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Getting Places On Time with ADHD

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  • Are you frequently late to meetings?
  • Do you miss important appointments?

Time management is frequently a challenge with ADHD.  Implement the following strategies to help you get places on time:

Set 2 Timers

Set one timer to sound at the time you need to leave your house, office or other location.  This is the time when you must leave.  Set the other timer for 10 minutes before you need to leave.  The first timer to sound is your reminder to transition to leaving for your meeting or appointment.  When that first timer sounds, you need to stop whatever you are doing and prepare to leave.

Double the Time

Estimate how long it will take you to walk or drive to your appointment or meeting.  Double that estimate to determine when you need to leave.  (Take a book with you in case you get there early!)

Use Technology

Set reminders for important meetings and appointments on your smart phone or computer calendar.  I use Cozi calendar which allows me to set up to three reminders for each appointment.

Use Low Tech Reminders

In addition to setting electronic reminders, you can also use sticky notes or other notes on your wall to remind you about important appointments.  When using low tech options, make sure you only use a few.  More than three will crowd the wall and all of the reminders are likely to get lost in the shuffle.

If you apply these four time management strategies, you’ll have more success getting to those appointments and meetings on time.

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Free ADHD Teleclass: Got Time? Productivity through Time Management

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Tara McGillicuddy has invited me back to lead another free teleseminar at ADDclasses.com on February 25, 2014 and I hope you will join me!  The title is “Got Time? Productivity through Time Management”.

Register on their site:  ADDclasses.com

Class Description:  ADD / ADHD and time management are a difficult combination and can often come along with missed deadlines, lost focus during meetings or lectures, and working late into the night. Join us for this Teleseminar to learn tools and strategies to manage time and accomplish more during your day.

Participants will be able to identify strategies for reducing interruptions and increasing available time, ways to overcome procrastination and how to increase efficiency by planning ahead and using planners that work for them individually.

Have questions you would like me to address during class?  Just leave me a message in the comments below!

 

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4 Quick Time Management Tips

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Have trouble managing your time?  Does it always feel like you are running in circles?

Quick Tips

Apply these 4 quick time management tips to start getting your time under control.

Set a goal

Grab a piece of paper and write down one goal you have for yourself regarding your time.   Don’t over think the goal, but do make it specific enough to know when you have achieved it.  An example is, “Arrive at all of my meetings prepared and 5 minutes early”.  The more specific the better!

To do list

It can be very tempting to jump into your work every day and start fighting fires.  Instead, take 5 minutes at the beginning of your day to write a to do list.  This will help you stay focused on what is important today and feel less chaos.

Use 2 timersTimer to Help ADHD

Use 2 timers to help yourself get to meetings and appointments on time.  Set one to signal when you need to start preparing  to leave your office/house.  Next, set the second one to sound when you need to leave the house or your office.  This transition time can be really helpful in getting places on time.

Image: Graeme Weatherston / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Limit interruptions

Being interrupted by co-workers, friends or  family members can make it difficult, or even impossible, to get work done.  Counteract this by  working to limit your interruptions.  You can put a sign outside your cubicle, turn off your phone (okay, at least turn the ringer to silent!) and close your email program to limit those troublesome interruptions.

That’s it – I promised they would be quick!  Give them a try and let me know how it goes!

 

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Remembering ADHD Goals

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I recently received a question from a client that got me thinking…

Goals are important when you have ADHD.  Goals are also often difficult to remember when you have ADHD.  Keeping your goal present and in your mind is important when you find yourself not working towards your goal.

How can you remember your goals?

Here are a few of my favorite ways to remember goals….

  • Write out your goal 4 times every day.
  • Make a PowerPoint slide with your goal and post it somewhere that you will see it every day. (You might want to move this around every few days so it doesn’t get lost in the background.)
  • Make a daily routine to repeat your goal to yourself 3 times every morning.  Do this while sitting quietly and taking some deep breaths to really help you focus.
  • Write about it each day in your journal.
  • Record one action item each day in your calendar.
  • Find a picture that represents success in your goal and post it somewhere that you will see it every day.
  • Using that picture as your home screen on your phone can be helpful.

There must be hundreds of ways to remember goals.  Please share with us below…. how do you remember your goals?

 

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Managing Interruptions at Work

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Why bother managing interruptions?

It takes time to refocus at work whether or not you have ADHD.  That time can lead to lost productivity and general chaos in your day.  Add ADHD to the mix and that time to refocus just increased.  If you even manage a few of your typical interruptions in a given day, you can literally add productive minutes and even hours to your day.

Convinced?  Yes?  Your next question is certainly…

But how do I manage them?

  • Notify Others:   Use a sign outside of your cubicle or office to let co-workers know that you are doing focused work and cannot be interrupted.  It can simply state, “Focused Work In Progress, Please Don’t Interrupt!”
  • Go Somewhere:  Use a conference room or go to the library to keep interruptions down.  Put a sign outside of the conference room for added benefit.
  • Silence the Noise:  Turn off the ringer and vibration on your phone, the email notification beep on your computer and use a noise cancellation machine to keep conversations from interrupting you.
  • Set Timers:  When you know ahead of time that you need to manage your interruptions, set a timer for 20 – 30 minutes.  During this time, commit to work on this one task or project that needs your attention.  This one can really help with those troublesome self-interruptions!
  • Close Email:  Incoming email is a source of ongoing interruptions. All. Day. Long.  To manage your email, you need to periodically close it.  Try checking it just a few times during the day.  This will allow you to focus on your priorities in between checking your email.  You will get through your email faster as an added benefit.

Just One

Pick just one of these tips to implement and leave a comment below to let me know which one!  Good luck!

 

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