Do you practice Magical ADHD Planning? Most of the ADHD adults I know do.
- Do projects and tasks take you lots longer to finish than you think they should?
- Is it hard for you to find time to work on the most important tasks on your list? (Assuming you even made a list…)
- Do you often move your most important tasks forward to the next day’s list hoping each morning that today’s the day you’ll finally get it done?
If you answered YES to all three I officially proclaim you a Magical Planner. (It’s great to be Queen.)
Is Magical ADHD Planning The Same As Procrastinating?
No. It’s different. When you procrastinate you intentionally avoid doing a task. With Magical Planning even though you’re working as hard as you can you still can’t finish the darn thing.
What Is At The Heart of Magical ADHD Planning?
Two words – unrealistic thinking.
Unrealistic thinking impacts 99.9% of the ADHD adults I coach and love (including me). Taking a realistic view of what we need to do befuddles us.
Unrealistic thinking popped up last week during an ADHD coaching call when Jimmy shared his experience of painting his aunt’s living room. Though he’d estimated how long he thought the job would take, it took him hours longer to complete than he thought it would.
As we talked, Jimmy realized he’d only considered buying the paint and painting the walls. He totally overlooked details like moving the furniture, setting up drop cloths, removing and replacing switch plates, cleaning up and putting the furniture back.
Jimmy fell into Magical Planning by not fully considering all the parts of the job. The result was a totally unrealistic view of how long it would truly take to paint his aunt’s living room.
Another Cause of Magical ADHD Planning
Magical ADHD Planning also strikes when you don’t fully consider everything going on in your life that could keep you from working on a project.
If your day is filled with meetings, appointments or driving the kids around, you need to be realistic about how big a bite those tasks will take out of your day. Will you truly have time to write that report or will interruptions mean you actually have only 30 spare minutes to work on it?
Every day I stop at least one coaching client from falling into the Magical Planning trap. Of thinking a task or a project will take much less time than possible or of not considering everything on their plate.
So, instead of Magical ADHD Planning, how about trying a dose of realistic planning instead? It’s sure to make living with Adult Attention Deficit easier. Don’t know where to start? ADHD coaching will help!
ADDENDUM: A tool that many of my clients love is the Planner Pad. It’s set up to help you keep an eye on the week and categorize, prioritize and schedule your day/week.
Disclosure: There are some affiliate links above and I may receive commission for purchases made through these links, but these are all products that I highly recommend and have used personally or received word from clients on their benefits for ADHD.
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