Organizational strategies for the absent-minded?
What organizational strategies might work for someone who is absent-minded and gets overwhelmed with too much to keep track of?
The consensus on AskMe seems to be that no organizational strategy (e.g. GTD, Covey) works for everybody, and that each person needs to find the specific strategy that works for them. This makes sense to me; my difficulties in getting organized are very different from the difficulties my friends have. I have tried a couple of strategies, but haven't found anything that really gives me what I am looking for. Overall, I would say I'm in the 20th percentile of the population in terms of overall organization.
So, I'm wondering if anyone can recommend some sort of method that might be suited to the following type of person. If this sounds like you at all, I would be tremendously interested to hear what has worked for you.
Summary:
-I hate having to keep track of many different things. I also hate focusing on details, multitasking, and doing clerical work.
-I'm very absent-minded. Without reminders, I will forget things.
-I have a deeply ingrained habit of being late.
-I'm heavily oriented toward electronic organizational strategies.
Examples
Wrongly estimating/losing track of time
-I greatly underestimate how long things will take. If a bus comes at 9, I'll start getting ready at 8:55, thinking I can just walk outside and catch it. But then I realize I need to pack my bag first, and then I can't find my wallet, and I miss the bus.
-I'll sit down for ten minutes to listen to some music, and before I realize it, it's been half an hour and I'm now running behind.
Managing my possessions/resources
-I go shopping, and realize I'm out of cash.
-My cell phone runs out of batteries in the middle of the day.
-I get caught up cramming for a math exam, and forget to bring a calculator or watch to the exam.
Bad attention to details/multitasking difficulties
-I hate any kind of clerical, repetitive, or detail-oriented work. I'm very bad at it too.
-Example: I used to work in a restaurant kitchen, but had a terrible time because it was a multitasking nightmare.
Yes, I know that I could come up with individual solutions for each of these problems. Some of you who have an easier time getting organized may be saying to yourselves, "that's so easy to avoid." But in practice it has been very hard for me to come up with a systematic way of preventing these things from happening.
Things I have found useful
-Anything that reduces the number of things I have to tend to/worry about: automatic bill pay , direct deposit, having alarms
-Keeping all my information organized on my laptop (esp. OneNote)
-My PDA, esp. the calendar feature
Based on this information, does anyone have pointers to resources that might be useful?
The consensus on AskMe seems to be that no organizational strategy (e.g. GTD, Covey) works for everybody, and that each person needs to find the specific strategy that works for them. This makes sense to me; my difficulties in getting organized are very different from the difficulties my friends have. I have tried a couple of strategies, but haven't found anything that really gives me what I am looking for. Overall, I would say I'm in the 20th percentile of the population in terms of overall organization.
So, I'm wondering if anyone can recommend some sort of method that might be suited to the following type of person. If this sounds like you at all, I would be tremendously interested to hear what has worked for you.
Summary:
-I hate having to keep track of many different things. I also hate focusing on details, multitasking, and doing clerical work.
-I'm very absent-minded. Without reminders, I will forget things.
-I have a deeply ingrained habit of being late.
-I'm heavily oriented toward electronic organizational strategies.
Examples
Wrongly estimating/losing track of time
-I greatly underestimate how long things will take. If a bus comes at 9, I'll start getting ready at 8:55, thinking I can just walk outside and catch it. But then I realize I need to pack my bag first, and then I can't find my wallet, and I miss the bus.
-I'll sit down for ten minutes to listen to some music, and before I realize it, it's been half an hour and I'm now running behind.
Managing my possessions/resources
-I go shopping, and realize I'm out of cash.
-My cell phone runs out of batteries in the middle of the day.
-I get caught up cramming for a math exam, and forget to bring a calculator or watch to the exam.
Bad attention to details/multitasking difficulties
-I hate any kind of clerical, repetitive, or detail-oriented work. I'm very bad at it too.
-Example: I used to work in a restaurant kitchen, but had a terrible time because it was a multitasking nightmare.
Yes, I know that I could come up with individual solutions for each of these problems. Some of you who have an easier time getting organized may be saying to yourselves, "that's so easy to avoid." But in practice it has been very hard for me to come up with a systematic way of preventing these things from happening.
Things I have found useful
-Anything that reduces the number of things I have to tend to/worry about: automatic bill pay , direct deposit, having alarms
-Keeping all my information organized on my laptop (esp. OneNote)
-My PDA, esp. the calendar feature
Based on this information, does anyone have pointers to resources that might be useful?
Try to be
gently ruthless with yourself, if that doesn't seem to much of a
contradiction. If you blow off something or otherwise don't do what you
set yourself out to do that day, mildly punish yourself. Nothing like
self-flagellation or anything, just enough to nudge. Like skipping that
mocha latte, or session on your favorite website, whatever. Just
enough to cut into your comfort zone and teach your habitual parts
something about delaying gratification a little.
I guess I'm
similar. I just keep lots of to-do lists and do the direct-deposit and
bill-pay thing. It's not perfect and I have to accept that I'm going to
forget or be late sometimes, and sometimes things will stay on my to-do
lists (which are periodically recombined). I use my Treo for some of
this sometimes, but pen and paper are more immediate and more than
adequate for my organization level.
Also, you're a procrastinator. You're going to have to learn to listen to yourself when you say "THIS time I'm going to be in the shower an hour before I have to leave in the morning." There's not a lot I can offer for that, you're just going to have to have a tighter schedule, and writing this out (a la "40 Year Old Virgin") is perfectly acceptable.
Also, you're a procrastinator. You're going to have to learn to listen to yourself when you say "THIS time I'm going to be in the shower an hour before I have to leave in the morning." There's not a lot I can offer for that, you're just going to have to have a tighter schedule, and writing this out (a la "40 Year Old Virgin") is perfectly acceptable.
Here are some things you might try:
1. Routines and checklists. These can work well for forgetfulness. For example, an end-of-day checklist could include "plug in cell phone to recharge" and a morning checklist could include removing it from the charger. Checking to see if you have enough money could be an item on a checklist, too.
2. A simple timer - good for avoiding the 10 minutes turning into a half hour. That could be a physical timer or a software one.
3. A "launch pad" - a place where anything you need to take when you leave the house is kept.
4. Someone who can fill in where you are weak. It won't work in all jobs or other situations, but the more you can find someone else to handle the details, the better off you might be. No one is good at everything - you might be able to help someone else out where he or she is weak in return for getting help yourself. Or you may be able to hire someone to take care of certain detail-oriented things.
5. A huge emphasis on looking for simple approaches to things. You've done that already in some cases, such as the auto bill pay and direct deposit. Look for any other opportunities to simplify so there aren't as many details to worry about. For example, if you haven't yet gotten yourself off of junk mail lists, that would probably be a good thing to do.
6. Any of the suggestions for people with ADHD , who mention many of the same concerns that you do. You might look at these these two books: ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life, and Organizing Solutions for People with Attention Deficit Disorder. Neither one is focused on electronic solutions, though. You might google ADHD PDA (or similar combinations) to find articles.
7. The book Never Be Late Again - it might give you ideas on that aspect of your concerns.
1. Routines and checklists. These can work well for forgetfulness. For example, an end-of-day checklist could include "plug in cell phone to recharge" and a morning checklist could include removing it from the charger. Checking to see if you have enough money could be an item on a checklist, too.
2. A simple timer - good for avoiding the 10 minutes turning into a half hour. That could be a physical timer or a software one.
3. A "launch pad" - a place where anything you need to take when you leave the house is kept.
4. Someone who can fill in where you are weak. It won't work in all jobs or other situations, but the more you can find someone else to handle the details, the better off you might be. No one is good at everything - you might be able to help someone else out where he or she is weak in return for getting help yourself. Or you may be able to hire someone to take care of certain detail-oriented things.
5. A huge emphasis on looking for simple approaches to things. You've done that already in some cases, such as the auto bill pay and direct deposit. Look for any other opportunities to simplify so there aren't as many details to worry about. For example, if you haven't yet gotten yourself off of junk mail lists, that would probably be a good thing to do.
6. Any of the suggestions for people with ADHD , who mention many of the same concerns that you do. You might look at these these two books: ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life, and Organizing Solutions for People with Attention Deficit Disorder. Neither one is focused on electronic solutions, though. You might google ADHD PDA (or similar combinations) to find articles.
7. The book Never Be Late Again - it might give you ideas on that aspect of your concerns.
I found the best way to combat forgetfulness is to have lots of reminders. It's the same idea as setting up multiple alarm clocks for the morning when you really must get up on time.
I store all my tasks in OmniFocus. Important stuff with a due day goes on my calendar. For stuff I really must not miss, I also use iwantsandy to send me emails.
Another key thing is to put as much stuff as you can into your system. For example, waiting for a new credit card to show up in the mail in a few days? Give yourself a reminder to look for it in a few days. Put stuff in whenever you can think of it. It really helps you pick off those small tasks whenever you have time.
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