Get Yourself the Time Management Clock

Who can say that they have nothing to accomplish in life? Who doesn’t have tasks to achieve, or goals to tackle? Every living, breathing human, has an endless list of things that need to be taken care of. Why is it that some check-off lists with ease, while others seem to be sucked in a maelstrom of ‘should-do-but-never-got-to-it’? Learning the tricks of time management is like gaining a new lease on life. Time is life’s most precious commodity, but cannot be bought. Time Management Skills have to be learned and acquired.

The ADHD’er can be a larger than life individual with talents, ambitions, and a fiery desire to move, shake, and accomplish, but he seems to be clueless in this very important life skill. The burning question is: is it possible to attain success even if you are grappling and struggling with time management skills?

 Meet the 4 Time-Out Guys.

• Tomorrow– Well, there is always a tomorrow, is the refrain from Mr. Tomorrow. Pay that bill? Get ready for that wedding? Prepare a proposal for that deal? Why not chill today when there is always tomorrow? Procrastination is shoving everything onto tomorrow’s schedule. After all the ADHD’er has his very own definition of time; the now and not now. The problem is that when tomorrow rolls around and the bill is not paid, than services are terminated; when the wedding night arrives and he is not adequately prepared, he may arrive late with an ill-fitting dirty suit; and that golden deal he had dreamed about? It may be called off because that proposal was not prepared properly.
• Over Schedule-I’ll do this, and that, and the other. I’ll accomplish fifteen tasks in the span of eight hours. Mr. Over Schedule seems to have an illusion that he can juggle tons of balls simultaneously. But when his schedule runs off course, due to overscheduling, he just raises a white flag of surrender.
• Under Schedule-Mr. Under Schedule has an empty calendar. All his thoughts and plans live in his head. He has no true agenda and goes with the flow. That is why he is not prepared for anything at any given moment, but still harbors thoughts that he can do anything at any given moment.
• Overwhelm– Mr. Overwhelm is always scratching his head or biting his nails in frustration. He is overwhelmed by life’s endless list of responsibilities and doesn’t even know how to put his right foot forward. Where should he start?

All of these guys are typical ADHD’ers. The good news is that learning time management is attainable. An ADHD Coach can help you devise strategies, learn scheduling and time management skills, so that they can reach optimal success.

Time Management Strategies for Success.

The ADD or ADHD’er has a hard time estimating time a project may require, and the steps it may take to take a project to its end. That is why they sometimes over-schedule or under schedule. I will share several strategies that can help them gain control over their time.

• Keeping a record: A good idea to gain time awareness is to record: How many steps will this project take? How long should each step take? (True, that appointment is just half an hour drive away, but what about traffic, parking, getting gas, have I taken it into account)? And finally, which step is most important, which step cannot be skipped, and which step is least important, that if need be, I can eliminate it?
• Make Yourself a To Do List: Highlight tasks that are a priority, and marginalize tasks that can wait. Allot everything a time frame and consider transition-time or between-time for the unexpected.
• Use timers, clocks, alarms and sticky notes: It is always wise to utilize tools. Timers can help you kick up your adrenaline and rev up your energy in a race against the clock (especially if you are a daydreaming ADD’er): Quick! let me reach my goal time! Alarms can remind you that it’s time to tackle a specific responsibility on your to-do list. Sticky notes are those friendly notes that remind us, Hi! Time to accomplish x, y, or z.
• Set Designated Time. For things that need to be accomplished daily, weekly, or monthly, set a specific time for that. For example: mowing your grass on Monday, brushing your teeth first thing in the morning, etc.
• Notice your Weak Points and Harness your Strengths. Are you a morning person? Does music get you going? Does noisy chatter disturb your train of thoughts? Together with your ADHD Coach, map out your weaknesses and strengths. What gives you a power boost? What slows you down? Harness strengths and eliminate weaknesses.

The most important step of all is to gift yourself time to relax and enjoy life and family. If you’re trying your best, and utilizing the help of your ADHD Coach then you deserve a pat on the back and a gold medal. Start managing your time and you will manage your life effectively!

6 ADHD Adult Symptoms You should Know About

Have you heard of the term ADHD? Do you think only kids who have trouble paying attention or who are hyperactive or impulsive have ADHD? Truth is, this is just half of the story. Adults can also have ADHD, although their symptoms may often go undiagnosed, resulting in yeasr of needless struggling and improper treatment. Many people have a lot of misconceptions about what ADHD is and how it impacts the life of an adult.  Most if not all adult who have ADHD have it since childhood. In some instances, it may have been diagnosed, but some may only find out later in their life.

Adult ADHD can cause trouble in many areas of life, like at work, at home, or even at school. But does this mean ADHD adults have to accept their fate and continue living a life bound in shackles? With ADHD coaching for adults, adults can learn ways to manage their ADHD and lead a normal, successful life. ADHD coaching helps adults to develop their strength and reach their goals.

Some challenges people with ADHD face in their daily life include:

• Dis-organization
• Chronic boredom
• Depression
• time mis-management
• Procrastination
• Mood swings
• Difficulty in controlling their anger

According to reputable ADHD coaches, it’s harder to spot ADHD in adults as compared to kids. Adults have subtle symptoms that often go undiagnosed. This means ADHD adults may not even know that they are suffering from the issue. To ensure that ADHD adults get proper treatment, we have jotted down some symptoms that ADHD adults experience.

1. People say you forget things: Everyone misplaces their car keys or jacket once in a while. But, if you experience this quite often and despite exerting lots of effort to the contrary, you may have ADHD. For adults with ADHD, forgetfulness is a part of everyday life. ADHD adults often forget to return phone calls, wallets or important dates, and even miss important The forgetfulness can be responsible for damaging careers and family relationships.

2. Marital problems: people without ADHD may also struggle in their married life, so a troubled marriage is not a red flag for adult ADHD. But people with ADHD often find it challenging to maintain healthy relations with their partners. Sometimes the partners of adults with undiagnosed ADHD consider poor listening skills and forgetfulness as a deliberate lack of respect and as an attempt not to take part in household chores. On the other hand, ADHD adults may feel that the partner is unfairly blaming them for something that is not their fault. This may result in a family dispute.

3. Poor organization skills: ADHD adults experience a more hectic life regularly. ADHD makes it difficult for adults to keep everything in the right place. One of the most common symptoms of adult ADHD is disorganization. ADHD adults find it challenging to keep track of tasks, they have trouble in logically prioritizing the tasks. Some of the challenges adults face because of poor organization skills include trouble in managing their jobs, taking care of their children, and managing bills.

4. Reckless driving and traffic accidents: ADHD makes it difficult for adults to focus on a task, add a teaspoon of boredom and then add a tablespoon of impulsivity to the mix, the result of which is spending behind the wheel. ADHD adults are more likely to get involved in traffic accidents, or in extreme situations may lose their driving license.

5. Time management problems: This symptom is somewhat linked with poor organization skills. ADHD adults often find it challenging to make optimum use of their time. This is the main reason why they struggle to achieve their life goals. They may procrastinate on an important task, show up late for important events or ignore essential assignments. ADHD adults also have trouble focusing on the future or evaluating their past. They often live in the present.

6. Being impulsive: ADHD adults often exhibit impulsive behavior. And this is more than just tossing a candy bar in the cart at the time of checkout. The impulsive behavior has serious implications that can be damaging for the adult. An adult may exhibit impulsiveness  in several ways like:

• Interrupting others during a conversation
• Exhibiting socially inappropriate behavior
• Rushing through tasks
• Not thinking before speaking or acting.

7. Difficulty in controlling emotions: ADHD adults often experience angry outbursts. They find it difficult to control their emotions and may get angry about minor issues. They not only get angry quickly, but their anger fades away in a matter of a few seconds only. But the extreme outburst may be responsible for causing a rift between peers and family members.

If you experience any of the symptoms, it’s time to consult a reputable life coach. Untreated ADHD can cause numerous mental and physical problems, put a strain on relationships, and have a negative impact on your life in general.

Don’t Fix it if it Ain’t Broken

You’ve surely heard this valuable piece of advice. Don’t mess around fixing something that isn’t broken, as you will probably mess things up even more than before. But what about those things that aren’t broken yet still appear to be destructive?

Don’t fix it. Channel it correctly.

Let’s take fire for example. Is fire good or bad? If images of a blazing, out-of-control fire come to mind, then certainly fire is bad. But without fire, how would you cook your food and stay warm in the winter? How would you design jewelry and mold metal? Fire isn’t so bad then, is it?

It all depends on how it’s being channeled. A fire that’s out of control is dangerous and devastating. A fire that’s channeled correctly and its full strength applied in a controlled manner, can accomplish amazing things.

Water, too, can be a destructive tsunami or a thirst-quenching, life-giving precious commodity. It all depends on how it is channeled and controlled.

If you or your child has been diagnosed or even just randomly labeled as having ADD or ADHD, you can certainly identify with the chaos of an uncontrolled blaze or tsunami. But did you know that by properly channeling your strengths, you can accomplish amazing things?

Channeling the Strengths by ADHD Coaching

ADHD coaching is an effective way of maximizing on the strengths of the ADHD personality, while learning to cope with the deficiencies. A person with ADHD should not resign himself to living as if handicapped. Coaching helps improve executive functioning by focusing on organizational skills, time management, scheduling and planning, reducing procrastination and other essential skills that may come naturally to some people, but can be utterly confounding to the person with ADHD.

Coaching and Therapy: How are they Different?

There is a fundamental difference between coaching and therapy. Therapy focuses on “fixing” the crippling effects of unhealthy thought patterns, traumatic memories, abuse, or detrimental behavioral conditions. In any such scenario, therapy is usually a vital part of the healing process. During therapy sessions, the client unburdens himself and expresses the pain, while the therapist aims to restructure past and present experiences in an emotionally healthy light.

In contrast, the ADHD Coach sees the client as a capable, healthy individual that struggles with executive functioning, organization, prioritization, planning, and related skills. The coach aims to empower the client to capitalize on the strengths of his personality while overcoming the drawbacks. It is an invigorating, positive experience, totally practical and goal-oriented.

Some children with ADHD who have been mislabeled as losers, “bad”, or have suffered repeatedly from frustration and humiliation may require therapy to rebuild their self-esteem and regain trust in adults and the world in general. Of course, it is best to avoid reaching this point. ADHD Coaching is an effective method of building your child to prevent having to “fix” him later.

Does Coaching Take the Place of Other Interventions?

A common question that clients have is if ADHD Coaching will replace medication or other therapies. Since every case is unique, it is impossible to generalize or make any claims across-the-board. Getting back to the analogy of a fire, when channeling it towards a constructive purpose, one must still be careful to keep away from flammable material nearby that can ignite an out-of-control blaze. Likewise, there are many factors in our environment that may be triggers for people with ADHD. Some children respond very well to brain-training exercises, supplements, prism lenses or other interventions. In many cases, parents make the decision to give their child medication after considering all of the pros and cons.

An ADHD Coach respects the parents’ decision regarding these matters and works along with them for the child’s benefit. There is no pressure to stick to a specific game plan, as long as the approach is open-minded and beneficial for the child’s long-term success.

If you were given this challenge, you have what it takes to make the best of it. Become a knowledgeable, supportive parent with an impressive toolbox. Empower your child to grow and blossom with the strengths he has. Don’t waste another day trying to fix him. Instead, utilize professional ADHD coaching to discover the positive traits in your child and maximize on it for everyone’s benefit!