I’m actually quite uncluttered since I can’t seem to think straight when it’s a mess around me. To keep things neat, I try to put things where they belong immediately after I’ve used them. For tasks I really dislike (folding laundry or washing dishes), I call someone and do it while chatting. So why can I focus on the conversation perfectly while I’m doing these things, if I’m so visual?

Unfortunately, I am supposed to be in an office with a door, but in my work environment we have one large room with about 12 desks…there isn’t even any waist high cubicle walls. No wonder I can never get anything done here

Tiffany, I’m stealing that graph paper idea for my grad school classes! At work I use un-lined paper when I’m working out ideas, but that’s tougher to do with lecture notes.

I’m 100% visual — and Google Calendar is my best friend. I’ve been using it for over a year now and it has helped me in so many ways. I also second Tiffany’s whiteboard tactic: without the whiteboard in my office, I’d easily lose track of projects and of my feelings of progress toward finishing them.

I also find that using graph paper helps. The grid helps me line things up neatly, but the vertical lines help me mentally break out of writing in paragraph form, while regular lined paper just encourages it. So it’s like organization for a non-linear thought.

http://unclutterer.com/2008/05.....ed-part-i/

There is an “assessment” or “test” a person can take that will help them discover their learning preference. See an occupational therapist or counselor.

When I took it in school I scored 33% in each category. How challenging is that!! So I read over the suggestions and, sure enough, one or two in each category appeal to me but not all of them. Whew! The key is to honor what works.

Thanks for your blog. I look forward to it everyday.

I have several colours of highlighters at work for my to-do list, I use the coloured flags in outlook, and I even colour-code my closet and drawers. I feel much more organized when I can see at a glance that everything is in it’s place.

I also keep a notepad or palm pilot/blackberry with me at all times so I can write down my thoughts, or lists that are floating in my head and I want to remember. It’s great for other people’s names and phone numbers, too. If I don’t have a photo of a person but want to remember them later, I will write down a unique description of them and review it when needed.

I also find charts, files and lists of everything are extremely helpful in organizing things in my life. They’re colour-coded and alphabetized, of course!

I’m also really terrible at putting together names and faces. I can remember faces, but if I only hear someone’s name (and don’t see it written down), it just flies out of my head. I wish everyone wore nametags so I could see names in writing. When I first started at my job, I discovered that they had a database with pictures of every employee and their names. I found it so much easier to learn names when I could look at their written names (and maybe even write them a couple of times on a pad of paper) while looking at their faces. I’ve been tempted to take pictures of people with a cell phone camera and label them, so I can more easily match the face with the written name!