ADHD and Time: The Now / Not Now Effect
By Dana Rayburn, Adult ADD Coach

ADDed Success is ADD Coach Dana Rayburn's monthly newsletter about living
successfully with Attention Deficit Disorder.

Welcome to ADDed Success!
It's been said that people with ADHD view the world in two timeframes: Now and
Not Now.

Only what's in front of us Now captures our attention enough for us to take action.
A Now can be something with a real deadline or just whatever 'shiny thing' we
find interesting at the moment.

Everything that is Not Now is avoided or ignored; pushed off to a later time no
matter how important or how acutely we want to do them.

I'm convinced this Now / Not Now Effect is the root of much of ADHD's
procrastination and chaos.

• The Now / Not Now Effect keeps the ADHD student from starting his term
  paper until the night before it’s due.
  
  

• The Now / Not Now Effect keeps the ADHD manager from writing the agenda
  for her staff meeting until a few minutes before the meeting starts.
  
  

• The Now / Not Now Effect keeps the ADHD hostess from cleaning the house
  and going to the market until the morning of her dinner party.
  
  

• The Now / Not Now Effect keeps the ADHD dad surfing the Internet even
  though his children are waiting for him to cook dinner.

The Now / Not Now Effect is a very real part of living with ADHD. And it causes
worry, stress and feelings of inadequacy.

What can you do about the Now / Not Now Effect?

Here are three steps to soften the Not / Not Now Effect impact:

1. Accept the fact that you live with a Now / Not Now brain.
You CAN'T force ADHD. You can't make something consistently become a Now
when your brain believes it to be a Not Now.

You can, however, learn to soften the impact by doing some advanced
preparation, with the awareness that your most creative energy and focus won't
happen until the task flips into your Now category.

2. Think about specific areas of your life where the Now / Not Now Effect
causes the most problems.
We're all different. What may cause headaches for me may be a breeze for you.
With this awareness you can focus on softening the impact of the most
troublesome areas.

3. Plan for your Now / Not Now Effect. Yes, ADHD makes planning
challenging. However, with awareness a part of your brain can say "that's a Not
Now, but it will become a Now and when it does I need to be ready for it."

A decent example of planning for the Now / Not Now Effect is how I write this
newsletter every month. Once upon a time I waited until the day before my
deadline to start writing. It was stressful to say the least.

Instead, for the past couple of years, I set aside 30 minutes each Wednesday to
write a bit of the next issue AND I make sure the week before my deadline I
leave enough space in my schedule to get the issue written and sent.

Planning has me do some work when the newsletter is a Not Now and that
advanced work gives me a good enough start when the newsletter flips to the
Now category right before my deadline.

The Now / Not Now Effect is a huge influence over the lives of people with ADHD.
With awareness and a bit of planning and effort you can make it easier to live
with. Let me know how it goes!

The Last Word
The Now / Not Now Effect shows up for me big time each Christmas.

Every November I'm shocked when the Christmas rush starts so early. Christmas
isn't for weeks and all around me people seem obsessed with shopping, baking
and decorating.

Along with wondering what's wrong with all of them, I also wonder what's wrong
with me! I feel guilty being a Grinch and not being in the Christmas spirit.

This year I noticed that one day I was doing my typical Grinch song and dance
and the next day I was magically embracing the spirit of the season. Literally
overnight I went from Humbug to Ho, Ho, Ho.

Here's what I realized: my Christmas spirit increases with REAL deadlines
associated with the season. About five days before the packages to my distant
relatives must get mailed, I find myself humming carols and bustling off to the
mall.

My 'get it in the mail' deadline flips Christmas from my Not Now to my Now
timeframe.

What a relief! I'm not a Scrooge! I'm just can't get ready for Christmas early.

Next year instead of struggling with my Grinchy feelings I'll know it's the Now /
Not Now Effect. Plus, I'll plan ahead, leaving plenty of space in my schedule for
my last minute Christmas spirit to take flight.

To Your ADDed Success,
Dana

PS. - Trouble Staying Organized? No Problem! Reserve your copy of 'Organized
for Life' at the special 'early-bird' price.

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