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Being Organized, part 2 - Eye Talk by Annie Schlesinger

“A place for everything and everything in its place.” This is organization! But it must be done a all times even compulsively. I will give you some of my ideas which I hope will inspire you to adopt or develop your own systems.

My mail gets sorted immediately and I immediately discard anything possible. I used to save interesting items and articles but life changes and I can’t manage piles of paper. I have autopay for most of my bills. Receipts, such as store receipts I might need later, go into a basket to save for a time. The basket is periodically cleared out but it keeps the receipts available for a time and mostly I don’t have to sort through them.

My bank has an app where I can check my account online. I also can call a phone number and hear my recent transactions. Phone calls also work for transactions on my credit card.

As well as having medical names and numbers in my phone contact list I have a printed copy. I keep a list of current medications on the refrigerator and one ready to go with me for appointments. In the hospital we kept a chart for each patient. When my husband and I were traveling in our RV, I started a narrative (chart) or history of medications and medical problems with dates. I still do “my chart”; I feel it is important to know my history and dates when things occurred.

I have a daily routine. I try to live as stress free as possible. I don’t find routine boring; I believe routine gives me time for interesting activities. You may have a different or better way of doing things. Let me know; I’m eager to learn.

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Being Organized, part 1 - Eye Talk by Annie Schlesinger

When I had the idea to write about being organized, I checked the topic at the Talking Book Library - there were 18 results - on BARD there were 19. Since I am organized and believe it is very important, I am going to share some of what I do. I also read about the subject; there are common themes in the literature.

I have a routine for many things, and if I don’t follow my routine, I have trouble. When I walk into my apartment, keys, sunglasses, purse, white cane and now mask, go in their place. I keep items in the same place all the time. If I have to look for keys, etc., it creates anxiety and wastes time.
A routine for medications can be a lifesaver. I use a container with days of week sections for my vitamins. Several prescription med containers are set out in a tray on the table every morning; then the med container is returned to storage when the med is taken. According to where the container is, I can tell if I have taken the medication. My morning and evening eye drops have their places and move when used - I call it my geographic memory. When I do something every day, like medications, I sometimes can’t remember later if I took them. Now I can check container location and have some certainty.

My clothing is labeled and hung in its designated section of the closet. I label with braille using puff paint to make the dots. I learned braille letters and numbers and can use it for writing addresses and phone numbers. There are several methods of labeling: safety pins can be used. For some things I use the Pen Friend which allows me to record information on a sticker.

As I lose more of my vision I am clearing out unnecessary items. It’s difficult; lots of good stuff that I wanted at one time. But now it’s clutter and too much to manage.

I am still working on how to manage my appointments and mail. I am using the iPhone and hope will be the answer. Then there is the kitchen, ordering medications, taxes and probably more.

I believe in working out the best system for me and sticking to it. It may take some experimenting but it makes life easier.

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Newsy Notes February/March, 2020
Eye Talk by Annie Schlesinger

As I age I notice my memory is not as good as it used to be. As we age we also experience some loss of touch sensitivity, taste, eyesight, hearing and problems with balance.. Of course I want to do what I can to maintain my facilities particularly memory. I’ve heard it said blind people have the best memories; well, we depend on memory a lot!

Memory is network structures, storage of information and the ability to recall information when needed. It is now believed memory loss isn’t inevitable. Our brain can grow new pathways and new connections by learning new things and staying engaged.

Fleeting memory lapses are more upsetting as we get older; we fear loss of intellectual function and worry do we have dementia! Most of the fleeting problems reflect normal changes in the brain, making it a bit harder to learn new things quickly.

Some symptoms of dementia are forgetting routine things constantly, trouble learning new things and difficulty with complex tasks. It seems to be a matter of degree, small lapse are Okay, but more and more of the ones cited here are troublesome and need evaluation by a professional.

Anything that helps the body helps the mind: good nutrition and exercise. Life long learning is excellent. Slow down, live in the moment . Reduce stress-be aware of how stress affects you.

I read that in order to enhance memory one could move something and try to remember the new location. I didn’t like this idea as I am organized: my keys always go in their tray, cane goes beside the door and so on always. But I did decide to move the soap dispenser to the opposite side of the sink; someday I will switch it back. I switch hands to brush my teeth and I am attempting to perform more tasks with my non-dominant hand to create new pathways in my brain.

Strategies

1. Keep learning. Challenge your brain with activities such as puzzles, gardening, dancing or learning new words.

2. Use all you senses. Example: try to guess smells in restaurants and elsewhere.

3. Believe in yourself. Believe you can maintain and improve.

4. Economize your brain use. Organize and keep distractions to a minimum. Focus on new information you want to remember. (My favorite-don’t waste your brain power being disorganized.)

5. Repeat what you want to learn. Repeat it several times, and if you can, write it down.

6. Space it out. Repetition is best when it is studied after longer periods of time. Let some time go by and repeat what you want to remember.

7. Make a mnemonic. As RICE to remember first-aid for injured limbs: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Associate the first letter of a new name with something familiar
(References: MDSupport, Harvard Health)