Why Some Entrepreneurs Call ADHD a Superpower

[Anonymous]

Article in Smart Money – http://www.smartmoney.com/small-business/small-business/entrepreneurs-superpower-for-some-its-adhd-1310052627559/

They mention an app for the Mac called Vitamin-R – I found a link here http://www.publicspace.net/Vitamin-R/ – it sounds great but I don’t have a Mac 😥 – however, I do find that by avoiding the distractions of the computer (internet, email, this forum, checking the weather and news, etc) I can get more done. But I still need the distractions, so something that would help me stay motivated to do the 10-30 minutes of work would be great!

Interesting that the app mentions that we can only hold 4-6 chunks in our short-term memory. I find that I have trouble remembering things and that something new will wipe the slate pretty quickly. I go from one room to the next with the best of intentions, or get out pen and paper, only to find that what I wanted to get/do/write down has completely vanished 😯

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

I just downloaded something called todolist http://download.cnet.com/ToDoList/3000-2076_4-10616472.html?tag=dropDownForm;productListing

It’s a free download. Not simple, it can be very complicated if you want it to be.

Hopefully I won’t spend so much time planning and no doing, but it looks to be helpful in scheduling production and nesting tasks/setting recurring tasks, reminders, logging task time, etc. I love all of those details but I usually get bogged down in them.

Does anyone else using Windows have any time management software suggestions? (ideally FREE)

REPORT ABUSE

[Bibliophile]

For Windows, I just use the Tasks and calendar reminders in Microsoft Outlook (not Outlook Express). Helps me remember necessary stuff like bringing in the backup drive or when my doctor’s appointments are. You can always turn off Email popup notification if that is distracting too. The best part is that the calendar sinks with my smart phone so that I always have it.

I also question how severely impaired these so called ADHD achievers are. One claims she was just a bored underachiever, which may not be ADHD at all.

REPORT ABUSE

[billd]

Do they meet all criteria? Have they been tested and interviewed and diagnosed by a real doctor, or just call themselves ADD or ADHD?

no…. said:

>>I find that I have trouble remembering things and that something new will wipe the slate pretty quickly. I go from one room to the next with the best of intentions, or get out pen and paper, only to find that what I wanted to get/do/write down has completely vanished<<

That’s me – and it’s why I get a thought and break in with it no matter who is talking about what. (and I get slapped down for it…)

Software? I don’t like it, and even when I have it, I don’t use it as intended. Outlook – I use the reminders, task list and calendar – and when a reminder pops up, I snooze it…

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

LOVE THIS ARTICLE! Thanks, no_dopamine. I’m thinking of starting out into the outside world again after 12 of being at home with the kiddos. I’ve got more than a few ideas. This article is very encouraging. You rock! Also, I shared on facebook.

Anybody else get offers of snake oils from friends when they post ADD stuff on facebook? I got lots of friends in those pyramid schemes selling tonics. LOL! Anyway, I go sparingly on the ADD stuff on facebook now, but this one was so good that I had to post it

I use Outlook as well. It’s got tasks and a calendar and they all beep. I have an app called 2Do on my iphone that syncs with the computer and Outlook, specifically. I don’t know how I did things before my magic phone. Oh yeah, I didn’t! I forgot them I’ll definitely check out the Vitamin R app, too.

Thanks again!

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

Nope. Vitamin R is not on the iphone

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

@librarian_chef @billd: not everyone who has ADHD is impaired in the same way. Shankman had a weight problem. You don’t know what these people go through, how they minimize their symptoms when talking to the press or how they are challenged in other aspects of their life. And just because people find ways to cope better doesn’t mean their ADHD is any less real.

I use Outlook because work requires it. I’d love it to sync properly with my iPhone, but it’s like getting China and India to have military to military talks. Not very easy and usually ends up with gunfire.

I have to take meetings though, and I’m tired of telling people “I’m free between 2-3 today and 10-3 on Wednesday, and all day Thursday, except not from 12-112:15 and 1:45 to 3:00 aaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh.” So now I do two things: (1) I open my schedule to everyone (they can see free time, but not the subject of my meetings) and (2) I book personal time, including an hour or two a week to catch up on organizational stuff. I usually goof off during that hour, but a break is a break.

REPORT ABUSE

[Wgreen]

So now it’s a learning disability? And we should wear a cape and an “S” on our chests?

I don’t doubt for a second that some ADDers own yachts, apartments in Monte Carlo, and houses in Moustique. Good for them. Some people also have found lottery tickets to be excellent investments.

I don’t mind the curse v. gift debate. What I do mind is journalists trotting out anecdotal stories to try to prove a point. It wouldn’t fly in a respected medical journal. And it shouldn’t fly in a well-regarded personal finance magazine. ADD deserves a more serious discussion. Show me a credible study that indicates ADDers are over-represented in the universe of successful entrepreneurs (owners of businesses with annual revenues of, say, $US 5 million+) and I’ll happily take another look at the “Superman” assertion.

(Disclaimer: I started a business that made millions, and I can assure you my ADD did nothing but get in the way.)

REPORT ABUSE

[Bibliophile]

I have heard more than one ADHD person say they have an assistant to keep them organized; even a coach on youtube mentioned this. Maybe that is the solution for our future-blind, emotionally impaired, impulsive bunch. We will be the upper, and most likely ruling, class and let the proletariat look after us. Of course this is easier to achieve if one has the means to have an assistant in the first place. It’s not really a coping strategy more of a coping avoidance strategy.

(Couldn’t resist the urge to poke fun of those who rely on others for everything)

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

Well l_b………hahahahhaha…the ruling class, love it, as a Leo I already knew that tho!!!! Hmmm maybe we already are, it’s just the linear folks have the administrivia of day to day and that screws us up??? When I was still workin I had an Admin Asst. and, yes it made it much simpler to fly, for sure. I seemed to do well on my feet…a great talking head…but struggled with the day to day admin bullshit. Same as in class at University could speak with the best of them, debate the Prof into a corner…….but write a paper….Wew…s-t-r-u-g-g-le….fret, always late and always started it the first week of class, exams were not much better…….gawd!! Stop the stream of consciouness to write then find the stream again…..hmmmm tough.

We as a group seem to resemble our brain process…we resist categorization…hahahhaha. I agree with PeteP….we are all different……one person’s chicken is another’s poison. There are also so many elements that work into a person’s developmental make-up, that statements that are put out as “universal truths” might well be viewed as limited in their universality???? Or not……

toofat

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

I never use outlook, only web-based email like gmail. And I don’t like gmail’s task list. I think I must find them too boring. This program I downloaded has a lot more gizmos and I suppose I liked it because it was more interesting. I am pretty sure it’s going to go the way of other organizing attempts and I should just go back to my whiteboards. I don’t have a smartphone so i can’t sync anything with it. When I’m away from my lists and whiteboards, I worry that I’m forgetting things.

Like billd, I butt in because I will forget what I want to say. My ADD mom and i had problems with that on the phone, she would say “ok, you’ve had your turn, now it’s my turn” but I couldn’t shut up.

I would be bored with being the ruling class and end up helping with the fun stuff. Tom Sawyer would totally suck me into painting that fence!

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

librarian_chief … Why do you need to poke fun at anyone? It’s rude. I had a mother’s helper once, and if i could afford it on this continent, I would have one still, plus a personal assistant… and a driver. I can’t afford any of them, but I don’t resent those that can. I’m happy they’re able to have an easier time of life than me. Hell, my husband takes on the position of assistant else everything would go to hell, and he doesn’t even get paid for it. Seems like the better thing to do would just be to pay someone willing so you don’t have to stress your marriage, like so many ADDers do. It’s not like the condition is curable and if we keep trying one day we’ll be without symptoms. Might as well do your best to deal with your limitations, and if that includes having a detail-oriented person helping you out and you’re able to afford it.. than that is a good thing. You don’t need to be in the ruling class. I know a lot of middle class stay at home moms who have a mother’s helper because life is overwhelming for everyone. It’s smart to just deal with it, not act like you’re capable of doing it all if you aren’t actually.

REPORT ABUSE

[Bibliophile]

@twilightfades I am very happy that you have someone to assist you. In the Canadian economy, at least is Ontario where the average mortgage debt load is greater than 30% of personal income, no one who is in the middle class or lower can afford a personal assistant. This is a luxury most ADHDers will never have. Ever.

The reason for my original post was because no_dopamine was asking for an app or software to assist her planning. I was throwing hiring someone to do it for you out there as a gag, as she would not have said that she needed software to do it if she could hire an executive assistant. I meant no offence, just a light ribbing. In typical fashion, I guess, I didn’t think of the consequences of my statements in advance.

Also, no matter how severe the symptoms are, if someone does not try to cope with the issues themselves than there is no personal growth nor will they have the happiness of achieving a modicum of self reliance. I understand that behavioural modification will not work without persistent external rewards in place. However, it is amazing how personally rewarding it is to occasionally remember an appointment, arrive on time, etc., by ones own efforts. We fail, we get up, we try again, likely fail again, get up, try again, etc. Occasionally something goes right. We find the right job, the right stimulant drug, work out an obsessive routine, etc. and things click, even if its just for a bit before it falls apart again. That brief moment makes it worth it.

Wgreen had an interesting thread on whether ADHD people should be parents or get married, which I think is a very valid question, especially in severe cases. It is most certainly unfair to expect our spouses to pick up our pieces till the end of our days.

Tom Sawyer likely had ADHD Combined Type with a Conduct Disorder. Reading it as an adult, he comes off as a mean bugger.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

I’m guilty of writing and saying things that I think are hilarious, that nobody else gets. librarian_chef has a particular type of humour and I do get that.

I once did hire someone (through work) to file for me, but it just didn’t help with the business paperwork, I just generated even more. I just can’t get organized enough, it’s like needing to clean the house in order to have a cleaning lady come in (we can’t afford one either).

I like your analogy: zen saying: 7 times fall down, 8 times get up. I am thrilled to pieces when I remember to do something without the aid of post-it notes, calendars, putting something on the toilet as a memory trigger. But it’s short-lived!

Have to re-read Tom Sawyer some time from an adult perspective. I would have loved to float downriver with Huck Finn! once I contemplated running away from home, but then it was time for dinner

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

There’s a couple of books I read (pre-diagnosis) that really changed my perception. I’ll have to reread them with fresh eyes now:

Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language (Robin Dunbar)

The Wisdom of Crowds (James Surowiecki)

Survivors Club (Ben Sherwood)

These three are in a select group of books I’ve actually read cover to cover. Dunbar’s book is fascinating, dense and really hard to put down. Sherwood’s book is about how people survive in a life or death crisis, and from what I recall, a lot of those traits are ADD traits, too.

REPORT ABUSE

[Author]

Posts