ADHD Power Bursts: Miracles in 10 minutes or Less!
Prorastinating, Putting off doing things, wasting time, etc. well try ADHD Power Bursts – Miracles in 10 minutes or Less!
For people with ADHD there is a very real sense of dread that comes over us when faced with a daunting or big task!! Today I looked at my messy home office today and thought to myself, “I don’t know where to begin”, followed by, “I will never be able to get that done!”. Some people with ADHD steer that dread right into avoidance, or disinterest. It is as if something takes over my thinking, and before you know it, I am mesmorized by some small part of the task, and then it is two hours later and Im still no closer to getting started on the real task at hand”, says a friend of mine who also has ADHD.
This kind of inability to begin or finish an important or simple task is very discouraging to people with ADHD. Another common task distractor is the idea that things have to be perfect, and therefore everything must be looked at and thought over. This kind of thinking will destroy your ability to get anything done.
It has been my mission, to discover what techniques for getting my essential life tasks finished actually seem to work for people with ADHD. I have found several antedotes for the poisen of overwhelm and lack of productivity.
First, change your self talk immediately! Few things are as damaging as the stories that we with ADHD tell ourselves. Instead of “I will never get the job done”, begin saying, “ I will get some of this done right now, no problem at all”.
Second, Get real with your abilites and pick a task tolerence time for yourself. Ask yourself, “how many minutes would I for sure be able to handle doing this task?” Most people with ADHD can do anything for a few minutes at a time – no problem. Decide what your task tolerence limit is. For me, I can do anything for 10 minutes, even the hard things like laundry, or straightening up my stuff. If it is really difficult, like opening the mail, I will break that down into 3 minute sessions.
Third, Use a timer or countdown clock online ( I like the online countdown clock atwww.online-stopwatch.com). Set your timer for the number of minutes you decided on, start the timer and begin repeating your mantra “ I can do this, I can do this yes I can, yes I can”! If you start to daydream or become distracted or discouraged, just look at the clock and remember you totally get to stop, after your timer goes off! I am usually shocked how much I can do in ten minutes of uninterrupted task time. Today for example, I cleared off a pile of clothes and junk from a surface in my home office. It turns out that 10 minutes is all it took to organize and put away a weeks worth of piled clothes, papers and other miscalaneous stuff!
Fourth, Decide how much time you get off for doing a little on a task. I am allowed 20 minutes off for every 10 minutes I spend doing my tasks. That might seem like a lot, but I would have easily burned right through a half an hour just procrastinating or doing something else. In fact as usual, I am writing this blog entry as a reward for doing a 10 minute office clean up. I find that setting a reward-time timer is also essntial. Without timers, I would be lost in internet space, or find myself three hours later writing a million word essay instead of a short and useful blog.
Getting tasks done around the house and at work used to really be overwhelming for me. I found that for myself and for many of my clients with ADHD, setting a timer, using my mantra and giving myself reward time really works.
In fact, my reward time is almost done, so I will set it for another 10 minutes and see how much I can get straightened on my desk, then I will use my next reward time to finish and polish up this blog entry. In any case, I have one very clear surface in my home office, and I got another blog entry done, not bad for about 30 minutes work. My ADHD really works for me!
Let me know what you want to accomplish in 10 minute Power Bursts.
4 Responses to “ADHD Power Bursts: Miracles in 10 minutes or Less!”
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I was astounded to see the resource(s) there available on your site providing
for so many! It’s tremendous – but also tremendously eye-opening – my step son
has Asperger’s and is perhaps a bit surreal to see the similarities between ADHD
and Asperger’s. And the timing (in being introduced to the site) was somewhat
ironic, sitting here earlier, thinking how VERY badly I wished I had taken more
time to read articles from YOUR site last night!!!
Very nice resource and website!!Will definately be bookmarked and *heavily* used
I have had ADHD since college. My wife gets on me about not getting stuff done
in the house. At least you get what it is really like to be so smart but also
have such a hard time with simple things my wife does with no problem.
Thanks for telling it like it is for us Adults with ADD. I like that you are
willing to share stories from your real life and not just generic stuff that I
see everywhere. It feels good to be able to read about other adults who deal
with things I do!
Robert, these are great tips! I’m a big believer in timed activities. My
therapist recently gave me some “homework” to help me with a daily exercise
routine that has really helped me get outside and get moving. He told me to take
a ten minute power walk every day and time it on my watch. 10 minutes, no more
and no less. It’s my daily ten minute fitness routine and it’s really going
great. I’ve been at it a few weeks now and I’ve found that something I once
dreaded had become something that I actually look forward to! Soon, I’m gonna
make it a twice daily walk. One step at a time, literally and figuratively! This
is an awesome blog! Keep it up!!!
This is great! I have a giant pile of clothes in my bedroom that is threatening
to spill over into the hall, and I think I will try this idea. Thanks for the
idea!