbelievable.
I have read a couple other books on organizing, and by far this is the best one I've read -- at least for my brain. There are easy tips, there are so many things you can put into action right away. You won't just be doing some big project; it's a process!
Another criticism was that this book kept saying that you "need" professional help, and you need to spend money. Maybe this was implied by the narrator on the audiobook, but I didn't get that sense at all from the print book. Of course every single chapter lists ways that a professional's services could help you.. but at no point did I feel that was something that they were insisting was necessary.
I would love to see this updated for 2013 (it's from 2002) with some guidelines for electronic stuff and money in 2013.. but let's be honest, most of us ADD-ers still have tons of paper around anyways.
So to reiterate: I don't care how bad your ADD is, you CAN read through this book, one tiny chapter at a time. DO NOT get the audiobook. THE END!
September 1, 2010
I love this book. LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!
I recommend this book to almost all of my clients with ADD and even to some who don't but could really use a good book in helping reorganize many aspects of their lives.
How do I love thee?
-Organized in an easy to read format. It acknowledges and accounts for the short attention span and is set up to help keep your attention.
-Summary at the end of each chapter.
-Suggestions in each chapter about improving the selected issue separating the options by those you can do by yourself, with family or friends, and with professional help.
-CHAOS - Can't have anyone over syndrome. YES, right on the mark with many ADD'ers
-Out of Sight, Out of Mind - a major reason for CHAOS.
-Each chapter stands well on its own. A must for ADD'ers. Pick whatever topic most resonates with you. You aren't required to start at chapter 1 and move through the book sequentially.
-The information presented is sound, without being overly formal.
Information is presented with humor, compassion, and encouragement. As you read the book, you can feel your confidence grow that you can and will be able to tackle the problems that so frequently overwhelm you. It is an empowering read.
I recommend this book to almost all of my clients with ADD and even to some who don't but could really use a good book in helping reorganize many aspects of their lives.
How do I love thee?
-Organized in an easy to read format. It acknowledges and accounts for the short attention span and is set up to help keep your attention.
-Summary at the end of each chapter.
-Suggestions in each chapter about improving the selected issue separating the options by those you can do by yourself, with family or friends, and with professional help.
-CHAOS - Can't have anyone over syndrome. YES, right on the mark with many ADD'ers
-Out of Sight, Out of Mind - a major reason for CHAOS.
-Each chapter stands well on its own. A must for ADD'ers. Pick whatever topic most resonates with you. You aren't required to start at chapter 1 and move through the book sequentially.
-The information presented is sound, without being overly formal.
Information is presented with humor, compassion, and encouragement. As you read the book, you can feel your confidence grow that you can and will be able to tackle the problems that so frequently overwhelm you. It is an empowering read.
May 29, 2012
Great explanations from real life examples of how ADD/ADHD makes organization and decision-making difficult, and lots of practical tips for managing and working with ADD/ADHD traits to form new habits. I particularly like how the book is laid out to be friendly to the attention challenged reader - concepts and tips are presented in short, telegraphed, and easily digestible sections, and the key points of each chapter are repeated in different ways so they aren't lost. Clearly written and a very quick read - it's easy to skim through for the parts that are most relevant and revisit those in more detail. The authors also offer three levels of suggestions in each chapter: changes ADD/ADHD people can make on their own, changes they can make with the help of family and friends, and changes that call for professional assistance. It is a bit overwhelming that it covers so many different kinds of disorganization and that there are so many methods offered; as the authors suggest, it's best to start working on just a few habits rather than trying to implement all the suggestions at once.
July 24, 2011
I am not ADD but am organizationally frustrated and often can't seem to get it all together in the the life-organization area.
This book has some very helpful ideas to help the organizationally challenged. Much of it is material you have heard before, but the suggestions regarding breaking tasks down into manageable steps were very helpful to me. Also the recommendations regarding the visual cues to tasks (which I had been using in a similar way already) were very helpful.
The book had more space devoted to keeping a family with children in order than I need, not having kids, but most of the material was quite pertinent.
I recommend this book to people who could use a little encouragement to get their life more in order.
This book has some very helpful ideas to help the organizationally challenged. Much of it is material you have heard before, but the suggestions regarding breaking tasks down into manageable steps were very helpful to me. Also the recommendations regarding the visual cues to tasks (which I had been using in a similar way already) were very helpful.
The book had more space devoted to keeping a family with children in order than I need, not having kids, but most of the material was quite pertinent.
I recommend this book to people who could use a little encouragement to get their life more in order.
July 29, 2024
Overall a thurough and useful book of practical strategies for people with ADHD. That said, the book could use an updated edition - some of the examples like organizing CDs feel dated and some more discussion of some of tech tools to support ADHD (ex apps or smart watch reminders) would have been helpful.
August 23, 2014
You know you are in trouble when a self-help book tells you to seek outside help. We are reading your stupid book so we don't have to seek outside help. I wouldn't have bothered to pick this book, and just sought out an ADD organization specialist, if I could afford one.
October 16, 2019
First let me say that I am not diagnosed with ADD but over the years I have gotten many of my most useful tips out of ADD organizing books -- since generally they are meant for a mind that jumps here, there and everywhere and likes things to be available visually.
This book nailed that personality and there were enough useful tips in this for me to give it 3 stars. However there were many parts were the authors detailed strategies that were far to complicated IMO. Although the authors apparently have successfully used their techniques with those with ADD -there is no way I could use some of their strategies--the reminder papers for example: file them under A-Z, then keep a separate notebook detailing where they are at with alternate naming possibilities.
Additionally I found myself mentally skipping over all the sections where the book repeated over and over how you would need to get others to help - which is just not going to happen in my life (not to mention I can't really imagine that many people can really afford to hire someone to do all the many things they are saying).
This book nailed that personality and there were enough useful tips in this for me to give it 3 stars. However there were many parts were the authors detailed strategies that were far to complicated IMO. Although the authors apparently have successfully used their techniques with those with ADD -there is no way I could use some of their strategies--the reminder papers for example: file them under A-Z, then keep a separate notebook detailing where they are at with alternate naming possibilities.
Additionally I found myself mentally skipping over all the sections where the book repeated over and over how you would need to get others to help - which is just not going to happen in my life (not to mention I can't really imagine that many people can really afford to hire someone to do all the many things they are saying).
October 4, 2020
Disclaimer to this review: afaik, I don't have ADD. However quite a few situations described in this book were startlingly familiar if maybe less intense than described. Especially the chapters that talked about hyperfocus, and issues with time and memory. There were a few irrelevant (and ok, despite the update some slightly dated) sections - there's a heavy focus on kids and family in most chapters for example - but overall this book was helpful and I picked up a few good ideas on how to make the ongoing process of organisation easier to live with.
IF however you do have ADD and are frustrated with your current situation, some of the solutions that talk about needing professional organisers/therapists or a seemingly endless supply of helpful friends and family members might be hard on you to read if that is not a resource you can personally draw on right now. In most of the cases Level 1 solutions you can implement yourself ARE described but in at least one chapter there is no solution you can implement yourself.
IF however you do have ADD and are frustrated with your current situation, some of the solutions that talk about needing professional organisers/therapists or a seemingly endless supply of helpful friends and family members might be hard on you to read if that is not a resource you can personally draw on right now. In most of the cases Level 1 solutions you can implement yourself ARE described but in at least one chapter there is no solution you can implement yourself.
October 7, 2022
In a world of ADD books that can’t keep the attention of ADD folks long enough for them to finish them (ahem), this book is amazing! It sees the challenges ADD poses in organization and meets you where you are. The book is divided by organizing challenges (time, paper, commitments, household items, lateness, etc). Each chapter starts with a couple of engaging stories about real people, a description of why that kind of organization is uniquely challenging to someone with ADD, and then three sections to help mitigate the issue: first, things you can do alone to improve, second, how to use a friend or family member if the project is beyond your reach, and third, how a personal organizer could help if the situation is dire. The overall organization of the book is perfect for an ADD brain. There are so many wonderful ideas and overall it is an affirming and encouraging book. Highly recommend.
September 11, 2025
While I would have loved for this book to dive more into the science behind ADD, it certainly does a great job of being a practical help for people struggling with the condition. I appreciate how each chapter begins with a narrative example that helps the reader identify with the issue, then follows up with the consistent structure of how you, your friends and family, and finally a professional can take practical steps to help you take control of your life.
To be honest, I don’t have ADD (make ONE joke to your manager about your executive function malfunctioning and now you have a book to read 🙄) so I skimmed a fair amount of this book that didn’t seem applicable to me. That said, much of this book can be useful to anyone struggling with clutter, stress, decision-making, and a chronically busy life.
To be honest, I don’t have ADD (make ONE joke to your manager about your executive function malfunctioning and now you have a book to read 🙄) so I skimmed a fair amount of this book that didn’t seem applicable to me. That said, much of this book can be useful to anyone struggling with clutter, stress, decision-making, and a chronically busy life.
October 17, 2024
These aren’t terrible ideas but the book is longer than it needs to be. It also spends a lot of time explaining what the problems are, but if you picked up the book you already know what your organization problems are. I’m also beyond tired of reading “is this your story?” Just. Stop. We already picked up the book because it is. This is getting old fast. 2 stars
June 25, 2017
All of my life I've tried to "get organized." About 15 years ago I found out I had ADD and began to read about dealing with it. This is one of the few books that introduce solutions that ACTUALLY WORK FOR ME. If you or someone you love has ADD, this book might give the help needed to make daily life easier. Give it a try!
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March 6, 2025dit is het niet
March 19, 2014
A friend who describes himself as ADD recently asked me to help him with a day of housecleaning. I didn't understand how ADD impacted the task, and because I didn't want to ruin the relationship I asked to borrow this book to help me out. After all, I didn't want to accidentally say the wrong thing as I've done in the past with others...! Over the past five years I've also been a fairly avid reader of books on organization, purging, minimalism, hoarding, and the psychology of stuff—I was eager to expand my knowledge even more.
The book was a fairly easy read. They say they've designed it with ADD in mind, as the text has many graphic elements and reviews the main points at the end of each chapter. Someone with ADD can sort of pick it up and read it a little at a time, rather than cover to cover like me. : ) At least for this non-ADD brain, a fair amount of the content "for ADDers" seemed to be very similar to principles given to those without ADD. Later chapters that dealt with paperwork finally broke through my brain, and I think I can sort of understand what the unique challenges are for those with ADD. (But really, ADD and non-ADD types share a lot of the same challenges in these tasks!) Reading the book, I also pondered which ADD behaviors I exhibit, and if there are any special approaches that could help me in my organizing challenges.
My friend and I actually undertook the cleaning day when I was only about a third of the way through this book. I'm happy to report it was a resounding success! A different friend suggested we take frequent breaks so I got a chance to use a feature of my Unf*ck Your Habitat app, the 20/10 timer. (Told you I'm into organizing and purging!) He came to the project determined not to waste my time and with clear boundaries in his mind, and I came to the project determined to help and willing to talk him through tough decisions. It was a win-win! Over just a few hours we tackled the corner of one room, clearing space for a "donate" and "sell" box, and in another room I was seeing 50% more floor by the end of the day. Then we returned a truckload of recyclable bottles, dropped off a huge donation box, and ended with a celebratory coffee stop.
The book was a fairly easy read. They say they've designed it with ADD in mind, as the text has many graphic elements and reviews the main points at the end of each chapter. Someone with ADD can sort of pick it up and read it a little at a time, rather than cover to cover like me. : ) At least for this non-ADD brain, a fair amount of the content "for ADDers" seemed to be very similar to principles given to those without ADD. Later chapters that dealt with paperwork finally broke through my brain, and I think I can sort of understand what the unique challenges are for those with ADD. (But really, ADD and non-ADD types share a lot of the same challenges in these tasks!) Reading the book, I also pondered which ADD behaviors I exhibit, and if there are any special approaches that could help me in my organizing challenges.
My friend and I actually undertook the cleaning day when I was only about a third of the way through this book. I'm happy to report it was a resounding success! A different friend suggested we take frequent breaks so I got a chance to use a feature of my Unf*ck Your Habitat app, the 20/10 timer. (Told you I'm into organizing and purging!) He came to the project determined not to waste my time and with clear boundaries in his mind, and I came to the project determined to help and willing to talk him through tough decisions. It was a win-win! Over just a few hours we tackled the corner of one room, clearing space for a "donate" and "sell" box, and in another room I was seeing 50% more floor by the end of the day. Then we returned a truckload of recyclable bottles, dropped off a huge donation box, and ended with a celebratory coffee stop.
December 12, 2024
27%
This book doesn't fundamentally make sense today, and obviously when we're saying ADD, because ADD isn't even considered something in the Diagnostic Manual anymore, it's been taken out in favor of ADHD, that's a key giveaway that this is an older book. However, stuff just doesn't make sense. They're calling hoarders, they're confusing the mindset of hoarders with people that have ADHD. Which, I don't know if that was a common thing 22 years ago, but the two are fundamentally different. People with ADHD have impulse control, largely, which can manifest as hoarding. The two don't go hand in hand. One really big thing about this is, a lot of the tips in here are good, but a lot of them are bad. It's such a mixed bag that talking about this is like pissing in the wind. I mean, sure, you're going to get some relief, but at the same time, you're going to get a lot of piss back at you because it doesn't make sense to do it. Like, turn the other direction, please, and just do something else. Out of sight, out of mind is an important concept here. Timeboxing, which they didn't even call it that, is an important concept. I always do find it useful to carry a box or bag around with you when you're in a house in general, just in hallways. If you just can have one hanging up, a bag to carry things around so that you can batch things together into tasks as they come up, which was not recommended, but it is for efficiency. If you're going in a certain direction, and you can bring things with you and do tasks along the way, obviously you should do that for concise time management. Leaving early is good advice. There was just a lot of weird stuff mixed in here that was not helpful. Even if you take away the term ADD and replace it with hoarder in the book, it's just bad because of what a mixed bag it is. An uneducated person is not going to come into this and receive consistently good advice or be able to say, oh, yeah, that makes sense, but that doesn't make sense.
This book doesn't fundamentally make sense today, and obviously when we're saying ADD, because ADD isn't even considered something in the Diagnostic Manual anymore, it's been taken out in favor of ADHD, that's a key giveaway that this is an older book. However, stuff just doesn't make sense. They're calling hoarders, they're confusing the mindset of hoarders with people that have ADHD. Which, I don't know if that was a common thing 22 years ago, but the two are fundamentally different. People with ADHD have impulse control, largely, which can manifest as hoarding. The two don't go hand in hand. One really big thing about this is, a lot of the tips in here are good, but a lot of them are bad. It's such a mixed bag that talking about this is like pissing in the wind. I mean, sure, you're going to get some relief, but at the same time, you're going to get a lot of piss back at you because it doesn't make sense to do it. Like, turn the other direction, please, and just do something else. Out of sight, out of mind is an important concept here. Timeboxing, which they didn't even call it that, is an important concept. I always do find it useful to carry a box or bag around with you when you're in a house in general, just in hallways. If you just can have one hanging up, a bag to carry things around so that you can batch things together into tasks as they come up, which was not recommended, but it is for efficiency. If you're going in a certain direction, and you can bring things with you and do tasks along the way, obviously you should do that for concise time management. Leaving early is good advice. There was just a lot of weird stuff mixed in here that was not helpful. Even if you take away the term ADD and replace it with hoarder in the book, it's just bad because of what a mixed bag it is. An uneducated person is not going to come into this and receive consistently good advice or be able to say, oh, yeah, that makes sense, but that doesn't make sense.
June 18, 2009
I absolutely LOVE this book!!! I feel like this book was written especially for me. Here are three reasons why I love this book: 1)the large print, 2) short chapters, 3) cute graphics. The best part is, the strategies in this book really work! I have implemented a lot of the ideas in this book and I feel less stressed, less overwhelmed, and more in control of my life!
This is another one of those books that I checked out from the library and then after I read a few chapters I was frustrated that I could'nt underline and highlight all over it so I ordered my own copy and went crazy with the highlighter! It was worth every penny! I know that I will refer to this book again and again.
This is another one of those books that I checked out from the library and then after I read a few chapters I was frustrated that I could'nt underline and highlight all over it so I ordered my own copy and went crazy with the highlighter! It was worth every penny! I know that I will refer to this book again and again.
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