ORGANIZED DISORGANIZATION!!

[Waydwnsouth1]

I always took great pride on staying very organized. But in the last couple of weeks I've noticed my organizational skills have been slipping. I have been given a new assignment at work, one that will allow me to work from home if I'm unable to work. So it's actually a good thing.

But there is a lot of paper work involved and you have to be organized. That's when I discovered my problem. I dare not ask for help from anyone at work for fear that they may think I can't handle the job. I can ask for help from my DW though and she can help with this task.

I've also noticed this problem with our budget. I totally forgot our cable bill thinking I had paid it. So my DW had to step in handle it. I of course argued that it had been paid but when I looked back of course I was wrong.

Is anyone else having this problem? If so how do you handle it? I need to solve this as soon as I can before things get out of hand. I DW can handle the budget but it's my work stuff that troubles me most.

[akafearless]

Can you build safeguards to act a safety checks? I don't work anymore but I have a daytimer I use and I also utilize my cell phone. You can set reminds, alerts, etc.

Good luck

[KatW]

Hi Waydownsouth1,
I also have to be pretty organized at work. I started double calendering everything. Also, I use my phone and computer calenders. They pop up reminders daily whenever something is due. Hope this helps.

[Mamabug]

I find people I can trust to help me, by reminding me of important things that I might forget.

[pennstater]

I have the same problem. To compensate, I wound up trying to "over"
file, making paperwork and digital folders to hard to find what I needed!
So you need to find balance in organizing paperwork.

I did find that if I kept a large master plan, then broke out detail steps in daily to do list, It helped. I would look at to do list each am, at noon time, then again at end of day to make sure next am I had a current list. At the end of the week, I would look at where I was in the master plan and adjust as needed.


I also used calendaring for key reminderAs for bills, I auto pay or wind up missing.

Good luck on the project.

[palmtree]

It really helps to use auto pay for the bills. I never thought I'd do it because I like to control the timing of my finances. But as I become less able to manage these things, tools like this are a big help.

You are still working so you are in a lot better shape than I am. I'm the kind of person with the messy desk but I know where everything is. Since I came down with MS, the papers have started stacking up. It seems I get so much more junk in the mail for all the medical stuff that I have papers I don't know where to file. The stacks are getting so heavy I can't lift them and so full of dust I can never find a paper I need even though I generally know where it is.

I wish I could have a bonfire. I'm thinking of moving. Just pack a suitcase and leaving everything behind.

I don't know what the answer is for you. There may be apps that would help. It's important to know where everything is and in what order things need to be done and when they need to be done.

[rdmc]

It really helps to use auto pay for the bills. I never thought I'd do it because I like to control the timing of my finances.

I don't use auto pay, but I do use bill pay through my bank.

The day I get the bill, I go into the bank website and schedule the payment to be made on the due date. I used to let them pile up for a week before paying, but the daily routine works best for me.

But if your wife is willing to take over the task, I'd let her do it. I've always managed the bill paying and other financial matters, but in the last few years, I've made a point to explain, in detail, everything I do with our finances, etc...so my husband could take over if need be. If one person in the family handles the finances, MS or no MS, it's a good idea to teach your spouse, or another close friend or relative how to handle things should you be incapacitated for a time.

Reminds me of he Erma Bombeck story of a dream she had when after her death her family was all wandering around asking "I thought she told you how"...she was referring to how to change the TP roll .

I have to be very methodical in what I do for work (I work full time from home) , and I hate to have to rush things my brain shuts down and my BP rises when things get too rushed...so since I work from home, I might start at 7 in the morning (I'm an early riser ) so I don't feel the pressure that is inevitable to begin around 8 or 9 as folks log on at work. I can take breaks later in the day, but the early morning start helps me feel "caught up" at least for that day.

I also send myself emails, or at least copy myself on important emails I send others (don't really have to do that because I can rely on my sent mail, but to have it in my inbox helps me more.) The emails to myself are to remind me to do something the next day, that I might otherwise forget. So when I open my mail server the next morning, right in my face are the things I needed to remember from yesterday.

Of course everybody's job is different...mine is paperless, so not sure how I'd do if I had to be organizing papers.