Jeff Hamilton writes about the challenges of living with adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Here's his description of how he manages to keep his desk clutter-free:
"ADD and a messy desk, that's a bad combination. You may work out of your home, in a cubicle within an office building or your desk could sit in many different locations. No matter where it sits or how big it is, a mess is a mess and it can push you right off your path of productivity.
If you are challenged by ADD, you need to work on things in order to be successful in managing it. If your desk is messy it creates distraction, chaos, items are easily lost, we become disorganized, frustrated, procrastination can occur, it impacts time management, productivity goes down and slowly......we lose control.
My desk clutter solution is simple and involves two easy things
1. My note book - I write everything down in my note book. It keeps all my thoughts, to-do's and things I need to remember in one organized place where it's easy to find. From that, I tend to schedule tasks into my Outlook calendar.
2. I've gone electronic - no more paper, no more piles of crap, no more cluster. If I have something I need to review and I don't have time, I'll place it on my book shelf and then schedule the time to review it at a later date in my Outlook calendar. My bills/invoices arrive via email, which is also good for the environment.
Other items that are paper based can be scanned and filed on your computer.
Keeping your desk clean and uncluttered is a must-do for people with ADD. ... Besides the basic computer requirements, I have only a few things on it: Kleenex, my note book, a picture of my kids and some flowers to show the sensitive male side of me within ;) That's it. My desk set up is a clean, lean production machine!!
More on organizing with ADD:
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