Neuro-Strategies and Tips for the Brain Injury Survivor
Organization – General Neuro-strategies
- Choose ONE planning system that you like. Many people fall into the trap of the more, the better.
- Avoid Re-organizing anything in which, you already have a system. Work on building the systems you already have. If you don’t have, you can “Get Organized” in that area.
- When getting organized, think categories and putting “like things” together
- Once you have a place for something, put it there ALWAYS
- Set aside time to organize and put things away every day. Maybe choose the last 20 minutes before bed, or before you start preparing supper.
- Establish days for regular weekly activities. For example:
- Sunday – refill the pill box
- Monday – meal planning and making a grocery list
- Tuesday- grocery shopping
- Complete one task at a time.
- Decide what goes where, place the more frequently used items in an easily accessible place and items that are rarely used can be stored in places such as in the back of the closet.
Organization – To Do Lists
- When making a To Do list you will also try to think in terms of categories: chores, calls to make, things to buy, etc.
- Use a modified To Do list – this is different than a TO DO list which might have 50 things on it. A Modified To Do list would be the top 5 things you want to do. DO not add another project until you have completed at least one of the five. If this is still proving to be difficult for you to complete tasks, try listing only 3 projects.
- Prioritize your To Do list into three sections: Must Do Today, Do Soon and Would like to do if time allows
- Divide your activities into smaller tasks. If clean the kitchen is on your list, break that down: sweep floor, mop floor, do the dishes, etc. This will allow you to complete tasks in a manageable way and not get overwhelmed with the size of the whole activity.
- Arrange errand and shopping lists to minimize back tracking.
- Schedule breaks
There is no right way to organize. The best way is the way that works for you. Our Occupational Therapist can help you with organizational skills and offer suggestions on different methods. As mentioned, many of the neuro-strategies used at New Approaches have been tried and proven successful. Please contact us; we are here to help.