My ADD / ADHD Blog

1 Thing at Time...Really??

Ok, I know logically that I can only do one thing at a time. I also know that when I'm spinning and can't decide what to do first, it really helps to make a quick list of the things I want or need to get done. I do know this!! I really do!!

Here I am hours into working and I still haven't completed the 2 most important items that I wanted to. My mind keeps drifting because I didn't make a list. My disorganized ADD Mind keeps jumping to other things!! I don't have something more organized than my mind bring me back on track!

If I can locate a pen that works, I'm going to go make a list and get those things done now!! Blogging wasn't on my list today but here I am blogging!

Problems with the Kindle

So, a few months ago I finally broke down and purchased a Kindle. I thought about getting one for some time and finally agreed it was the right time to get one.

There are some great ADD / ADHD books for the Kindle like :

• ADHD Medication Rules
• 365 Ways to Succeed with ADHD
• The ADHD Effect on Marriage

The Kindle is great! It saves space and is really portable. It has the option for me to listen and have the books read to me. It also keeps the battery charge for MONTHS at time too!

So then what's the problem with the Kindle? It needs a power to cord to charge the battery when it finally does run out.

So here's where my ADD comes in! A couple of month ago I put the Kindle cord and adapter in a SPECIAL place so I would not lose it when I needed to recharge it.

The good news is that I FINALLY remembered where the special place was! However it took me some time and searching a few different places before I located it. Guess this time I need to set up some type of reminder for where I store the Kindle cord!

2012 Delays and Roadblocks!

We are only 6 days into 2012 and I'm already having delays and roadblocks. I've been in bed the past week with bad cold or Flu. If you listened to this week's ADHD Support Talk Radio you heard me say that when I ever I put something out there I seem to be "tested". On New Years Resolutions and ADD / ADHD  Jennifer Koretsky and I discussed how this time of year isn't always a good time for people to make changes or "resolutions. Even though I thought it was a good time for me to make changes, it wasn't the time for me. I now need to reevaluate my 2012 plan and make some adjustments.

Grateful for Positive Feedback

I just sent out an issue of my Support for ADD E-news. I always get nervous sending them out because I know I make typos and other errors. As many times as I check and double check I know there are some errors in there that I've missed. However, I choose not get stuck in the perfectionism mode and to send them out because I know they help my readers.

I often question whether or not my articles are "good enough" or if they really do help my readers though. I am always grateful when readers like this one send me unsolicited feedback telling me I did help them!

 If your newsletter is the first one, or if I've just begun to receive them for the first time, I just want to say THANK YOU for a short and informative little coaching session! Simple, and it sounds effective to me...... I'm sure going to try it right away. I've seen similar but this was the most concise and this one will work for me. I love having the "choice" - that darned timer always gets the best of me - it's both my enemy (when I'm in flow), and my friend (when I'm doing something I don't want to do ).

Have printed it off on paper,  to put right under my nose - or literally to carry around with me until it becomes a "habit".   And thanks for all the other info, too. 

 

 

 

Dealing with a Bad Night's Sleep

I am in a group with some other ADHD Coaches and this week we decided that our blogs would focus on sleep. One of the things we decided to blog about was what to do when we don't get enough sleep. When we came up with this idea it had been quite a while since I didn't get a good night's sleep. My sleeping schedule used to be CRAZY but over the past year or so it's become pretty regular and most nights I get enough sleep.

Of course we all get off track and have bad days or nights every now and then. Last night was one those nights for me. I just couldn't fall asleep and had things to do today so I had to get up by a certain time. I think I got about 5 or 6 hours of sleep last night. This is NOT enough sleep for me. I need close to 8 hours of sleep to be at my best.

Well, after waking up I had to remind myself that I didn't get enough sleep and I wasn't going to be functioning like I do on most days. I need to remind myself that I woud probably be more irritable and overwhelmed than typical days. I had to modify things today.

One of the things I had to modify was exercising. After an awful night's sleep I thought I was too tired to go to the gym. I was VERY tempted not to go. However I've learned that when I don't work out it becomes even harder for me to fall asleep. I got myself to the gym and a shorter work out than most days. Instead of not doing it at all I modified my regular activity.

What about you? How do you get through the day when you haven't had enough sleep?

 

Overwhelmed and Distracted by a Dictionary

Okay it's day 2 of the Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge! Today I'm supposed go to Dictionary.com and choose a Word of the Day and use it in my post. Oh, and I can choose any word of the day and I can use more than one word in my post!! Well 45 minutes later I still haven't decided on what word or words to use. Guess I better just start writing!

The verisimilitude of getting so lost on something as simple an online dictionary shows how my mind works! Maybe it was Kismet that I got lost so I'd have something to write about that shows how the ADD / ADHD mind really works! Okay, I Aver that it's time to end this blog post before I end up spending the entire day over at Dictionary.com.

ADHD Acrostic

So, I have decided to participate in the Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge and write 30 posts in 30 days on my blog. Today's challenge is to write an Acrostic for the health condition I am an activist for. I started out really ambitious and was going to do ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER. Well that was a bit too much so I decided on just ADHD.

Alluring

Distracted

Hopeful

Divergent

 1 out of 30 is done!! Wish me luck on doing ALL 30!

My Shoes are really too Big?

As many people know and can relate to losing weight when you have ADD / ADHD can be challenging. Eating right and exercising consistently takes a lot of hard work. The actual weight loss itself brings on some challenges too.

I knew that I'd need to get some new clothes while losing weight. Part of my really loves the fact that I'm wearing smaller clothes. Part of me also find it's very annoying that I have to shop for new clothes that actually fit.

What I never thought of was that I'd really need new shoes too. I did notice that some of my shoes were loose and roomy. I didn't think much about it because they were still comfortable. I seriously had to have my sneakers fall off at the gym to realize I needed a smaller size!

Scientology Translation Email

Oh, how I love this time of year! The emails I receive get so interesting around the holidays.

  Anybody have any idea what this person is trying to say. I think I need a Scientology to ADHD Dictionary:

Interesting how deeply invested you are in this enterprise of "educating" the laiety. Do you think ADHD is a discreet disease state of the brain (I can only assume that you ascribe this "state" to its "proper" medical category?)
As an interesting aside, I did pain myself to count the number of book titles at my local university library, where "AD(H)D" was part of such title. I counted exactly 105 titles! This, of course, does not constitute the total number of titles, including such titles that would "merely" mention this putative disorder in passing.

I do wonder how your faith, regarding the existence of this so-caled discreet disorder (including its "subtypes") squares with any "unitary" view you might hold regarding human problems in living and social conflict, as being symptoms-or causations-of mental illness?

In light of the amount of attention by academics and lay public, of ADHD, your assertion, that not much is (yet) known of this putative disorder, seems to me a rather vapid statement.

There are now tens of millions of children who are being forcefully drugged for some disorder or other, and with psychopharmacology and biopsychiatry as the paradigms informing the mainstay of psychiatric treatment modality, I think the aforementioned statistics will not change. However, this inflation of what constitutes disease, and with our culture of sickness, worshiping "health", I think you are well placed to share in the sacraments.

Oh and here's my response to his email:

Huh?
 
I think my own ADHD is getting in the way of understanding your email. Can you please reword it a way that somebody with a short attention like my own could actually follow what you are saying. I've tried to read it 7 times and still aren't sure what you are asking me or telling me.

I thought about ignoring this but it makes an interesting blog post...Don't ya think?

Spilling Coffee and Finding Lost Keys

I know those of you who have read Yes, I lost my Keys and Dealing with my Lost Keys are on the edge of your seats waiting to find out how I found my keys! Though I'm a day late and a dollar short here's what I hope is the conclusion to my lost Keys saga.

Though I hadn't completely torn my house apart trying to find my keys I had stopped looking and made peace with the fact that were probably gone. Two weeks ago I was planning to meat friends for dinner and was just about ready to leave the house. I was all dressed and my hair was done. I actually had some extra time which usually doesn't happen.

I poured a full cup of coffee into a travel mug to bring with me for the ride. Since I had some extra time I brought it to my desk and sat down to finish up a little bit of work. I'm not sure exactly what I did but next thing I knew the coffee was all over the rug and my pants. My pants were drenched and there was no way I could wear them.

My first thought was to wash them and dry them but realized I didn't have time for that. So, I went into my bedroom looking for another pair of jeans. I saw a pair piled on top of a clothes basket. I grabbed them and something came flying out and hit the floor making a sound I hadn't heard in 2 months. There were my keys!!

I was so happy!!! Not only did I have have dry jeans but I also found my long lost keys!!! I've since created a new home for my keys! Let me tell you, my keys have been staying in their new home too. I made sure after taking the pictures for these blog post that I hung them up right after I was done!