What to do When You Can’t Get Started

Do you ever have a day where you just can’t get started. You turn the key and you hear that dreaded sound, except it’s not the car, it’s you! I have days like this every once in a while. I just can’t get started on anything, and I chase every rabbit imagine. I listen to all kinds of music, finding out all kinds things out on the Internet, getting as distracted as possible. It gets carried away and hours go by. Sometimes it’s not that extreme, but if you have ADHD like I do, this is something you are prone to. With my personal experience, this happens most when there is something that I really don’t care to do and was especially prevalent when I was in school. It can also happen when you don’t have that much to do, which is much less destructive. Either way, there are ways to have a tighter reign on yourself and your time.

1. Make a schedule. I know I have said this several times, but again can’t reemphasize enough how important this is. A life is like a schedule is like driving somewhere far and specific without directions, letting a young child out of the house with no fence, or a dog for that matter.

2. Follow your schedule. I’ve made a schedule and then got off track and didn’t bother to follow it. What is the point of that? Absolutely none whatsoever! This may happen from time to time, but sometimes it is still gives you an advantage to make a schedule to begin with.

3. Figure out the cause. Find the cause of what causes you to not getting started. Find out the culprits such as time of day, type of tasks, quantity of tasks, etc. Just as it is important to find out what makes you work best, it is important to find out what keeps you from working and what makes you the least productive.

4. Enjoy yourself. Sometimes you need to stop and just do what you want to do. Keeping focused is not always possible as we are not wired to be constantly moving.

We all have those days where we just can't get started, and it doesn't always have a reason. It's not always bad either. Letting yourself loose to do things you enjoy in an unplanned fashion can help you wind down and bring you to a much better place and you will be much more productive. 

Avoiding Overwhelm with ADHD

When you have ADHD, it is easier to get overwhelmed. You see a lot of different things going on with your schedule and your to do lists. When you have a lot going on it’s much easier to get overwhelmed. This is especially the case when you are not aware of what you actually have to do. There is not many things more stressful than having a ton of stuff to do and not being able to get a handle on what actually needs to get done. Here are a few things you can do when you come across this situation.

1. Take inventory of what you have to do. Make a to do list, then make a schedule. When a flood of tasks come flooding in, the best thing you can do is to be aware of what you have to do and have a clear idea of what you are facing.

2. Take a deep breath. When you are overwhelmed, it is always a good idea to take a break. Sometimes even just a 30 minute break can make all of the difference. There is no use of continuing what you are doing when you are tired and not on your best unless you absolutely have to.

3. Slow down your pace. The reason you are becoming overwhelmed is because you are too busy. Having too much to do will make you overwhelmed. While I know you don’t always have a say in your life on how busy you are, but as much as you can I’d say keep your pace as reasonable as possible.

4. Find what you do best. More often than not, this is a long term goal. If you find yourself not enjoying what you are doing, then I’d definitely recommend making a change. Even your current choice makes the most sense financially, it’s not worth being miserable. Find a healthy balance and something that you can enjoy doing enough that you don’t dread it or wipe you out.

Being overwhelmed and stressed out is a common problem for many people, not just those with ADHD. Life can be crazy and there are several busy seasons in our lives like school, having children, work projects, etc. There are ups and downs with busyness just like other aspects of your life. It is also a good idea to balance it out as much as possible and take your time to breathe when you are not extremely busy.

Changing Methods with ADHD

I've mentioned a few times about how we all change methods from time to time. If you have ADHD, this will only happen more. I have changed methods for time tracking, time budgeting, and scheduling so many times. When you have ADHD, it is easy to want to change something because you get tired of something. While that can definitely be detrimental in some aspects of our life, there are circumstances when this can work for the better.

1. You find something that works better. There are many people who just continue to do the same thing over and over again just because they have been doing it. It is not the best way anymore and maybe never was, but just was something they always have done. If you change methods frequently you have a much better chance of finding something that works better.

2. You won't get stuck in a rut as easily. We all can get stuck in a rut, but it is less likely when we change our methods frequently.

3. There are more ways to evaluate yourself. The more methods we try and the more we can discover what we are good at and what doesn't work well for you.

4. You develop a habit of finding the best solution. When you learn to get the negative aspects of this trait under control, you can use this to your advantage.

This should be an encouragement if you find yourself switching from one thing to another too often. This can serve as a reminder that there is a positive way to channel this part of yourself.

New Year, New Goals

I hope everyone has enjoyed their holiday season and is having an happy new year. While I know it is cliche, I do believe a new year is a great time to start something new, improve yourself, and set new goals. It is a great time to look ahead at the next year and think about  what you want to accomplish and what new heights you want to reach. If you do have ADHD like me, it may difficult to set goals and follow the same goal process. You will probably have to change your process frequently and that is fine. As long as you find the process that is working the best for you at the moment. Here are a few ideas that I have for setting up yourself for the new year successfully.

1. Try something new. A new year is a great time to start something new. it can be a new habit, like reading a book a week. It could be something like getting out more often. It could be starting a new business. It could be going back to school. It could be a new scheduling method, a new goal system, a new time tracking method, etc.

2. Take advantage of the opportunity to improve. Again this could sound cliche, but the start of a new year is a wonderful time to focus on how you want to improve. It is time to take review of your time, goals, and finances.

3. Take inventory of what you don’t like. Is there a habit you have had that you feel like has been around too long? A new year can be a great time to evaluate bad habits and patterns and make strides towards improving.

4. Make it last. Don’t get caught up in the hype of new year’s and make a resolution for 34 days. Make it last going forward. Make real change that you can permanently count on the rest of your life.  

I hope these strategies are as helpful for as they are for me. Please also note that a new year doesn’t have to be the only time you can make these changes. However, since we are in this time of the year, might as well focus on new things now. I also want to take time to thank you for being my reader, whether you have joined me recently or have been reading the entire 2 and half years.

Happy Holidays from Time is Me

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season this year. I know that this time of year can bring up all kinds of emotions and situations as well. This is also a time when we often forget about productivity and take a break. Here are just a few things to keep in mind regarding productivity as we go through this holiday season.

1. Now is the time to loosen up. I am a big believer in having a routine that works for you, but this is definitely a time to relax and enjoy something outside of your regular routine.

2. This is a great time to reflect. It is good to reflect on how your year went. Think about the progress you made and what you still have to do.

3. Start thinking about where you want to go next. It is a good time to think about what you want to do in the next year casually without stressing about it.

I hope everyone does have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous and productive new year!

Maneuvering through other inefficiency when you have ADHD

We all may get inefficient at different times for different reasons. We have times when we work better and worse. We all kinds of our own issues that can slow us down. This is not to mention the setbacks that can be created by other people. It is easy to find many people to get you off track as well. There are people who are good at distracting you, there are people who prefer not to do things in an efficient way, and also people who just plain waste your time. Here are a few tips that I found to work when the inefficiency of others slows you down.

1. Set up boundaries. Boundaries are essential to have in all aspects of your life, your time is definitely no exception. Know what makes you most productive and make sure others know that.

2. Set yourself up for success. Know which situations work best for you and when you work best. You can remind people when a good time to talk is, or when you work best.

3. Know when people don't bother or distract you. While it is important to know when you work best yourself, but it is also important to take note of when people communicate with you the most.

4. Roll with the punches. For the rest of the situations that you can't control and it only wastes time to worry and complain about it.

We all have the potential to be sidetracked and taken off track. It does ultimately come down to ourselves making the choice to be the most productive as possible. Life will always throw us obstacles so it's best to plan for these things and live up to our greatest productivity.

Dealing Externally with Little Mistakes

The other week I had commented on making little mistakes due to having ADHD. While we all make mistakes, it is easier to make mistakes when your attention is limited. My personal experience includes several instances of how making little mistakes have been an issue. The majority of the issues are in my earlier life as I had grown to understood what causes situations that increase the likelihood of mistakes. Nevertheless, I am prone to making mistakes when I am not making a conscious effort to focus. Another thing to remember is to pay attention to who you are working with also. If you are prone to making little mistakes, then you do your best to associate with people who will have grace for little mistakes on occasion. Someone who is intolerant of mistakes and expects you to be perfect can aggravate you and make the situation that much worse for you and who you are working with. Growing up I've had teachers, co-workers, and bosses who did not have a tolerance for little mistakes. I don't have to say much else to say that those were not the people I got along with well. While there are things we can do when we make mistakes which I have mentioned in a previous post; however, here are a few things you can do to make the external situation better.

1. Find an environment most conducive for your focus. You will need the odds in your favor as much as possible regarding focus. Find a location and time where you work best. If you do not have control of that, try it at least to the best of your abilities.

2. Find the people you work with best. I know that frequently you don't have a choice with who you can work with. Obviously when you do, you should pick the people you know you can work best with and who won't freak out when you make a little mistake. Otherwise, do your best to pick the best choice. Do your best to work with other people as well, as that will help you in the long run. Just because they want to freak out over your mistake doesn't mean you have to freak out in response.

3. Have patience with yourself. It is easy to be upset with yourself when you make little mistakes that cause issues at your job, in school, with your friends and family. It will do you much better to come to terms with yourself that you are going to mistakes sometimes. After all, everyone makes mistakes sometimes as we are all human.

4. Realize where you have come from. You may not be where you want to be, but it is likely that you have made progress so it is good to take a look back to see your progress.

I've had varying degrees of situations of making little mistakes. It definitely causes frustration, but the more you focus will improve your chances of avoiding mistakes. This is also not to mention that you will be much more productive when you make less little mistakes. It is much more productive to take time to focus even if it means it may take longer. It is much better to get something done correctly rather than quicker.

Thankful for Productive Progress

This is one of my favorite time of the year. I see a lot to be thankful for around Thanksgiving. I have always enjoyed the food, time with family and friends, time off, as well as the deeper meaning of Thanksgiving. There is a lot to be thankful for when we really think about it. We can also be thankful for the progress that we have made over the past year. As we approach the end of the year, it is time to start thinking about what we have accomplished this year, and we can even begin to think about what we want to accomplish in the next year. As we do anything like this, it is easy to see what didn't go as planned. Despite that, there is likely plenty of progress we can be thankful for. Here are a few ways we can remember and be thankful for our progress.

1. You are not where you want to be but not where you used to be. We can be thankful for whatever progress we make. It may not always be significant, but as long as we keep making at least small progress each day, it can turn to something great.

2. You learned from your mistakes. We all make mistakes. We should be thankful for the lessons that we learn from them to become better.

3. Motivation. You will have fuel for motivation either way, whether it is to keep going because you saw a lot of progress or to get going stronger if you see a lack of progress.

4. Be thankful for where we most progress. I saved the best for last. We should definitely celebrate the areas where we have made the most progress at. It is very rewarding to look back at the beginning of the year and almost be surprised how far you have come.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and has an enjoyable time of rest and relaxation as well as some fun.

Avoiding Mistakes with ADHD

We all make mistakes. Nobody is perfect and no one should hold you to the expectations to be perfect. There are all kinds of mistakes we can make and some can be fixed easily and others can have serious consequences. Someone with ADHD may tend to make more mistakes. There are many reasons for this. For one thing, we have less attention to start with (it’s literally in the name). Also, I have mentioned that there are things we can hyper focus on when it is something we want to be doing. Otherwise, it falls in to the category of things we can lose focus on easily. When we lose our focus easily, it is especially easy to make more mistakes. We also see time differently than those without ADHD and can often misjudge how much time we actually have, so when we have less time than we think we do, we end up rushing and have a higher chance of making mistakes. Here are a few things that have helped me to avoid making too many mistakes.

1. Do something you are good at. It is true that you don’t always have the choice to do something you like. That doesn’t mean you can’t work towards something you are well at and enjoy at some point in your life. You should be getting closer to your goals.

2. Find the best time. Find the best time to do important tasks. Pick a time when you are most focused to do the most important work. Even you do not have much flexibility in your schedule, you can arrange it the best that you can in most cases.

3. Slow down. Whether your have ADHD or not, you are going to make mistakes easier if you are in a rush.

4. Prioritize. Priorities are very important. It will do you well to focus the most on where the consequences of making a mistake are the highest. If you are going to make a mistake, make one that is easily reversible.

I do want to reemphasize that we are all human and make mistakes. While you may make more mistakes if you have ADHD it does depend on what you are doing and how focused you are. If you know you are prone to making mistakes, then it is good to come to terms with who you are and how you function. We can always get better if we put the effort in.

A new time tracking system and what I have learned so far

Hello all, I know that I have skipped another week, I had a busy week with a lot of unusual scheduled events enough that I kept losing track of what day it was. This will be a different kind post, more of a journal entry and update.

I am using yet another time tracking app. I have come to realize that Smarter Time was nice and automatic in some ways but not always accurate and very finicky and quirky. I would still recommend but I believe that the new app, ATracker, is ideal for what I am looking for. It may be a little more manual but produces better results and is easier to log activities than others. I will keep you updated on how I find the app to work.

I like to discuss what I have learned from using different time tracking apps

1. The app is what you make of it. Any program, system, app, etc. is what you make of it. While everything has it's limitations, it is most important to know what you want out of something before you begin.

2. Each step builds to the next. As with anything in life, each experience will help you learn what works best for the next. What didn't work in a previous time-tracking experience helped me with what is next.

3. You learn from everything. Life is a learning experience and I have gotten more effective at tracking my time. While I have erred from tracking with too many activities and too detailed, I have also erred on too simplistic as well. I believe with this app I will have found the right amount of detail to produce the most useful information.

4. Life changes a lot. Tracking my time over the years has showed me how much life changes from season to season.

I hope you enjoyed a slightly different post. I will resume with more topic-based posts next week.