Planning, Organizing:
The Secret to Planning and Organizing
Rick Green talks about looking ahead; planning and organizing your year, setting clear goals, making big promises, and why this never works for the ADHD mindset.
No More Daily Planners!
(Rick Green) every January 1st for the past nine years or so I’ve taken this strategic planner template and I’ve changed the name to match the new year and then I printed off a copy, and then I’ve started planning out my new year. Now it’s a complicated form there’s a lot to answer in here so I usually get about half of it done in three hours and then I take a break and I never look at it again, until the end of the year when I think hell, New Year coming I should plan out the oh wait oh Jesus it oh and I think ‘again Bullwinkle this time for sure Ricky’ and I don’t fill it out.
In another rant about how we review the year that’s ending I suggested that adults with ADHD may look back and ignore the victories and focus on the bad stuff because that’s what life constantly tells us. Why can’t I remember to use this planner why do I keep forgetting why don’t I stick to it well because I lack discipline? I guess I’m not good with details, and I believe all that crap ignoring all the evidence to the contrary I mean I can’t stick with things I’m not good with details. I’ve been model railroading since I was 7 years old and the detail sticking with it, here’s the revelation I can focus when it interests me but these days having learned some of the brain science around ADHD I finally understand why. For our mindset being interested is crucial.
Parents of ADHD kids remember that. So before you over-analyze what didn’t work out last year ask, did it actually interest me? I mean really truly? Mostly the stuff that didn’t work out for me was the stuff that I felt was.. yeah. The result I avoided it procrastinated put it off moved it to tomorrow’s list of to do’s and then tomorrow’s and always for months on end. Oh there were plenty of things I felt pressured to do but there’s a big difference between oh I gotta and woo I wanna. The gotta stuff pulling teeth but the stuff I’m excited about excited as in it’s Christmas and I’m 10 years old? That stuff mostly got done or it’s getting done.
With ADHD and interesting is everything! If it’s boring, complicated, requires a lot of follow-up or paperwork.. ugh. By the way guess what I’m not printing out this year? Oh I’m setting goals just not with those. I’m using a very short list instead on the wall where I can see it. Oh actually that’s my wife’s list. In part 2 I’m going to share something that is miraculous. You can actually take the stuff that’s uninteresting and make it interesting.
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