Routines, Systems, and A.D.D. — Part One

Posted in Goals & Time Management, Outsourcing & Delegating, Personal / Humor  Print This

I have A.D.D.  And I love routines.

No, I NEED routines–or I lose money.  It has happened time and time again, starting in public school when our currency was academic and not financial.

A long, long time ago when we were trying to figure out why I couldn’t remember anything, or find anything, or follow simple instructions, my family had an expert tell us something I will never forget.  He said, and I paraphrase:

“People with A.D.D. (which he also had, by the way) have a hard time staying organized or taking care of details.  So we have to come up with routines and other coping strategies in order to function well.  But because we have to rely on these habits and tools, we often end up being more organized and getting more done than normal people.”

I fell in love with what he said, and thus my lifelong quest for maximum productivity began–because I was so sick and tired of forgetting things, falling behind, not listening, and so on.  If you know what it’s like to leave for the bank and then make a U-turn because you forgot to bring your checks to deposit, that is what every day of my life was like growing up, times 10.

So what do you care?  Well, I’m saying that it’s a liberating thing to just admit that you can’t remember squat and you just don’t do some things well, and to be confortable with that.  I am.

I don’t trust my memory for anything.  I will think about our anniversary every single day for the entire month leading up to it, then wake up on the morning of and forget what day it is.

I will call someone on the phone to tell them something and then forget who I called and what I wanted when someone picks up.

I even missed two flights in one day from within the airport because I wasn’t paying attention or forgot something important.  How wild is that?

But I don’t care.  It’s annoying when it happens, but life and business go on.  Since I know I can’t trust myself for squat, I have to create systems, routines, and rely on others to get things done for me.  And it’s been the key thing in any consistent success I’ve had.

Having A.D.D. is the best thing that ever happened to me (and you get to reap the benefits).