Some Helpful ADD Tips

Thursday, February 1, 2007

It's been a while since I wrote about ADD so I thought I should. I personally enjoy reading about practical ways to make daily life for ADDers easier. For example we already know about the importance of diet and excersize; those things are great but how can I make myself remember where I put the damn keys? It's often the little, everyday things that cause us a lot of stress and distractability. I found such practical tips invaluable so I thought I'd share a few I've worked out for myself. Hope they help.

Keep a bag.

Backpack, satchel whatever, but keep all you stuff in one. I have a satchel where I keep my keys, wallet, sunglasses, phone, a hat, a pad and pen, a torch, a swiss army knife, loose change and so on. Whenever they are finished with they go back in the bag. That way I avoid loosing the items.

Place items in useful spots.

You also need to be able to place items in spots close to where they will be used or where you will be so you don't forget them. For example I always forget to charge my phone. So I have plugged my phone charger next to my bed so that every night when I go to bed I plug the phone in for recharging. It's much easier to remember that way because it's in the same spot as something I do every night - go to bed.

Find alternative ways to remember things.

If I'm not taking my bag somewhere I still almost always need my wallet, sunglasses, keys and phone. But I was always leaving at least one behind. An ADDer will understand that the simple 4 item list never seems to stay in my head. When rushing out the door, I don't seem to be able to remember the whole list. However, I've found it eaiser to just remember that I need 4 things, and then as I leave the house I count the ones I've got. As soon as I start counting I know which one I've forgotten.

Use transition time.

More about keeping your sanity than loosing something; I've learnt it's important to give yourself transition time between activities and locations. When coming home from work I enter a noisy house - the kids all want to greet me and there's last minute cleaning up going on and dinner being made or needing to get started. It's full on. ADDers have trouble transitioning so I take the opportunity given by the need to get out of my work clothes to give myself a little bit of transition time. I say high to the family but then I go into my room to get changed and shut the door, politely telling the kids "I'll be out in a sec.". 5 minutes is often enough. But the quiet transition time is enough to let my brain switch tracks from 'work time' to 'family time'.

Develop habits.

The common element in all these things is that they involve habitual behaviour. Habits are managed by a different part of the brain than your conscious mind. ADDers have problems with the executive functions of the conscious mind but the habitual centre of the brain is functioning perfectly fine. You just don't have to think much about your habits, so developing good habits about everyday things can reduce you stress levels significantly!