CONFESSIONS OF A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER

As a professional organizer, part of my job is to teach my clients how to use their dayplanners and manage their time. It was not uncommon, however, for clients to come trotting out with a beautiful $90 leather-bound dayplanner with an inch of dust onthe top and the words, "Try as I may, I can't get this thing to work." Many people, myself included, find dayplanners nearly impossible to use. This is mostly true of my clients with ADD or LD. Something about flipping between the perpetual to-do list the daily to-do list, and the weekly or monthly calendar flips something in the mind and makes this system unworkable. Also, being 'frozen' onto linear pages in a bound book is unconducive to the more holistic, graphical thinking common to to my ADD clients. So, here are a few alternatives you might want to try:

First, give away those dayplanners! Get a nice- looking colorful file folder and a bunch of small post-it notes. Write each individual task or to-do item on a separate post-it note. Now, affix the post-it notes to the left inside part of the file folder. Call this your Today Panel. You can affix the notes/tasks in any priority order or sequence you like.

Try batching like-activities together (e.g., all your phone calls). This system permits you to prioritize as you go along without any re-writing.

It's the manipulation that is key! It also gives you a more graphical representation of your day. Try using some colored post-it notes to designate "hot" items. Post-it notes are now available in a variety of formats like "To Call," lined post-it notes, and many colors and sizes. Take a look at your local stationers.

Catch each new item/task/idea that needs to be posted on an upcoming Today Panel on post-it notes stuck on the right side of the file folder. In the pocket, pack a monthly calendar for advance planning. At days end peel off the finished items and start a fresh Today Panel. Carry over any undone items. A variation on this theme is the use of Scan Cards. They are small cards for individual tasking that come with pocketed vinyl panels and the panels fit into a three-holed binder. Unavailable in stores, you can order a Scan Card catalogue from 1-800-848-2618.

Computerized time managers provide all the benefits described above but, unless you have a notebook computer, the capacity for instant changes and portability are a problem.

Remember, do what works! Forget about being orthodox and trying to fit yourself into a system incompatible with the way you think. It'll only frustrate you.

Ed Note: The author, Judith Kolberg, is the Director of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization and the owner of FileHeads Professional Organizers. She can be reached at (404) 231-6172. Leave your name, address and phone number and the word "Rebus" and a free packet of information will be sent to you. Or, write NSGCD, 1142 Chatsworth Drive, Avondale Estates, GA 30002.