Applied Chaos

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Midwestern USA
Applied Chaos is how life feels living with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder or ADHD. This theory is definately put to the test when three AD/HD people live under the same roof. I am an AD/HD mom raising two AD/HD children and being mom is the most extraordinary experience of my lifetime. My husband WES, is NOT AD/HD and most days the three of us make his head spin. YET he is sooooo amazingly patient, despite the unannounced and sudden mood shifts that can occur when something that should be simple is not. That is the hardest part of living with AD/HD. When things that should be simple are not. I have little tolerance for my downfalls. Sheer frustration can lead to angry outbursts when I have once again misplaced my cell phone, the house phone, any number of bills, the car keys, the dog, or my portable brain (calendar)!

Welcome to my CRAZY life!!!!

I was diagnosed with AD/HD as an adult and only after both my children were diagnosed. When I received my diagnosis of ADHD I had a moment of awakening and suddenly soo many things made complete sense. I finally began to understand so many things about myself.

Now I wish to hear from you. Yes, you out there reading this blog about living with ADHD. How has ADHD been a blessing, a curse, a help, or a hinder. I dislike the word disorder at the end. of Attention Defidit Hpyperactive...I do not believe that it is a disorder. Disorder makes it sound like a malfunction. People with ADHD are not broken, just different.

I hope you will share on this blog how ADHD has changed your life for the better and how you cope with the experiment in Applied Chaos that goes with ADHD on a daily basis.

Often people with ADHD can feel lost and overwhelmed yet, you are not alone and there is always a light at the eend of the tunnel. Tell me how do YOU find the light at the end of the tunnel when life seems to be an endless experiment in Applied Chaos?! I look forward to hearing from YOU!!!

Have a blessed day~



Erika Lyn Smith



January 8, 2010

2010 Busybodybooks Personal & Family Organizer

It is a new year as 2010 has now rolled in for good. This year instead of making and breaking your new year's resolutions...make a daily, or if you find a daily goal is too overwhelming make a weekly goal. Goals and forward thinking is difficult for those living with Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (AD/HD).

So try to write down 1-3 things you want to accomplish each week. Yes, write them down because otherwise (if you are anything like me) you will forget what you wanted to accomplish when the daily chaos of life takes over. Out if sight truly equals out of mind.

If you are looking for a flexible planner to accommodate into your daily chaos I would highly recommend the 2010 Busybodybooks Personal & Family Organizer available from Amazon.

First off it is a dated planner. Next you have one week on the right side and it is divided into 5 columns so at the top you can name a column for each family member or make a To Do List, Bills Due or Bills Paid List and everything is side by side. The side-by-side scheduling is awesome for preventing conflicting or an overlapping of appointments.

There is a hard clear plastic cover on the front and the back which protects the 2010 Busybodybooks Personal & Family Organizer when you are writing in it at work or at a doctor's office. The colors are easy going on the eyes. The paper is a nice thickness for this Sharpie lover, leaving no bleed through from my fine point Sharpies!

This is by far the most user friendly planner I have found to date. With my AD/HD I have to write everything, I mean EVERYTHING down or I will forget what I planned on doing. The planner is a nice fit for a larger purse, a diaper bag, briefcase, or student back pack.

Already I have made notes from calling my mortgage company and this planner has the left side open for random notes or a more organized list. There is enough space to write anything and everything down.

My daily goal is to use my planner and keep writing in it and more importantly to look at my planner everyday! If I write it down and put it away and do not look at it...then I will not remember that appointment. So now find a planner or organizer you can work with and remember to write it down and then follow through and do it!

This year is just beginning and it is a perfect time to start organizing the Applied Chaos in our life.
Happy New Year everyone!
Erika Lyn Smith
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