Adult AD/HD Ambitions #3

Each week I chart a course for success. I tell myself "This is the last week AD/HD will run my life!" I haven't succeeded yet, but I've come pretty darn close. OK, last week I couldn't have been further from the mark if I had hopped on a jet and flew in the opposite direction. Still, getting myself to think about change is part of the process.

Don't let Adult ADD run your life. Pick one thing to work on this week and take the plunge with me. Chart your progress here and let us know how you do.

My goal for this week: Be Punctual.

Last week I didn't do so well with this goal. Yes, it's not my fault that Bigfoot stole my keys and ran off with my minivan. Not buying it? Would you believe four angry munchkins nailed me to my bed? Nah, my doctor didn't buy that one either, but excuses aside, I do think I can make this goal. I'll just try harder.

I will try to leave even more time before each appointment to allow for random pandemonium than I did last week. I'll fine tune this process and figure out where I'm going wrong to correct for it. As they say, Rome wasn't built in a day.



Comments will be open for one week



Like reading The Splintered Mind? Share articles with your friends, link from your blog, or subscribe!


tags technorati :

Comments

wsh1266 said…
hey Doug- I've found those timex watches that have count down timers you can set for 5, 10, 15 minute intervals up to four hours help provide some of those external reminders so I am on time- maybe this can help too! :)

Whitney
The LD Podcast
January 29, 2008 6:16 AM
D.R. Cootey said…
Thanks, Whitney! Do you have a URL you can share? I can't wear watches, but I know some of my readers will be interested.

I have timer widgets on my Macs and an iPhone with timers and alarms. Those external reminders make such a difference.

~Douglas
January 29, 2008 3:30 PM
D.R. Cootey said…
I should add "make such a difference...when I remember to set the timers." Do you have a timer that can help me remember to set timers? ;)

~Douglas
January 29, 2008 3:31 PM
Anonymous said…
LOL funny - but being punctual is conformist and overated ;)

http://www.jackal.motime.com
January 30, 2008 9:26 PM
D.R. Cootey said…
Thanks for posting, anonymous. Although an emphasis of punctuality over skill pervades our society and qualifies to me as a bit conformist and overrated, I believe that making an effort to be punctual is a considerate and polite thing to do. Personally, I'm tired of keeping friends waiting. I'm finding it more and more embarrassing, even if they never worry or complain about it.

You were probably kidding, though. ;)

~Douglas
January 31, 2008 5:40 AM
D.R. Cootey said…
Update: This week is going well. I've been fairly punctual, which is a major miracle. How are you doing on your goals?
January 31, 2008 7:38 AM
D.R. Cootey said…
Aside from suddenly falling ill yesterday, I've had phenomenal success with this week's goal. And because my wife had the day off today she drove everybody around which meant I wasn't late once today! Huzzah! :)
February 02, 2008 12:38 AM
Claire said…
Do you find anxiety spinning you up if you are on the way to be late? My hubby, when he decides to add one extra thing in before work, all of a sudden explodes in crazy behavior if he thinks he might be late for work.

Just wondering. . .
February 02, 2008 7:55 PM
D.R. Cootey said…
No, I don't experience anxiety that way. My wife claims I don't even care when I'm running behind because I'm "finishing up my one last thing." I have NO IDEA what she's talking about. Ahem. But I do get stressed while driving to an appointment I am late to. Perhaps it is only then, when will cannot blink away the hundreds of slow moving, cell phone chatting, cigarette smoking drivers who for some reason aren't in a rush to get out of my way that I realize I am not the master of time I thought I was and no amount of wishing can stretch 10 minutes into 15. THEN I do become a bit stressed.
February 03, 2008 7:23 PM
Post a Comment

Somewhat Liked Posts

Traveler's Notebook Distractions and ADHD eBay Blunders

Image
I joined the Midori Traveler’s Notebook (TN) club this past Summer. I missed the big blogging heyday about them around 2012 to 2015 when the Internet seem to explode over this nifty little notebook system, but I was all about digital back then. I loved my iPhone and didn’t feel a need to go analog. Recently, though, I noticed some artists doing inspiring things in their TNs, and I thought this could be the kick in the pants I needed to fit sketching back into my life. I started small with one notebook insert with a leather cover. Only when I noted that I was actually using it, I invested in more inserts. The only feature it was missing for me was a ToDo list insert, but nobody made one. And thus I began my journey yesterday into DIY Notebook Hell. With ADHD as my guide, I boldly discovered blog after blog of incredibly ornate notebook inserts that people made for themselves because the official ones were just “too expensive”. Since you can get official ones fo...
Continue Reading…

About Me

Image
Celebrating Year Nine I’m Douglas Cootey, and I’ve been blogging here since 2 January 2005 . Before that I blogged for years into a tiny text file called “what’s_new.html” and hosted it on a site so old not even archive.org remembers it very well. I would update that blog via telnet using vi on a 1200 baud modem. It was very exciting. I started out blogging about mental health in order to accomplish three goals: First, I wanted to overcome the stigma.  I couldn’t talk about my ADHD  or Depression  without feeling shame. The method I used to overcome this was self-deprecating humor and honesty—a method that continues to work well for me.  Next, I wanted to reach out to others who shared my issues.   My blog has reached thousands of people, many of who don't comment because the mental health stigma is strong. However, many of whom send me emails thanking me from time to time for something that I have written. I have learned so much from thei...
Continue Reading…

Hallowell and Ratey's Diagnostic Criteria for ADD in Adults

Image
If you have ever found yourself putting the milk away in the cereal cupboard on a regular basis or reading a magazine in the lobby long after that meeting you were supposed to be at started and wondered whether you have ADD or ADHD or AD/HD or Hyper Kinesis or Minimal Brain Dysfunction or whatever they're calling it this year, you could do no better for yourself than to turn to Doctors Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey for diagnosis. I have long linked to their classic book on ADHD, " Driven to Distraction ", on my site and have used their list of criteria as fodder for many articles. Their book explores the phenomenon of ADHD through the cases of Dr. Hallowell and provides in depth descriptions of the various aspects of this disorder. I found the book revelatory and insightful, even comforting. I especially found it useful in providing words for me to help explain myself better to my wife in the early years of our marriage. I am much more articulate now than I was...
Continue Reading…