When Your Brain is Ready to Split
“How many of us with ADD have felt, as we whirl around from one project to the next, trying to stay abreast of the mounting mass of details, that our brains were about to split? And then we look down to find our projects rolling around, like balls upon the floor.”
I love this quote from Driven to Distraction, by Drs. Edward Hallowell and John J. Ratey. It paints such a vivid picture of what folks with ADD experience.
Staying organized is a challenge most of us face at some point in our lives. But for people with ADD or ADHD, it can be a lifelong battle. Imagine a brain that travels at the speed of light-conjuring up one amazing idea after another. Actually, that sounds pretty nice to me right about now. But what’s the consequence? You get started on the amazing project and before you have time to finish it, an even BETTER idea comes along and off you go. As the ideas and projects flow, you store your notes and resources on scraps of paper, on legal pads or in notebooks in your office. You create documents on your computer. Unfortunately, another challenge of ADHD is short term memory, so sometimes you can't remember where you stashed those notes or what name you gave those files .
As you juggle all of these projects, overwhelm begins to set in. We’ve all experienced that sense of not knowing where to start with so much on our plates. And when we get to that point things break down.
That’s the paradox of ADHD. Being able to think creatively, to think five steps ahead of everyone else is a gift. But it has some major downsides.
If you struggle to keep yourself organized there are a plethora of tools out there just begging for your attention, too many to mention here. My advice for people with ADHD is, above all, keep it simple and very, very visible. We all have an array of appointments, responsibilities, and opportunities to keep track of in our day to day lives. So my first suggestion is to use a system called pattern planning, described by Drs. Edward Hallowell and John J. Ratey in their book, Driven to Distraction.
Pattern planning involves scheduling regularly occurring tasks and commitments into your calendar so that you don’t really have to think about them. For example, pick a day and time to go grocery shopping and put that into your calendar each week in the same slot. Ditto for laundry, working out, etc. This leaves you with more energy to manage your other tasks because you have fewer decisions to make. You can even schedule a time each week to tackle those projects you want to complete. So, Saturday mornings might be reserved for household projects like cleaning the garage. Monday morning from 8:00 - 9:00 is always reserved for planning your assignments at work. Obviously, we can’t always choose our schedule. Things come up unexpectedly. But having a basic framework can make a big difference. More organization, more productivity, less anxiety.
Ok, I can hear some of you saying, that’s great but how am I going to make myself stick to this schedule? Motivation is another challenge for those with ADHD when it comes to tedious tasks or long term projects. To combat that lethargy toward the mundane tasks we all have to complete, schedule in a few rewards. Maybe you can allow yourself 2 games of computer solitaire Just don’t let the boss or that nosy coworker see you. Or take a walk over to a friend’s cubicle after filling in that dreadful insurance form or responding to a set number of e-mails. Keep your schedule in a very visible place and make it shine. If having those hot pink sticky notes works for you, go for it. If you need a giant wall calendar, own it my friend.
These are but a tiny sample of tips for attentional challenged folks to organize their world. I’ll be back next week with a few more. In the mean time, pick one tool and give it a try.
Suzanne Leon is a Certified Professional Coach who works with people affected by ADHD/ADD. Visit her website to learn more about the services she provides.