#55

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

I’m a huge movie buff! Whether it’s my ADHD or something else, turn on the TV & BAM, you’ve got my attention. Hyper-focus on movies I love means that I remember literally dozen of quotes, so I’m going to share some of them with you this week.

From Seabiscuit, a great underdog story: “You know, you don’t throw a whole life away just ’cause he’s banged up a little.” I can so relate to that! You don’t throw a whole life away, just because you have an obstacle in your life that most others don’t. No room for feeling sorry for yourself. Work hard and you will overcome!

#54

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

Positive feedback is a great motivator. I love to cook for people because the feedback is almost instantaneous (and usually good!). When I make something that knocks people’s socks off, it inspires me to come up with more exciting new recipes. Likewise, good feedback on my programs & blog posts inspires me to come up with new stuff on a more consistent basis.

If you have an ADHDer in your life, remember to give lots of feedback. I would say that positive feedback is more motivating than negative, but both are necessary. 🙂

#53

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on 2 Comments

Do you have a hard time prioritizing? If so, I bet you’re also buddies with Procrastination; I am! Getting started is 90% of the battle. Stop wasting time trying to get everything just perfect so that you can get to doing what needs to be done. Just do it!

People with ADHD are like a car with a stick shift and a dead battery, we need a little push and a pop of the gears to get the engine running. Once we get started, we’re good to go. If you can’t get going on your own, find someone to give you a push!

#51

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

Setting realistic goals is one way to get & stay motivated. The trick is to learn how to break down long-term goals into smaller chunks so as to experience frequent bursts of achievement which will keep pushing us forward with the promise of reward. Of course breaking your goals into manageable chunks is harder than it sounds, but here’s an example to get you going. (I would love it if you would share one of your big goals and how you think it can be broken down to be achievable.)

Big Hairy Audacious Goal: Write a book
1. Pick a topic (reward: guilt-free Little Debbie Snack Cake!)
2. Figure out your audience (take a half day and go watch a movie at a movie theater)
3. Research other books in the market (big, juicy 12 OZ steak at your fave steak place)
4. Come up with a catchy title (go to Target and pick up a Star Wars Lego toy)
5. Write an outline (put together the above Lego toy and run around the house making Darth Vader sounds)
6. Write a page a day (treat yourself to a Starbucks Carmel Soy Latte when each chapter is complete)
7. First edit (instead of giving into despair at how bad you suck at writing, go buy a book about a favorite hobby, artist or musician and take a few days off from writing)
8. Get others to read it and make edits/suggestions (You’re so close you can taste it, take yourself off for a full day of fishing)
9. Edit again (if fishing is your thing, go fish again!)
10. Edit again (that expensive pair of jeans you’ve been eye-balling, yeah, go on, buy it. You’ve earned it!)
11. Edit one more time (it might be time for a good therapeutic neck massage – do it!)
12, Voila!! You’ve just written a book! Pull out all stops! Mega-party! There’s no stopping you now! You’ve done it! And the feeling of accomplishment is sweeter than all the things that you’ve rewarded yourself up to this point.

#50

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on One Comment

One of my biggest struggles is prioritizing. The concept of “what’s important NOW” is often pushed aside by “what’s FUN NOW!?”. At the end of the day though, I am left with a pile of hard tasks and am overwhelmed and frustrated. Having “FUN” is hard-wired into ADHD brains like nothing else, but I’ve learned to use FUN as my reward and motivation for completing the tasks I set for myself. What motivates you?

#49

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

Time is our most precious commodity and if you’re like me, you’re really bad with putting together a schedule that is both practical and helps you achieve all your goals in the right order. I like to work with my wife (my sympathetic enforcer!) and put together a plan for the next day the night before. Knowing what my starting point is the moment I wake up often makes the difference between a productive day and one filled with time-wasting and frustration. How do you prioritize?

#48

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

Dora the Explorer has taught me some important life lessons including that a backpack can be a great organizational tool. I’ve tried using other types of bags & cases but nothing beats a good backpack. The perfect backpack has lots of pockets, each one designated for specific items. Unlike Dora I try not to fill mine with stuff I don’t need. 😀 And I try to empty it out every week.

#47

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

When in doubt, chuck it out! Clutter is the biggest organizational killer. If you don’t know the color of your desk, clutter may be an issue. I use three boxes to sort all my “papers”: an URGENT box, a THIS WEEK box and a SORT box. I try to go through them every week if I’m home; if I’m traveling though, my desk gets scary. 🙂

#46

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

Staying organized = keeping track of my essentials (keys, wallet, cell phone). I can’t tell you the number of times I have had to call my cell from a landline because I put it down somewhere and forgot where. How frustrating! I have trained myself to create a special spot for my essentials: at home it’s the top of the fridge; on the road, top of the hotel TV. I still have lapses occasionally, but not as often as before.

What’s the craziest place you’ve ever left your keys, phone or wallet? I left my phone in the freezer one time…i think i was looking for my Little Debbies in there…

#45

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

Two weeks of travel can wreak havoc on my “home schedule”. It takes me 3-4 days to readjust to home unless I plan ahead. Even though ADHDers tend to do well in fluid settings, we still need some structure to make getting and staying on task possible. Before going on a long trip, I write down where I left off on my top 2-3 projects and what needs to be done when I return. This is a great tool to help me get back on track with minimum drama.

If you’re a list-maker, it’s important to not make the list too long and expansive. A big to-do list will just overwhelm. Get your “sympathetic enforcer” to help with narrowing down the list to the most important and urgent items.

#44

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

ADHDers are very sensitive by nature, picking up on vibes people around them put out that others miss. Problem is we have a tendency to make what we’re sensing all about ourselves instead of the other person. And we tend to respond most strongly to “negative” vibes. It’s important to remember someone else’s funk might have NOTHING to do with us. Ask the other person “what’s wrong?” first, before jumping to conclusions and getting in a bad mood yourself.

#42

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on One Comment

ADHDers are good at juggling multiple stimuli. We can be looking around, texting, humming a song and still hear every word of a conversation. Problem is to the other person, the lack of eye contact and the extra activities make it seem like we’re not listening or don’t care and that can be a turn-off.

Giving your full attention during a conversation shows interest and respect. It’s hard, but very important to make an effort to give people in your life your FULL attention, especially if they don’t understand what ADHD is all about. Once they learn that you can in fact hear what they’re saying while appearing to be engaged in other activities, communication will become easier, but until you cross that bridge, don’t be misjudged as uncaring or flaky – pay attention!

#41

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

Friendships usually grow out of common interests and become stronger as you spend more time together. Friendship is a contact sport so you have to get out and get involved. It can be scary, but have realistic expectations – do you really need a posse? or will one good, loyal friend meet your need for companionship? ADHDers tend to wear their hearts on their sleeve and can get hurt easily, but that’s a risk you need to take if you want to build meaningful relationships.

#40

by Ben GlennMusingsPosted on Comments are Disabled

At a camp several years ago, I asked a roomful of junior highers what was most important to them. Top of the list? Friends! (I’m sure friends are in the Top 5 no matter your age.) In this day of social media you know exactly how many friends you have – just check your Facebook profile, right? But how many of these people are true friends to you? So today’s thought is: What makes someone a true friend?