online ADD /memory assistance / brain fog resources?

[firecat]

I have a high distractability quotient and faulty short-term-to-long-term-memory transfer right now. I can think of various possible causes for this, but that's not the subject of this post.

I was thinking that people with ADD probably have developed techniques to minimize the impact of such things. Perhaps I could benefit from subscribing to a mailing list or LJ community that discusses such techniques. Do you know of any useful groups or web sites along those lines?

(I have already ordered David Allen's Getting Things Done.)

Comments

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

(All uses of "you" are intended in the generic sense. Many could probably be replaced with "I" :-) )

Well, for many things, try to follow the OHIO (Only Handle It Once) rule when you can. You pick up the bill; can you pay it *right now*? Then do so. If not, do the next best thing, and put it somewhere (with other bills, say) where you can sometime soon pick them up, pay them all, then get rid of the waste.

It can also help to force some things. I have a bad time trying to clean up; I don't know where to put things. Well, I force myself to pick a location. "But, but, but, maybe that's a bad location!" Yes, but it *is* a location, better a bad location than "scattered everywhere". If I'm doomed for all eternity for picking a bad location, I'm probably just as doomed for having it scattered.

Breaking things down into tiny tasks can also help. If you can't balance your checkbook, maybe you can balance ten transactions. If you can't clean off your desk, maybe you can just get all of the non-work items (cups, etc.) off of the desk. You can stay focused long enough to do those little things, so do those. Do enough of those, and you'll accomplish something.

One of the worst things to do is sit still, or look for something to hold your interest... that's how you end up wasting time (i.e.: doing it, but not enjoying it) reading blogs, LJ, Usenet, etc., looking for stimulation.

[firecat]

Thanks!