Situational Variability

Individuals with ADHD are able to focus on things they like. The ability to engage and perform tasks comes easily if the task or activity is of high interest to them. As opposed to low interest activities which can be extremely daunting.

Due to dopamine levels being low, an ADHD person is not able to do certain tasks even if he or she knows it is easy and quick. The ADHDer is in a state of hypo focus. It has been described as “trying to move a car when the engine is turned off.

For interesting tasks, the opposite is true. Hyperfocus gets turned on and it is sometimes hard to stop or change gears.

David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue Airways, states “I have an easier time planning a twenty-aircraft fleet than I do paying the light bill.”

Situational variability is influenced by the situation or context. Therefore, it creates a conundrum for ADHD individuals.

Homework

Write down the assignment? Complete assignments? Turn in assignments on time? Pay attention to what is assigned? Follow the steps to get the information? Follow the steps for the assignment? Go to the portal for the assignment?

These tasks are daunting and challenging for an ADHD student.

Getting started

Procrastination

Going back to finish the assignment

Turn the assignment in

Help your child/student visualize the assignments. Break down the assignment into small, doable parts. Estimate completion time for the assignments. Block out specific times and place for doing homework. Create an area for doing homework that is distraction free. Use noise-cancelling headphones.

5 Types of Therapy

I read an interesting article discussing the 5 varieties of therapy.

It discusses each type of therapy in order for you to make an educated decision as to which type of therapy will help you to improve yourself.

The article was written by psychologist Dawn Potter, PsyD. She states that there a 5 different types of Psychotherapy, which is talk therapy.

So for individuals with depression, anxiety,, self-esteem, self-confidence, or self expression, one of the five types of psychotherapy would be of benefit to your mental health.

Thees are the five types of Psychotherapy:

1. Psychodynamic therapy

2. Behavioral therapy

3. Cognitive behavioral therapy

4. Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)

5. Humanistic therapy

   Research the five different therapies to find which one is a good fit for you.

Executive Function Issues

-Difficulty beginning tasks and activitis

-Poor attention span

-Limited focus

-Losing track of time

-Losing belongings

-Difficulty multi-tasking

-Shifting from tasks or shifting from activities

-Lack of ability to considering consequences before acting

-Inappropriate behaviors

-Inability to filter what others say or do

-Over-reacting to stimuli

-Lack of awareness of effects of behavior on others

-Hard to track successes and failures

-Hard to make alternative choices or think of alternative choices

Let's Create Good Habits

Habits are hard to make and easy to break.

-Set up a system to make the habit exciting and attractive

-When starting a new habit, start with baby steps and work your way up to adult steps

-Make the habit doable - you aren’t going to exercise if you choose an exercise routine that you don’t like

-Keep it simple - take small steps to reach your goals

You want to build good habits so think clearly about what you want to achieve and how to go about doing it.

Working Memory

Think about your computer. It has a storage system for all the things we create. Our brain has working memory which is a place for storing thinks we want to remember. When we have things to do, our working memory holds or stores this information long enough for us to complete a task.

We also have long term memory in our brain which becomes the more permanent form of storage. It is able to stay there when we do it repetitively .

When individuals have ADHD, short term working memory can be problematic. Distraction causes interference with working memory, as does the lesser amount of capacity in the ADHD brain to hold information needed to remember and to perform tasks.

That is why individuals with ADHD or learning differences find it hard to rely on their working memory and have difficult holding this information.

Some things that can help improve working memory:

-Create to-do lists

-Use of a calendar (I recommend one that is visible and bold)

-Work with professionals: therapist, coach, tutor

De-cluttering

Many individuals have a relationship with their clutter. They feel connected to the things that surround them. This consequently makes it more difficult to let go of the clutter.

Start a journal about your clutter. What is the clutter you are holding onto? Is it books, magazines, recipes, beauty products, or plain old stuff. Next jot notes on how these things give you happiness (or don’t give you happiness). Think about how you can start to let go of the clutter that is surrounding you. How can you create a relationship with other things in your life that will make you happy.

Chronic Disorganization

So what is Chronic Disorganization?

Chronic Disorganization is a term that refers to clutter being around for a long period of time. Some is Chronically Disorganized if they do not remember a time in their life when they were not surrounded by clutter.

You may have tried to organize your papers and possessions yourself, but the clutter creeps back. You may have tried using different systems or organizing products, but your home or office is still cluttered. The chronic disorganization causes you to become immobilized. You feel defeated. You feel embarrassed by the clutter surrounding you.

Hire a Professional Organizer or Coach to help you find a way to curb the chaos and clutter and get you on the right track to becoming more organized and efficient. A Productivity Consultant and Coach will work with you to find ways to keep your things under control.

Causes of Clutter

Clutter can be caused by various life situations and the relationship one has to the clutter. May people hold onto their possessions because they think they will need them someday, but someday never comes around.

Sometimes life transitions can cause clutter:

-Post pardum depression

-The death of a loved one

-A divorce

-Loss of a child

Any life changing situation can cause clutter. Try to take baby steps to clear the clutter.

Getting Ready to Downsize

Depending on the size of your home and the amount of possessions you own, getting ready to downsize can be a daunting process. It is overwhelming to think about going through your inventory of paper and possessions that you own and have held onto for years.

-Set up a timeline and a completion date

-Make a list of the areas you want to tackle first

-Do your research finding places to donate items or sell items

-Gather your tools - boxes, bags, markers, labels, shredder

-Visualize what you want the end result to look like

-Visualize where you want to relocate your residence and be practical about what you keep

How to Start to Declutter

Find the easiest place in your home or office to start. Look first at things that do not have sentimental value. Choose to discard of items that you have in multiples. Then let go of items you no longer use or haven’t used in years. They are taking up valuable real estate in your home or office.

Once you have gone through items you have in quantities of two or more, then move onto things that you have created an emotional attachment to. This will be more difficult to do alone. You may want to ask a friend to help or employ the services of a professional organizer. Working together with someone, especially a professional, can help ease the anxiety that goes along with the decluttering process.

Letting Go of Clutter

We become attached to our possessions.

Our attachment to these objects make it difficult to let them go.

Some of the possessions can be categorized as emotional baggage.

Other people, places, commitments, and possessions can be classified as unfinished business.

How can you get rid of this clutter, this emotional baggage, this unfinished business?

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

!. Would I buy this item for full price today?

2. Would it impact my daily life not to have this item?

3. Which of these items support and enhance your lifestyle today?

4. Which items get in the way?

5. Is the item worth the space it takes up in your home?

6. Is this item adding value to your life?

7. Do you have a similar item you like better?

8. Could this item be useful or helpful to another person?

Most of us have far more than we can actually use or need. Ask the questions above to help eliminate the chaos and clutter from your life. Visual how your space will look once the clutter is gone. Think of how peaceful your life will be and breathe in a sense of tranquility.

Develop a Mantra for Yourself

You will start to believe whatever you repeatedly tell yourself

Mantras help us experience what we believe to be true

Consciously create mantras that are aligned with what you would like to be

Consciously create mantras with what you would like to experience

Create mantras about who you would like to become

Mantras can be a powerful way to change your life

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

-Albert Einstein

TRY BEING INSTEAD OF DOING

Ask yourself who you want to be

Build your aspirations around how you can be the best version of yourself

Create and build great habits

Stay focused on who you are becoming

Establish routines and do them at the say time each day, week or month

Mark each day that you show up

Commit to change

Have faith in your ability to change

Learn from your mistakes

Believe in yourself

Setting Goals

Think of your goals

Write down your goals

Write down the actions steps needed to accomplish your goals

Create a deadline for completing each step

Easier to be successful when you have various short-term goals

Reward yourself each time you complete a step

Limit distractions

Advocate for yourself

Play music while you work

Delegate to someone else who already has the skills

Easier to take action when you are positive with yourself

Focus on the end result

Perform tasks during your most productive time

Work with your internal clock

Procrastination

Procrastination is not associated with be lazy or disorganized. For those of you with ADHD, procrastination is about the inability to self-regulate. Combining lack of executive functioning skills, self-regulation, and issues with working memory (forgetting the thing you meant to do and going on to something else) make it hard to get motivated to begin tasks until there is a sense of urgency - ADHD time zones of NOW and Not Now - Sense of urgency as deadline approaches.

Helpful Hints

*Figure out the time of day are you most able to focus

*If the task is too overwhelming, break it down into small steps

*Visualize the task completed

*Take breaks to refocus but set a timer to get back on task

*Stand up and move around

*Work with someone to think through and organize the steps such as a friend, colleague or coach

Executive Functioning

BALANCE SIMPLICITY GOALS

Executive Functioning Skills are skills that support goal directed behaviors.

Coaching is designed to help ANYONE who has challenges with executive functioning - time management, prioritization, productivity, planning, organization, tasks, follow-through, and problem solving, as well as, sustained attention and working memory.

Life Coaching

Life Coaching helps you create & shape your future.

Your Life Coach is there to help you with:

*Making a career change

*Creating a clear and effective vision of YOUR goals & priorities

*Make a realistic timeline to reach your goals using the SMART goal method

*Unlocking your passions and desires

*Keep yourself accountable

*Stop your procrastination

*Improve your time management skills

*Increase your productivity

*Build good study and work habits

Life Coaching offers:

*Positive feedback

*Texts or emails as follow-up to review coaching sessions

*Promoting self-confidence

Hire a coach to guide you toward reaching your goals, and find the tools that work for YOU

What is Coaching?

Coaching is collaboative.

Coaching helps with accountability & changing behaviors, and helps you to better manage your time.

Do you have difficulty with any of the following?

Time Management - Organization - Difficulty starting & completing projects - Chronic lateness

Missed deadlines - Poor management of responsibilities - Prioritization - Lack of self-management

Meeting your goals - Staying focused - Structure & routines - Planning - Follow through

If so, Coaching will help you manage these behaviors and move you toward reaching your goals.

ADHD

ADHD is a neurobiological condition.

ADHD students and adults have difficulty with Executive Functioning Skills.

The Executive Functioning Deficits impair the brain’s ability to regulate itself.

Students and adults with ADD or ADHD have difficulty with Executive Functioning Skills such as time management, organization, timeliness, lack of self-management, staying focused, structure & routines, planning, and follow through.

Coaching will help YOU manage these deficits.

I am Coach Sandi and I work with ADHD clients helping them take advantage of their gifts by providing Executive Functioning based o ADHD coaching for motivated high school and college students, adults and professionals who face challenges that can be managed through guidance and accountability.

Contact Coach Sandi at emc2org@mac.com to set up a free 15 minute consultation.