A Right Brainer's Guide to Organization

I am 100% right brained. I love bright colors. I hate keeping track of details. In coffee shops I like to sit facing the door so I can see people come and go. 

When I have to do math my vision gets fuzzy and my blood pressure rises. I get distracted easily. I'm usually reading 7 books at a time. I will probably finish none of them. I work better with noise in the background. One minute I'm e-mailing a music client and the next I'm googling how to raise a peahen.

My brain is a pretty fun place, but sometimes it's frustratingly disorganized.

If I saw a doctor I'd probably be diagnosed with some sort of adult ADD. I think that God gave me a very eclectic, creative brain, but the downside is that it's always going, and rarely stays focused on one thing. Rather than medicate I've decided to recognize the pitfalls and instill some discipline.

Here are a few things I do to maintain some semblance of organization and sanity. Some may be obvious, but hopefully they can help my fellow right-brainers.

1. Keep a small notebook and pen handy at all times. Jot down things as you think of them, because despite how important or great an idea it is, you won't remember it later. As a bonus, it makes you feel like Steve from Blues Clues.

2. Have a morning routine, even if it's just one or two steps. I try to make my bed and drink some water. (Cause making the bed can be dehydrating...plus the Internet told me drinking a glass of water in the morning helps my internal organs function optimally.) 

3. Make to-do lists. Before I go to bed I "draft" my next day. I'll put a "morning," "afternoon" and "evening" block and write generally what needs to get done in those times. If I have cookies on hand, I'll eat one. 

4. Keep up with general good health habits. Exercise, take vitamins, limit coffee, sugar, etc. I do terrible with this 50% of the time, but when I stay on top of basic health habits, I focus better.

5. Create an organization system that works for you so you don't end up on hoarders. I don't know how to organize...so I keep designated "piles" for things: comedy material pile, important document pile, music pile, etc. I don't have a filing cabinet, color coded or alphabetized system. If someone starts an organization system for me, I can keep it up, but I'm lousy at coming up with them. (hint, hint)  

6. Write down everything important in one place. I keep a paper calendar (not an electronic one) with writing deadlines, appointments, and comedy show info w/ all flight/hotel information written on it. Otherwise I will lose everything. 

7. When all six of the cup holders in your car have old drinks in them, clean it out. 

8. Accept that your life will always be a little cluttered. It's a small sacrifice for the fun and spontaneity that saturates a right-brainer's life.  

Are you a right brainer? How do you keep organized?

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