In my last post, I painted an extremely rosy picture of how you can use your iPhone to manage adult ADHD.
I’ve told you my new iPhone 4s is the most useful ADHD management tool I’ve come across. (Other than a top-notch ADD coach, of course!)
Initially, my whole premise may ring a little bit counterintuitive. “Mobile technology….isn’t that the ultimate distractor factor?” you might be thinking.
Well, maybe. Certainly, there are some sand traps we all need to be aware of with an iPhone or other Smartphone.
With the Internet always at your fingertips, it’s alarmingly easy to get pulled off track. Ready access to information is a marvelous thing, and it’s wonderful that we can easily find the facts we need without, say, making ten phone calls or driving to the library.
Yet what happens when you look up the title of a book online? First, you find yourself browsing other titles by the same author.Then you start reading an interview with the author. Of course the interviewer refers to a controversy the book stirred up on another site, so you go take a peek to see what that’s all about. And before you know it, you’ve frittered away another hour.
Then there are the more overt iPhone time-wasters. Facebook (hey, my brother finally posted his ski vacation photos!). Twitter (that marathoner I follow in Seattle just completed how many miles?). Angry Birds and other games are forever awaiting you.
The biggest challenge, though, is when you let your iPhone interfere with sleep by spending precious nighttime hours texting and checking Facebook on your phone instead of going to bed.
Getting to bed at a reasonable hour is already difficult for many ADHD adults and the easy accessibility of the iPhone can make it even harder.
The solution isn’t complicated, but it does require self-awareness. You have to really be attentive to how you’re spending your time and what you’re doing when you have this constant entertainment system right there in your pocket.
Fortunately, there are some really handy alarm and reminder apps for your phone that will keep you on track.
Despite all its potential pitfalls for distraction, my overall assessment is still positive: the iPhone is a fundamentally powerful tool for organizing and managing adult ADHD.
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