Easy and Hard Tasks at Work

[munchkin]

Hi,

I’m trying to identify my own challenges at work, but I wonder what is ADD and what is me…

I know I don’t do well with filing, paperwork and projects that last more than “today.” I am great with crisis situations, problem solving, research projects, etc.

What tasks do you find easy at work? What tasks do you find difficult?

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[wanderquest]

I have trouble with things that don’t have a due date. If it’s something that just needs to be done “eventually” I often ignore it.

And if I’ve mastered the process of a task, I have a hard time doing it over and over again. Once I’ve learned the process I just don’t care anymore and those things are very difficult for me to start, even if the task itself is relatively easy.

I like setting up new things and developing easier/smarter ways to do things. I’ve been accused of working really hard to be lazy, but it’s just that I can find inefficiencies and implement ways to not do stupid repetitive crap if there’s a way to avoid it.

For example, one of the things I have to do every month is update budget spreadsheets. It used to take about two hours once a month to go in and change all the formulas. I got so sick of it one day I went to the web and self-taught myself how to do macros in excel. I spent two whole days creating the macros I needed. Now that same update only takes 2 minutes.

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[munchkin]

Thanks Wanderquest,

Sounds similar to me 🙂

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[kc5jck]

I’m the same way.

I have found that I’m pretty good at estimating the time it will take me to do something, just because I keep a mental note of past experiences.  As a result, if something is going to take three hours, I’ll wait until 10 pm to start so I don’t go past my 1 am bedtime.  OR, I may wait weeks (years) until both (1) the spirit (or Adderall) moves me and (2) I think I will have enough time to get the job done before I (a) get interrupted or (b) lose interest.  It’s sort of like waiting for a planetary alignment or something.

Note: They are apparently having more success in locating habitable exoplanets than I am at locating some of my tools needed to complete the task at hand.

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[blackdog]

Well, punctuality is always number one with a bullet. If I could be on time, or even a little early, it would make a huge difference.

Also, when I’m working alone with no supervision, I tend to procrastinate, lose track of time, or just plain goof off. On the other hand, if I have too much supervision, I choke up. I can’t function with someone breathing down my neck.

The times when I do the best are when I am being creative or innovative in some way, trying out something new. Except that sometimes I will hyperfocus and forget everything else. And if I am really thinking hard about something while I am doing it I will tend to slow down.

Repetitive tasks make me want to pull my hair out. But sometimes they are good, if they are simple enough not to require too much thought, because then my mind can wander off someplace more interesting. But then  I have trouble knowing if I have done something or not because it becomes so routine that I a) do it without thinking and have no memory of it or b) forget to do it but have a false memory of having done it.

If there is anything I need to remember to do the next day, I have to make a note of it. And if anything changes while I am not there, something new that needs to be done,  I need someone else to make a note of it for me or I  won’t notice.

I think that pretty well covers it. Unless we get into socializing with coworkers and dealing with authority figures. That’s a whole different can of worms.

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[wanderquest]

@kc5jck “waiting for a planetary alignment” I swear I have used those exact words. That sums up how I feel a lot.  I’ll start something, then run out of steam, then put it off  waiting for the right mood to strike again.

I’m sure my work habits infuriate my boss. I’ll kick butt one day and do next to nothing the next. She’s the “slow and steady wins the race” type and I don’t fit that model. I’m more “pedal to the metal and slide to a stop”…if I can get the engine started anyway.

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[blackdog]

I think I am going to start using “waiting for a planetary alignment”. 😉

The problem is the spirit moves me and the planets align at the most inconvenient times. It seems I always get in the mood to do something right when I have to do something else like go to work or do the grocery shopping. Or I get a really cool idea for something that I want to do but I am missing something that I need to do it or I have a bunch of other stuff that I have todo first and it just kills me that I can’t do it right then and there. And then of course I forget about it.

I have to sort of rev myself up to do stuff. I keep telling myself over and over what I am going to do and that I’m going to get it done and kind of get excited about doing it. Like right now, I’ve been telling myself since this morning that I am going to go and finish cleaning up the kitchen (which I started yesterday) and chop up all the veggies and stuff for dinner and get it all  ready so I just have to throw it in the cooker….And that I. really want to get this done. I was planning to have it done before the movie that started half an hour ago  so that I could sit and watch it and relax for a couple of hours. but it’s taken me this long to get ready. 😐

I also ingest massive amounts of caffein and/or sugar when I really have to get psyched up for something. The key is to spread it out and not to over do it so that I end up crashing. There’s like a sweet spot where I have had just the right amount and I start to feel like I’m ready to go. 😀

 

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[Scattybird]

I find it very difficult to ‘respect’ my boss and his position as my line manager.  My colleagues have an attitude of keeping quite – he’s the boss.  Sadly my attitude is not so pragmatic. It’s not the person at fault, it’s my attitude …… but not always.

If I am asked to do something at work then I find it easy if I am allowed to get on with it.  If I am asked to do something and am then subsequently micromanaged I find it impossible. I become quite angry and defensive…… That can be a bit of a problem sometimes.

Ritalin is great in helping me bite my tongue. But I had a bit of a Concerta hiccup recently and that made me more outspoken than normal. Hoping my boss forgets. I suspect he will and it’s just me internalising things. That’s a topic for a different thread though.

 

 

 

 

 

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[dithl]

Arriving at work on Monday and having no memory of where I was at on Friday. Which is why I have my “Monday list” – I leave it smack dab in the middle of my desk (preferably on bright paper so I can find it.). Though it still feels as though I have lost the “spirit” of whatever I was involved in, at least I can get going on some of the mechanics that my Friday brain deemed important enough to scribble down. By Wednesday, the new week has taken on its own spirit, and I usually feel like I am in the groove again.

Following through with things (e.g., follow-up calls). Luckily I seem to have people around me who remind me of the most important things.

Not even mentioning paperwork because that is its own 10 page post. Piles and piles of paperwork….

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[wanderquest]

When I leave for the day, I place whatever I was working on, or whatever is the next thing I need to get done  in my chair so I know the top priority.  My office is also pretty much wallpapered with post-it’s.

The post-it segment of “ADD and loving it”  had me rolling.

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[munchkin]

This is great information! I am logging my tasks with smiley faces and frowny faces in a notebook to try to figure out what I avoid and why…

More info to come!!!

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[blackdog]

@Scattybird – I have never managed to see “the boss” as anything more than just another coworker.  For me, orders are suggestions and instructions are guidelines. If I am sure my way is better then I will just go ahead and do it that way. I give respect where respect is due, but not just because I am expected to.

It’s frustrating because I get labeled as having a bad attitude when I really don’t. I am the most loyal employee and most enthusiastic supporter of the business no matter where I work and I always have the employers best interests in mind. If only they could see past their own egos long enough to see that.

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[shutterbug55]

I am a project manager and I work for companies on a contractual basis. When I was working at a “Permanent” job, I would find it easy to do those things that had deadlines or high importance. Anything that was not important enough to be in the top 10, was not important enough to work. I got into so much trouble, because these things were often much more important than advertized.

I met deadlines by waiting till the last minute and in a flurry of activity, get all the work done as the twelfth stroke of midnight faded.

Getting into consultant work, saved my career. I now rescue projects that have gone sideways and I deal with my client’s less than happy customers. I am always in crisis mode and I love it!

There is a reason ADD people gravitate toward certain careers and avoid others. Some jobs just can’t wake our brains up. The awful thing is, we sometimes find ourselves pushed into those boring jobs or boring tasks, because that is what other people think we can handle, especially, after a few screw-ups on more challenging tasks. Which makes things worse. I spent 25 years in that cycle and it was literally driving me crazy.

My suggestion, would be to find those things you do at work, you enjoy, and see if there is a job out there that matches that. Project manager = rescue projects.  Nurse = ER Nurse. Office Supply = A little help here? (I am sorry. I can’t think of anything that would make office supplies exciting).

I think that is what people mean by “bending the world to fit you”.

 

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[munchkin]

It seems there is nothing wrong with my current job that I haven’t experienced at every other job… So I’m not sure finding a different job is my answer – the verdict is still out on that 🙂

So far in tracking my tasks, I’ve noticed that I struggle with getting up and out to work in the morning. I don’t like having to wake up, dress up and enter into the flourescent lighted environment. I am often late – I dread getting out of bed on a weekday.

I don’t like complicated paperwork processes. I’m terrible at keeping them organized, on track and filed in the proper place.

I do like meeting with people in person.

I don’t like checking/answering my email and voicemail.

I enjoy preparing data reports – nice hyperfocus stuff.

The the things I don’t like get put off. The things I like get done. End result: my office looks like a disaster area. I seem inconsistent and unreliable. I’m late to work.

At least knowing these things, I can get more serious about finding tools and motivators to do better.

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[wanderquest]

@munchkin “disaster area”

Does this look familiar then?

http://totallyaddconnect.com/members/wanderquest/album/picture/199/

http://totallyaddconnect.com/members/wanderquest/album/picture/198/

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