Posts Tagged: ADD Tips

ADHD-ADD Tips — No Comments
18
Jul 10

Best ADD Tip Ever – The Only ADHD Advice You Need *

best-add-tip-adhd-secret Are you ready for the best ADD tip for overcoming ADHD symptoms? It is surprisingly easy, and once you see how this powerful attention deficit disorder tip can be for managing ADHD at work or school, you’ll want to use it all the time.

Is there a catch?

Well, did you see that asterisks up there? That means that there is a catch.

Overcoming Distraction to Get Work Done and Be Most Productive

The key concern when it comes to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is how constant distraction can be overcome in order to be more productive at school, more productive at work, and more productive at home. All the other ADD symptoms are sort of secondary. If ADDers could just get a handle on increasing productivity in the face of ADD, everything else would be a little easier to manage. (If you were as productive as you are capable of at work and around the house, do you think it would matter as much that you occasionally tune out or interrupt your spouse during conversations?)

To become more productive and improve your standing at work or improve your grades at school, the person with ADD need only do just one little thing: keep working.

See, I told you there was a catch.

However, hear me out. For those of us with ADD, the symptom of distractibility is one that keeps us from focusing properly on important tasks. When a major report is due the next day, we find ourselves intrigued by something else entirely. When this happens, there are only two choices. One choice involves using all of the ADHD tips and ADD tools that one can muster to overcome one’s natural tendency to have attention wander from the important tasks at hand, to those of lesser importance, or even no importance at all. The second choice involves just going with the flow, or allowing the mind’s attention to wander as it sees fit.

* The Catch: (That asterisks does indeed mean that there is a catch. Typically, it means a footnote, which is where some company uses really small fonts to explain how they are going to screw you over, and therefore cover themselves legally by “disclosing” the information that you need to realize that the whole thing is a scam. Here on Addessories, we have no reason to trick our fellow ADDers, so this explanatory asterisk is in full-size font type.) The catch is that in order to follow the path of least resistance and give into your mind’s typical urges to find ever more interesting things to focus on, you have to keep working longer than you would if you went the other route.

How much longer?

That is the essence of the catch. You have to keep working until you have finished that important task. That major report, or that semester-long project that you just started and is due tomorrow, must be finished before you stop working, whether that takes four hours or thirty-four hours. You’ll find that you are happier along the way, but the destination will end up being much further away than it should have.

Whether or not this is a good ADD trick for you depends entirely on whether you are the type of person with ADD who finds the journey more important than the destination, or whether you are the type of person with ADHD who finds crossing the finish line the most satisfying.

Which one are you?

ADHD-ADD Tips — No Comments
18
Apr 10

ADHD Kids Will Be Kids

"I’m not really sure I buy into the whole ADD thing," he says, like he’s explaining his views on a new multilevel marketing opportunity.

It’s one of those times when the topic of attention deficit syndrome has come up somehow, and the person speaking isn’t very educated in exactly what is ADD or how ADD symptoms affect kids or adults.

What he really means is that he isn’t sure how much he believes in ADHD. The original term of ADD was replaced by ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity syndrome, because mental health professionals were concerned that attention deficit disorders were being underdiagnosed in children who were then either going untreated, or being treated for the wrong thing. In this sense, my friend is correct. There is no such thing as ADD and therefore, no need to buy into it.

Of course, this is not what he is saying. He means that he isn’t sure that ADHD is not just made up by a bunch of shrinks trying to get rich by giving their equally rich clients an excuse for their child’s behavior. He means that what is really going on is that either there are bad parents or bad kids involved, or that maybe this whole "ADHD thing" is nothing more than kids being kids.

Everyone Gets Distracted Sometimes

"Everybody gets distracted sometimes. Heck, I get distracted all the time when I’m bored or stuck in long meetings."

Ah, yes. The "evidence" that many people cite as proof that ADHD is a sham or, at the very least, an over-diagnosed fad that has too many kids hopped up on Ritalin when they should just be left alone.

I don’t really bother too much with conversations like these anymore. One important ADHD tip is to not take statements like these too much to heart. Some people are uneducated about certain things and proud of it, thank you very much. Talking to them about whether or not ADHD is real is a waste of time. Other people might listen or even take the time to evaluate a rational argument given the right environment. However, knowing when and where that is isn’t easy.

In this case, I decided to try and explain what ADHD really was, how the media distorts ADD, and how a bunch of blowhards wielding faulty logic and ignorance have managed to push a heap of skepticism on the diagnosis of ADHD for children and adults.

Everyone does get distracted. And, yes, it is very common to get distracted or let your mind wander when you are bored or uninterested in something. But, how common is it to get distracted while walking from your bedroom door to the bathroom? How common is it to then also be distracted on the way back?

How common is it to be distracted in the middle of what someone is saying directly to you, no matter how important or how interesting. Even more telling, how common is it to be distracted while YOU are talking. Ever stop talking mid-sentence? Rarely or several times a day?

People with ADHD aren’t just easily distracted by the usual things, they are constantly distracted by things that are not distracting. Often, people with ADHD are distracted by nothing more than their own mind. Being distracted by your own thoughts, the state of varnish on a table, the color of a rug, or the sound of the air conditioning is not a common occurrence. While it may happen on a certain day or in a certain setting for most people, such distractions happen every single day for people with ADHD. In fact, they happen several times a day, every day. Needing a special ADHD planner in order to keep organized is not common.

ADHD isn’t about getting distracted sometimes. ADHD is about getting distracted ALL THE TIME. That there is a difference, is all that you have to buy.

ADD Organization Tips — 1 Comment
23
Nov 09

ADD Tips Organization Help for ADHD Calendars and Planner Software

add-adhd-organization-planner-software-graphic Anyone that has been diagnosed with ADD-ADHD has tried numerous organizational strategies already. Many of those ideas are based around the ability to schedule and keep appointments. Often, these organization tips come from sources unrelated to ADD and, thus, unfortunately, often end up ultimately failing to provide any better organization for ADHD individuals. However, that doesn’t mean that all organizing methods are doomed to fail for people with ADD.

Examples of ADHD-ADD Organizational Issues and Strategies

Consider a guy named Jeff. Jeff has ADD. Jeff was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and initially found great relief in finally having a name for the chronic problems he always seemed to be dealing with. As most newly diagnosed people with ADD do, Jeff went through several phases of ADHD once he had been diagnosed. First, he was relieved. Then, he wondered what he could do. Next, he went into research mode. Finally, he moved on to acceptance. (Hopefully, he did not continue onto reluctance, self-pity, or hopelessness.)

Somewhere in the what-to-do phase and research phase, Jeff turned, as many ADDers do at one time or another, to electronic time management gadgets. Electronic organizers, or Personal Information Mangers, also known as PIM, like Palm Pilots or Blackberrys have long seemed like the perfect solution to difficulties with organization and planning, for both adults with ADD and for people without ADHD alike. Since Jeff works in an office environment, he also turned to task manager and planning software installed on his computer, such as Microsoft Outlook.

While, everyone with ADHD responds differently to specific organizational tactics and strategies, there is a frequent hiccup for people with ADD trying to use electronic solutions to organization and planning. That issue is that successfully using organizational software for ADHD or using a  PDA to help with ADD involves several different steps, each of which must be completed successfully for improving organizational skills. Students with ADD and adults with ADD typically have difficulty initiating or completing one of these critical time management steps.

Using Blackberry, Palm Pilots, iPhones, and Computer Software to Help With ADHD-ADD

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to see where the step-by-step organization or steps of time management break down. That leads to frustration. All to often, that frustration ends up causing the entire process to be considered unsuccessful, when in fact, there may be just a single step that needs more focused attention to make the entire process more efficient.

Let’s say that our ADHD worker, Jeff, gets a Blackberry through his company. Most ADDers love trying out new things and Jeff is no exception. Jeff is also a technology buff and good with things like electronics and computers, so he is particularly excited about his new PDA phone. He spends hours setting up his Blackberry and connecting it to the company network and email systems. Ironically, he ends up neglecting other more important, but less interesting tasks. Jeff tells himself that it is all fine, because once he has the Blackberry setup, he will be so much more efficient, that it will be worth any delay caused in getting to important items on his to-do list.

For a few days after Jeff gets his Blackberry programmed with everything he needs to overcome ADHD traits or ADD issues that have plagued him in the past, the Blackberry does as promised. He is more organized, using his time better, and planning and scheduling better. Events are on his calendar and he can see at a glance what he needs to do each day. In short, Jeff feels like he has made a huge stride forward.

Unfortunately, Jeff, like many ADHD-ADD students and adults, has been here before. Often when something is new and novel, the ADD mind pays great attention to it, sometimes too much attention. However, as the newness wears off and the novelty of the new organization tips goes away, something happens. Jeff reverts to old patterns and the Blackberry, new ADD planner, computer software, notebook, note cards, journal, or whatever else is being tried out, fades into the background noise like so many items before it. Soon, Jeff’s Blackberry isn’t helping at all and he decides that the Blackberry is not helping his ADD-ADHD traits. He returns to his old methods, or he seeks out a new "better" way to help manage his time.

Steps For Time Management, Organization, and Planning Success With ADD-ADHD or Not

In order for a time management system, scheduling gadget, or calendar utility to actually help keep Jeff on track for more than a short period of time, he needs to break down the individual steps that go into using the device or program. Then, he can concentrate on which one of the steps is breaking down. Only, then, can he figure out what the real issue is and work on fixing it.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Using ADHD Planners or ADHD Software for Time Management (coming Wednesday…)

Otherwise, Jeff will be back in his bosses office, office supply store, or department store, in six months looking to buy something to help with ADD-ADHD again. And, chances are, if he buys something new, he will use if for a week and it will stop being helpful.

(I’m going to have to re-write this article to sound like the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. That would be fun. – I’m so proud of myself for not doing it right now instead of moving on to the next critical items on my task list!)

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