I'm schizophrenic and need ideas on how to train myself to be active and able to work toward my goals.

December 5, 2007 4:48 PM

I'm schizophrenic and need ideas on how to train myself to be active and able to work toward my goals.

I was in college and had a psychotic break which revealed that while I do have severe anxiety, it's only a part of the schizophrenia.

I have a huge posterboard on my wall with a calendar which I mark every day so that I at least know what day it is, and my precise goals. I would like to start working on a "next action" list so I can see the baby steps on the way to acheiving these goals.

(the goals are basically to train myself to keep on top of tasks instead of getting overwhelmed and having to quit, and eventually achieve financial independence)

Have any of you tried something like this in the past? I am very motivated, but I get stuck sometimes. Any suggestions even remotely related to Getting Things Done are needed.

posted by hypervenom to Grab Bag (5 answers total)

GTD is good. I mainly keep to the basics. One to do list, one inbox, all files for the same subject in the same area. I also block out days of time for multi-day projects on the big calendar.
posted by Ironmouth at 4:57 PM on December 5, 2007

I owe what little order there is in my life to Todoist. It's simple, has a fantastic interface, and just the right features to prevent it from becoming a distraction itself. I also use a vibrating timer to help me focus on individual tasks.

I hope you're able to control this - fight the good fight.
posted by phrontist at 5:08 PM on December 5, 2007

These might help:

Joe's Goals

zenhabits

Wishing you the best.
posted by pammo at 5:09 PM on December 5, 2007

I have bipolar, and struggle with getting things done. My problem is mostly dealing with the number of things that always need to be done. Something important for me has been understanding that my ability to do things changes every day. I tend to set weekly goals for chores to be sure they all get done, rather than daily goals, since I can't predict if I'm going to have a good day or a bad day. I might do more than planned on a good day, or less than planned on a bad day, and it's possible even that I might have a good week and a bad week. As long as I can even it all out and get everything done.

It's also important to have 'vacation' days where I don't expect to do anything. Play time is important, as long as it's not overdone. I need these vacation days to look forward to, so I don't feel weighed down with needing to do things every single day.

Good luck, it's great that you are finding ways to function.
posted by veronitron at 5:45 PM on December 5, 2007

As a case manager the bulk of my job is interviewing clients to find out what their personal goals are and helping them identify steps they can take towards achieving them. The focus of my home visits if there is no crisis that needs to get resolved is to check progress towards a client's stated goal, remind them of things they may have said they would do but haven't yet, and find out if there's anything I can do for them in the meantime.

Documenting in writing exactly what your goal is and concrete steps you think you need to take to achieve it would be the first thing I would recommend. Having a document you can refer back to during moments of confusion or loss of motivation is a good tool. Then I would recommend sharing the document with someone you trust, who cares about you and can check up with you periodically to see how your progress is coming along. Being honest with them about your progress or lack thereof will help you tremendously.

And I understand that you might not like the term case manager, sub in life coach if you want, it's basically the same service targeted at a specific socio-economic group with different goals than a mental health services consumer may have. Either way, someone to play this role for you might really help.
posted by The Straightener at 6:08 PM on December 5, 2007 [1 favorite]