Customer Reviews
Practical Help 
2008-01-19
I am a mental healh therapist and found this book extremely practical for people coping with ADD as well as professionals working with them. The tips are excellent and relevant to life in our fast paced world. The book could also be helpful for those who simply have trouble being organized and who are not ADD.
Great insight and ideas 
2008-01-15
This book has lots of great ways to organize your life if you have ADD. There is a lot of general advice in each chapter followed by a quick summary. The book is divided into the following sections:
Getting Started
Taking Charge of Add
Thing Organizing
Time Organizing
Paper Organizing
Conclusion
Resources
What I found most useful were "no-brainer" tips like the following:
Pre-pack a lunch;create a "launchpad" by the front door; only buy matching socks; organize your wardrobe around one color; pare down the clothing in your closet.
This last one has been very helpful. I used to rummage through clothing that I was keeping around "in case" I lost weight or that I hadn't worn in years; now my wardrobe is a lot thinner but less time-consuming. Women tend to have a lot more "upkeep" than men and it's easy to get bogged down with extra makeup, beauty products and other detritus.
Caveat: I definitely agree with the reviewer who said this book was geared towards those with roommates or spouses who can help with reminders, assist in organizing, etc. The book mentions ADD coaches, which sound great--I'd love to have one-- but they are not affordable for the vast majority of ADD-ers out there ($200-$400 a month for someone you speak to weekly).
In summary, this book is filled with lots of insights and general organizing ideas for ADD-ers, but you have to read and absorb the book and decide what applies best to you. It's not a laundry list of tips. that you can grab and implement within seconds. The best advice in the book (for me) was SIMPLIFY.
Great, great book! 2008-01-14
I'm not ADD, but recognized some of the traits within myself - taking on too many projects at once with no focus, gathering, piling, cluttering and never making sense of the stuff, etc. Thinking this book might help out, I gave it a try. By far one of the best organizational books out there, if not THE BEST!!! It gets right to the root of the problem from two angles - 1)tips for the actual organizing, and 2)addressing the issues behind your clutter and overwhelm - what causes you get in these situations in the first place? Works both sides of the equation to give you a great opportunity for success! Written in a straight forward manner, clear and concise - appeals to the eye, and to the limited spare time we all face in our lives - strictly the facts and information you need, no fluff. I've read it many times and highlighted throughout, referring to it again and again. USEFUL FOR ANYONE, not just ADD. Great, great book!
Recognizing patterns of behaviour + practical ways to change them 2008-01-07
After trying many 'get organized' books without much success (but acquiring a nifty assortment of filing bins/ folders/ labels/ dust-collectors in the process), and having my (very orderly-minded) mother despair of persuading me to use budget books or create tidy files, I finally found a book that addresses all the ways I'm disorganized in my life. The chapter on how an ADD-challenged person's financial systems can fall apart if any other part of their life spins out of control really hit home, and I'm going to spend January working out ways to implement the authors' suggestions. The only other volume that helped me, especially re: my business life, was "Organizing for the Creative Person: Right-Brain Styles for Conquering Clutter, Mastering Time, and Reaching Your Goals," by Dorothy Lehmkuhl and Dolores Cotter Lamping. I'd recommend them both.
Great ideas 2008-01-07
As an adult with ADHD,,, I am not sure I will ever finish this book. But I will say that it is very very easy to read. It has some worthwhile ideas for organizing your life with ADD.
Worth buying!
Authors speak from experience 2008-04-17
These ladies clearly know first hand what it's like to live with ADD by any name. Their approach to the problem is easy to understand and effective in that it teaches you how to work within the limitations of this condition and play to it's positives. A very useful and practical approach.
Not that impressive or helpful 
2008-04-13
Too many books read like the author just copied articles on a subject and crammed them into a so-called book. This was one of those. There just wasn't any helpful information in it and I thought it was a waste of money.
Solutions, Not Just Analysis! 2008-03-28
I've not read the entire book yet, but I already know this book will change my life. (No, it isn't a cure all. We all know there isn't one, though we secretly wish one could be found.)
I just finished reading Chapter 5, "ADD Decision Dilemmas". This chapter wonderfully describes problems I've always classified as "procrastination", but really aren't. I'm 40+ now and being introspective, I've really figured out some of my behavior patterns and partial reasoning for it, but this book really nails it. Not only will this book help you identify those behaviors earlier, it provides suggestions that will help you deal with it!
Being the typical ADDer, I couldn't just read the book cover to cover. I've been skipping around (and this book is wonderfully arranged so that you can). I loved the suggestion about having a few files with labels like "I can't believe I haven't called about this!" and other file titles determined by your reaction to the task. (Chapter 17, Fear of Filing) How lovely! I've started countless piles of "things I need to take care of, and soon", that end up just being shoved in with other junk so I can clear a space... Well, now I've got a new plan for that. I'm going to order the "filing crate on wheels" or similar, also from the book, so that I can create files like "take care of this or I'm screwed". Of course, I still have to work on getting to the 'taking care of it' part. But with better organization, the rest should be easier. I'm sure I'll find a good suggestion or two in the book.
I disagree to some extent with the reviewer that rated the book 3 stars because so many of the suggestions involve others. It is true, there are a lot of suggestions involving others. That isn't the book's weakness; That is just a fact of ADD and of life. Lets face it, having more people around to help us deal and remember is simply handy (especially if they don't also have ADD.) I'm single and live alone. Lots of these suggestions can be adapted. You can make use of helpful people that don't live with you. My sister visits from out of town from time to time, I have friends at work that are understanding, etc. Some suggestions may even be adaptable to remote interactions - telephone conversations and emails. As I read the book, I try to think of how these ideas could be adapted. Don't get me wrong, if another version came out with more suggestions targeted toward singles, I'd buy it again!
Bottom line - if you've struggled with organization/disorganization, get this book! Especially if other organizational books haven't helped you. After all, ADD, like everything, is a matter of degree. Besides, you don't have to be diagnosed with ADD to find techniques crucial to ADDers helpful.
Great book wit specific, useful tips. 2008-03-24
I really don't get the one-star reviews for this book. I have read the entire book in a couple of sittings (which says something for someone w/ADD) and have found it very helpful. One criticism is that it often recommends the services of professionals, but I find the "permission" to hire someone to help me very freeing when most people only make me feel guilty for not being able to do this on my own. It also gives lots of tips and techniques of how to handle a lot of things myself and I have found several of them to be things I hadn't thought of or read before, even though I have read several organization books. I particularly like the parts about the specific ways to enlist the help of friends and family for different jobs. I highly recommend this book for those w/ADD trying to get organized.
The top organization book for ADD 2008-01-31
I bought over 10 books on ADD and organizing, and only kept two: this one and 10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD. This book's format and prose was written with ADD readers in mind, and the solutions are spot-on. Other books had overly simplistic or complicated ideas that seemed absurd or impossible. This book's ideas are very specific to the way an ADDer's brain works. I refer to it time and time again.
