Sep 5th, 2007 | Productivity | 3 Comments
As I write this I’m surrounded by one of the “markers” of A.D.D. - those ever growing “piles.” My desktop is covered with piles of paper and there’s also a pile on the floor. The dining room table has a pile though it’s not as high as the one on the floor. Still, after three years of medication and self-imposed behavior modification I’m noticing changes. They are not dramatic, they are not monumental (though to an A.D.D.er they are monumental) but they are changes nonetheless. I noticed the changes by accident.
Last year one of my relatives bought me one of those page-a-day calendars. This one happened to have featured The Onion. I’ve gotten them in the past and usually I just looked through them a few times, put them on my desk and maybe, just maybe, every six months I would pull off a bunch of pages. But this time the Goddess Frontalobia descended from the heavens and touched me (this is the only logical explanation I can think of) because, as I write this, the page for September 5 is staring me in the face. In fact, what I noticed was that, for the most part, I was keeping up with the ritual of tearing off a page each day. Sure there were times when I missed a day (sometimes a whole week’s worth of days!) but, miracle of miracles, it did not sit there and languish. I really kept up with it…and it didn’t require self-flagellation or wearing a hairshirt. Nor did I dread doing it. I actually LIKED seeing the progress. And in a small way, what has really changed, is my ability to visualize time. (Contrast this with an earlier post - The Tyranny of Now which describes, in short, my inability to visualize time.) Now that seems like a gift from the gods! I can see time as chunks that I can grasp and manipulate, that I can feel and act upon. It is no longer a blur that rushes past (though there are days that it is nothing but a blur and it is only in retrospect that I realize how much time has suddenly passed) but something that I am living in.
Again, the changes are small but small changes have a cumulative effect and that is also something I have begun to visualize. I’m seeing how today’s actions translate into tomorrows completed actions which become the basis for another set of actions with all of them propelling me forward.
I noticed that for the first time in my life I maintained a daily planner where I record upcoming business meetings and related information. Of course I can have weeks when I don’t use it much and times when I have completely ignored it and need to bring it up to date…but, unlike in the past, I have not abandoned it altogether. It has not become another dust collector!
I’ve also been paying bills on a consistent basis. (Contrast this with an earlier post - A.D.D. Money Blues.) Admittedly, I pay them at the last minute but at least it’s the minute before they are due…not after. Now my thoughts are haunted by my need to pay them on time as opposed to how long it has been since I missed the payment deadline.
How did these changes come about? The atheists among you probably do not believe they are a result of my being blessed by the Goddess Frontalobia. Yet it is the only logical explanation. After all, it can not be possible that the change is the result of simple determination, a willingness to allow for failure and not become depressed by it and the willingness to try again. How can such small things as maintaining an appointment calendar result in real change in my very being and, as a result, real change in my circumscribed world? How can scribbling little notes in that calendar (or scribbling blog posts?) effect any change? That such small changes - putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) - can effect the way I feel, that it can alter the very fabric of my life, can only be described as a gift from a Goddess.
[updated one hour after posting]
As a result of writing this post…I forgot to prepare for my 8am meeting. Oh well…looks like “improve” does not mean “cure.”
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Aug 29th, 2007 | Lifestyle, Productivity | 3 Comments
I’ve spent much of my life reading articles like “12 tips to a better life” and “10 tips for saving money.” And I’ve tried to follow the tips and found that often they don’t work. Maybe it’s because they are not usually written by an A.D.D.er for an A.D.D.er. No matter, the real problem is that they lack a warning label - YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary), DNWFE (Does Not Work For Everyone), DNTAAO (Do Not Try All At Once) - which would alert you to the fact that not all of these tips may work for you. In fact, none of them may work! Instead, they should be presented, not as categorical imperatives but as suggestions, much like the New York City traffic laws (”Come to a full stop at a stop sign,” “Pedestrians have the right of way”). That is, they are not hard and fast rules but are suggested methods that one might want to follow. And if the suggestion doesn’t fit into your lifestyle…don’t worry…ignore it.
With these caveats in mind I’d like to point you to this recent posting that I found: 25 Tips to Become More Happy and Productive at Work. Some of the tips are great but what’s most important is that you take a look at this list. You might want to try one or two, see if it fits your lifestyle, and then try to incorporate it into your daily living. For example, the very first tip says
Keep a question like this at your desk to help you stay focused: ‘Am I making the most of my time right now?’.
I happen to have the following taped onto my computer monitor: “Hope Is Not A Plan Of Action. ” Tip Number 12 is one that I definitely need to think about: “Pace Yourself, Especially on Bad Days. Go slow. Don’t be in a hurry. Just take one thing at a time and keep moving forward.” I have a habit of not pacing myself and thereby having one productive day followed by one day (or more!!) of burnout.
So, take the chicken soup approach. Have a look at the list. No guarantee that any of the tips will make you more productive but looking at it couldn’t hurt.
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Aug 23rd, 2007 | Productivity | No Comments
I thought this might be helpful to both A.D.D.ers and non-A.D.D.ers.
People at the top of every profession share one quality — they get things done. This ability supercedes intelligence, talent, and connections in determining the size of your salary and the speed of your advancement. Despite the simplicity of this concept there is a perpetual shortage of people who excel at getting results. The action habit — the habit of putting ideas into action now — is essential to getting things done. Here are 7 ways you can grow the action habit.
1. Don’t wait until conditions are perfect - If you’re waiting to start until conditions are perfect, you probably never will. There will always be something that isn’t quite right. Either the timing is off, the market is down, or there’s too much competition. In the real world there is no perfect time to start. You have to take action and deal with problems as they arise. The best time to start was last year. The second best time is right now.
Source: http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/grow-the-action-habit (You’ll need to click this link to read about the other six methods.)
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And somewhat related to the above subject is a list of organizational tips - twenty seven of them to be exact.
See: Twenty Seven Great Tips
Aug 22nd, 2007 | Productivity | 1 Comment
A.D.D.ers can easily enter a state of “paralysis” — of complete inaction — when their to-do list grows exponentially. According to Jennifer Koretsky, this happens when you become consumed by all of the things you must do (”consumed by the future”) and, simultaneously, you are consumed by your legacy of past mistakes (”consumed by the past”). As she points out in her latest newsletter (which you should definitely subscribe to!), the key to breaking out of this paralysis is to focus your energies on the present.
See: Living in the Present
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Aug 21st, 2007 | Productivity | No Comments
“Are certain spaces [of your home] dedicated to overflowing piles of ’stuff’, that you can’t let go, but you can’t keep forever?” If you suffer from that particular A.D.D. problem then you may want to check out this article. It describes a fast and painless technique for reducing clutter.
Here’s another perspective (albeit a complimentary perspective) on how to deal with cleaning. See: Beat the Clock
[edited on Aug 22, 2007]
You might also want to check out ADDClutterBusters.com.
[edited on Oct. 11, 2007]
Aug 4th, 2007 | Productivity | No Comments
My favorite tonic for procrastination—which I have mentioned in passing previously—is what I call a dash, which is simply a short burst of focused activity during which you force yourself to do nothing but work on the procrastinated item for a very short period of time—perhaps as little as just one minute. By breaking a few tiny pebbles off of your perceived monolith, you end up psyching yourself out of your stupor, as well as making much-needed progress on your overdue project.
Source: Procrastination Dash
Jul 28th, 2007 | Productivity | 1 Comment
As I write this I have a set of headphones on while I listen to Bowie’s “Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust.” I’ve got the volume cranked so the outside world is drowned out.
Music sends me into an altered state. I can think clearly. I can crank out programming code. I can play killer chess (well, at least when I was younger I could do that…if I was listening to Black Sabbath don’t even think of beating me in chess…it wouldn’t happen). It’s as if the music preoccupies a section of the brain - perhaps it placates the stimulus-seeking part of your brain - thereby making it possible to concentrate.
Jul 4th, 2007 | Productivity | No Comments
I accidentally discovered that some of my most productive days are when I am sick or tired (or both…ha ha!). My theory is that being sick (or tired) means that my A.D.D. brain can’t go at warp speed and it slows down enough to focus on the task at hand.
Sometimes I can “force” focusing on a project by doing an all-nighter. That way I’m so tired that whatever energy I have left I can only use to focus on the task at hand and there is no energy to focus on anything else which means, of course, there is no energy left to get distracted. But this comes at a terrible price. If I am tired then after I finish task X I feel burnt out. So I am only temporarily productive and then become even less productive after that task has been finished. In addition, the trick of pulling all-nighters is not working that well anymore. I’m losing the stamina necessary to fight the A.D.D. and stay focused. So when I pull an all-nighter I might not have that second wind that I always depended on to finish the task at hand.
[edited on July 5, 2007 @5:12pm]
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