ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life | Judith Kolberg, Kathleen Nadeau

ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life | Judith Kolberg, Kathleen Nadeau | Excellent reference

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ADD-Friendly Ways ...

	ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life Judith Kolberg, Kathleen Nadeau Routledge, 2002 - 280 pages average customer review:based on 82 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Changed my life! No joke.

I always laugh when people who read a book exclaim how it changed their life. I mean really.... how can a book change someone's life. I'm a little embaressed to be making such a claim with a book, but facts are facts. I have to say that the fact is that this book really did wonders for me. I've read alot of books in regards to procrastination and organization - things I've always struggled with. They had their good points, but things didn't change until I came across this beauty. The best lesson I learned from this book is to just give it up. Give up the idea that you're going to be organized from now on when you've broken that promise a zillion times. Give up the idea that you're going to stop throwing your clothes on the floor when you've done it every day since you last made that promise. If something's not working don't tell yourself that THIS time you'll do it... If it isn't working, it ISN'T WORKING! Instead of promising myself I'd put my clothes in the hamper, I gave up and moved the hamper to the spot in the bathroom where I tend to peel off my clothes which I tend to leave on the ground. With the hamper right on that spot, it becomes almost impossible to NOT throw them in there. Plus it's a really low open hamper so I won't have to worry about being to lazy to open the lid or anything... cause that does sound like me. The hamper may not look great in that spot from a decorators standpoint, but my floors have been bare for over a month! Virtually all the ideas in this book come from the idea of giving up the hope that you're going to do something when in reality you usually don't. Can't ever find your keys in the morning? The problem isn't you... it's your system. It's not working so change it. I created a special "launching pad" to put my keys into when I come in. It's situated right in front of my door so I can't forget the keys even if I tried. In fact, the launching pad itself is a reminder of what I need to get out the door so if on the off chance I forget to put my keys in their spot, as soon as I happen to be facing the door I get a visual reminder by the pad that the keys are not there. As a result, the keys are never away from their spot for long because their spot is always in my line of accidental sight. I haven't forgotten my keys or wallet since I started this system and it all came from this book!! I love it. I especially like how the authors give a myriad of different ideas for different people knowing that what works for one person may not work for another. If something doesn't work for you the authors encourage you to change it instead of trying to make it work for you. The idea is that you need to create an environment where it's difficult to not be organized rather than difficult to BE organized. This book is all about who YOU are and what works for YOU.

Cons: Alot of the ideas involve having a family or support system. If you live alone and/or don't have acquaintances that are willing to help you organize your life (and really, unless it's your family, who would be willing to give up their time to help you like this aside from those that are trying to get into your pants) the book can get frustrating. However I still give it 5 stars because it is organized in such a way that it divides the solo projects you can do on your own as #1, Family or roommate projects that involves help from those who live with you- #2, and Professional help such as coaches and proffesional organizers as #3. Since I live alone and can't afford professional help, I only read the sections labelled #1 and skipped the other stuff. This made it an easy read where I didn't have to waste time on things that didn't pertain to me. When I decide to have a family and things get more hectic as family life tends to be, I'll be going back to referance the #2 sections. Other books I'd recommend are "Unleash the Warrior Within" by Richard Machowicz and "The Now Habit" by Fiore. Though for me personally, this book did what no other could. Organized my home and therefore my life!

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Excellent reference

This book is like hiring a coach, without having to find one and make an appointment! (No individualized support, but you can only expect so much from a book...)

I liked this book a lot. When I implemented some of the strategies in it (like setting a weekly schedule with a paperwork night when you only do paperwork), I got a much better handle on my life.

Some of the suggestions are good for everyone, but those are usually accompained with tips for those with ADHD. Some of the suggestions are perfect for those with ADHD, but not so much for others.

One suggestion I *loved* was the suggestion to get rid of drawers to store clothes. You don't always know what's in your bureau, when you take something out from the bottom, you have to fix the stuff on top, and folding is such a huge pain. For children, they recommend just big baskets - one for pants, one for shirts, and one for socks/underwear. For professional adults, she suggests hanging up all your clothes. When I bought a department store clothes rack, the time it took me to get ready in the morning went from an hour to 10 minutes.

Great book!

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Extremely Useful and Helpful

Judith's book is excellent. As a professional organizer, it is a resource I refer to often to help my clients. Her non-traditional approaches to organizing for people with ADD really work. And they work for people who don't have ADD too! Some people just prefer non-traditional, easier approaches to organizing. Her Conquering Chronic Disorganization is also wonderful! It's a fairly short simple concise and easy to read book but every sentence is packed with great tips that can change your life forever.

Have no fear. If you are struggling with organizing, have ADD, or are simply a creative individual, you won't regret getting this book.

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Organizing for the terminally disorganized

This book gives organizing advice an ADD person--or any person for whom "clean enough" is about as good as it gets. It provides real strategies at three levels -- stuff you can do yourself, stuff you need to involve a friend/husband/whatever, and stuff you'd need professional help for (from an organizer and/or therapist.) And there are nice overviews at the end of each chapter for those inclined to skim.

I don't give it five stars just because this book is more family-oriented than single-oriented--can't get my husband or kids to help when I don't have any!

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