Want to know one of the first steps to living successfully with ADHD? Here it is: You need to build an ADHD support team.
If you want to get more done and have a calmer, more successful life, you need help. You can’t do this alone. You need an ADHD support team. Thriving with ADHD depends on it.
An ADHD support team sounds exotic, right? Are you envisioning a group of amazing people following you around, making sure you’re arriving on time, keeping your home organized, getting things done for you as if you were Hollywood royalty? (Ahhh, dreams.)
Take away the glamour and paparazzi in that vision and you’re not too far off. An ADHD Support Team IS there to help you and is an essential piece of the structure you need to create in your life.
Who should be on your team? People who…well…support you.
Here are 4 key members to get on your ADHD Support Team:
1. A Cheerleader who provides the positive reinforcement you need to believe in yourself. We all need someone in our corner who sees past the late arrival time and instead notices all the work that got into getting there at all.
Your Cheerleader can be a family member or friend. Someone who believes in you, understands ADHD and can see the work you’re putting in to succeed. It can also be a coach, therapist, or someone who isn’t constantly impacted by your late arrivals and ADHD.
2. An Accountability Partner is there ready to keep you on the right track and call you out when you’re not reaching your goals. They provide deadlines and clarity and the accountability ADHD adults desperately need to stay focused and on track.
For an Accountability Partner, it’s important that this person is a step outside your regular circle. Yes, your Accountability Partner champions you, but their main role is to keep you responsible and following through on your promises. Often this can lead to frustration on your part if they call you out.
We’ve added Accountability Partners to the ADHD Success Club and members are connecting to keep each other on track. It’s been pretty amazing to see these relationships develop!
3. An Assistant who takes over the tasks you know you should do, but don’t. The boring stuff. The tasks you procrastinate about and neglect.
This is a key member of your team if you’re a business owner or professional with ADHD. Your ‘assistant’ can be a virtual assistant, bookkeeper, accountant, landscaper, someone who runs errands for you…even a meal delivery service!
When I hired my virtual assistant (VA), I was able to step into my purpose and bring my ideas to life. I realized that when my VA took over doing the stuff I’m bad at, I was able to do more of the stuff I’m good at (and love). Help more people and make a difference in the world.
4. A Guide to help navigate the path towards an easier ADHD life. Someone who had been there, done that and can help you build successful habits, avoid problems, etc. This can be one-to-one with an ADHD Coach or in a group training program like the ADHD Success Club.
You Don’t Have to Do Everything Yourself!
Remember – no one can do it all alone. Doing it all on your own means you procrastinate and miss deadlines. Priorities never get started. Or if they do, they never get finished. Do I need to mention the guilt and shame?
For years, I struggled to do it all myself, and I failed. Frankly, I played small.
Yes, building a team was a huge stretch at first! Especially financially as I hired my virtual assistant. The cost was the main reason I hesitated for years.
But creating my own team unveiled something:
ADHD Support Team = Stepping Stone to Success
Has it been easy? No! But, it’s getting easier over time.
I had to learn how to find the right people. That’s probably been the hardest part.
I had to learn how to delegate. How to let go of my perfectionism and that idea that I was the only one who could do things right.
And, let go of that silly idea that asking for help is a sign of weakness.
Essentially, I had to learn the hard way how to do many of the things I now guide my clients to do!
Don’t ignore the essential structure an ADHD support team can give you. Having a team do the stuff you’re not so good at allows you to focus on your strengths.
Keep reading:
- Struggling with ADHD? Don’t Try Harder
- Six Truths About Successfully Managing ADHD
- Want an Accountability Partner or Guide? Join the ADHD Success Club!
Tired of struggling with ADHD? You’re in the right place. ADHD Success is loaded with free, practical tips to help you get organized, manage your time, and live more easily with Adult ADHD. Like what you read? Sign up for the newsletter now! No Spam. I promise!
0 Comments