Get Organized

CHADD Meeting, March 17th 2013

Facebook page for CHADD of Central Ohio is...
https://www.facebook.com/ChaddOfCentralOhio?fref=ts

Let Christine know if you want to help plan and gather information for the
Resource table for the September meeting and beyond.

Adult session speaker Birdie Brennan

Certified Professional Organizer
National Association or Organizers
birdie@getorganizedcolumbus.com
www.getorganizedcolumbus.com

• Being organized saves you time and money.  
• Give yourself a structured routine.   
• Plan and stay on task.  
• Plan only 50% of each day to start.  Then gradually add more, or subtract depending on your success.
• You also need to schedule time to relax
• Schedule your priorities, don't prioritize your schedule.

Birdie mentioned a book by author Julie Morgenstern, titled Organizing From The Inside Out
http://www.juliemorgenstern.com/Products_Books.php

Organizing Paper:

• The number one problem in organizing is paper
• How does it come into the house?
• Wherever you put your mail, setup a mail center.  But before you start, define your categories.
• Each category should have no more than 20 pieces of paper.  If it does, create a new category.
• 80% of the paper you save typically never gets looked again.
• Staple purchase receipts to instruction manuals

Organize your tasks:

• Starting a new project can be the hardest thing.  Just start with one baby step.
• Set a 20 minute timer for 30 minute tasks.  When the time goes off, you know you have 10 minutes to finish.  Or if you get off track the timer will remind you of what you should be doing.
• Set a time frame.  Try to avoid interruptions.  An interruption takes you off task and it can take 27 to 30 minutes to get back on task.

Organize your time:

• You really don't have time not to plan your time. Give yourself small rewards for planning.  Schedule the small action steps for big things.  If something takes 2 or more steps, it is a project.  Remember the feeling when you finish something.

Organize your media

• File DVDs and CD into 3-ring binders with disk holder inserts.  Throw away the cases.
• Photos can be organized with storage boxes 
• http://www.creativememories.com/Content/Shop/Product.aspx?pr=InspectOffering&s=644016&dpr=Search&ds=photo%20box

Birdie mentioned another author, Peter Walsh, and his book It’s All Too Much
http://www.peterwalshdesign.com

Connect, the Power of Human Relationship

CHADD Meeting

February 17th, 2013

February's adult CHADD presentation was centered around the video by Dr. Edward Hallowell,
Connect: The Power of Human Relationship.

Notes from the session:

As we have connected electronically, we have disconnected inter-personally.  We are available via technology all the time, but it can be hard to really connect with people.  It can take a lot of energy to make a real connection with others because we are either too busy or too tired.  As cities get larger and over stimulated, people screen out input and therefore can come across as cold and impersonal.

We disconnect because we are overwhelmed with stimuli.  People want to respond to connections, but life gets in the way.

Dr. Hallowell mentions Lisa Berkman's book: Health and Ways of Living: The Alameda County Study

Connection with others can make you feel safe.  If your child feels connected at home or at school, he or she will mentally and physically fell safe from trouble.  This in turn affects the immune system in a positive way.

See excerpt from book below...

We (USA) spend 130 more hours at work per year than we did 30 years ago.

Connecting with people can be difficult.  It takes work.  There is fear of rejection and wasted time spent and fear of responsibility.  However, if you do not work it into your life on purpose it will not happen.  See article The Human Moment at Work.

Dr Hallowell mentioned another book, How Rude, by Alex Packer.  However, I do not remember why he mentioned it

The Book that the above video was based on: 12 Vital Ties That Open Your Heart, Lengthen Your Life And Deepen Your Soul

1. Connect with the family you grow up with as a child - Show forgiveness for resolution
2. Connect with the family you acquired (as an adult)
3. Connect with friends and community
4. Connect to work - Sense of mission
5. Connect to beauty - Stop and smell the roses
6. Connect to pets - Easy to be affectionate and emotional
7. Connect to places
8. Connect to your past
9. Connect to information and ideas
10. Connect to institutions and organizations
11. Connect to which is beyond knowledge - Religion, greater purpose
12. Connect to yourself - Be genuine, be who you are

Self Compassion & Resilience and The Mindfulness Prescription

CHADD Meeing - Jan 20, 2013 

Speaker For Adult Group:

Chris Fraser, LISW
Effective Strength Based Therapy
www.mypositivepath.org
chrisfraser@mypositivepath.org

Chris covered many concepts.  Much of what he talked about stemmed from The Mindfulness Prescription, which is a book by author Lidia Zylowska. Concepts include...

Firstly, he gave us a handout on Mistakes Are Delicate by John F. Taylor.  See the bottom of this post...

Did anyone teach you how to pay attention?  You were just told to pay attention.
ADHD = Not being able to pay attention to boring crap.

People with ADHD in today's society would have done well as hunters in an earlier time.  This concept is covered in the book by author Thom Hartmann titled Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception.  Another book by the same author on the topic is The Edison Gene.

Chris did a couple mindfulness exercises with us to help demonstrate how to slow down and take notice of details that would normally be overlooked. 

• Pay attention to your breathing, it can help bring you back to observe what is going on.  You are always breathing therefore can be used as a grounding agent. 
• Regularly bring your mind back to the present moment. If you create stop signs for yourself, you can start to create new neural pathways for your brain to follow.
• Those of us with ADHD need to make an effort to slow down and find stillness.

Another helpful book is Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life by Dr. Steven Hayes.  The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (A New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook)

  

Open yourself up and forgive yourself.  We all come from greatness.

www.thebrainlady.com  by Debra E. Burdick

Why Water Weeds?  Negative reinforcement with our children is just like watering weeds.  Praise them for the good that they do.  Even if it is sitting still for a very short time.

Mistakes are…DELICATE

By John F. Taylor, PhD 

Preventing Perfectionism by Encouraging a Healthy Attitude toward Mistakes

“Your mistakes are…”
D - Decreasing

  “Look how far you’ve come.”

  “Things will get easier as you continue to practice.”

E - Expected

  “That’s why pencils have erasers:

  “Everybody makes mistakes; nobody is perfect”

L - Learning Tools

  “Success means any forward progress”

  “What can you learn from this experience for next time?”

I - Incompletions

  “You didn’t run out of talent; you just ran out of time.”

  “You’re just not done with it yet; we’ll work on it again later.”

C - Caused

  “Let’s see what’s giving you the trouble here.”

  “Every mistake has a cause.”

A - Accidental

  “You can’t do a mistake on purpose.”

  “All mistakes are just accidents”

T - Temporary

  “You’re just not ready for this right now.”

  “This doesn’t mean that you can’t do it better later.”

E - Effort Proofs

  “Mistakes only prove you’re trying.”

  “Mistakes are benchmarks on the path of effort.”