Focused Distractions

Saturday, June 30. 2007

Organizing Chore of the Day: Call a Friend!

www.addconsults.com

Ok, so this isn't really an organizing chore; it's a procrastination buster. Here's your chore for the day:

Call one friend you want to re-connect with

I'm as guilty of this as the next person. Life gets crazy- work, raising kids, moving...then before you know it, you've lost track of even your closest of friends. By then, you're feeling soooo embarrassed at the thought of calling her or him and more years pass.

Today, why not pick up the phone and call that special person from your past and re-connect? Make a lunch date if you're in the same time. C'mon...you can do it! And when you do, post here to let us know.

Posted by Terry at 11:33 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Monday, June 25. 2007

ADD Organizing Chore of the Day: If the bra fits...

I've always been intrigued by women who love to buy lingerie. The lace and the bows irritate me to no end, so I typically hold on to bras for way too many years...because they are comfortable. You too?

This time, I'm giving you the WEEK to get fitted for a new bra. Surely yours no longer fit. Or if they do, I'll bet they're in pretty bad shape.

Get thee to the store and have someone fit you for a proper bra. Then when you find the one you like, buy at least 5 of them. If you can't get out, check this one out; people rave about the comfort.

: )

Oh, don't forget to post your progress here in the comment section!

Posted by Terry at 00:59 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0)

Sunday, June 24. 2007

ADD Version of Fly Lady

www.addconsults.com

Have you tried Fly Lady? I think she has great ideas and is wonderfully motivating. But...I'm not so sure she's ADD "friendly." When I signed up for the newsletter, the emails and tasks overwhelmed me. I gave up.

So...I am officially launching my own ADD Organizing Chore of the Day- right here (I WILL come up with a better title; probably the next time I'm in the shower. Though the acronym is OCD...hmmm...that might work).

Let's have fun with this, ok? Those of you who complete the chore, please post your progress here on the blog.

Ok, ready? Here's today's chore (well, it's late, so think of this as your Sunday to-do):

Choose ONE (1) junk drawer - and I know you have many - and throw out 10 items. Yep, just 10. Dump em in the trash.

Those of you who are advanced OCDers, feel free to take a photo of your before and after drawer. I'll post them here. Just send to: blog@addconsults.com

Now...either save this Blog in your Favorites, or subscribe to it (see menu on the right) and come back every day for a new OCD.

There. You can do it!! Tell me and the world how you fared!

Ta ta for now-

Terry

PS Don't forget to subscribe to my free newsletter, ADD Organizing. It's a fast, easy read with cool tips and resources on...ADD and Organizing. Just click HERE

Posted by Terry at 00:03 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

Friday, June 8. 2007

When Your ADD Makes You Feel Stupid

WHY ARE THESE WOMEN SMILING?

They didn't drop the egg rolls
No one got food poisoning
Terry didn't offer to cook

If you answered #3, you were right.

Let me explain.

The other night was my daughter's Senior All Night Party. I offered to volunteer for one of the shifts, expecting to man the games. Or check ID at the door. ANYTHING but... kitchen duty. Which is what I ended up getting. Life can be cruel; I know.

Not wanting to make a scene, I arrived promptly at 9:30pm for my 3 hour shift, with a good attitude and a secret wish that they'd shoo me away to another station. No such luck.

I rolled up my sleeves, prepared to work. But...I had no clue what I was supposed to do. I asked repeatedly for instructions on what they needed done, but these moms were all too busy to give me any specific chores.

I had a sudden flashback of 7th grade Home Ec Class at Norup Junior High School, where I was given the strange title of "Kitchen Captain- Group 5". I guess there's a hierarchy even in Home Ec classrooms, because our group- group 5, was the last and the worst in the entire room.

Remind me to tell you the story about the giant bleeding cookie...

At any rate, I barely passed that class.

End of flashback- returning to the evening of June 3- at my daughter's school.

The women were rushing back and forth, putting food on platters, washing plates, serving up snacks to the 300+ Seniors who were streaming in and out of the gym, stuffing their faces.

I kept asking what I needed to do, but was ignored. I finally figured out why.

These moms INTUITEVELY knew what needed to be done! It was second nature- cutting up a huge brownie into perfect 3" squares.

Finding the right sized platters for the hand made egg rolls one mom made (I kid you not- HOME MADE!).

Deftly washing and drying utensils, knowing exactly where the supplies were in a totally strange kitchen.

I suddenly became that 7th grade girl who felt completely lost in a school kitchen, who didn't know how to keep a dozen cookies from bleeding into each other to form the famous giant blob-cookie.

How did these women know what to do without being told? I studied one in particular; the one I'll call Hilda. Hilda must have 12 kids, for her amazing ability to multitask was a show in itself. She didn't stop moving the whole night. It was like watching a magic show. The other moms were no less talented in their kitchen skills.

I felt totally lost. So what did I do? What any other woman with ADD does who feels inept in the kitchen: I walked around in circles, pretending to be helpful while studying the magic of these women.

Ok, so where am I going with all this?

As I was studying these moms, I also studied myself. I made a choice: I could feel like a total dolt, kicking myself for being an incapable kitchen flunky.

Or, I could remind myself that I had other talents and that it was ok that being a queen chef was not one of them. As I found myself slipping into that negative mindset, I visualized myself doing things that most likely, these women didn't or couldn't do. I pictured myself in my art studio, painting wonderful pictures. I envisioned myself in my music studio, laying the bass tracks to a song I'd been working on.

What about you? When you feel that ADD inadequacy creeping in, how do you pull yourself out of it?

Posted by Terry at 23:24 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0)