Spend 15 minutes today getting some cleaning done in your 
kitchen. Set a timer so you can move on to something else when you are done. Working in quick spurts like this can really help you focus on chores that we don’t necessarily like to complete.
How do you stay focused on getting your kitchen clean?
To achieve more with your goals, you need to make them timely or timelined. This means setting deadlines. When you have ADHD, it is important to set timely goals with deadlines to help you keep focus on the goals. To reinforce the deadlines you set for yourself, I recommend that you write them down in your planner or calendar. Don’t have one? Make some time this weekend to get one.
By setting deadlines, you create a sense of urgency to get working on your goals. How often do you hear someone say they need to get more organized? If your goal is to get organized and you give yourself no deadline, how will you know when you succeed? How will you know when to set a new goal? Worse yet, how will you know if you did not reach your goal? Without deadlines, you can lose that spark to get you moving and make progress towards your goal.
If you have some goals already set for 2011, take a look at them and make sure you have included a timeline and/or deadline for achieving your goal.
Do you set timing around your goals? How can I help you with that?
ADHD can make it hard to manage all of the paper you get at home and/or work. Using a tickler file can be a helpful way to gain control of the paper.
What do you think? Could a tickler file work for you?
If you have ADHD, estimating the time it takes to get your your work done can be difficult. On the one hand, you may underestimate the time that certain tasks will take. This can leave you overwhelmed with too much on your plate and not enough time to get it all done. On the other hand, you might overestimate the time that something will take to complete. If this happens, you might notice yourself with open, unproductive time or your efficiency might decrease causing you to take too much time to complete the assignment.
To help you improve in this skill, I recommend that you get in the habit of estimating how much time a task will take to complete at the beginning of each day. At the end of the day, go back to your to do list and note the actual time that something took. Review your accuracy and reflect on where you can improve your estimating the next time.
I encourage you to try this for a few weeks and see if your estimating skills improve. Do not give up quickly. This is something that takes some time before you will begin to see results. Let us know how it goes!
When you have trouble staying focused during your workday, activities at home or your studies that could be a sign that you need an exercise break. This does not mean you need to pack up and head to the gym! For your exercise break, I am suggesting that you take a brisk walk, run in place or do some jumping jacks. Just do something simple to give your self a break and get your blood pumping.
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
