ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life

The biggest difference with this book is that the authors not only are very experienced with ADD but with success stories. Their key to success, and what has helped me the most, is finding ways to work WITH the ADD not to try to "fix" it like most programs.When I heard about this book, I considered checking it out of the library as I often check out books, but after reading so many positive reviews I decided I wanted a copy I could highlight and write in.I made the right decision buying the book. It is worth every penny!Now, I am taking it slowly - reading some and incorporating what I read to try to develop better habits. And I'm learning how, not only to accept that I do things differently than most competent, organized people and that my brain works differently but how to benefit from the ADD - to make the most out of it, like with the tortoise and the hare. (Now don't misread here and think I am taking it slowly to be like the tortoise because that is not where the comparison belongs. The tortoise and the hare story goes with accepting and working with instead of against my style and how to make the most of life with how my brain works.)This book has specific recommendations with the how to and why. One that has already helped is the difference in their approach to the tortoise and the hare story and what, with ADD, we can take from the story. (And no spoilers here - you'll have to read for yourself! I paid a lot of money for this book and if you want to know, you'll have to buy it too.) My husband questioned what I was doing yesterday and when I explained the rational behind the task and that I had read about it in the book, he agreed it makes a lot of sense as a strategy for me. I am happier and I think that it is because I am seeing progress and I finally have hope.ADD doesn't go away but learning to make the most of my style of doing things, well, I'm just plain happier with me being me. And having hope of not always forgetting things, loosing things, not completing things, not paying attention not, not, not .... that's what life has been like. Now it is my abilities and progress and hope.I have read many self-help books over many years in addition to years of counseling. About 10 years ago after suffering a depression, I was diagnosed with adult ADD. Medication appeared to help but after several years I changed doctors. The new doctor doesn't think it is ADD because I was able to do well in college. She says I have post traumatic stress disorder, from the years of abuse, as the underlying cause of not focusing, not completing tasks, etc.Regardless of the reasons, whether it really is ADD or whether it is PTSD, my symptoms are classic ADD. The things in this book are helping. I hope to post again in coming months with an update on how much the book helps over time.

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!

I bought this book several months ago because I wanted to see if in fact it was as good as everyone says. It is! I have ADHD (I'm still a little in denial) and I find it to be a great start for dealing with your ADHD and getting going on a project or two. After reading it each night a few minutes before I go to bed, I find it comforting to know that I am not alone and that I am not a loser cause I have piles of papers I feel I "need to keep just in case". I rated it 4 stars because I cannot imagine anyone who would help me get strated cleaning out my papers (as the book suggests on almost EVERY PAGE... "If you need help, ask someone.." and "If you can't do this or that ask someone for help.." or hiring a professional organizer What??? Who has that kind of well-organized finances and money, probably doesn't have ADHD or has money to burn that is provided by someone else. SOOOOO, I am still on the look-out for the one book that can help me with my paper clutter and my collections of books... BUT I at least realize my papers are a problem...Just Maybe! :)

I just loved all the tips that are given on this book. It is very easy to read and get to the information you need.Excellent book if you have ADD/ADHD and want to become more organized and productive, and for Professional Organizers or ADHD coaches, who want to help their clients better :) Totally worth Reading it!

OMG! This book is so, so easy to read and follow. I'm already two-thirds of the way through it in a day and a half. The book has lots of real-life examples of normal life-skills that ADD make so challenging. The examples are followed by explanations of how/why ADD makes these situations so challenging, and then tons of real, concrete, specific, step-by-step ideas and techniques that will help. Some techniques I, sort of, came up with on my own over the years, but there are so many that I know will help me function better and improve the quality of my life. I like the way the author adds little comments to remind you that people with ADD have strengths in other areas of life. Having been diagnosed late in life I wish adult ADD was something addressed years ago. Not knowing that it was ADD which makes organization, time management, and general daily life so challenging for me, and not a character flaw, has caused so much sadness and shame my whole life. Thank you, thank you, thank you! This will become my go-to guide and will be read and re-read many times as there are just so many good ideas to help overcome the real difficulties that people with ADD have.

Easily the very best book I've read on ADD! It's very well structured so that an 'ADD brain' can not only take the information in, but can refer back to what they need easily in a moment when we need help! These authors are compliment each other brilliantly and have done an excellent job!

Ich kenne diese Buch seit Jahren und es ist immer wieder mein ständiger Begleiter!Was diesen Ratgeber so besonders macht? Es werden "andere" Organisationsmechanismen aufgezeigt, welche, die für ADHSler funktionieren. Keinem ADHSler nützt es, wenn ihm jemand sagt, er soll sich einen Terminkalender kaufen, wenn ihm niemand erklärt, wie man es schafft, täglich reinzuschauen und seine Termin dort auch wirklich einzutragen.ADD friendly ways beschreibt wirklich ADHStaugliche Wege sich in der geordneten Welt zurecht zu finden. Ich nutze diesen Ratgeber immer wieder um Baustellen des täglichen Lebens neu zu gestalten, um sie für mich gangbar zu machen. Inzwischen bin ich in der Lage mein tägliches Leben sehr gut zu strukturieren und empfinde mein ADHS nicht mehr als Bürde, sondern eher als Bereicherung.Das Buch ist sehr gut gegliedert und nachdem ich es einmal komplett durchgelesen habe, suche ich mir jetzt die Kapitel raus, die gerade besondere Aufmerksamkeit verdienen.

I'm writing the review having read up to chapter 13 of 20. This is a large, well-laid out book. The paragraphs are clearly labeled and there is a clear summary at the end of each chapter.There is so much great stuff in this book that it's hard to pick which examples to give in this review.I'll start with "ant's view". Also known as hyper-focus. This is when you are so into a project or form of attention that everything else is barely seen. This can extend over months or years depending on the subject.For instance, I only recently self-diagnosed myself of ADD about 4 weeks ago. This was my third book on the subject(I've nearly hyper-focused on ADD-books now as I'm on my 6th one at the moment). Up until I realised I most likely have ADD, I was searching furiously to 'overcome' my quirky and patchy ability to focus consistently. Many, many books have been stuck under my nose trying to find that 'magic moment' where I get the 'aha' to this self-destructive set of traits.Extremely frustrating is watching myself get all pumped up and going strong only to lose focus completely after 3 weeks or less. All the self-help books(on getting things done; organisation; developing good habits etc) out there are next to useless to someone who's unaware they have ADD or ADHD(more unlikely to not know). What happens is one goes right back into the ADD traits and all is back to square one.Everyone can suffer from Distraction but ADDers REALLY suffer from it. If I take myself as an example, I have been going well into a project, almost there to completion, then a mini crisis arises from somewhere and I lose all momentum sometimes up to 4-6 weeks!!Staying still with hyper-focus. One can then take the new crisis and hyper-focus on it. So now wheels fall off with other important areas of one's life. So the extreme frustration is going from one extreme focus to another and losing focus of the whole picture of running a balanced life.So once one reads about all the different traits one has it's really great to then read great tips on how to stay focused. One learns to be very aware and 'watch out' for slipping into one of the 'focuses'(Hyper-focus, Micro-focus) without awareness that one's in that focus.It's all about being informed and having great ways to tackle everyday living.My most useful tip is being aware of what hyper-focus is. I've had this partial tuning out of reality around me for nearly 20 years. I've been chasing a 'fix' for myself for over 30 years without knowing properly what the problem is. I fad in and out at times but life keeps you on your toes and can trigger hyper-focus at the drop of a hat. So the tip is to practice de-activation after an activity. For instance doing a job for an hour or two then come out of that focus completely. Be completely aware of either a complete break, new activity or thinking itself. This practice has made such profound changes in an incredibly short time(4 weeks) I can't stress it enough to start practicing.Although there are so many other tips in this book for certain 'traits' here's one to conside, OOSOOM. Out of sight out of mind. This means without lists you'll forget little stuff or even bigger stuff like paying bills.I've bought into lists. Without them what else is going to remind me? I can't afford a 24 hour secretary. I've tried lists in the past but they just don't work somehow. However, with a little more commitment and work they are brilliant and most useful. You have to decide that 'it's important' and not give up on them. I've got a little flip diary(that takes refills) and in the first 7-10 pages I've listed what's important to me like goals, clutter tips, focus tips, what motivates, getting out of being sidetracked and other stuff. I've made it a top priority to create a new habit to look at it every day and more. I didn't check it today and have just spent 10 minutes looking for it!! And this is exactly the sort of thing that always can happen to a newly forming habit.So this book is like a giant reminder diary full of tips, guidance and lots of positive vibes about having a very productive life.If you feel you are totally under-achieving; too stressed; in the middle of chaos in many areas; this is a fantastic book to have in your hands.Use the 'Search Inside' on Amazon and check out the Contents. It's all so good.I do believe in being very well-versed and researched on a topic so get some other books on the subject. I'll be reviewing the better one's as I finish them.update 05.12.10---------------I recently read  How To Be Smart With Your Time: Expert Advice from the Star of Dragons' Den . Its the best book I've read on identifying where your time goes, getting focus and identifying your passions. Read my review as I've covered in depth my personal journey as well as the book contents. You'll notice the ADD mind in the behaviour :o)Creator of the  Beginner Tai Chi (DVD)How To Be Smart With Your Time: Expert Advice from the Star of Dragons' DenBeginner Tai Chi (DVD)