<\/p>\n
a) Organizing tasks, estimating time, prioritizing, and procrastination?<\/p>\n
b) Boredom, sustaining focus, and shifting focus to tasks?<\/p>\n
c) Regulating alertness and effort, processing speed?<\/p>\n
d) Reading social cues, managing frustration, perspective and modulating emotions?<\/p>\n
e) Predicting consequences, utilizing working memory and accessing recall?<\/p>\n
f) Impulse control and self-regulation?<\/p>\n
Could it be ADHD<\/a>? \u00a0Here are some tips to try.<\/p>\n If you do not think you can stop the action, you are right.\u00a0 It will feel bigger than you.\u00a0 You have to not only believe in your heart that you can learn to manage it, but you also have to be ready to make the effort. \u00a0It is slow work.\u00a0 These are established patterns and likely unconscious patterns and they won\u2019t change quickly.\u00a0 However, like turning an ocean liner around, it\u00a0 CAN be done, and it will be worth it.\u00a0 Unhelpful patterns may have felt bigger than you in the past (you \u201ccouldn’t help it\u201d), but there is nothing more powerful than the made up mind.\u00a0 Might not be sufficient on its own, but it is a mandatory component for impulse control.<\/p>\n If you feel a reflex surge\u00a0(to blurt for example),\u00a0there is a free, no- charge split second put in there JUST FOR YOU, to buy yourself some time.\u00a0 There is moment in time where you are actually making a choice (to act or not).\u00a0 Think of it as a deciding muscle, which you can choose to use, or not.<\/p>\n Next time you are bored (waiting for a bus), use the time to recall what it looked like and felt like just before you did a blooper, regretfully acting on an impulse.\u00a0 Now hit replay and re-live that moment again and again in your head being very clear about choosing your response, with a better outcome. \u00a0This rewiring an algorithm is no different than an olympic diver or gymnast practicing a pattern in their head. \u00a0I’d say it is more in their heart, because it happens to fast that it is a felt motion rather than a thought motion. \u00a0Ideas* for buying time (Barkley):<\/p>\n > Before you answer someone, inhale slowly, exhale slowly, put on a thoughtful expression, and say to yourself, “Well, let me think about that.”<\/p>\n > Put a finger over your mouth for a few seconds, as if you\u2019re considering what you\u2019re going to say.<\/p>\n > Paraphrase or clarify and assumption you might need to make about what your boss or family member said to you: “Oh, so you want to know about\u2026” or “You’re asking me to\u2026.” to gather the strength to prevent blurting what you might regret.<\/p>\n > Imagine locking your mouth with a key to prevent yourself from speaking.<\/p>\n > Slow it down. Practice speaking slowly in front of a mirror.\u00a0 It will feel ridiculous, but it’s a muscular thing, not just a thinking thing.\u00a0 This will give your frontal lobes a chance to get some traction, to get engaged and see the big picture, instead of being swept along in the vortex of your impulses.<\/p>\n Do you beat yourself up for making the same mistakes again and again?<\/p>\n Adults with ADHD have weak nonverbal working memory, which means they either don\u2019t recognize or don’t draw well from past mistakes to choose their response. Many of them hit every problem with a hammer, because they haven\u2019t slowed down long enough to look at whether it really is a nail or not.\u00a0 You must slow down, and ask, \u201cWhen have I seen this before?\u00a0 What happened last time?\u201d<\/p>\n It might be extra hard to defer gratification, because they can\u2019t call up the mental image of the prize that lies ahead. Recognise it takes time to access what you learned in the past\u00a0when you need it in the future. \u00a0Like a diabetic, yes, it’s more work to have a healthy, low stress life, but oh so worth it. \u00a0There are so many ways you can capture your lessons. \u00a0Yes it’s a pain.<\/p>\n Many ADDers are “time blind”; they forget the purpose of their tasks, so of course they are uninspired to finish them. Out of sight, out of mind.<\/p>\n Ask yourself, “What will I feel like when I get this project done?” It could be pride, self-satisfaction, the happiness you anticipate from completing the project. Whatever the emotion is, work hard to feel it, then and there, as you contemplate your goal.<\/p>\n When you sit down to continue working on the project, try to feel the future outcome and use what I call carrot or stick devices such as posting\u00a0pictures of the rewards (or consequences).<\/p>\n If no one is dangling a carrot in front of you, you may need some convincing to keep up the effort.\u00a0 When you recall the purpose of the exercise, invoke the felt sense of having it done.\u00a0 If you are a Carrot<\/strong> person, you will do it because you are motivated by the positive opportunities that will happen and how great it will feel.<\/p>\n If you are a Stick<\/strong> person you will be more motivated by preventing a screw up or other emotionally costly situation (public shame, fines).\u00a0 It is important to know what kind of projection you need to be focussing on to get motivated.\u00a0 Each person is galvanized by slightly different aspects. \u00a0Know your values = what you really really care about.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ADHD makes the future feel even further away.\u00a0 Goals which require significant investment of time, \u00a0repetition, waiting periods, or in a sequence of steps can prove so elusive that you feel overwhelmed with discomfort.\u00a0 This is a trigger which causes some ADDers to look for an escape and relief. They might call in sick at work or distract themselves when what they need is discomfort tolerance training. \u00a0<\/strong>Figure out which situations are likely to trigger you.\u00a0 Do you panic with:<\/p>\n – multi-month long projects<\/p>\n – complex projects with too many moving parts?<\/p>\n – working without supervision?<\/p>\n Break down long-term tasks<\/span> or goals into smaller units. If an end-of-the-day deadline seems remote to you, try half-hour chunks of work. Write down what you need to get done in each period, and run a highlighter over each step as you work on it, to keep your attention focused.<\/p>\n Make\u00a0yourself accountable<\/span> to another person. Most of us care what others think of us, and social judgment adds fuel to the fire to get things done. \u00a0Make yourself accountable to a supportive coworker, supervisor, or mentor.<\/p>\n Acknowledge and lock it in\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0with “I am a person who completes things” with this solid evidence. Congratulate yourself; take a short break; call or e-mail a friend or a relative to recognize what you\u2019ve gotten done; give yourself a reward you enjoy a lot\u2014just make it small and brief.<\/p>\n If you made a mistake, do not let nasty experiences from your past take up space in your head and take over your inside voice (precious RAM that you need today).\u00a0 Don\u2019t give free rent and language to self contempt, shame and other brutality to identity and worth.\u00a0 Get the help you need to strengthen your healthy relationship to your choices; what you think , feel and do. \u00a0This takes effort. \u00a0But you can imagine how nice i would be, to\u00a0be at peace with it so you have less noise in your head. If you happen to make a mistake, do the same with yourself as you would with a co-worker or dear friend:<\/p>\n Do these six tips and you will keep your calm confidence, self-esteem, your job as well as your friends.<\/p>\n You can do this.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *Have a look at Ned Hallowell \u00a0http:\/\/www.drhallowell.com\/<\/a> \u00a0and what Russell Barkley http:\/\/www.additudemag.com\/authorID\/245.html<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0have to say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TIP 1: Make the decision to BELIEVE you can manage the impulse.<\/h4>\n
TIP 2: Role play to practice buying yourself time to think<\/h4>\n
Tip 3\u00a0 Leverage your learning<\/h4>\n
Tip 4: Do you prefer carrots or sticks?<\/h4>\n
Tip 5 Break it down to bite size<\/h4>\n
3 QUICK TIPS TO GET MOTIVATED:<\/h4>\n
Tip 6\u00a0 Watch your language<\/h4>\n
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