When we think of the New Year we automatically think about New Year Resolutions. However resolutions are usually a highly ineffective way to achieve what we would like in our life.

For example, if your new years resolution is to lose weight, or get fit, you will likely to do really well for the first few days or even a few weeks, eating an extreme diet or going to the gym every day. But then the resolution way of life becomes hard and boring and its more comfortable to revert back to old ways.  New Years Resolutions are based on pure will power, and without a compelling goal, or big enough why,  Resolutions will not be sustainable.

However the New Year IS a great time to set goals. I have just read an inspiring book called ‘Taming Tigers, Do things you never thought you could do’ . The author Jim Lawless tells of how he achieved his goal of riding his first televised horse-race in the space of one year.  Before he set this goal for himself he had only been pony trekking twice!  In order to achieve this ambitious goal he had to get up every day at 5am to train, continue his day job, lose 1/4 of his body weight (jockeys are very light), move houses to be near the training ground, and give up alcohol (which can’t have been easy for someone that hadn’t gone to bed sober for 17 years).

It would have be extremely hard to do these things if Jim hadn’t had a compelling goal. This year when you are thinking about what you would like to achieve think BIG. What would you move heaven and earth to achieve?

Start with your big goal and then work backwards. You are much more likely to stick to a diet, declutter your house, get fit, etc. when the big goal excites you.

The sense of exhilaration that Jim felt when he completed the race was ‘ Absolute Elation’. Not only did he achieve his goal but he now has the knowledge that he can do anything that he sets his mind and this will stay with him forever.

When inspired ADHD adults can achieve incredible feats in a very short space of time, so can you. So your first action for 2010 is to create a compelling and exciting goal. Don’t worry about how you will achieve your goal, your only job today is to think WHAT you would like to achieve!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Other articles you will enjoy

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10 Reasons To Set Goals When You Have ADHD

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Keep your home clean and tidy as if guests were coming. Because you deserve to be in a nurturing environment just as much (more in my opinion) as any guests that visit. The English Designer William Morris said “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”. Let this be your motto as you begin to create a beautiful physical environment for yourself

For someone with ADHD memory can be a big issue. It can result in important possessions, such as passports, wallets and purses, laptops and keys being lost or misplaced. In his book ‘Scattered Minds’ Dr. G. Mate tells an amusing true story but one that encapsulated what it is like living with ADHD memory issues. A gentleman with ADHD has a dog and together they go for daily walks. As the owner puts his coat, shoes, hat, etc. on in preparation for the walk, the dog stays peacefully under the kitchen table. The owner leaves the house and the dog waits under the table. The owner comes back several times for forgotten items, such as keys, wallet etc. then on the third time the dog gets up and joins his owner for the walk. This wise dog had gotten the hang of living with an  Adult ADHD!

This story always makes me smiles. A great solution for helping your memory is creating new small habits. For example, if you are someone who is always leaving bags, umbrellas etc. on public transport, one of your new habits would be to briefly cast your eyes around where you were sitting to make sure you have everything before you leave. It only takes a few seconds, but you will be amazed how quickly it becomes second nature and how much time you save when you don’t have to phone bus companies or taxi firms to see if they have found your missing items.

Another example of a new habit would be to create a check list of everything you need before leaving the house and stick it to your front door. The list will probably include, wallet, cellphone, keys, bag. However you will personalize it suit your lifestyle. Then, get into the habit of checking this list and the items that you have on you before walking through the door. Very soon, you will notice that you are automatically checking to be sure you have everything without even looking at the list.

Have a special place to keep important items, such a passports. When you come home from your travels, pop it in that special place. Perhaps a top drawer, a pretty tin, whatever it is make it your top priority to return it as soon as you return from your trip. This removes an enormous amount of stress from your life as you always know where your important items are at all times.

Your homework this week is to think of 5 areas of your life where you are forgetful and then create small habits around those areas to help you both remember the items AND save time and reduce your stress.

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Coping with ADHD at work can be a challenge. However there a 5 simple tools and strategies that when you implement them in your office you will feel you aren’t just coping with ADHD but flourishing, as when you can organize yourself at work you can achieve what you know you are capable of.

Whiteboard -People with ADHD like to be able to see all the projects they are working on at once in case they forget one. Since it’s not usually possible to have all your projects in clear sight and maintain a tidy work environment, a whiteboard is a great office accessory. It will help to stay on track and not forget anything. Use your board to write down all your on going projects and update it regularly.

Timer -Use a simple kitchen timer to help keep you on tasks for work that requires concentration. Concentrating takes lots of effort so it’s natural to want to avoid it. However if you know you only have to concentrate until your timer rings, tasks are no longer overwhelming. Set your timer for 30 minutes at a time. Only work on that task until the timer goes off. If you feel like checking email, picking up the phone or taking a walk… do it after your timer goes off.

An Idea’s Notebook -When you are working on a task, it’s easy to get distracted with lots of thoughts, ideas, and worries about the tasks that you aren’t working on. Have an idea’s book next to you and jot those thoughts down and then go back to the original task. You will be able to focus much better, safe in the knowledge you won’t forget those concerns. Using a notebook not a piece of paper is much preferable since it’s less likely to get lost.

Healthy Snack -No matter how well intentioned you are, you won’t be able to concentrate or focus if you are hungry. Keep a good supply of non perishable healthy snacks close to hand and never let yourself get too hungry, almonds, raisins and V8 are a few examples.

Clutter Free Environment – This can be tricky at first, but once you have experienced how happy you feel when you walk into your office and you see clear surfaces and the floor, there is no going back. Nothing distracts you, or makes you feel overwhelmed and eats into your time like clutter. Take 15 minutes a day to clean your office and then once it’s ship shape spend a few minutes each day doing maintenance.

The results will leave you feeling productive and proud of yourself!

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Having an organized environment helps adults with ADHD feel calm, focused and able to function at their peak. However, having ADHD also means achieving and maintaining an organized environment is really hard. One of the biggest challenges is the accumulation of clutter. In my book, Untapped Brilliance, I have a chapter about achieving a clean, tidy and organized environment and I am always interested to learn more about this subject so I can in turn pass the information on to my clients. It was with fascination that I read organization guru Julie Morgenstern’s book SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life: A Four-Step Guide to Getting Unstuck.

Julie makes the connection between hoarding your belongings and staying stuck in life. It is really hard to move forward in life when you have the physical and mental reminds of the past. She gives a powerful personal example of how her old belongings were preventing her from moving forward.

Her childhood passion for theatre led her to be a theatre director. Then when her circumstances changed and she was a single mum, she started her own business as a professional organizer. Her business was going well, however she noticed it had reached a plateau. Due to lack of storage, she had six boxes of theatre production books (her old life) housed under her dining room table. By getting rid of those boxes, she witnessed a remarkable growth in her business (her current life).

Because getting rid of things is so hard for people with ADHD, I really liked Julie’s philosophy as it gives a deeper meaning to getting rid of your clutter. She suggests picking a theme for the next chapter of your life. This theme acts as a mental guide to help you get rid of your belongings that reflect your old life’s chapters.

So are you ready to create a beautiful living environment for yourself? One that helps you move forward in the direction of your dreams? Here are the five steps:

1. Pick a theme for your next life chapter. Are you a singleton, empty nester, freshly graduated or about to embrace a new healthy lifestyle? Identify yours and then use a few positive words to describe your theme.
2. Write list of every area you want to declutter. You probably know where your clutter is lurking in your house. There might be a little in every room, or you might have one room that is “off limits.” Writing it down gets it clear in your mind and acts as a great reminder of what you have done, once you start putting checkmarks beside areas that you have decluttered.
3. Grab your kitchen timer and work for fifteen minutes a day on the Decluttering process. If you are inspired to do more than fifteen minutes, go for it, but don’t burn yourself out in one day. Then you won’t be able to face Decluttering again for months.
4. If you are unsure if you should part with something, remember your theme. Does this item fit in with where you are going in life?
5. Reward yourself along the way. The benefits of decluttering are huge; however, they aren’t always obvious in the beginning. Give yourself treats and rewards every time you do your Decluttering.

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