So many choices — ADD Tip o the Day 334

Modern life is filled with so many choices, and that is a special problem if we have ADD or ADHD –

how many channels can you get on your TV?

how many brands of what you want are on the shelf at the store?

how many football games are on at the same time?

how many pairs of shoes do you have?

how much jewelry do you own?

etc, etc, etc, you get the idea.

Once again – we wake up with a limited pool of psychic energy and each choice (decision) uses some, leaving less for the next choice or will power test or calculation.

The strategy is to reduce the choices- using structure, rules, habits. A friend says his son only wears black, so no need to choose. Being concerned about my weight, I generally eat about the same diet for each lunch ( things I really like). I don’t watch TV during the day, unless it’s programs I recorded to watch while exercising. My prayer, meditating and journaling time are on a schedule, so I don’t have to ‘find the time’.

Try to reduce the number of decisions you make each day (and exercise, meditate, get outdoors).

(I realize too late that this is nearly a repeat of a recent post, so I’ve given you the bonus of some great links below. choose and enjoy, or avoid the decision and just clik them all)

doug

great post from melissa orluv via lynne clik

lynne on decision making clik

too much information clik

previous post on choices clik here

About doug with ADHD

I am a psychiatric physician. I learned I have ADHD at age 64, and then wrote two ADHD books for adults, focusing on strategies for making your life better. I just published my first novel, Alma Means Soul. Your Life Can Be Better; strategies for adults with ADD/ADHD available at amazon.com, or smashwords.com (for e books) Living Daily With Adult ADD or ADHD: 365 Tips O the Day ( e-book). This is one tip at a time, one page at a time, at your own pace. It's meant to last a year. As a child, I was a bully. Then there was a transformation. Now I am committed to helping people instead abusing them. The Bully was published in January, 2016. It's in print or e book, on Amazon.

View all posts by doug with ADHD →

5 Responses to So many choices — ADD Tip o the Day 334

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Lisa says:

October 29, 2012 at 7:20 am

I love variety (maybe because I’m easily bored by things!), but my life is definitely a lot less stressful when I limit my choices. For example, I now buy one box of cereal, and that’s what’s for breakfast until it’s gone instead of buying my 5 favorite kinds because I don’t know what I’ll be in the mood for. Of course, I had to throw away a LOT of stale, half-used boxes of cereal before I figured it out. 🙂

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- addadultstrategies says:
  
  October 29, 2012 at 8:38 am
  
  that’s a beautiful example of simplifying, too. we have trouble with choices because choosing one means saying no to the others, and we want it all – or want to do it all.
  thank you for commenting
  doug
  
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addadultstrategies says:

October 26, 2012 at 6:33 pm

welcome back. you got it exactly. so can you see where you can make structure, routine and habit and reduce the number of choices?
there are some great stories about how salesmen offer us numerous choices until we are exhausted and then they clinch the deal, in their favor of course. at that point we will agree to anything just to get out of there.
thank you for commenting
doug

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The Sadder But Wiser Girl says:

October 26, 2012 at 3:51 pm

If I have a lot of choices I tend to get overwhelmed. I never thought about all of the choices there are for, well, pretty much everything anymore. No wonder I feel like my brain is fried.

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