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Organisation Tips / Attention Switching

CJRE_84

Hey,

Newly diagnosed 38M here, still trying to get my head around things a little.  We have a young family, a small business and I also have a quite senior & busy job.

I've seen a few posts around the benefits of autism, and many people mention being organised as a key benefit - but I have to say I feel anything but.  People at work always say I come across as very organised and on top of things, but I have to say I regularly feel like a total mess.

I regularly get caught up in my own world, pursuing a specific piece of work, forgetting about other priorities or getting to the end of the day not having achieved what I really needed to.

I struggle to organise myself and take things forward - I may start an excel to do list file, but within a week I've stopped using it.  I then try notepads, and try and force myself to write my notes up daily to work through topics more methodically but I tend to forget to do it, or can't be bothered to.

If I'm required to do something (personally or professionally) which is outside of my routine (e.g. instigate contact with a new colleague, arrange a medical appointment etc) then it can take me weeks to get to it, and I often require multiple reminders.

I can't tell if its a question of motivation within my work, something which is typical of ASD, or whether I should be considering seeking diagnosis for something like ADHD also.

I'd be really interested to understand other peoples experiences, and any tips you might have that have proven effective for you in your personal or private lives!

Thanks,

Parents
  • CJRE_84 said:
    I can't tell if its a question of motivation within my work, something which is typical of ASD, or whether I should be considering seeking diagnosis for something like ADHD also.

    I can very much relate to this - I had up to 26 staff reporting to me and had to juggle so much stuff that things were impossible to be completely on top of.

    The way I worked through it was:

    1 - routine. Set the first hour of every day to start before you have even got to the office so there are no distractions. Now plan your day, check your reminders, read your emails then re-plan the day according to the updates.

    2 - check in on your to do list religiously. Every 2-3 hours to make sure you have it all in your head.

    3 - If you get an email and it isn't massively important and you have more important stuff on, ignore it. If it is important to the sender then they will chase later on. Exceptions are in point 6.

    4 - To-Do lists. You are going to need to let this control your priorities so use one. Microsoft To-Do is my favourite as it works on all my platforms and is synchronised.

    5 - set aside time for your team. They are probably your singular most important resource in spite of how much of a pain in the ass they may be. Take time for a monthly 1-2-1 session, get away from the possibility of being grabbed and have an open and attentive chat with them. Listen to what they are annoyed at or want to do, even if you are not interested. People love to be heard.

    6 - JFDI on small stuff. Don't let it wait so take 5 mins now and get it out the way and move onto the next thing.

    7 - do a big catch up on a Thursday to make sure all your tasks are being dealt with. This gives you Friday morning to delegate what you need to your minions.

    Thats is on this subject - you need to embrace the to do list and scheduling. There are no shortcuts but setting reminders is a helpful aspect of To-Do.

Reply
  • CJRE_84 said:
    I can't tell if its a question of motivation within my work, something which is typical of ASD, or whether I should be considering seeking diagnosis for something like ADHD also.

    I can very much relate to this - I had up to 26 staff reporting to me and had to juggle so much stuff that things were impossible to be completely on top of.

    The way I worked through it was:

    1 - routine. Set the first hour of every day to start before you have even got to the office so there are no distractions. Now plan your day, check your reminders, read your emails then re-plan the day according to the updates.

    2 - check in on your to do list religiously. Every 2-3 hours to make sure you have it all in your head.

    3 - If you get an email and it isn't massively important and you have more important stuff on, ignore it. If it is important to the sender then they will chase later on. Exceptions are in point 6.

    4 - To-Do lists. You are going to need to let this control your priorities so use one. Microsoft To-Do is my favourite as it works on all my platforms and is synchronised.

    5 - set aside time for your team. They are probably your singular most important resource in spite of how much of a pain in the ass they may be. Take time for a monthly 1-2-1 session, get away from the possibility of being grabbed and have an open and attentive chat with them. Listen to what they are annoyed at or want to do, even if you are not interested. People love to be heard.

    6 - JFDI on small stuff. Don't let it wait so take 5 mins now and get it out the way and move onto the next thing.

    7 - do a big catch up on a Thursday to make sure all your tasks are being dealt with. This gives you Friday morning to delegate what you need to your minions.

    Thats is on this subject - you need to embrace the to do list and scheduling. There are no shortcuts but setting reminders is a helpful aspect of To-Do.

Children
  • in reply to Iain

    Thanks Iain, appreciate the response, feel like I have the majority of these in place also which is reassuring, sometimes I doubt myself a little and wonder if I'm up to the task or whether I'd be better off in a more "solo" role which doesn't require managing teams etc.

    I do procrastinate too much on the small things also, maybe I'll define some specific time in my diary to "swallow my frogs" as they say and just get those things done.

    Beyond that I just really really struggle with the to do list element, and the discipline of sticking to it.  I pencil in 30 mins at the start of the day and 15 mins at the end to try and enable me to focus on how I'm going to use my day, and then recap on the day also.

    The reality is, I'd be lying if I ever use that time for this - I get drawn into other things, or de-prioritize doing so, to the extent where weeks can pass where I don't revisit my lists.  

    I'll definitely check out Microsoft To-Do, I've not heard of it before, thanks for the suggestion.