1. Organizing your Mind

2. Once you can better manage your emotions, you can harmonize the thinking parts of your brain, opening up a whole new world before you. Quote by: Paul Hammerness, M.D.

3. Co-written by: Paul Hammerness, M.D. & Margaret Moore

4. SIX SKILLS TO MASTER FOR AN ORDERLY BRAIN

5. TAME THE FRENZY. Be quietly in control. Before you can engage the mind, you must control, or at least have a handle on, your emotions. It's hard to be thoughtful or efficient when you're irritated, frustrated, and distraught.

6. SUSTAIN ATTENTION. You need to be able to maintain your focus and successfully ignore distractions in order to plan and coordinate behaviors, to be organized, and to accomplish something.

7. APPLY THE BRAKES. The organized brain must be able to inhibit or stop an action or thought, just as a good pair of brakes brings your car to a halt at a stop light. Think of it as a compassionate hand on the shoulder or a traffic cop holding up a raised hand.

8. MOLD INFORMATION. Your brain has the ability to hold information it has focused on, analyze the information, process it, and use it to guide future behavior.

9. SHIFT SETS. The organized brain is ever ready for the new game in town, the news flash, the timely opportunity, or the last- minute change in plans. You need to be focused in the present, but you also must be able to process and weigh the relative importance of competing stimuli and to be flexible, nimble, and ready to move from one task to another or from one thought to another.

10. CONNECT THE DOTS. The organized and efficient individual is able to pull together the five rules we've just talked about, and bring these abilities to bear on the problem or the situation at hand.

11. Complaint 1. Absentmindedness 2. Easily Distracted 3. Overwhelmed by Clutter 4. Can’t Focus 5. Chronic Lateness Solution 1. Build Awareness 2. Evaluate-is it urgent? 1. If yes, Shift Set 3. Find a partner to help you declutter. 4. Think back to the last time you were 100% focused. 5. Write down a list of commitments.

12. Complaint 6. I can’t do it all. 7. I am barely hanging on. 8. I am way too stressed out. 9. Efficient, but could be more. 10. On the brink of chaos Solution 6. Be able to have your full attention to the task. 7. Schedule interruption zones and interruption free zones. 8. Turn priorities upside down and take care of your health. 9. Start your day by making your to do list the night before. 10. Shift your mental picture. Your thoughts will follow.

13. Discover your positive and negative emotions at www.positivityratio.com www.positivityratio.com Pick one “dis”organized complaint you have about your life. Write why and how you plan to get organized Email Fit4Life your assignment for credit.