You’re Not ADD
You’re Not ADDI get it. ADD is a real disorder and a lot of people have it. I know. I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about the people who use ADD their reason for doing nothing.
Instead of taking one or two tasks from start to completion and taking pride in doing it, they bounce around with 7 (or 70) different “amazing” ideas and never do any of them.
They end up giving into their lizard brain and having 5 half-finished projects and nothing to show for it.
Of course not everything you do in life will be an amazing adrenaline rush that will blow your mind, but that doesn’t mean at least some of it can. And, it doesn’t mean that you have to subject yourself to mind-numbing work that you can’t stand and have to distract yourself in order to “do it.”
If Everyone Is ADD…
If everyone is special, then no one is. – Ayn Rand, The Incredibles
If we’re all special, then no one is. If everyone claims ADD, then I would argue that no one really has a disorder (i.e. an irregularity). I think it’s called being easily distracted and it’s a human condition, not a disorder.
I talk to a lot of people every day and it’s amazing how many people claim ADD. Because it’s considered a “disorder”, the fact that they can’t concentrate isn’t their fault and they’re officially free of responsibility for their actions (or inability to take action).
Let’s face it, unless you’ve been officially diagnosed, you’re probably not ADD. You’re easily distracted. You’re easily distracted because you’re bored. You’re bored because you don’t truly care about the projects or work that you’re doing.
But I have so many ideas!
I have a hundreds and thousands of ideas. I’ve got a notepad full of things I want to do, business ideas I want to start, pieces I want to write, and places I want to go (and you thought that the impossible list was long). If I tried to focus on them all at once, my mind might explode and I wouldn’t actually do any of them. Ideas are great, but they’re just ideas on a piece of paper until you actually do something with them.
Find a project. Start a list. Do something you’re passionate about. Do something you interested in. Do something you care about.
Figuring It All Out
Identifying problems is easy. People do it all the time. It’s called complaining. It’s harder to actually solve those problems. So how do you figure out how to turn those 1000s of ideas into actual actions?
Here’s 7 questions to ask yourself to help you narrow your focus and start figuring it all out:
- Which one am I most excited about?
- Why am I excited about that one specifically?
- Which one is the most important to me?
- Which one has the highest percentage of being successful?
- Which one will help the most people?
- Which ones will take some planning to accomplish?
- Which one can I start on TODAY?
Once you ask yourself those questions, start prioritizing the projects you actually want to do, preferably start with the ones you can start on TODAY. Don’t be too tied to the projects either. If something doesn’t work out like you expected, move on to the next thing on your list.
This doesn’t mean you can’t for things in the future while doing stuff today, but your focus is on finishing one thing and planning for another; not planning & finishing for 40 things all at one time. So focus on the work in front of you, but more importantly, make sure the work in front of you is work you actually care about.
It seems like everything is pathologized nowadays. Everything is a disorder, and every disorder is an excuse. There are certainly people who suffer from ADD. And OCD. And a host of other things that end in D.
But the percentage of those who use a disorder that they’ve never been diagnosed with as an excuse for living a mediocre life as compared with those who actually have the illness (and don’t let it get in their way of rocking it) is pretty small in my opinion.
(I’ve actually got a mild case of Tourette’s, but until now, I hadn’t really said anything about it publicly. And I’ve certainly never used it as any kind of excuse or allowed it to hold me back in any way. I think that people who talk a lot about their supposed “disorders” are trying to convince themselves.)
Anyway – You’re absolutely right that being unfocused and scattered is just part of being human. We can choose to try and overcome that part of our mammalian brain, or we can give in to it.
I know which option I’ll choose…
I think you hit on a big thing there. It’s a choice. Everyone has things that are supposed to inhibit them, it might be different things, but everyone has something. The choice is whether you let those things actually inhibit you or if you surpass them.
I started reading this post in the morning but I’m so easily distracted I didn’t finish it until this afternoon. Any of us can come up with a million different excuses for why we haven’t done the things we want to do in our lives. I think for many, myself included, we start into something and at that moment it’s new and exciting but as time goes on it becomes boring and we start to lose interest because it doesn’t have that shiny new car feel that it did when we started. The secret may very well be to keep thinking you are always driving a new car.
Mark Powers of Powers Percussion had a great post on timeboxing the other day about setting aside 30 minute blocks of time, kicking ass during that 30 minutes and then moving onto something else. I’ve used this approach and it works quite well for me.
Mark’s post was great! Focus, get it done and move on to the next thing.
Identifying problems is easy. People do it all the time. It’s called complaining.
HA! That made me laugh so hard I snorted. Yes, it’s easy to get sidetracked or lose focus or whatever. It’s not so easy to solve problems, but it’s a whole lot more satisfying. And mostly what it takes is discipline and focus, and not giving up. Just get started, one tiny step, and the rest gets a lot easier.
Thanks for another excellent piece with loads of food for thought and action!
Haha, it’s true though, isn’t it? 🙂
It’s absolutely true, but I don’t think most people realize the connection between complaining and identifying problems. That’s a pretty big concept that should be obvious but really isn’t. Not until it’s stated so clearly, anyway.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” – Leonardo Davinci
For me, I have realized my ADD is choice. I choose to have ADD. I could focus, its just way more fun not focusing. However, I also like to succeed and accomplish things so focus is key. I know there are those who have ADD legitimately, but for many, I think it is choice as well.
David Damron
LifeExcursion
It IS fun to have a million projects and 40 different plates to spin at once, but it’s also fun to FINISH, COMPLETE, and DO THINGS and to do that, you gotta focus =)
This reminds me of my constant discussion with my sister, the psych major, about Autism and Aspergers. And how I keep trying to convince her I probably have it. Because, though many don’t believe it, I am PAINFULLY awkward with social settings and mores.
Truth it is almost better to believe that you have a horrible disorder than try to understand why you are so effed up if you are “normal.”
As someone who does have an ACTUAL disease as well (diagnosed with fibromyalgia by a doctor and everything!) I’ve learned that there are people who let a disease wreak havoc in their lives or decide to live life in spite of a disease. The former is easier. The latter takes effort, courage, focus, etc. And way way WAY too many people don’t want to work at life. They’d rather just let it happen.
That, Elisa, happens way too often and there are way too many people that are wanting things to “just happen.”
“Find a project. Start a list. Do something you’re passionate about. Do something you interested in. Do something you care about.”
This is the key to life!
Thanks Jonathan!
interesting post
thanks for sharing it 🙂
No problem 🙂
Great post Joel.
I have been reading Zen to Done lately. It is not an exceptional book, but has some good nuggets in it. The one I actually adopted was to by a little pocket notebook to use to write down all the ideas I have during the day. I can then review them later and save the good ones. Once I am comfortable that I will not forget any good ideas, I think I will be able to stay focused on what I have already started instead of doing 20 things at once (none of them well).
I use that little notebook all the time. When I don’t have one on me, I take notes with whatever else I have at the time…my hand, my phone, etc. I’ve lost many a good idea due to the fact I wasn’t able to write it down.
Not going to say I have ADD because I know people who actually do; I would definitely agree that I just lose focus and bounce around too often because I want to work on all kinds of things.
Lately, I’ve literally deleted a TON of projects even when it was painful to see them go. I broke it down to what I can do this moment and what will give me the greatest gain.
I feel like a major load was taken off my shoulders. Been finding I have free time again and the projects I’m working on are being knocked out more rapidly.
It’s all about reduction.
80/20 rule. Stop wasting time on the things that suck your energy and don’t produce results. Focus on what matters =) Thanks for stopping by Murlu!
LOL! I am one of those officially diagnosed ADHD “sufferers”. I have excelled in high school, college, and personal studies. I have trained for and run countless middle-distance events on the track. I have run a marathon, completed an off-road triathlon, and biked across America–and not through a company I sat down for months of planning, conference calls, meetings, and the like to plan out a successful trip and fundraiser for impoverished children…I am now coaching and teaching, and training for my next marathon. So, even for those ADD/ADHD sufferers, there is no need to be a sufferer any longer…find your passion, take heart, find your stride, and go change the world.
-Jason
PS. I now find my ADHD to be more of a joy than a burden. Because I struggle so immensely to focus on anything that is not of utmost importance to me I find that what is left before me, that is the things I still do, that I am driven to do, are in fact my passions and life directions… Live on friends.
I find the same thing. Having lots of passions helps me focus on the things that i’m really pumped about.