Excuses are a dead-end!

by Ben GlennADHDPosted on Comments are Disabled

I mastered Excuses 101 somewhere around the 5th grade. And I rode that wagon all through school, and to some degree, through college.

Having ADHD is hard enough when you’re in junior high/high school, but at least (hopefully!) you have parents and teachers helping you. When you move onto college, that structure, the support that used to be there is removed. You’re an adult now! No one is going to be hounding you to do your homework, reminding you to go to your next class or telling you how to balance studying with socializing. That’s really bad news for college students with ADHD, especially those living on campus.

The first thing, and you really can’t take control of your ADHD struggle unless you deal with this challenge, is to be very aware of any excuses that might be coming out of your mouth when you fail to do the things you’re supposed to be doing in order to keep up with classwork. Hard truth? No one cares! The bigger the school, the less likely will a professor take a special interest in you and your challenge. The most important thing to remember is that hiding behind ADHD and not taking charge of the challenges that go along with having it, will only hurt you in the long run. Don’t cheat yourself! I know you’re too smart for that!

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#95

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

Lots of sleepless ADHDers out there by the sounds of it! I admit that I sometimes have trouble falling asleep myself. I’m going to give you MY list of dos and don’ts as well a link to an article about getting better rest at night.

Don’ts:
INCOSISTENCY WITH BEDTIME: Go to bed at a set time – not too early, not too late. If I stay up too late, I miss my window for a good night of sleep. When I let myself get too tired, I lack the power to ignore and set aside my thoughts.
NAPS: If I take even a quick power nap, I’m usually too energetic to feel compelled to go to bed and the cycle of the 3am bed-time continues. The best thing for me is to make sure I just stay awake and get to bed a bit earlier.
LATE EATING: What I battle the most is eating too late. When we eat late our bodies are busy digesting while we sleep. Those days you wake up tired, but slept all night, you might want to see when and what you ate the night before.

Do’s
GOOD MATTRESS: Make sure you have a good mattress. Good ones are costly but yet worth every penny and really help with getting quality sleep. When you figure that a person spends over 2500 hours a year in bed, investing the right mattress is pretty important.
AMBIENT NOISE: The fan is key for me. I need ambient noise in the room to soothe my mind. Find what works for you. It might be music, or guided meditation on CD or wind chimes or something. My PR manager who has ADHD as well, says that the sound of a dog cleaning itself puts her to sleep (LOL) just kidding!
EXERCISE: Get your body nice and tired. If you have a child who struggles with sleep then perhaps you’re not wearing them out enough. Too many kids spend more time watching TV and playing video games than running around – get them off the couch!
READING: Reading for most ADHD people is a challenge. Don’t know about you, but nothing puts me to sleep faster than reading material about ADHD Meds and treatments. All that medical speak. 😀 Don’t pick up something you know you’ll get sucked into. Save those Eclipse books for another time.

#86

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

A very late in the day (What can i say, I’ve been working my tail off here at the YCM conference in TN. 🙂 “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”

This quote reminds me of the time I set my house on fire. I blame my wife! She had me remodel our 2nd floor bathroom years back while I was off my medication. I cut some corners because I got impatient – Oh and to top it off, I also cut a supporting beam that kept the toilet from falling through the ceiling. A couple of years later, while remodeling the kitchen, a friend who is in the construction business pointed out my “oops”! Good thing too! Looked like that toilet was getting ready to plunge through the ceiling. 😀

#62

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

When you say “yes” to something, you’re saying “no” to something else. Are you saying “yes” to the right things? Make a list of things that are important to you & don’t take on anything new until after you consult this list. If the new project or responsibility doesn’t keep you close to the things you have determined are important in your life, turn the opportunity down – it’s probably just a distraction.

#61

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

ADHDers tend to take on more than we can handle. Our quick minds tell us that we can get it done, but the laws of physics end up proving us otherwise. Plus there are only 24 hours in a day. I think I’ve talked about this before, but learn to say “no”. Think about the stress of everything you already have going on and make a decision to not add to it. Just say “no”!!