Bipolar? It helps to be organized

Some days my brain doesn't work like it should. It's hard for me to think, my mind races, I can't focus on much. Still, there are certain tasks that I'm expected to complete every day, some as simple as putting on clean clothes, some as complicated as solving other peoples' problems at work. When I have too many of these days, people start to notice. I've found that being organized not only helps me cope, but also keeps the attention off me and makes me look more sane.

On days when I feel well, I take extra measures to get myself organized and make sure things are in order. Paper makes me crazy- stacks of paper, sticky notes, scraps of paper- first I get rid of the paper. Whenever possible, I scan large documents onto my computer, and toss the hard copy. Usually those sticky notes and scraps of paper are "to do" items, so I write them in my planner. Throw away some paper, it will make you feel better.

Little things that don't bother anyone else, things that wouldn't bother me on a day when I was feeling well- those things can literally imobilize me. Something as small as not having a pen and paper on my desk can ruin my entire day; some days I am unable to solve a problem that small. I have a lot of black clothes in my closet because some days I can't focus enough to match clothes.

You would think that on a day that I can't locate a pen and paper or color cordinate clothes that I should just give up and do nothing. Today is one of those days for me, but I did get some things accomplished. I wrote this blog article, even though I wasn't sure if I could. I did some routine tasks at work, tasks that on most days I would find boring. There were some more complicated things I was asked to do today, and they are on my list for Monday.

On days like today, I would rather stay home and in bed; I really would. I do fear that someone will notice that I'm "off", and sometimes they do. But, I do as much as I can at work and for my family, and so far that has been enough for everyone.