well, I was committed to posting 3 times a week, and I was doing a good job of sticking to it, but it was hard and took a lot of time and I noted that sometimes I didn’t really have anything new to contribute and was getting repetitive. so I shifted to twice a week. it was demoralizing to see the number of hits drop, and I thought twice a week wasn’t enough – then i finally figured out if 87 people read each post and I post less often then I will indeed get fewer hits- imagine that!
then I found out I had a little free time (image that too!) and I did a lot of posts and they are all stacked up ready to use. now the problem is I cant choose among them – which one should i post next? I have a lot about marriage and relationships and add, and more about ritalin to follow up on, and some great links to other people’s posts, and am having a hard time deciding. Then I looked around and found some old drafts that I had written and hadn’t published yet and also some that i had published and had failed to put tags on.
does this sound disorganized? Sheesh! You’d think I have ADD or something!
doug
would welcome comments and any topic requests?
bonus link: mellissa orlov on organizing your office clik
bonus bonus: dr. ortiz on medications clik and clik
- if you plan it well it will turn out right, it not—-
ADDadultstrategies 
Hi Doug, I got your book and am half way through it, really liking it. I suspected I had sth like ADD but the myriad of examples you are giving where I can just nodd to all of them thinking “yep” – confirms it more or less. 😉
You mentioned being a bit discouraged about drop in traffic and I think you should have more traffic around on this, as you share valuable information – looking forward to reading through the blog here – and an roughly 87 readers per post seem far too low for your kind of regular posting.
By trade i teach digital craftsmanship and was wondering if you where up to being a test subject? 😉 For a new blog series I am looking for a real life test object on how minimal tactics can have a huge impact on your results and you would be perfect fior that, if you are up to some bartering.
for example: how to set up a simple contact form on the limited version of wordpress.com to have some privacy in communication 😉 Or why you should use a second color and not underlining to highlight ADD relevant things or why the sharing buttons you use are not showing the social proof you need..
you also might enjoy using (if you are on windows) the free Windows Live Writer which makes writing a blog post like writing in word. See link here for how to use this on wordpress.com http://en.support.wordpress.com/xml-rpc/windows-live-writer/
You should see my mail address your blog settings or use the contact form on my page, I would love to hear from you 😉 Greetings from Germany!
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thanks Nicole
i would be happy to be a test subject but have to warn you that i am technologically challenged. and thank you for commenting.
best wishes
doug
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I know your kind, I have been dealing with them for nearly three decades ;))
(Please do send me a quick mail by clicking on the link on my name on this comment, you will be directed to my contact form.)
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nicole
done (i hope)
doug
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so aaron, what is your viewpoint about the abuse rate or amount on campus?
thanks,
doug
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anon – the am j of psychiatry, nov 12 (169:11) has an article on skin picking, not really too informative tho. the recommended treatment is combo of CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy- can be hard to find, usually a psychologist) and meds, especially the ssri antidepressants. seems they usually improve. best wishes. doug
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anon
1. on meds go back to the post 346 and i put two posts links on the bottom from dr ortiz. she doesnt seem to cover the straterra however.
also you can contact her with questions
also, modesty prevents me from mentioning that my book has an appendix with a brief survey of the meds and my personal veiwpoints on them.
2. i dont doubt that ritalin abuse is a big problem on college campuses, but i don’t think so much elsewhere.
3. i totally agree that meds are not the whole answer, we need strategies.
4. i doubt that using the med would change your insurance coverage but could possibly be a problem if you apply for a new policy
5. finding a good knowledgeable physician is a big problem, may take a lot of shopping. also you might consider a coach.
6. the skin picking is a whole nother problem, i will try to comment on it later.
hope this is helpful, and as always, thank you very much for posting a comment.
best wishes
doug
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I wish you posted every day.
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thank you for that kind comment.
unfortunately, I’m not up to that!
doug
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I understand. I post daily on my blog and it’s definitely a LOT of work. You just have such good thing sto say.
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patty, thanks. you give me a good boost and encouragement.
doug
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oh dear, now i suddenly see that i have become (anonymous): it’s the net gremlins again. hoping this will fix it.
doug
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I would love more on time management. I’ve always done an adequate job but it takes a lot of effort. However, now that my circumstances have changed AGAIN and I’m going through menopause, I’m a mess! I’m going back and forth between three planners because I can’t decide which one to use. I’ve been doing this now for three or four years and it’s getting worse and worse and I feel like I’m going to lose my mind! I feel like if I could just figure out HOW to manage my time I could choose a planner. But every morning I wake up with a different need. Sometimes I need a tight schedule; sometimes I need a loose schedule; sometimes I don’t need anything; sometimes I just need 5 things to start with and when I finish those, I’ll write 5 more. If I don’t have a list, I do nothing. I’m going crazy! I’ve done lots of on-line searches for “time management for ADHD” but they all say the same stupid stuff. Not sure if any of the writers know what they’re talking about. So HELP! Aren’t you glad you asked for topic ideas?!
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I’m glad you like the blog. Hope I won’t just make the same stupid comments though.
Have you gone thru all the posts (big job) ? A lot of it is about time management. Put “time” in the little search box and you come up with posts 56,57,91, and 94 specifically. Also, may i mention that a lot of the book is about time and time management?
But – time management is a huge and complex topic, and there is not one answer to “time management”. It needs to be broken down to specific problems and you have started to do that: 1, you know you need lists, You also need to know how to use lists. i suggest one long list of everything, and then a shorter lsit of five (or three) which you can update as you go.
2. can you somehow make 3 formats for schedules and then each am (or perhaps better, each pm) pick the best one for that day (or the next day) and fill it in?
These are just examples, You need to figure what will work for you, but you need to break the big “time management” problem into smaller specific problems and devise strategies for each of them.
as always thank you for commenting, i appreciate it.
best wishes
doug
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I will definitely go through and read previous posts. I have your book and started it but then I got distracted. I need to get back to it, though, because it’s great. It’s the first ADD book I’ve read that was practical from beginning to end. I’m a VERY practical person so that’s what I like and need.
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good. thank you for the comment on the book, one of my concerns was that people with ADD might not read it, because – well, because they have ADD. it may be best to read a bit at a time and digest or try that and then go back to it – if you do go back to it.
but everyone is different.
best wishes,
doug
ps and you let me know whether its the same old stupid stuff or not.
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Oh, no. It’s definitely not the “same stupid stuff”. That’s why I love it. I was really excited when I started reading it because it was so practical. It was stuff that actually made sense to me. You did good!
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well thanks. i am very glad.
doug
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I hear ya on the time management “tips” on the internet in general…I think most of those are written by people who don’t have ADHD or know much about it. It’s like a sighted person writing “tips for seeing” for blind people! That’s what I appreciate this blog…Doug knows what it’s like, and he offers tips that have worked for him.
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Definitely, Lisa. Sometimes I read that stuff and think: “You’ve got to be kidding me! That sounds like something you’d say to average joe. I am NOT average joe.”
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lisa
thank you for commenting, and the appreciation- boy, do i ever know what it’s like! and for supporting patty
best wishes,
doug
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Hi, I would love to learn more about meds for both myself and my 20 year old son. He tried in early high school and made his sleep issues/skin picking worse. Now he’s hitting the wall in college and things meds are the perfect solution. I try to tell him that it takes behavioral changes, too. The illegal use of Ritalin is rampant on college campuses. I’ve always been sensitive to meds and worry that having something on my medical records with make my already tenuous health insurance be jeopardized. Also, finding a good practitioner given the climate where there is such a shortage – how to be “supervised” and not just given a bunch of prescriptions to fill, which is what happened when my son was originally trying meds. Help!
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Dear Anonymous,
I am a college student right now who is self medicating and it is working out so far. My personal opinion would be to send him a weeks worth at a time in a little care package. And even though I am careful with my medications even I worry about if someone would steal them. So I think that getting a lock box might also come in handy. Best of luck.
Sincerely,
Aaron
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