Living with ADD ADHD, Homey’s Version — ADD Tip o the Day 657

I’ve been gone and am a little behind (what else is new). So was delighted when Homey came up with this great post, comparing living with ADD ADHD to living without it, like her husband does.  Of course, he’s obviously a little exceptional, but he still helps make the point.  Homey is exceptional, too.  I continue to be amazed at all she accomplishes, ADD ADHD or not.  She’s the planner maven, so she thinks her post is about planners, but I think it’s about living and coping.

So I’m coasting today.  Enjoy:

 

My husband, David, and I are very different in the way we go about our day-to-day activities.  He’s a remodeling contractor.  He has a planner I set up for him and he sort of uses it.  He mainly uses the blank paper to write notes or to-do lists.  He frequently writes lists on random scraps of paper and throws them away when they’re done.  He doesn’t write his daily plans on paper.  He doesn’t have printed routines or schedules or to-do lists.  When he’s working on the house, he just does the next thing and he intuitively knows what that is.  He cleans as he goes, picks up after himself and doesn’t forget (usually) important tasks.  Did I mention that he’s a born organized?  He just knows what to do and he does it.

I’m a full-time homemaker.  I blog, spent lots of time with my grandkids and take care of the house.  I cook, clean, pay bills, grocery shop, etc.  And I can’t live without a planner.  I write anything and everything down.  I am NOT a born organized and I don’t intuitively know what needs done next.  I have ADHD and it’s a real pain in the butt when it comes to managing my home and my time.

However, I can accomplish almost as much as David does but I need a little help doing it.  My brain doesn’t work as efficiently as his does so I have to compensate a little – okay, maybe a lot.  The compensation comes in the form of my planner.

• He has a lot going on his brain but somehow he’s able to process it and put it in its rightful place inside his brain.  I have a lot going on, too, but I can’t process it.  It overwhelms me.  I have to get it out of my brain and on paper.  Then and only then can I put it in its rightful place.
• He makes a list, does it and then throws it away (he doesn’t always make a written list – often he keeps it in his head). My response is much more complicated.  I make a list.  Then I rebel against the list.  Then I decide maybe I’ll do a few things on the list or maybe something else.  Eventually I get some of the stuff done on the list. But I never throw it away because there are unfinished things on the list and I need a record in case I have to look back to see if I did something and when.  But I still do better than if I didn’t have a list.
• He intuitively knows what to do next.  I don’t have a clue.  Because of my ADHD, everything seems equally important.  And there’s so much I think I need to do that I don’t know what to do next.  Since I don’t have that intuition that he has, I have to make a list – actually, a daily plan.  A list doesn’t always cut it for me.  I need to plan out the day and figure out what I need to do and when I might be able to do it.  If I simply wing it, I won’t get anything done or I’ll get the wrong things done.  And getting the wrong things done is almost as bad as doing nothing at all.  So he can plan his day in his head but I have to do it on paper.
• He has a routine and follows it.  I have to thoughtfully create a routine, write it down and then remind myself to follow it. I have a page in my planner that includes my routines.  It may seem silly, but it’s the only way I will consistently do them.  I know that sort of contradicts the idea of a routine (something you do automatically) but trust me, I have to do it this way.
• He’s motivated.  He knows what needs done and he does it.  Period.  That’s it.  I, on the other hand, lack motivation and have to find ways to create it.  I use games, strategies, rewards, stickers – whatever it takes.  Sometimes it’s as simple as writing things down and marking them off.  He doesn’t need the satisfaction of marking something off.  I do.
• He cleans as he goes.  He sees something that needs done and he does it.  I see something that needs done and I add it to my list.  I’ve gotten better at cleaning as I go – by following his example – but I’m still not great at it.  But I have learned that when I see something that needs done, to write it on my list.  We both get it done – it just takes me longer.

ADD/ADHD makes time management much harder, but having the right tool, in my case a planner, can make the difference between success and failure.  Without my planner, I flounder.  With my planner, I can defeat (or at least cripple) my ADHD and accomplish great things.  David might be superman all on his own, but with the help of my planner, I can be super, too.

Thank you, Homey

doug

Quote o the Day:  The two secrets of life are showing up and hanging in there.

.         E J Khantzian, MD

Homey, the ADD ADHD Planner Maven

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