Life of Matt

So for the past week or so, I haven’t had my medicine.  What suprises me is the amount of work I’ve managed to get done during that time.  For the first time in my life, I have strategies that can actually work to combat the ADD.   If you have ADD, here’s some things you can do to defeat it:

1. Work In Bursts

This is a Neil Fiore thing.  By making yourself only work for very very short periods of time, you can work WITH your attention span, instead of against it.  I’ve been changing the amount of time I work for from between 5 minutes and 30 minutes, depending on how much attention I feel like I have.

2. Schedule Distractions

You know you’re going to get distractetd anyway, so one way to make sure it doesn’t fuck you up is to actually schedule the time you’re going to get distracted, and set a specific amount of time that you’re allowed to be distracted.  Coupled with burst working, this allows you to any time you’re about to get distracted say “Wait, I only have 5 minutes left, and then I get to be distracted, just 5 more minutes.”  These two tactics together are super effective. 

3. Relaxation

Even with five minute bursts, I sometimes find myself bored and jumping around.  At these times, one great technique I’ve found is relaxation.  I typically use a combination of mindful breathing and progressive muscle relaxation.  The idea when relaxing is to have a quiet environment, a letting go effect, an internal focus, and a comfortable position.  I take a big breath in, and on each breath out, focus on another part of my body to relax.

4. Follow Your Interests

Instead of planning every second of every day, instead keep lists of the important things you need to do.  Then go down the list, and find the most interesting thing for you.  This helps keep you from getting bored.

There you are, 4 techniques you can immediately implement to help fight your ADD tendencies.  This stuff works, use it.