Albert Einstein, Nelson Rockefeller , Mozart , Gen. George Patton, the Wright Brothers , Leonardo da Vinci, John F. Kennedy, Cher, Whoppi Goldberg, Bruce Jenner , Tom Cruise, Charles Schwab , Henry Winkler , Danny Glover , F. Scott Fitzgerald , Walt Disney , John Lennon , Robin Williams , Louis Pasteur, George C. Scott Winston Churchill , Henry Ford and Dwight D. Eisenhower …
What do all these people have in common? They all suffered from adult ADD. Since I work with clients on disorganization, sometimes it’s difficult to get them on board with the processes that I teach and it clearly is because there are other issues, one of which may be ADD/ADDHD. So I began to investigate a little bit more into the topic. Since I’m not an expert in that area, my expertise is the process analysis and implementation, I decided to research on the topic of ADD/ADDHD. I recently just finished the book ”Driven to Distraction” by Edward M. Hallowell, MD and John J. Ratey, MD.
What I took away from the book was quite surprising to me and I am grateful to have more knowledge and compassion to work with individuals who may or may not realize they have ADD/ADHD.
Some of the tips I took away from the book whether you have this affliction or not, can be used with all of my clients who deal with disorganization in general. I am sharing with you my favorites.
It’s not unusual that some days you can follow these tips, some days you can’t. It’s all part of the treatment, a professional coach can help you reinforce.
- Don’t try to do it alone. Be sure you are working with a professional who can help you make change.
- Educate yourself with support groups and associations.
- Choose a coach – keep it light with humor, stay encouraged and on task.
- Educate and involve others of your needs, i.e., your family, job, school , friends.
- Your personality gets excited! Give up the guilt over high stimulus behavior, just choose good outlets.
- Listen to feedback from trusted others on your progress. You may be a poor self observer.
- Join or start a support group (you already sought them ought, take action, if you don’t like what’s out there, start one!)
- Get rid of negativity – a good psychotherapist can help you if this transition is difficult.
- Dont’ feel chained to conventional ways of coping. Let go of the should be’s in your life, i.e., you should be an executive, doctor or lawyer.
- Know that what you have is neurological, biological brain disorder, not a will based or neurosis, or weakness in character.
- Try to help others with ADD.
- Incorporate performance management. Establish external structure, make use of lists, notes, rituals, reminders, files, pattern planning .
- Use pizazz, make your environment as peppy as can be, make organization stimulating, not boring, use color for visual memory
- Regarding paperwork, OHIO, only handle it once (make a decision), respond once away, throw or file permanently – respond on the spot. (We might need to work on this one!)
- Set up an environment to reward rather than deflate.
- Acknowledge and anticipate collapse of projects, endings of relationship, problems. Preparedness creates a lower stress environment.
- Embrace challenges – better to be too busy than not busy enough
- Make deadlines
- Breakdown large tasks into small ones, give deadlines to small tasks
- Prioritize rather than procrastinate. If too many projects or tasks, first things first.
- Accept the fear of things going too well, dont’ gum things up just for the excitement.
- Notice how and where you work best, on the train, listening to music, in a busy coffee shop. Work in those conditions.
- Know that it is ok to do 2 things at once, take a shower and think, jog and plan your day.
- Do what your good at, if it’s easy, that’s ok.
- Leave time between engagements to gather your thoughts. These mini breaks will ease the transition .
- Keep a notepad in your car , by your bed, jacket , pocketbook, you never know when you need to write something down.
- Read with a pen in hand for marginal notes and the inevitable cascade of thoughts.
- Mood managment: Have structured blow out time, set time up every week with loud music or at the race track , feast, let loose in a safe way.
- Recharge your batteries, create daily waste time without feeling guilty, take a nap, or meditate.
- Choose good helpful addictions, exercise, yoga! Something positive.
- Understand mood changes and ways to manage. They will change independently, get refocused and don’t blame them, they will pass, make strategies, change settings, so you can move past them.
- Recognize your internal cycles, ie., a.) something startles your system, a change, disapoointment or success; b.) the startle is followed by a mini panic; c.) you try to deal with the panic with obsession or ruminating.. break the cycle with chain of friends to call, videos to watch, ways to exercise, punching bag , rehearse a few pep talks, the blues will pass
- Learn how to name your feelings.
- Expect depression after success – the high stimulus is over, you tend to miss the conflict or the chaos.
- Learn symbols slogans or shorthand to label slip ups, misktake or moodswings – blonde moment!
- Use time outs when upset or overstimulated
- Learn how to advocate for yourself – get off the defensive
- Avoid premature closure to a deal, conversion – dont cut to the chase too soon.
- Avoid sugar (I’m sorry!)
- Try to let a successful moment last and be over over time .
- You may hyperfocus at times and sometimes it’s productive. However, be aware of the bad, imagined problems may be exagerrated.
- Exercise vigourously and regularly – stick with it, it’ll reduce noise in the mind, it’ll soothe and calm the body. Make it fun.
- Interpersonal life. Make a good choice in a significatn other.
- Learn to joke with yourself and others with yoru symptoms and impulsivelness.
- Scehduel activiteis with friends and adhere to them faithfully.
- Find and join groups where you are liked appreciated and enjoyed.
- Dont stay too long where you arent undersood or enjoyed – demoralizing and draining, dont try to make it work.
- Pay compliments, notice others, get social training
- Set social deadlines, keep it organized.
- Set time daily to meditate (in the morning and at the end of the day) to focus on your intentions and and identfidy your successes for gratitute in the evening.
Again, I’m not an MD or a psychiatrist, this is my opinion as a productivity trainer and my takeaway from this book. I thought this list was so valuable to offer as a baseline. If you think you have issues with being disorganized (possibly suffering from ADD), this list identifies some techniques as a good start. I also learned that it can be a very isolating disorder, so I encourage you to reach out to someone safe. If you need a referral of where to start, let me know.
(C) 2009 Strategize & Organize. Anne McGurty
