The morning ADHD Success Club is focusing on avoiding ADHD distractions. Obviously an important muscle ADHD adults must build. In this blog post you’ll read how Maya wrestled to avoid distractions before facing this beast head on. She’s not always successful but is getting stronger. Keep at it, Maya. You’ve got this! – dr

Writing is something I love; however, sometimes I don’t feel ready to write, or I simply don’t feel like writing. When I blogged with teachers, I did a blogging challenge for the month of March where I wrote daily and many times I’d find myself at a loss for a topic, but still, for five years, I met this challenge of writing.

This year my writing challenge is combined with a living challenge as I work with Dana and blog weekly to document my experience in The ADHD Success Club. Each week, members of The Success Club work through a module/topic. As I challenge myself to learn and grow and as I blog for Dana, I have to listen and live what I learn each week. When I feel like I’ve listened and am beginning to live the module, the words come easily with a sense of accomplishment.

However, as anyone with ADHD knows, when overwhelmed and struggling, maintaining focus and routine and corralling distractions is a challenge. This week I latched onto distractions until the blog deadline was staring me in the face by binge watching Netflix and otherwise staring at screens while rationalizing that this is my break.

This morning, the morning of my deadline, I did all that I could to avoid writing. I texted my sister questions about a program she uses with students. I emailed my boss questions. I researched reading interventions. I deleted emails. I checked my Facebook and Instagram. I looked up the DSM V criteria for ADHD (while listening to the call). I looked up various apps for music with ADHD. I finalized a late afternoon lunch date for tomorrow.

As I sit at the keyboard right now on the Monday of fall break with 11 minutes until my deadline, I am no longer embracing distractions. Instead, I’m trying to corral the many distractions by doing what I should have done a few hours ago or a few days ago.

Finally, I reined myself in using Dana’s Catch and Redirect technique by setting a timer to go off every 20 minutes. When the timer buzzed, I asked myself the following:

1. What am I doing right now?

2. What did I intend to be doing?

3. Pull out of the distraction, and get back on task.

I began by choosing some music to play. With an impending deadline, I still found myself distracted by wanting to email Dana and ask her the name of her favorite focus music program she uses. Instead in an attempt to not disappoint Dana, I tried to Google it.  Recognizing the rabbit hole I was spiraling into, I asked myself what I was doing and what I intended to be doing. At that point, I pulled up the Focus app on my phone and set a timer for 20 minutes.  Of course, as soon as I started typing, my daughter came in the room to tell me about what she had packed for the sleepover. I asked her to give me 15 minutes.  

This week is all about recognizing and reining in distractions, and what I’ve realized is that I need to quit saying, “Screw intention!” and start paying attention. I have the awareness, knowledge, skills, and ability. Now I just need to focus on this week’s homework as well as a few of the gaps getting in my way of living successfully with ADHD.

This week’s homework required me to look at distractions and their conditions, and then, look at strategies to control and manage these distractions.  My distractions all involve screens and rabbit holes when I am checking Facebook, reading the news, researching something in education, or binging on Netflix. I find myself in a quest to network and interact, know the story behind the story, find the best pedagogy, or find out what happens next. All these things take me into a spiraling vortex that gets in the way of my true priorities.  

Oftentimes I rein myself in too late and as Dana asked a Success Club member recently, “Are you living the life you want to live?”  Yes, I’m on my way, but I’m not there yet. This week while I’m off, I am going to focus on doing three things in order to press reset and gain forward momentum:

1. Revisit all the previous modules related to tasks and planning and prioritization.

2. Practice Catch and Redirect by using a timer with tasks for all work related to preparing for a yard sale next weekend.

3. Focus on being more proactive in doing what I know I need to do sooner instead of doing what I know I shouldn’t until so much time has been wasted. In other words, instead of digging my rabbit hole to China, I will work to use the focusing hacks of music, beat the clock, deadlines with accountability, and environment adjustment.

Knowing what I know, yet doing what I do. is counter-intuitive. This week I plan to take my life back and use what I know to live and grow. The focus music still plays in the background, and I have sustained focus for an hour.  Awareness, intention, and action all lead to success as I rein in my ADHD distractions.

Join the thousands of others who are learning how to live successfully with ADHD!

FREE Weekly ADHD Success Newsletter about Living Easier with ADHD

I hate spam too. Your info will NEVER be shared, sold, or trade. Period.