O.K. I am not a gadget-a-holic. At least I don’t think I am. I have a Palm Z22, which is the simplest Palm model you can get because I only wanted to use it for what Palms were originally designed for — PIM (Personal Information Management). You know, I needed something to keep my phone numbers, addresses, to-do list, and calendar in…and I’m really not that good at keeping up with all of that.
In fact, I’m horrible at keeping up with all of that. I need a better system. I can’t figure out how people keep up with everything. I was just saying to my mom last night that I was super-anxious about the fact that the property tax bill had shown up last month and is due in two payments — one on October 1rst and one on April 1rst. What bothers me is how am I going to remember to pay on these dates. I can’t put the bill anywhere because if it gets put inside anything or behind anything, I know it’ll get lost and forgotten. I have to have it somewhere I’ll see it every day until April 1rst.
She told me that I need some sort of system. Clearly, that’s the problem. (I kind of wanted to point out that perhaps this might be why the psychiatrist might be considering an AD/HD diagnosis for me. ) Of course, since she doesn’t pay the bills, she doesn’t have any suggestions as to what “the system” is.
I’ve put the due dates in my Palm Pilot in the to-do list but I forget to check my Palm for days and even weeks at a time. I have a notebook that I keep a long project list on it but that isn’t really useful for due dates; it’s really just a list of things that need to be done around the house at some point and I cross them off as the get done and add things as they come up.
So right now, the tax bill is held to the fridge with a magnet. That’s still not a guarantee. I don’t even open the fridge every day, but I’m not sure where else to put it at the moment.
And what does that have to do with gadgets?
Well, I’ve been listening to my iPod every day this week pretty faithfully and the idea popped into my head that if there was an iPod/Palm that would make things easier…but really that’s silly too, because I use my iPod in spurts too. I just kind of forget about it. Really what I need is a real person to be my Personal Assistant and manage my information, someone who calls me up everyday and reminds me of appointments and birthdays, someone who keeps track of when things are due and either makes sure I mail my tax bill on time or mails it for me, someone who makes sure I have money to pay the lawnmower man, and someone who makes sure that I have a system.
How does everyone else do it all?
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It sounds corny, but http://www.flylady.net has helped me in a lot of ways. One of those things is keeping track of bills and other important informaiton. She has lists, instructions, all kinds of things. You can order stuff from her web site, but you can also DIY for free. Believe me, it has helped me tremendously in getting my sanity back (or at least some of it!
I had joined the FlyLady mailing list years ago but quit because of the amount of email. I’ve been glancing through the website while I’ve been eating dinner, the weekly planner list looks a lot like my to-do list in my Palm.
I kind of like the idea of the daily routines, but I also wonder if getting down to that level won’t feed my OCD.
I’m thinking about trying to work the program the way it’s set up with the Control Journal because I like the idea of having everything in one place. I like the Office in a Bag idea. I might make my own.
I just hope this isn’t another way for me to distract myself or focus my OCD.
Thanks for the suggestion. 
Yeah, the emails were too much for me as well, but there are still a lot of great nuggets on the web site.
I can’t say whether it will help or hinder your OCD, with me it has helped because I don’t wonder or worry – I have a plan and a place for things if that makes sense.
I think it’s Yahoo that does birthday reminder emails, which you can adapt to send you reminders to do stuff in advance. You could have it email you a month before the bill is due .I have an equivalent version that I programmed myself.
Beyond that, I just struggle.
Having a PA would be a dream. Having a PA and someone to do my laundry would be an even better dream.
Actually, I prefer paper lists on my fridge over any kind of gadget. I’ve tried the Palm Pilot thing, but it seemed more of a hinderance to enter the information and then to actually keep up with the darn thing. Plus, I like seeing all of my tasks as a whole, not day by day.
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