Moving
Past Procrastination...
Beginning a new project can be challenging for someone with ADD. Yes, it is exciting
to start something new. And, hurdles often emerge to stifle the forward movement.
Sometimes we haven’t a clue where to begin. Other times, the discomfort in
exploring unknown territory stops us in our tracks.
The book, “You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!”, says “ADDers
who procrastinate are so distracted by stimuli that they can’t figure out
where or how to get started. Sounds, smells, sights, and the random wanderings
of the mind continually vie for attention. Unable to select the most important
stimulus, most tasks are approached in a disorganized fashion resulting in trouble
finishing or sometimes even starting, anything.”
...Into Action - Use Your Lifelines
Appealing to the creative side of people with ADD, let’s look at what we
can learn about moving past procrastination from the hit show, Who Wants to be
a Millionaire. In the show lifelines are clues that are used when a contestant
does not know the answer to a question. Here’s how the lifelines can be applied
to support moving into action:
* Phone a friend (players can choose to phone one of their friends if they are
unsure about any of the answers) - Tell a friend, family member or coach about
your project and ask for their support either through regular phone contact or
have them stop over and keep you company. Perhaps, your friend has a project he/she
wants to accomplish, as well. You can buddy up to support each other towards getting
your respective projects completed.
* Ask the audience (an electronic vote by the members of the studio audience on
what they think the answer is) – Ask others or ask yourself why this project
is important for you to complete in the first place. What would be served by having
this project complete? What is compelling you to move forward? Use the answers
to these questions as motivation to help you move forward into action.
* 50:50 (removes two of the incorrect answers from the four available options)
- Here’s a simple solution to being stuck. Start somewhere. Remove all of
the less critical steps from your list and just do the ones which are most important
starting with one which is clear and vital.
* Switch the question (a lifeline just added this season where the player can
have the current question thrown out and receive a new question) – you might
ask yourself if this is a project you even want to complete. Perhaps, there is
another project that would serve you more at this time. Perhaps, you would better
serve this project by doing it at another time.
More Tidbits on Procrastination •
More from “You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!” – “Heightened
interest and a belief in one’s ultimate success improves the quality of attending
to a task. With an inability to maintain focus, many ADDers require intensely
stimulating situations to maintain alertness and attentiveness. Without this stimulation
attention wanders and many are told they’re unmotivated. You’re not
unmotivated! Problems with selective attention compromise the ability to stay
focused and productive. So it looks as if you don’t care and won’t try.
In reality, you have to exert many times the effort of non-ADDers to maintain
adequate levels of motivation.” •
Don’t get bogged down in the details.
If your project is important enough,
it is important enough to start somewhere right now. •
Be crystal clear about what you get when you finish your project.
The more
clear you are, the more likely you will stay connected with the life of the project,
the more likely you are to finish it. •
Acknowledge that beginnings are hard.
Give yourself permission to feel nervous
about beginning something new. It’s normal and sometimes the key to moving
beyond the opening jitters. On a personal note, even a newsletter can be challenging
to produce for the first issue. My thoughts included that there’s an overwhelming
amount of first time work to complete, and that readers might not value what I
have to share. I zoomed right past this by acknowledging my feelings and kept
moving forward to get it out to you! •
Get feedback.
Sometimes it helps to get an opinion from someone else. Even
if it’s just to get an outside observation of your progress. And, I would
like to ask you for your feedback. What did you get out of reading this newsletter?
What would you have liked to see different? | 
