About 10 years ago I was diagnosed with ADD (attention deficit disorder). I've had it since elementary school, and probably my whole life. I sometimes wish I had the 'H' (hyperactivity) that often goes with it. I've tried to treat it a couple of times with Ritalin, and that hasn't been a satisfactory solution - I didn't like how controlled the drug is, and I always seemed to build up a tolerance.
I have found that mindfulness helps me greatly. There are certain things that people with ADD or ADHD can do to lessen the negative effects of the disorder. Two books by Edward M. Hallowell, MD, Driven to Distraction and Delivered from Distraction give a very good explanation of ADD and helpful pointers in living well with it. By the way, there is a positive side to it - people with ADD are generally imaginative and creative, and can be quite productive when we learn to work with the disorder rather than against it. One thing that really helps is finding a job that has a variety of things to do - I have a tendency to lose interest in what I'm doing rather quickly, so if I have a few things to bounce around, it's helpful. I imagine that if I was operating a huge press in a factory pounding out the same fender every day, I'd eventually lose a body part due to inattention. Fortunately I currently have jobs that allow me to do different things throughout the day. Even when I was answering phones at the call center all day, we had lots of accounts, so the calls were all different. I could stay focused.
So my challenges at my current jobs are I now have jobs in which I'm not told exactly what to do and when to do it. It's up to me. Another challenge with ADD is that we are poor estimators on how long a task will take. With having multiple things to do and no clear outline on the order in which they should go, I found myself getting behind and feeling a little overwhelmed. My jobs involve helping people and talking with people, but I also do administrative stuff, and, in that department, I was lagging.
At my main job we use Trello, which allows us to communicate better about different projects going on, and also allows us to set reminders and deadlines for ourselves. It's like a central file cabinet with all the to-do lists, only it's digital. Perfect for me, because paper clutter has always been a bugaboo. And then, this week, my supervisor told me about Timecamp. Timecamp allows me to track what I'm doing, either at home or at work. For Timecamp, I simply start the clock and put in the task I'm doing. When I'm done, I stop the clock and start it again on another task. When I'm at the front desk, I type in front desk, and in the comments I can put down the things that I've done while at the front desk - support calls, entering records, whatever. What this does for me is it helps me stay on task, because I'm mindful that I'm keeping track of myself. Additionally, it helps me realize how much I do in a day. Some days I do so much yet have felt unproductive, because I didn't remember half of the things I did. If you do Timecamp, I would recommend two accounts if you're going to do it for your job and for your other life. Additionally, in Timecamp you can run reports to actually see how long it takes to do certain things.
Both of these software applications have free versions, and I am not getting paid to endorse them. I imagine in today's world that plenty of these types of programs abound. And that's another thing: I'm very grateful for the things I can do with modern technology - it has really enhanced my creativity and, when used skillfully, it enriches my life.
So there's a few really practical things that have helped me a great deal.
Namaste,
Ken
No comments:
Post a Comment