Adult AD/HD Ambitions #4: Find Focus First
Is there something in your life you'd like to improve? Set a goal and track it with us here.
After spending the morning reading Super Tuesday coverage, then walking to the local fire station to vote, then spending 3 hours driving around Salt Lake Valley like a madman sprinkling my children all over the place like seeds, I suddenly remembered I needed to set goals for this week.
I say "suddenly" with tongue in cheek because I had previously not remembered what I was going to set as my goal. Monday turned into Tuesday and finally it came to me as I lay in bed pretending to sleep. A quick sticky note later and I could relax and let things go and get back to tossing and turning. Unfortunately, I didn't look at that sticky note before leaping into the world wide web for my morning news fix. But here I am now, ready to pretend I know what I'm talking about.
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After spending the morning reading Super Tuesday coverage, then walking to the local fire station to vote, then spending 3 hours driving around Salt Lake Valley like a madman sprinkling my children all over the place like seeds, I suddenly remembered I needed to set goals for this week.
I say "suddenly" with tongue in cheek because I had previously not remembered what I was going to set as my goal. Monday turned into Tuesday and finally it came to me as I lay in bed pretending to sleep. A quick sticky note later and I could relax and let things go and get back to tossing and turning. Unfortunately, I didn't look at that sticky note before leaping into the world wide web for my morning news fix. But here I am now, ready to pretend I know what I'm talking about.
My goal for this week: Find Focus First
My morning routine is a random event. I like there to be more order in my life so I can get more accomplished, so finding focus first thing in the morning instead of the last thing at night would be a real improvement in my life. Fortunately, I remember to get dressed before I sit down in front of the computer, but there was that time back in '96. Nah. Let's not go into that.
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Comments
And yet here I am, scrolling my feeds and posting in your blog. I fail at focusing.
Good luck!
I've had pretty good success this week simply making the mental preparation to get busy in the morning. As with any tips and tricks regarding mastering AD/HD, I don't ever expect to eliminate it from my life, but I'd like to subdue it if I can.
I've succeeded in making a new habit of looking at my to do list from the previous day first thing in the morning. I also have finally limited by news binge in the morning to 30 minutes. I mentally ask myself after looking at that list, "Do you really have MORE than 30 minutes to waste today?"
A lot of what makes Douglas Cootey tick is the panic at the end of the day when I realize I haven't accomplished all or any of what I've set out to do. On bad days, it is only then that I realize that spending three hours researching migratory bat patterns in Ecuador was a waste of time. OK, I just made that up, but only because some of my distractions have really been embarrassing. LOL
I've been using a new Mac application called TaskPaper, which is a super bare bones to do list, one step about a scrap piece of paper with a list on it. That, in tandem with http://tadalist.com, accounts for my recent spout of productivity. When they lose efficacy I'll quickly find something else to help me stay focused.
How are you folks doing on YOUR goals?
~Douglas
Getting a good diagnosis is difficult because, as you've found out, everybody has an opinion. I've had some real bizarre therapists in my time. I'm glad I found one who can help me work towards a better life without imposing his own opinions on how I should do it. Good luck! Hold onto that family. It is the most important tool you have towards finding happiness today.