ADHD VIRTUAL ENTREPRENEUR

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
Winston Churchill

 Life whizzes by at an alarming rate and being distracted by ADHD symptoms makes it seem to go all that much faster.  Here are a few ideas on how to keep yourself motivated and on task.

Know what’s important and keep that front and center.

I’m a lover of daily reminders of why you make the tough choices.  Running your own business is rewarding, but hard.  Remember why you chose it.  Post it on the fridge, alarm clock, your screen saver; whatever it is that brings your focus back on what it is that makes it all worthwhile.

Have a plan and stick to it.

You know the old adage, people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.  Well, it’s true.  With ADHD, it can be tough to plan and tougher to stick with it, but that’s what makes the difference.  Find systems that work for you, people who can help you stay accountable to your dream. 

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

Living outside your comfort zone can be difficult and scary.  If you wait for the fear to pass, you’ll wait your whole life.  Learn to acknowledge your fear and find ways to take action in spite of it. 

Reward yourself frequently.

Behavior that is reinforced continues, behavior that is ignored, stops.  Find ways to make unpleasant tasks more pleasant by rewarding yourself on a regular basis.  It doesn’t have to cost money or take a lot of time; it just has to acknowledge your accomplishment.

Remember doubt is part of life and you don’t have to buy into it!

It would be great if doubt were an infrequent guest.  When you challenge yourself to do more, chances are doubt will come a knocking.  Don’t be surprised when it shows up, but don’t be seduced by it either.  Take it as a confirmation that you are taking up the challenge to live bigger.

Surround yourself with people who believe in you.

With ADHD, this is crucial.   Think of them as a finally honed pit crew that can help you refuel, refocus and get back on the road quickly.  They are your cheerleaders, your advisors, and your supporters.

Give back by sharing what you know.

In medicine training they say see one, do one, teach one.  There is nothing like teaching or sharing something that solidifies knowledge and rekindles your passion.  Find some way to get involved in the bigger picture; join an industry group, mentor another entrepreneur. 

Motivation is a commitment you make to yourself everyday and finding ways to keep passion for your business strong will pay dividends over and over again.

Does it feel like it’s harder to focus at the end of the day for you?  For many folks with ADHD, particularly if you are on medication, the end of the day signals a decline in your ability to stay tuned into the task at hand.   There is nothing so frustrating as losing the momentum of the day to the downward spiral of disorganization and endless unfinished tasks.  One of my favorite strategies that can unlock the potential of increased focus is exercise.  Read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time of the year, again; holidays banging on the door, last minute work details clamoring to get done by the end of the year, social obligations out the wazo.  Even the most stalwart professional can find it difficult to stay focused and with ADHD….well, you know the score. Read the rest of this entry »

When people read about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), most folks conjure up pictures of an overly active, impulsive boy who can’t sit down or stop talking. The reality is that the ADHD picture varies dramatically, runs across gender, extending into adulthood. Read the rest of this entry »

How many multiple projects do you have going at one time?  Five, twelve, maybe twenty?  It’s amazing how easy it is to get overtaken by the excitement of a new project, the adrenaline rush of something fresh and provacative.  Yet, for folks with ADHD, with many projects, the excitement doesn’t last long enough to take you to the finish line.  Surrounded by stacks of paper, taunted by those lovely color coded files that you step over every time you walk into your office, it may feel that your projects become like the ghost of Christmas past haunting you throughout the day.  You may have found yourself asking “Do I really have to finish this?” to more than one of your little incompleted ghouls.  Here’s the good new!  NO, you don’t have to finish them all!  Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been attending the ADHD Virtual Conference this week and I have been impressed by the breadth and depths of their presenters.  Sitting at home in my favorite chair has been a great way to learn and interact with the ADHD community.  This conference has brought to mind several things for me. Read the rest of this entry »

When you are dogged by distraction and confronting chaos, the lure of hyperfocus is totally understandable. Many people think of distractibility as the main attention disturbance of ADHD, but it is so much more. It is problems of attention on both sides of the spectrum which brings us to the topic of hyperfocus. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s 3 o’clock, the layouts for your marketing campaign are on the counter in pretty much the same state they were at 8 this morning.  How can that be?  It was the number one priority for your day and with 45 minutes till deadline the copy seems to be taunting your lack of progress.  You’ve been working at warp speed all day, so what happened?  Sound familiar?

With ADHD it’s often the case that best intentions are definitely paving the road to hell.  You know you’re not lazy; you know you’ve got great ideas and a kick ass concept, so what went wrong? Read the rest of this entry »

As a person with ADHD, you probably take for granted that multi-tasking is the norm. With ADHD, the brain is working on overdrive, jumping from one thing to the next (whether it gets finished or not is a topic for another day). Add to it we live in a society, which as a whole, seems to demand that we engage in more than one activity at a time; reading emails while on the phone, preparing the mailings while giving instructions to an employee, working on two projects at seemingly one time. Yet, most people with ADHD find that multi-tasking just isn’t helpful.

There’s now a lot of data to back up this up.The published work of Drs. Rubinstein, Meyer, and Evans (2001), (http://www.apa.org/releases/multitasking.html) indicates that humans, in general, are actually less productive when we multi-task and here’s why. Read the rest of this entry »

Trained as a psychologist, I experienced ADHD from the other side of the desk. I had answers for all the questions and strategies up the wazu to deal with any situation.Well versed in theory and techniques I felt competent and assured.

That changed with the birth of my daughter, Tess.At 6 weeks I was asked to describe her and the word “determined” came readily to mind.As she grew it became more and more apparent that something was different about this kid and the difference was ADHD. Read the rest of this entry »