Five Most Important ADHD Tips — ADHD Tip O the Day 941

With ADHD we’re not good at prioritizing or making choices or keeping list short, but here’s some of the most important tips/tools/strategies to help you make your life better:

1. Small steps – Don’t try to write the essay, try to write the first paragraph (or first sentence). Often if you take the first step, you’ll keep going, but that’s not the goal.

2. Specific small chunks  – Don’t try to improve your handwriting, try to improve your L’s.

3. One or at most two things at a time – If you’re trying to reduce your losing things, work on your car keys, but don’t be trying to stop losing your glasses and your phone and improve your forgetting and your handwriting all at the same time.

4. Do the hard part first – Do the hardest small step, then the rest will be easy.  Unless you’ are totally stuck, the do the easiest smallest step first to get unstuck.

5. Set reasonable goals – I’m nearly through the eighteenth draft of my first novel, Alma Means Soul.  My goal is to edit two pages a day.  But usually I do more.

The two pages a day is also an example of the strategy of Pecking Away.

Doug

Scientific Tidbit O the Day:   A recent study shows that the rate of significant problems from marijauna are related to the potency of the weed and the frequency of use, which are also related to each other.  The correlation with psychosis is not very strong, but it is with anxiety disorder.

The study itself is not very strong for a number of reasons.  Watch for the error of confusing correlation with cause – did high dose high frequency cause the anxiety problems or vice versa?  (Or neither?)

Still strong evidence of long lasting brain damage from pot to the developing brain up to about age 25.  I’m guessing the damage also correlates with dose and frequency.

During my years in the emergency room we saw some cases of new onset psychosis in people after smoking pot laced with a certain other substance (which I won’t name).  These cases were characterized by intractability – our treatment had no effect and they spent years in the hospital.  Again, caution in making assumptions- I have no idea how many other people smoked the same combo without that effect- none?  a lot?

Notes O the Day:

What is the difference between stuck, avoiding, and procrastination?

To me:

procrastination – I’ll do it, but certainly not today. And tomorrow doesn’t seem too likely either.  I’ve got all these other things to do.

avoidance – i know I really should do this. Maybe I will.  Someday.  I’ve got all these other things to do.

stuck – I’ve got all these things to do but  I can’t get started on anything except sitting here stewing in frustration. 

 

Welcome to the new members of our tribe. 

 

Links:

Small Steps and Pecking Away

Stuck Again

Stuck Some More

Stuck, Stuck, Stuck

 

Procrastination?

 

ADHD Ain’t Easy

ADHD make it hard to prioritize, make decisions,choose, select, not over extend, and some other things too

 

Procrastination?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADHD, @addstrategies, @adhdstrategies, @dougmkpdp