When Traditional Organizing Efforts Don't Work
If traditional organizing and time management advice and tools haven't worked for you, try non-traditional solutions. Customized strategies or systems are designed to take advantage of your individual strengths and style - and to sidestep any weaknesses or particular challenges. Energy patterns, passions, functioning modalities and (most importantly) what works already are great places to look to find the best elements to include in new systems and strategies.
Any list of organizing tips, traditional or non-conventional, should be read while asking the question, "Might this work for me?" There is no best way to do anything: calendars, keys, filing, grocery shopping or delegating. Most importantly, people with non-conventional minds (so-called attention deficit disorders, unusual learning styles, etc.) definitely benefit from outside-the-box, custom solutions.
A Kinesthetic Example
High energy people sometimes have difficulty working at their desk for extended periods of time. Traditional desk organizing puts the items that are often used within arm's reach. People with lots of energy might have trouble sitting still for even 10 minutes.
If grabbing the stapler required some real movement and checking one's calendar meant spinning around and scooting one's chair over a couple of feet, there would be an outlet for the extra energy. A very high energy person could actually work with better concentration for longer periods of time without getting restless if their out box was across the room.
More examples coming …
