Organizing yourself at work so that you can achieve what you know you are capable of is a challenge for adults with ADHD. However there are five simple techniques that are easy to implement, and the results will leave you feeling productive and proud of yourself.

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.

This week I was interviewed by the wonderful business coach Marica Hoeck on the subject of ADHD and entrepreneurs . Thanks so much to everyone for your feedback.  Above is a photo of (right to left) Marica, myself and Katie Weber, a Feng shui expert having dinner in LA just over a year ago.

Whether you are an entrepreneur or work for someone else, this weeks article is about the 5 must haves in your office so that you are able to be the most productive you can be.

People with ADHD are very hard on themselves and spend a lot of time thinking about and doing what they aren’t good at. However, the more time you spend working with your strengths and talents, (rather than battling with the things that are hard for you) you will notice not only will life be easier, your confidence and self esteem will increase, and your life will be much more joyful.

If you have ADHD then it’s highly likely that you undervalue your natural strengths. But remember, just because something comes easily to you doesn’t mean that it’s easy for everyone or it isn’t a valuable strength.

You might spend so much time focusing on your weaknesses that you don’t even know what your strengths are, or worse, still don’t think you have any. I can guarantee you have strengths.

1. Get a big piece of paper and write down 50 things you know you are good at or that you really enjoy doing. Usually they are the same thing, but not always. For example, you might really enjoy doing math because you are good at it and you get a buzz when you solve a problem. You might also love singing in the shower because it makes you feel happy and energetic, but also know that your dog has its paws over its ears.
2. Include on your list, tasks at work, at home and hobbies. It’s easy to lump everything together and say well I hate my job but when you break it down you will find that there are elements you are good at, and elements you aren’t. For example you might be really good at impro-presentation, but dislike writing long detailed reports.
3. If you are struggling to come up with 50, ask your family and friends for there ideas too.
4. With your completed list think how you can incorporate more of those 50 into your daily life. If you like cooking perhaps you will do more cooking at home and less eating out. If you like cleaning the bathroom but hate doing laundry speak to the people in your household and make arrangements.
5. While each item might seem small, when they are accumulated they represent a big part of your life and you will notice a significant and positive shift in your life.  Rather like a snowflake which is tiny on its own but when there are many together they can form together to make a fun snowman or create havoc on the roads.

Start to focus on your strengths this very minute!.

Adults with ADHD often dislike their birthdays. It’s a reminder that their life isn’t where they want it to be compared to the lives of their non ADD friends.  It could be that they are really bad at remembering other peoples birthdays, so don’t feel theirs deserves to be remembered.  Or, the universal concern, that they don’t like how the passing of years is affecting their body. Or maybe, their self esteem is low and don’t feel they want to have a lot of fuss. Birthdays are symbolic and worthy of celebrating. It’s a chance to celebrate your life, so why not create an extra special day for yourself?  

In the western world birthdays are often celebrated with cakes, gifts, flowers, cards and balloons. However it is your day, so you get to choose how to celebrate it to reflect your own tastes and style.   Here are some ideas how you can start to enjoy your birthdays again.

2. Take a few minutes to reflect on your last year achievements, things that you did, experienced, etc. You will always be surprised at how much you did.  

3. Plan some things you would like to do in the next year, start a new hobby, etc.  

4. Allow others to pamper and spoil you. 

5. Have a birthday party so that you can be with those that you love the most. It’s fine to host it for yourself.  

6. Create a wonderful memory on your birthday. Do something that you will remember forever. 

7. Think back to when you were little, what did you look forward to about your birthday? A birthday cake? Balloons? Whatever it was make sure you include that in your day this year.

8. Today is the day that others get to show you how special you are to them. No matter how hard this is for you, let them. 

9.  If noticing your body aging is upsetting you check out www.realage.com This will empower you to start turning back the aging clock.  

10. If you feel you are behind in life, write down the areas of your life that give you this feeling. This will give you a base to take action. For example, if you write financial, book an appointment with a financial adviser to create plan.  

When you celebrate your day, make it special for yourself, as well as enjoying the attention from your loved ones.  You will feel loved and rejuvenated and ready to make the next year an incredible one.

As an adult with ADHD, it is very easy to focus on your weaknesses and areas “to be worked on.” So much thought can be given to these areas that it’s easy to forget about your talents. Many adults with ADHD are humble to a fault and dismiss their talents because they come so easily. Naturally, they don’t feel they can be proud of these traits, or that they aren’t valuable. Nothing could be further from the truth. When you notice what you are good at, you can spend more time utilizing your strengths and less time worrying about your weaknesses.

Just like adults without ADHD, there are many strengths you might have. Here are just five examples of things that might resonate with you.

1. High Energy    If you have the hyperactivity component of ADHD, it might have diminished a little compared to when you were a child, but it’s way more than most people! When channeled on one project, you can work for hours and in a way that leaves people without ADHD both exhausted and in awe of you.
2. Hyperfocus    When something captures your attention, you can focus on it for hours. The ability to mentally tune out distractions and become so focused means you can get a lot done, as well as have a huge sense of satisfaction afterwards. This is similar to what Czech psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls “Flow.” Time disappears and your actions flow from you.
3. Creativity    You think outside the box and aren’t constricted by the “norm” and what has traditionally been done. This can be great in any situation, from an office brainstorming session to decorating your house to creating a new invention that can positively change the world.
4. Sense of Humor    As an adult with ADHD, there is a high chance that you have a good sense of humor. Humor comes in many packages: loud, boisterous Jim Carey types or quieter, witty types. Finding humor in everyday situations makes the world a happier place. People with ADHD often have a ready smile and can be funny as well as appreciative of other people’s humor.
5. Sensitivity    Adults with ADHD tend to be a sensitive bunch. Sensitivity is not a trait that is glorified in our culture, but it is a wonderful quality. It means you can easily relate to other people, have a natural empathy to how they are feeling and are able to act accordingly. It also means that you are a good judge of character, which in turn has many benefits too.

This Weeks Actions

1. What talents come easily to you? Remember, they might be so effortless to you that you don’t value them. If you aren’t sure, ask close friends and family to help you identify them.
2. For each of the five points above, ask yourself:
   • Is this a trait I have?
   • When have I noticed/experienced it recently?
   • How could I maximize this trait and use it more to my advantage?
3. Notice how your life becomes more enjoyable and effortless when you work with your strengths.

February 2nd is Groundhog Day. The tradition is that if the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.

The 1993 movie Groundhog Day has Bill Murray playing a grumpy meteorologist who covers a story on Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Murray hates the town and its cheery residents, so when he gets struck living the same day again and again, it’s somewhat of a nightmare.

The interesting thing is that many of us experience our own Groundhog Day effect. We live out the same day after day. We repeat things again and again, even if they make us miserable and unhealthy. We want change and even promise ourselves, “Okay, so tomorrow I will do…” But actual change doesn’t happen because habits are so entrenched in our lives. Creating new ones feels particularly impossible, even though in our head, the new ideas look and feel great.

Four years ago, I knew there were some BIG changes I needed to make. I thought about them for months and finally I changed one thing. I moved offices from a shared space to my very own. Once I made one big change in my life, the resistance to change had been broken. That same month, I ended a long-term relationship and moved houses. While these changes were big ones, yours don’t need to be. Take a few minutes now to think about what changes you would like in your life. What changes in your life do you need to make so you aren’t experiencing your very own Ground Hog Day? More exercise? More fun? Less stress? Start a new hobby, get a new job, meet some new friends?

If making changes in your life is really hard, start small. Making a big change, such as finding a new job, can be scary, particularly if you have been in the same position for a long time. Start to shake things up, but in a gentle, non-threatening way. Don’t do anything about moving jobs until you feel inspired or excited. Start making changes in your life that are completely unrelated to the new job. Move some furniture around at home, try a new recipe, mix up your routine at the gym, order a different meal at your favourite restaurant, read a book by a new author. This way you are building up your “change muscle.” Your body and mind will become used to new and different things and then bigger changes will become easy and often fun and exciting.

Change is revitalizing, refreshing and it boosts your self-esteem and confidence. It can also make us happier and more youthful?

What small change are you going to implement tomorrow to break out of your Groundhog Day?

As an ADHD coach I am always looking for helpful resources that will help your ADHD challenges. Here are 3 great websites that will help make life easy and even fun.

1)      www.passpack.com
Remembering things is a real challenge for adults with ADHD.  Passpack is  simple tool that is designed solely for  you to store  all your passwords and user names for all your favourite websites. It’s sercue, free, and can be accessed from every computer you use. A word of warning, don’t forget your password to Passpack!!!..because of its secure nature, if you forget this password there is no way to retrieve it.
  
2)      www.zip.ca
People with ADHD love watching movies. Perhaps because it’s a good way to escape your busy mind for a couple of hours, or if you are watching a movie at home it keeps you company and makes doing mundane tasks more interesting. However it is easy  return movies late and then incur late fees.

There are companies now that send your chosen movies to you in the mail box. You watch it and return it in a pre-paid envelope. No late fees, and there are 1000’s of movies to choose from. If you live in Canada,  Zip.ca is a great service. If you live in another country google ‘movies delivered to your door’ and a similar service will be listed.
  
3)      www.freecycle.org
Clutter is a huge problem for people with ADHD! One of the reasons clutter is hoarded in your home is that it can be hard to part with your belongings. Knowing that a special, but no longer used, item of yours is going to a good home really helps to release it. The phrase ‘one mans junk is another mans treasure’ is so true. Freecycle.org is a website that allows you to give an item of yours to a person in your area . The idea is that for every item that has found a new home, means one item less in a landfill. Word of warning.. this is a really great resource! and when you see what other people are giving away it can be tempting to want to add belonging to your home… Be mindful of this!

Your challenge this week is to visit each website and see if you think it would be helpful to your life. .

January is drawing to a close and the days are getting longer, which is very uplifting!

My all time favourite quote is “You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true” Richard Bach.
 
Every time I remember it I feel incredibly empowered and excited. It  means that anything my imagination conjures up can happen. The other day I rented a DVD called ‘Man on Wire’ and it shows beautifully how true that quote is.
 
‘Man on Wire’ is a documentary film about an incredible French man called Philippe Petit. In the late 1960’s Philippe decides he will walk on a tight rope from one of the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center to the other.
 
What makes this really incredible is that when he decided to do this, the World Trade Center hadn’t actually been built NOR could he tightrope walk. He read about the towers being built in a magazine in a dentist waiting room.  As he was reading he got the idea to perform this incredible act.
 
Over the next 6 years in was consumed with  realizing his dream. He teaches himself to walk on a tightrope, and he gets some of his friends on board as he needs help with the practicalities of getting the wire in place.
 
His plan to perform this tight rope walk  is actually illegal. However there is something very innocent about this crime after-all he isn’t trying to steal anything or hurt anyone. Besides the possibility of being in serious trouble with the law, the walk was exceptionally dangerous…he could have died.
 
I won’t tell you all the details because I would like you to watch the film with the same sense of excitement that I felt. However this story is the perfect example of how even ‘crazy’ or ‘far fetched’ goals can be realized.
 
Adults with ADHD have many brilliant and inspired ideas. Yet very often instead of  following through with them and making them happen, they bring themselves back to ‘real life’. While it won’t be possible realize every idea ( chances are you have many), it is possible to implement the ones you feel extremely passionate or excited about.
 
Your ideas don’t need to put you in physical danger! Perhaps yours is a business venture,  a travel adventure, or a relationship that you would like to pursue. When you get an idea that excites and inspires you, rather than push the idea away and think ‘well that is so outlandish’ Remember Philippe Petit’s amazing story and follow your dream  knowing with certainty that you have the power to make it come true.

Last week I was traveling from Europe to Canada and I had the worse flight experience I have ever had. Approximately 15 times a minute my seat would get hit or kicked by the passenger behind me. Causing my seat and body jolt forward and then pulpit backwards. It was a 7 hour flight, so that is A LOT of jolts!

I did all the usually actions, spoke nicely to him, ask the flight assistant if I could move to another seat (there weren’t any), the flight assistants all spoke to the gentleman. All to no avail.  In the end all I could do was tolerate the situation. What was interesting about the situation was I wasn’t able to do the things I usually love to do when flying. I wasn’t able to enjoy my novel,  the work I had taken with me, have a nap or even enjoy a film. The only activity that was possible was to watch mindless TV comedies, which helped to block out reality. This experience got me thinking, if in our daily life we are tolerating annoyances then they are seriously stopping us from achieving our potential. Rather than pursuing activities that engage our brain, and nurture us, having to tolerate annoyances means we do activities that help us tolerate life rather than grow and develop.

In order to untap your brilliance and allow your full potential to shine, it’s important that you first realize what things in your life you are tolerating and then start to get rid of them.

Tolerations range from the mundane for example, a broken light bulb, to a relationship that is no longer working

Adults with ADHD tend to have more tolerations in their lives than others. This could be because they get distracted, and so keep meaning to do a task but then jump to something else, because they never feel they have enough time to address the toleration, or they don’t feel they deserve better…a result of low self esteem. Tolerations are often mundane to fix and a little boring, so it’s more interesting to do other things.

So its time to blitz those tolerations! You will have so much more mental and physical energy when you and you will also feel so much more cheerful, relaxed and healthy too.

1)Walk round your home, your office and car and take an inventory of everything you are tolerating

For example, a broken drawer that is difficult to open and close. All your socks seem to have holes in so you have to sort through numerous ones before you can find a pair to wear. Your guest room is full of clutter and it sucks you energy every time you walk it.

2) Think of all the people in your life, is there anything you are tolerating there? Perhaps someone is also criticizing you, or talks about other people behind their back

3) Are there any personal habits that you have that you are tolerating?  Perhaps smoking even though you don’t want to. Never recycling, even though you would like to.

4) Are there any health issues that you have been meaning to get looked at? Have a mole removed, teeth cleaned, ingrowing toe nail looked at.

When you have your list don’t be daunted by its size. The more the better. Set yourself the challenge of addressing one thing on the list a day. Perhaps a phone call to book an appointment with your dentist one day, a conversation with your friend who is very negative the next.  With each toleration being taken care of you will notice how much your quality of life improves and be in a much better space to achieve what is important to you!