Musings from the conference

Attendees reflecting on the Chadd Conference

Expo Booths

Here's the Innovation Team at the Expo. Great stuff they learned and were teaching us at the conference .

National Resource Center Booth

This is at the expo, it was a large room with many vendors. When I printed out all the booths it was 3 pages long, so you can imagine how noisy it was in there. Here is the booth for the Chadd National Resource Center. NRC distributes the most researched and published information regarding ADD/ADHD. They are a wonderful Chadd resource and a wealth of information.

Chadd National President Opening Night

These are backwards right now - will try to fix later but the first video is Steve Peer at the podium on Thursday night and the second video is the introduction of Chadd National President Steve Peer.

Celebrities

Wow, Chadd went all out and got the same hotel as this celebrity....

Just kidding..... Chadd didn't know he was here but how cool that Jesse Jackson sat at the table next to us in the lobby tonight!

What a great day at the Chadd Conference

The Chadd leader’s training on Thursday morning was very engaging. Not only was attendance up but the speakers addressed advocating for ADHD by going to media outlets and building relationships with elected politicians. I never thought of developing these relationships myself in order to effect change for the ADHD community.

The second half of the session was dedicated to social media; blogs, Twitter, Facebook and such. Some of the mechanics were discussed of how to best utilize social media to promote causes. I must admit I am new to really understanding Twitter and Facebook. I have a Twitter account but do not really use it to the full extent of tweeting. I am learning and this session has helped to open my eyes about how to utilize twitter to increase our community. Watch the newsletters for more information on the new twitter handle.

One observation that I have this year is that the overall energy level of the conference is heightened. It may be the vast number of attendees;1200 attendees as opposed to the 400 last year, but it’s like there is something different in the air. The ADHD community as a whole is joining together to figure out the best ways to help the community and create successes. I’m so proud to be here for our ADHD community.

#Chadd10

Today is all about Chadd Leadership

Here we have a future leader coming to learn about starting a new chapter of Chadd near Memphis TN and we have Pam, a current Chadd leader talking about the fun she is having!

Chadd Leadership Day

A view of the Chadd Leadership luncheon. It was delicious. And Trish White, Chadd Leader extraordinaire talking about why she does what she does for our Chadd organization!

Chadd Conference

Just wanted to let you know we are having some technical difficulties with our video transfers. Stick with me, hopefully they will be up soon. Otherwise follow along on twitter with hashtag #chadd10 for more details.

Conference Preparation

There are many ways to prepare for a conference, here is how I am preparing for the Chadd National Conference in Atlanta, GA next week.

Musings Chadd ADHD / ADD Conference

Musings Pre Chadd Conference

As I start to prepare for the Chadd conference this year, I’m remembering last year’s conference with the old friends, new friends I made and the tools and learnings that I was able to use and share. For the next two weeks my blogging will be all Chadd Conference. I will blog my experience for you to understand the excitement and teachings of the conference through my eyes.

Check back often to see a view from Atlanta.

Three elements for managing ADHD in the workplace

Three elements for managing ADHD in the workplace

After the teenage years, and/or after school has been completed, where do ADHD symptoms go? For most, they go to the workplace. For those impacted by ADHD, there is no magic bullet that suddenly causes ADHD symptoms to stop interfering with their daily functioning, effectiveness and abilities. However with some strategies in place, one can succeed in a chosen career. Here are three steps to setting the intention on success with ADHD:

1) Diagnosis

A person with ADHD has a 60% chance to have other symptoms (depression, OCD, ODD etc.). A proper diagnosis is necessary so treatment, support, skills and systems training, and coaching will be most effective. This diagnosis will serve as a blueprint for coach, skills trainer and prescribing physician to do their best support delivering one from frustration to focus. It is important to set the foundations in all aspects of life so that the individual can carry these over to the workplace.

2) Medication

Medication for most helps with focus and is about 20 – 50% of the support needed for a satisfying and productive life. Medication provides a window into focus and an opportunity to do the work of life on the job. More fundamentally, medication provides a window to learn and develop a skill, set up and install a system or practice focus skills so that one becomes increasingly more effective in the workplace.

3) Skills Development and Coaching

Life includes dreams and desires for those with ADHD, just like for those without ADHD. Having a diagnosis of ADHD doesn’t mean giving up on ones dreams, it simply means creating an effective work around to take us from where we are to where we want to go. Once it’s determined how ADHD shows up, effective strategies can be determined for time management and project completion. Checklists, routines and task lists can be managed uniquely by each individual and for their career.

A fifty year old ADHD client came to me. He worked in information technology for a large corporation. They were downsizing. He wanted to find work he would do well and enjoy. We completed assessments and goal oriented coaching conversations regarding his skills, talents, interests and how ADHD was impacting his day to day functioning. Through this process, he decided he would love to set up small computer networks in small businesses and homes and to do so as a self employed person.

He enlisted support from his wife and two handymen. His wife, who worked for a large publishing company, had the ability to place a number of classified ads to his target audience, as a free employee benefit. He also spoke with some handymen, who were already serving the people he wanted to serve. He and the handymen began referring business to each other. He was ready when the downsize notice came. He already had a waiting list of clients for his business.

Just as when one is school, a person with ADHD at work needs to have a current diagnosis, skills training, support and coaching along with proper medications to perform at optimal levels.


Robb Garrett, MA, MCC, is ADD/ADHD Expert, providing trainings, guidance and solutions to living with ADD / ADHD at work. He may be contacted at CoachRobb@TamingADD.com or
(612) 869-8742 ext 1. More information regarding Taming ADD and Robb Garrett can be found at http://www.tamingadd.com, including ongoing trainings and speaking engagements. Look for his book to be published soon on ADHD.

ADHD From Over Promise and Under Deliver to Under Promise and Over Deliver

ADHD From Over Promise and Under Deliver to Under Promise and Over Deliver

One thing that could be thought of as a social skill is the operating from the private internal philosophy of striving to under promise and over deliver. Many people, especially those with ADHD, find themselves in situations of over promising and under delivering thus negatively impacting relationships.

Generally when we say that someone over promises and under delivers, it means that person doesn’t keep his/her word. They agree to meet somewhere to do something or get something done and they either never show up or are late. They may not do the task, complete it late or do it with poor quality. Many with ADHD can fall into the habit of over promising and under delivering in part due to impulsivity. In the moment when the boss, friend or family member directs one to do something; part of the impulsivity to please someone in the moment is to just say yes. Many do this without checking the calendars to see if they have time or thinking through other commitments. This causes the over promising and under delivering scenario.

If you haven’t gotten the training on how a calendar can support ADHD and worked with someone to find a way that works with your ADHD, I would highly recommend doing this hard work. By not having the skills to plan and complete projects, and not developing some habit that cause you to say, “Let me check my calendar and get back with you tomorrow” you may be negatively impacting relationships. Make time to create this habit so you have plenty of time to check your schedule and other responsibilities. This also allows you to have a moment to think about if you want to do what has been asked.

On the flip side, to under promise and over deliver, is usually created by a combination of:

1. Having that default “Let me get back to you” habit or some phrase you could adopt, memorize and make your own as an auto response to someone asking you to do something. This eliminates getting into a situation where you agreed to do something you are unable to do or unable to do well in the time you’ve agreed to do it.
2. Doing the work to create a calendar system. This process would include spending the time to select and develop a calendar program along with triggers to help you remember to check your calendar regularly to see what’s in it, help you enter data as it comes in and update other data.
3. Mastering project planning and completion, not in the way other family members, coworkers or teachers necessarily want you to do, but finding a way that you can have a work around with your own ADHD symptoms.

Under promising and over delivering means that if you agreed to get a task done in two weeks but you know pretty much for certain based upon your skill level, calendar, and availability of time and energy; that you can do it in a week; you make the agreement to do it in two weeks. So if the project actually takes 13 days, due to life happening, you are still completing the project a day early. Rather than if in a knee jerk response you said, “Oh I can get this done in a week.” Then when life inevitably happens and it takes 13 days, you are delivering the project 6 days late.

So that’s the idea, some people get a little confused in thinking this is deceitful or even lying, however that is not the case. It is just taking into account that life happens, meaning things come up that weren’t planned or expected. Any number of things could come up that delay things from happening so it’s an art and skill to allow for the unexpected emergencies and inconveniences. We know they are coming and we are mindful of the fact that we don’t know when thus we keep it in mind when making agreements. The beautiful thing about that is it often it allows you to do something a little sooner or a little better than you agreed to do it. So keep that in mind when you are making agreements to do something by a certain time, give yourself a window of time to consider if you want to agree or not and give yourself the luxury of time to assure yourself that you keep your word. That’s how this fits into the social skills arena, it helps you build great relationships because friends, coworkers and family will learn from experience, over a period of time that when you agree to do something you will do it and you will do it on time. This makes for great relationships.

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Noticing Your Environment with A.D.H.D.

Information Management: Noticing Your Environment

This week when thinking about information management we are going to think about the environments that surround us daily. For those with A.D.H.D. our environments could be an enabler to our minds moving away from the task at hand. Your environment may mean your work space, your school space, your car, your bedroom, your home; basically any space you find yourself trying to accomplish a task from your to do list. Your job this week is to notice what is working for you and what isn’t. So thinking of it environmentally, what physical arrangements are conducive to your effectiveness at completing each task?

• When you are working or studying at a desk, what visually supports you to get your work done or what might be getting you off task?
• What sounds are in your environment? Is it silent, noisy, music, television, how loud?
• Do you work better by yourself, with a team or just by having someone in the room with you?
• Does your chair support you to sit upright and focus and is your keyboard in the right space?

Another thing to notice is your energy patterns, many people with A.D.H.D. have varying energy patterns through the day where certain tasks are better suited for certain times of day or evening. Personally, I like afternoons better. I have harnessed the energy from the morning and can create better in the afternoon. I know of others who love the morning and find as soon as their feet hit the ground they are pumping out great work. Everyone is unique with this you just need to notice what is true for you.

Some tasks just can’t get done without a person present. This is quite normal for someone with A.D.D. Similar to shadow coaching, when it comes to clearing the desk, organizing or filing ~ sometimes having a person in the room (main qualification that someone in their presence you feel good about yourself) even if they are working individually on their own thing, just having them in the room helps you to get those things done.

As you go through this week, log what you notice into a journal then strive to implement a new change each day or each week to manage your environment more effectively.

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Organization in the Workplace

When it comes to organizing those with A.D.H.D. / A.D.D. might start with some simple basic things that will help get our mind organized. With A.D.H.D. / A.D.D. , sometimes our minds are distracted to the point of overwhelm, so we will start with organizing our minds.

There are many ways to organize our minds:

• On the basic level, research continues to support the idea that about 30 min of daily aerobic exercise is great for adding focus, mood regulation and mental energy.

• We already believe that fish oils are great especially those that have been processed in such a way that the molecular structure is small enough to penetrate the blood brain barrier.

• There is great value in being aware of what your preferred learning modalities are you visual, auditory or kinesthetic. Gaining this knowledge can alleviate frustrations.

• There’s the environmental factor where we might consider the home, office or school environment. When possible selecting or adapting these environments to support us to be effective. We can do so by being aware and learning about the impact of sound on our concentration; music, silence or other types of sound may help us to focus and create an organized mind environment.

• There is the tactical or practical hands-on business of organizing time, information and stuff.

The process of starting to get organized can often overwhelm someone with A.D.H.D. / A.D.D. One method we find useful is the basket method. Get 5 baskets then mark each one with one of these – file, trash, give away, return to owner, don’t know need to talk to someone. As you start organizing your room everything goes into a basket. At the end of the day, the giveaway and trash baskets must be out of the house. A trip to Goodwill and the garbage can take care for these baskets immediately.

We have found that someone with A.D.H.D. / A.D.D. going through this process, it is critical to have someone on your informal support team or a professional organizer with you. Remember this is someone whom in their presence you feel good about yourself. Getting organized is tough business, however if you are in an environment of feeling good about yourself it makes this process that much better. The function of your support person is to help you talk through the stuff you are unsure about and keep you out of overwhelm. Organization can help you go from frustration to focus to gain more success in life, school and work.

Transitions in the Workplace: ADHD in the workplace

Transitions in the Workplace: ADHD in the workplace


Transitions happen constantly in life and in a multitude of ways. There are transitions between jobs, months, weeks, days, tasks, meetings and conversations--just to name a few. With ADHD, these transitions can be a time when we lose focus, become stressed or otherwise become less than our best. On the other hand, working with our support team, whom understand the nature of transitions for those with ADHD, transitions can become a chance to re-center, re-focus and come back to our best center before going to the next element in our day. For this entry, let's look at the smaller transitions between tasks, meetings and conversations.

When thinking about your work day; are there times when you are transitioning from desk work to meetings? Are there times when you are transitioning between the tasks that make up a project? Are there times when you are transitioning from a computer work to phone work? These are common transitions in the workplace that many do without thinking however for those with ADHD it might be fret with the debris of possible distractions and stress.


Let's look at a type of transition: What are some of the things that need to happen while transitioning from writing a document to going to a meeting?

1. We must notice internally (with or without external prompts) that it is time to prepare to stop what we are doing.

2. We must gather and organize things that we were working on so that they will be ready for us.
3. We must notice it is time to go to the meeting.
4. We must gather the items we need for the meeting.
5. We must get to the meeting on time and sitting down.

The less we notice and attend to these elements of transition the more that overwhelm, stress and poor focus have opportunity to come into play. When we set up systems to help us recognize these elements, we bring calm, clarity and great focus to our transitional moments which aid in our grounding and effectiveness. There are many different systems to utilize to make transitions easier. However, each person has individual needs that will help them to be successful. Some people have administrative assistants to keep them on task while others employ watches with beepers. Your coach or success team can help you to identify your challenges and implement your transition system. The practice and mastery of these fundamental elements are the makings for very satisfying, effective and productive days.

Using Your Planner to Get Started with ADHD

Using Your Planner to Get Started

Sometimes getting started can be difficult. It may be that proper scheduling or planning hasn’t been done. It may be the complexity of the task. It may be a dreaded task. Today let’s take a look at the scheduling and planning piece.

I’ve noticed that some clients have trouble getting started if they are deciding in the moment or the day of; what to get started on first or how to get started at all.
A simple approach is starting to plan a day ahead. Meaning that in the morning or afternoon, you pull out your planner to schedule and plan the next day. You may have a checklist that you can input into your calendar on specific time slots to ensure your “to do” list is completed. You may have important meetings to that need a file pulled or printed. If you plan the day before you may eliminate that overwhelmed feeling and your feeling of being in control will be heightened. There is something about getting up with a plan or schedule already in place that takes off a burden that can send my ADHD clients into overwhelm if it’s not lifted off of them.
Don’t you usually sleep better too if you know you are ready for the next day? I know I do. And don’t you love the feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day when your to do list is completed?

The main thing about getting started is just getting clear on what needs to be done, getting moving and staying in forward motion. This is where your ADHD coach can come into action. You and your coach can set your plans in motion working around your ADHD and creating a solution that will work for you to succeed. Remember everyone’s ADHD shows up different so the plan above may or may not work for you however the goal is to get started and keep moving forward with your projects. So keep trying new ideas and keep your mind open to the possibilities around you for success with getting started on your projects.

Perfectionism and ADHD in the Workplace

Perfectionism in the Workplace

Perfectionism in the workplace can show up in odd and unexpected ways. Some may be thinking, “What is the problem with this? People who tend toward perfectionism turn out work that is such a high standard that it’s near perfect right? So if I try to turn out perfect work, the end result is that my work will be better quality – right?” This is the thinking of how it might be but it isn’t the reality of how it shows up. A person with ADHD and perfectionism may find that they are behind on work, missing deadlines and often not getting all the work required completed. Sometimes the quality of the work being done may be far from high quality; it may be low or of unacceptable quality. These situations may arise from perfectionism; so let’s take a deeper look.

Perfectionism from a workplace point of view may show up with the desire to be error free and produce excellent work however what usually underlies these desires is the fear of mistakes, acceptance by others or a fear of being negatively judged by others. One may, under self imposed stress, have difficulty starting a task or knowing what to do first because nothing seems quite good enough. One may have many false starts (starting a project and discarding the work) or starting it over and over again thereby running out of time and being rushed at the last moment to get something in that may result in an unacceptable quality of work. Perhaps there are 10 critical tasks that need to be done and one completes only two or three, although they are of exceptional quality, time and resources have been misallocated. Do any of these scenarios’s sound like your situation? You are not alone. Many have this perfectionism trait both with and without ADHD present.

I think that the best examples I have heard regarding this is a story of two graduate students. One was a perfectionist and the other strove to write well enough for the task at hand and within the time allotment. They were both writing articles to be published in journals regarding their studies. The perfectionist ended the year with one well written article while the other student wrote numerous articles in that same amount of time that were good enough for publication. The student with the most published articles was approached by a book publisher. He was given an advance because he was viewed as the top expert in his field. The perfectionist was not made an offer.

So perfectionism is not anything to be desired or sought after but rather it’s something to be let go so in the mix of things one is able to freely discern what tasks need to be done in a good enough fashion and what are the handful of things that need to be done to an exemplary level of quality. The reality is in the human realm of work and productivity, perfectionism is only an ideal that is not attainable in human reality.

Social Skills in the ADHD Workplace

Social Skills in the ADHD Workplace

Social skills are often a critical part of how effective we can be in the workplace. They are a measurement of how we are perceived as a contributing member of the team. Some social skills can be learned from great organizations such as Dale Carnegie Organization or Toastmasters. Others that typically might be caused by ADHD symptoms may need addressing with an ADHD professional. These include, but are not limited to, symptoms such as impulsivity (causing one to blurt out things while others are speaking) impatience, irritability or lack of focus (not focusing and therefore not understanding or remembering what others are/have said.)
Let’s start by looking at some of the things that Toastmasters might be able to help you learn. For around $75- 100 per year membership, you can choose the well known track to learn to be a public speaker or you can select the lesser known track of leadership development. Some members chose to do both.

In the public speaking track, you begin by getting in front of a group of people (usually 6 – 24 people or larger) and your first assignment is called an icebreaker. You get up and talk about yourself, a topic you know better than anyone else in the world. This way even if you make a mistake, no one would know because you are the expert on you. I have known many people at Toastmasters go from being unable to speak before the 6 person group, go on to become very effective speakers in large groups. Many people are there simply to overcome their social fear and discomfort. One could expect to learn how to make better eye contact, how to prepare a simple presentation, how to notice social cues in the audience and adapt accordingly, how to engage ones voice and body in delivering the message.
On the leadership track, one might expect to learn how to inspire others, persuade or excite them to take action, to get practice in prioritizing and organizing tasks and to meet new people.

So given that social skills can make such a huge impact on our experience in the workplace and with relationships, it is worth some investment of time, energy and money to improve your ability to understand and adapt to the social cues in the workplace. For the communication challenges that seem directly caused by ADD symptoms, some other areas to explore might include proper medication and/or working with a coach or therapist on skills training and handling any fears or emotional issues that are interfering with having social grace. You may also want to develop a more clear sense of daily purpose or a purpose in ones work and life. As a bonus with Toastmasters, chances are high that you will also make some great friends that are on the same journey.

Information Management in the Workplace for ADHD

Information Management in the Workplace

In today’s workplace there are many forms of information management techniques. Some of the most basic still work even in our world of expanding technology. You will still find file cabinets in every corporate office in America because your basic paper filing system will always exist, even if we
want to go “green” and get rid of it.

However there is a multitude of other ways to store your information for easy retrieval. You may store it on your personal computers, internet cloud or portable hard drive. For those with ADHD it is imperative that you work to find processes that work for you for the gathering and retrieval of information. ADDer’s tend to gather information but lack the processes needed to retrieve it at a moment’s notice. When we are thinking about information management, we need to consider a few things:

1. Is this information I will use daily; monitoring it for change?

2. How often will I need to access this information and in what form (word, excel, access)?

3. Will I be accessing this information from my personal computer, handheld device or a multitude of locations?

4. Will I need to have this information in my back pocket at all times?
Remember there are pluses and minuses to each of information storage choice.
If you have penmanship that is hard to decipher, you may want to stay with digital options for information storage. The typed word tends to be easier to read for you and anyone you may share this information. However, if the data is input on a personal computer, you will need to have access to this computer all the time to retrieve this information. You will also need to be cognizant of backing up your hard drive or run the risk of virus or corrupt files. The advantage of the personal computer is the large keyboard and monitor. These make it easier to type and read information.

The handheld device is a much more mobile device but the keyboard and monitor are small and sometimes difficult to use. It may be so difficult to enter data that you may not enter it at all thus losing important information.

Lastly, if we chose to enter the data on the internet cloud system (internet data storage), we might find flexibility to enter and access the data on many devices yet not like the discomfort of the data being stored on something so physically assessable. In my practice I choose the internet cloud as a second backup for some data however most is stored on my pc and my assistant’s pc which is backed up on regular intervals.

As in any project or task, I think of one of the conversations with a recent client who was deciding what information to include in a presentation. When I asked him well, it depends on what outcome you want, what is your objective. He said “Great question, I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

When it comes to all the systems and tools that are available, first you should decide what the reason or outcome you desire to achieve with the tool and this will narrow the selection choice for you.

Organization in the Workplace for ADD / ADHD

Organization in the Workplace

Organization means many things to many people and sometimes when you have ADHD this means chaos. However, organization is paramount to your success in the workplace, so when we think about organization there are a number of simple strategies we can use to be more effective.

We can ask for help in prioritizing tasks. This is a request I hear often in the workplace from many workers who may or may not have ADD/ADHD. The simplest way to achieve this is for one to ask one’s boss “Hey, I have all these projects on my list and I want to do the best job I can for you. Could you help me by telling me what your priorities are for these projects and perhaps tell me the sequence you prefer I do them in.” With this approach you are accomplishing two things, telling your boss that you want to do good work for him/her and telling them that you want to align your work with their priorities. Both of these things are music to a boss’s ear. However in some situations, going to your boss may be overwhelming or unproductive. If requesting that help from your boss doesn’t seem like a good option for now, perhaps you can ask a trusted co-worker or a family member or friend to help you.

When it comes to tracking progress and what needs to be completed; I use large, colorful and visual calendars to help me. For example if I have six key projects that I am working on, I may assign a different color to each of the projects. My assistant and I map out or assign time to work on each of the projects by their assigned color and at the same time blend our filing system folders/pages to be in the same color. My virtual assistant has taught me to go a step further in that if the assigned color is yellow, the folder is yellow and the working papers (post its, index cards, copy paper) are also yellow to make sure all papers stay together with the project. We also post all projects on large calendars in our offices which are also color coded so all pertinent dates of the project are in yellow. This approach makes it easy to pull an entire project out of the file drawer at once or look up at the calendar to understand what is on my plate at one time. Also if a random paper is left on my desk I know exactly what project it goes with and exactly where to file it just by the color.

Having some of these structures in place can even make responding to requests (in person, email or phone) easy if someone wishes to talk about the yellow project we can look at the calendar board and be able to meet within the time frame of the project.

By implementing either of these simple tools is a way to start your project of organization at the workplace. Both strategies will help you to keep your focus on the priorities at hand and completing the projects you have on your plate. Remember as we implement any key strategy or tool, our fieldwork is to notice what works and doesn’t work so we can continue to evolve and improve our systems to find what works best for us.

ADHD Project Completion around the Job Inteview Process for ADHD ADD

Project Completion around the Job Interview Process

Some of the most exciting parts of the job hunting process are the receiving of the invitations for interviews as well as the interview itself. The pinnacle of which is receiving the offer. Although many folks with ADD/ADHD might not experience the satisfaction and excitement of completing projects as others may, they certainly would be very enthusiastic about the prospect of accepting a job offer and completing the long, arduous process of job hunting.

The typical progress for most projects for someone with ADD (especially one they are enthusiastic about) they are very excited about getting started on the project (brainstorming, supplies, thinking through project completion) often somewhere in the middle there may be a sense of boredom and dread leading to complete disengagement. Generally I’m cheering them on, encouraging, keeping them on task and holding them accountable. I contrast that to the job interviewing process where they’ve worked so hard in prepping themselves, making a plan, doing research and finally get that possible first job offer. I then take a different strategy towards project completion. Rather than encouraging them to an early completion date, I tend to have to work with them to slow down, delay the response and wait for other offers so that the excitement of completing that particular project does not trump the execution of the long term strategy of realizing the best possible position for their career goals.

I wonder for you is there a way for you to design any of the projects in your life so that the drive and enthusiasm of completion would be so hard to stop that people would have to stand in your way in order for you not to complete the project. For example, could you agree with yourself that the cool electronic gadget you want, you can have it only when you complete your project? Or could you go on that weekend adventure once the project is completed? Or could you send an email out to certain friends that you have completed the project after you have told them about it gaining pride and joy for completion. How can you set your projects up or create your environment so that you are pulled toward project completion instead of dreading the project?

Time Management in Navigating the Workplace

In the workplace most things are time driven and for those with ADHD/ADD who have a particularly hard time tracking time; this represents a unique set of challenges. Some of the challenges of time management include: the awareness or the ability to track the passing of time, noticing what time it is, remembering to stop one activity to start a new activity and being able to foster the focus toward each scheduled activity.

Some jobs have a built in factor of time being tracked for you most of the time. For example one client, a psychologist, has the benefit of her clients showing up at the appointed therapy time and, in some sense, tracking their own time of when to show up, start and end a therapy session. However, once she was promoted into a supervisory role that includes some of the therapy sessions, reports and overseeing the activities of other therapists; she found that without an external trigger she was falling behind on her administrative duties. It was not an issue of ability or skill to complete any of the tasks. It was simply a matter of time management. Once she took a class pertaining to time management strategies, she found external triggers such as pop ups and bells on her computer, her supervisor scheduling meetings with her and occasional reminder phone calls that she was able to quickly get on schedule with her reporting.

Time management for those with ADD/ADHD is unique because their brain works differently. Working with a typical time management expert (one who has studied the art and science of time management) usually gets those with ADD/ADHD overwhelmed, frustrated and ultimately in trouble. But when time management is taught around the way someone’s mind works, wherein the first point is discovering how the client’s mind works and then developing systems to work around the person, everything changes.

So if you want to be on time and know what to do when, I invite you to sign up for my Be On Time tele-forum class offering.

Also, I am presenting this weekend in Minnesota at the ADHD Spring Conference. For more information on my presentation on Navigating the Workplace, feel free to call me at 1-800-929-4127.

Focus for the Career Planning Process

When in career planning focusing on learning about yourself, what you enjoy to do and what you do well will help to find a career path/profession that will remain desirably challenging and complex enough to keep you interested. This is one of the best kept secrets to career planning with ADHD. The foundation of career planning is know your values, motivators, skills, talents and put them to work for you in an environment that keeps you challenged. Everyone is different so your foundation must be thoroughly explored.

You can use strategic thinking to assist your career planning coach and help put the pieces together as you complete assessments, surveys and hash out your history (work, school, hobbies). This process will help you determine what sort of skills, talents, people, causes and/or businesses will hold your interest for the long haul of a career.

In your career planning you must remember the basics of the ADHD mind and think about how the career you choose will keep your ADHD focus stimulated and interested. As with everything ADHD, how it impacts you is different so your search will be different from everyone else. The question you need to answer is “How will you make your career planning experience meet the criteria that will enable you to have a successful career?”

You can engage your focus by being creative and break up career planning into parts so it’s a series of quick sprints in each section of the process. Or you can turn into hyper focus gear (ADHD term that means block out everything else for long periods of time except what we are working on) and make it a fun exciting marathon.
You could also engage your focus by breaking up the process with two or more professionals instead of the traditional way of just one professional. For instance, you may use your coach, your psychologist and maybe someone on your informal support team that is knowledgeable about the profession of interest instead of just your career planning coach. This will help you with different perspectives about your skills and talents.

Remember, there is no perfect career path but there are many, many great ones that you will find satisfying and bring joy to your life. We want to help you create the invaluable experience of waking up in the morning, looking forward to going to work.

Internal Motivators in Career Planning
When there is ADD or other LD present, it is absolutely essential that we know our inner motivators. When you think about inner motivators they answer the question, “What causes you to take action and do something that results in joy and satisfaction?” It brings us into that flow experience, conductors or writers describe it as losing track of time and an athlete would describe it as getting in the zone where they fly through the air effortlessly. Even if we aren’t great writers or athletes, we can still find our own zone. A window into this zone is discovering and dancing with our key motivators.
Key motivators may include things around the love for intellectual understanding; the knowledge of how things work in the current state. It may also be a love for following a tradition of ideals or beliefs; including cultural or family traditions. Another motivator can be about noticing and enjoying the aesthetic beauty of things from flowers and trees to the artistic creation of sculptures, architecture. You may notice beautiful voices or music. Some even notice the beauty of a mathematical formula or a scientific theory. Social motivators come from the perspective of wanting all that one does to be a benefit to people, person, family or humanity. The sense of satisfaction comes from knowing that your time, energy and money are being used to benefit others. Another key motivator is the sense of utilitarian value. It’s a more tangible benefit to you, a cause or loved one. This is where practical benefit, money, health or some other practical benefit to be generated from your efforts.
You might be able to discover your inner motivators by going through your day and noticing what gives you deep satisfaction or joy. You may notice how you come to decide to do one thing over another. Or if you find your motivation missing, you might explore, in your imagination, what might bring it back to understand where to put your attention, time or energy.
These are the steps required to build a foundation to make effective career planning decisions. If you are looking to understand your career planning process, there is a one day seminar that I will be speaking at in Minneapolis, MN hosted by www.ldaminnesota.com and co-sponsored by Ch.A.D.D. Twin Cities. There I will take you a little deeper into building your foundation of values and inner motivators in my presentation ADHD in the Workplace ~ Navigating the Career Planning Process. Taming ADD is also offering a class on key motivators. Click here to learn more.

Decisions based on Values

Decisions based upon Values

Once we are clear on what some of our values are, we can use them to make decisions. Some of our toughest decisions are what job to seek and accept, what projects to complete and what volunteer opportunities we should say “Yes” to our involvement. We simply have to notice how each is related to our values. Can we express our values freely in each environment? Do our values match up so we can fully engage them to create success? Once we are clear on our values we can use them to determine the best way to utilize our time and weed out that which would be unproductive for us.

For example, one client taught me that he chooses volunteer opportunities based upon qualifications. He found that he was receiving a multitude of volunteer opportunities, so many that he couldn’t accept them all. He leveraged his value of making the biggest impact to determine where best to put his time and energy. He would first determine if he was uniquely qualified to fill the role asked of him. He would determine if there was something unique that he could give more than others. If the answer was “No” then he would pass however, if the answer was “Yes” he would further consider the possibility. His next step was to look at the time commitment, the schedule and energy needed to fulfill asks. If this all meshed then he would take the volunteer opportunity. This was a win for both the client and the organization because both got “the best” for the efforts.

In my life, I recently uncovered that appreciation is a very important value for me. This actually surprised me. However, it has led me to make decisions based upon whether the opportunity creates a space for me to give appreciation and receive appreciation. Since my volunteer time fills quickly, I may pass on an opportunity that doesn’t allow me to utilize this value in some way.

We must all think about how to best use our time and energy. This week let’s work on using our values as the starting point to make decisions about opportunities that arise. First make a list of your values so that when an opportunity arises you are prepared to run down your value list to see if it’s a good fit for you. Say “Yes” to those that are and “No” to those that aren’t.

A Fresh Start with ADD / ADHD

Fresh Start

A fresh start for all of us can be a great thing. Nature and life provides opportunity for great starts; a new year, month, week, day, hour. There are all kinds of opportunity for fresh start.

In that light we will begin 2010 with our 12 most common challenges found with ADHD and build upon what we already know. We are also going to be adding to the dozen challenges thereby making it a Bakers dozen, by adding a new one; your Success Style. Your success style is just your unique ways of approaching people, problems, procedures and pace.

We will consider all of these challenges, as I guide you through each of them month by month. This year we will approach each challenge and notice how we are currently navigating the waters of the challenge, how we have dealt with each challenge in the past and what we want for the future. In this fresh start, you are going to take what is already working well for you and build on that. So for this journey you will need a notebook, just something from the dollar store, as there will be homework to help you succeed.

Now let’s get started...In the past you have been successful in building relationships, solving problems, following or making procedures work for you and you can continue to build on that to do it more effectively. The requested assignment for this week is to reflect upon what is already working for you in your life. Write it down so that you can refer back to it during this journey.
I’m looking forward to going through the journey of 2010 with you.