I have the time....I am on disability and I'm at home full time but time just seems to slip through my fingers!
I have so many projects I want to get done but I also have a problem with procrastination and perfectionism!
I have a nice large 4 drawer file cabinet now and I want to have it organized with papers in folders and maybe even in alphabetical order but right now papers are just shoved in the drawers and it's a mess!
I also have depression and too often I feel overpowered and give up and just sleep the day away which is frustrating!
I have two or three time management books which I have started but not finished reading.
Of course, one thing I manage to give time to is the computer...and then I can go overboard and be on it sometimes all night which is fun of course but I get nothing else done!
I guess it's a judgement call as to what I spend time on and I really wish I could get some motivation to do the things I need to!!!

Hey Shauna, I do the same thing. My office is a wreck, and I can never seem to get it all caught up. I know from experience with my daughter that this is a symptom of ADD. It runs in my family. Have you ever thought about getting checked out for that? There are things online you can look up to see if you fit the profile. I know I do. I just have to get my Dr. to do something about it.
Well anyway that's my two cents...

Sometimes I just have to make the time even though not really, that is why I am a rush rush kinda person, gotta be at work by 630 get off by 560-6 pm, come home go online for my studies and email, eat, spend time on new relationship on Saturdays I visit my kids and I do a 12 step program all imbetween, so life is extremely busy and I wouldnt have it any other way, keeps me out of me mostly, I get depressed it seems if i am not busy but at the same time I get too overwhelmed as well and tend to go to fast and hit block walls, i keep stuff inside and for me right now life is just go go go

Hey Shauna,
I have been in a situation much like yours for some time. I can only offer you what helped me.
A. Remember it did not get that messy in one day so it is ok to take your time to clean it up.
B. Pace yourself (I / ME / My system) I pick one drawer at a time, or one file at a time
with a note book each document, craft idea, picture gets in one pile but there is a key DATE the document Each time you go through the pile.. if it has 3 dates and you have not used it.. toss it..
I just did the top drawer of my 5 drawer x deep file and
toss pile, date & refile, On the List to do by __/__ date. For (sue, mike for Christmas)
This helped to give me a goal and when accomplished it is a good feeling..

system #2 was to only work on the pile / mess for a certian time period say 20 min 3 times per week.. guess what I now have a really nice office with a desk that you can actually see the top of once and a while along with my garage pile is now about 1/2 of a car space that is it..
it has taken me 3 years to do this and some days / weeks / months I do not do so good other times I excell at it..

Good luck if you want to ever chat just send me a note..

Hello Everyone, it's Friday afternoon and I'm almost ready for the weekend! Thank you for your wonderful replies!

MusicMyLove, I was in a psychiatric hospital for a month with Severe Depression and did two days worth of tests with a psychiatrist. I was told that I do not have ADD, but I do have OCD and that there are similar traits.

Symphase, I did go to a 12 Step Program a few years ago however I have Social Anxiety so I found it too difficult to continue to go. I have my mom coming over 3 days a week to motivate and encourage ( used to be called NAGGING ) and help with dishes and I can relate to the go go go you spoke of and of keeping things inside!

ITTAKES2, I look around at my messy apt. and I agree with you completely! It took TIME for me to get it this way so I need to give myself TIME to work on it!
Remembering that, I believe, will also help me reduce all the stress and pressure I feel related to the mess!
Thank you for your other suggestions too! The dating projects idea sounds good as I sometimes recognize projects in a box that I've 'meant to do' and it's been years! I also like the idea of only spending a short about of time on a specific project.

I have the time, and I'm not depressed. But I have Asperger Syndrome, which means that my mind can only focus on one thing at a time, and so when I have lots of things to do, I feel overwhelmed and freeze mentally, and then don't do anything. I come online as a way of escape. And I have dyspraxia, which I think is part of the Aspergers, which makes it hard to start a task, and hard to switch from task to task, and hard to organise in general. I need to find strategies to deal with this, which suit the particular way that my brain works, because it's very frustrating.

The most useful strategy I've found so far for housework type things is to tell myself I must put away ten items. I like the finite number, and counting the things I put away. For study, it's a bit harder to find strategies.

There's time. I'm not sure if I didn't work, or I didn't hurt, that I'd be any better off. It's more in how you look at things.

I get through the day at work because I have too. I have a task cleaning schedule, where I do a certain type of cleaning chore each day at home.

I feel overwhelmed when I get home because I'm tired and in pain. I was tired and in pain at work too, but I got my work done.

I can't get the work done at home because i hold myself to a more rigid standard about how the task must be done. Really, if I performed the task to the barest minimal standard, it would be ok.

The next week I would have the opportunity to get back to it again and maybe do more. By doing the barest minimum at least it keeps things under control until I can do more.

I don't look at it that way at the time, though. I let myself feel discouraged because I hurt so much and am so tired, so I end up not doing anything.

With the house a disaster, of course I feel worse. I'm looking for inspiration to pull myself out of this pit.

Do I have the time??? I do. I don't have children, but have one full time and one very part time job. I have cats and am getting chickens this spring. I tend to have a lot of projects, like studying an online fitness program for certification, stripping wall paper in our old home and painting!! Lots of friends to visit and that come over. Unread books, etc. An upcoming pampered chef party and tastefully simple party (lots of fun!), Working on having a baby (lots of doctor appts with fertility specialist), and of course my computer :) I load myself up with many projects, write down certain goals, but then I wind up only giving each goal minimal attention and effort because I then don't have time!! I have never been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, but I know I fit the mold!!!
Life is good when I set one or two goals and stay focused, but its hard!! I'm currently in a rute, and am seeding advice from someone I would like to be a mentor or kind of life coach!

It seems like most everyone has at least some time.... however like most everyone I do not use my time as effectivly as I should or could. I use so many different excuses each day just to avoid those boring tasks I've been avaoiding for weeks (like cleaning my living area).
I know one of my weaknesses is staying consistant and on a schedule... which I'm trying to work on this but of course- with every step forward, I make about three steps back.
It's hard to stay encouraged and on top of it all... but in the end- especially when it comes to work and school, I get what needs to be done- done.

After reading all these replies I sit here wondering... I have a hard time getting things done sometimes because I feel i must do them perfect or not at all. So my house gets picked up but not cleaned and I have so much to organize for our business I still havent done, my daughters room needs organized too. She is 6 months and I pile everything in there. I start a million projects and get none done. Is there help for me?

I HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD SINCE I'M ON DISABILITY FOR DEPRESSION. I HAD SHOCK TREATMENTS 11 YRS AGO & LOST MY EXCEPTIONAL ORGANIZATION SKILLS.
I'M STILL STRUGGLING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO CLEAN EACH ROOM IN MY HOUSE!

i have the time but i "don't." most days i have school from 8:10-4:20 and rehearsal until 6:30. then i come home and break down, both because of all my emotional stuff and because i have so much to accomplish that i KNOW i won't get done. then i sit at my computer, either on facebook or ds or nothing, and a few hours later i'm too worn out to accomplish anything. my parents threaten to pull me from the play and other extracurriculars, but nothing works. even if i skip school to catch up on my homework i still don't have time. it makes me feel fucking pathetic but that's my life. something forces me to leave my work til the absolute last minute. i stay up and stress until i crash, then i do everything i need to in other classes. i make doctor's appointments and do stage manager stuff in the school bathroom because i can't do it at home. i waste literally hours every night and i feel so fucking pathetic. but there's nothing i can do about it. i just drown in my emotions and then i get even more depressed because my grades are slipping.

Jeez can I ever relate to this and your post Haohevet192, especially the feeling like a failure for not getting stuff done when I need to. Its like I see time slipping away in slow motion, deadlines just creep up and even though I'm aware of it, can't seem to get things happening, life is such a mess. This shitty cycle of being depressed, having too much to do and not enough motivation to get it done, falling behind, then become more depressed. At the moment, the biggest area is exams and not studying. Or even just stupid things like getting a reasonable amount of sleep or being on time, things just build up and Arrghh... I'm a student and working part time to pay the bills, and things like cleaning, organisation and eating real food have gone out the window, a mess in every sense of the word and in crisis I guess.

my life has become the same as many of yours... i used to be reasonably 'normal' when it comes to getting things done and i was proud of my tidy house. a few years back i had a series of major life stresses, traumas, and physical illnesses all in the one year... i have been dysfunctional since then. although i eventually sorted out each of those problems as best i could, it has left me with chronic procrastination, messiness, disorganisation, lateness, and shoving things in cupboards, drawers and the spare room until there is no more room. i have an opportunity to use the next few weeks to make some progress, and if i don't do things differently, i'm going to miss the chance and be just as frustrated and stressed as i am now.

does anyone have some solutions, anything, no matter how small, might help. thank you

Time? OMG what time is it? Did I miss it?