Thursday, July 30, 2009

A Clock That Sticks Anywhere–To Keep You on Track

This is a helpful idea–a clock with a suction cup that you can stick anywhere a suction cup sticks to, especially on your shower door. The Bath Clock is one way to improve your morning routine by supporting your need to keep track of time.


Once you add a new item like a clock to your environment, it's important to create the habit of looking at that clock to help you gauge how long each segment of a task is taking you.


Regularly checking your time as you work through your morning routine will help you manage your time more effectively. It is important to know how much time is needed for each task you do before walking out the door. Let's look at how your morning routine breaks down into measurable segments:

A. What time do you wake up? B. How long to shower and fix your hair? C. How long to get dressed? D. If you are a woman, how long does it take to apply your makeup? E. How long does it take for you to eat breakfast? F. Are there any other people in the house that you are responsible for getting up and out the door in the morning? If so, how long does that process take? Break those steps down too and add up the needed time.


What often gets us off track is our inability to manage our time better–5 minutes in the shower can often turn into 15 minutes or more. With the Bath Clock stuck to your shower wall, you'll stay on track so that you no longer get stuck in the shower, lost in your own thoughts. Here is where you can buy it: http://www.stacksandstacks.com/bath-clock-suction


Saturday, July 25, 2009

ADHD Sleep: Sweet Dreams or a Nightmare?


Liz can't sleep at night. She tosses and turns and she isn't alone in her battle to sleep. For many ADHD adults, sleep is a battleground between your overactive mind and your exhausted body. Research shows that people who sleep fewer than seven-and-a-half hours a night are at greater risk for diabetes, obesity and heart disease, and lack of sleep can mimic ADHD symptoms, doubling the ADHD effect for people.

ADHD treatment can cause insomnia. Stimulant medications make you alert during the day but keep you awake at bedtime. Doctors often suggest avoiding stimulants late in the day to reduce residual effects, although some doctors prescribe an additional dose of stimulant medication before bedtime to help your ADHD brain focus on the immediate goal: falling asleep.

So how can you consistently achieve that "good night's sleep?" An evening ritual can help you transition between activity and rest. Take a warm bath, read a few pages of a boring novel or enjoy some herbal tea.

Your sleep environment must be inviting. If a lumpy 20-year-old mattress is keeping you from going to bed, quality bedding will be an investment in better sleep and better health.

When your ADHD brain won't shut down, try a "brain dump." Quickly write down all the ideas and worries that are spinning in your head - write fast and furiously for five minutes only. Capturing the ideas on paper frees your mind so you can drift off. Keep the pencil and paper beside your bed to dump any middle-of-the-night brainstorms.

If you fall asleep only to wake up an hour or two later, try calm, deep breaths, focusing on the exchange of air, similar to meditation. If you're still awake after 20 minutes, stop the torture. Get out of bed! Listen to soothing music, have a glass of cocoa (warm milk really does help!) or read a magazine until you are drowsy again.

Do NOT watch TV or surf the Internet! These electronic devices emit light your brain interprets as "dawn's early light," which signals you to wake up. If you must work on the computer or watch TV in the evening, try blue light blocker screen filters, which cast a warmish, sunset kind of light over the screen.

Despite the obstacles, ADHD adults can achieve a good night's sleep. Talk to your doctor to ensure your sleep issues aren't the byproduct of a physical ailment such as sleep apnea. Then try some of the ADHD-friendly suggestions in this article. I hope you can enjoy a good nights sleep!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Make the Wrong Stimuli Less Sticky

In this day of stimulation overload, all of us need to work harder to stay on track. Therefore, those of us who have a harder time filtering out tempting stimuli will stand out from the crowd. Those with ADHD will run into more trouble than most. Their distractibility, disorganization, forgetfulness and impulsivity will be more obvious since their the demands are so much greater.

So how do you get yourself unstuck from all those "wrong" stimuli? There are two basic ways:

Make the Wrong Stimuli Less Sticky

It's easier to be less distracted if there is less distracting you. So get rid of those distractions before they get you. Here are some examples:

  • Turn off your phone and email alert when you really need to focus in and get some stuff done.
  • Get rid of the clutter where you tend to lose more important things.
  • When you have limited time, don't even start those activities that you tend to get lost in.
  • Unsubscribe from those email alerts and newsletters that waste your time.

Make the Right Stimuli More Sticky

You're more likely to notice the right thing at the right time if you can make it stand out more. For example:

  • Set an alarm to remind you of upcoming appointments or when it's time to start getting ready.
  • Use bright colors to draw your eye to the things that you're supposed to pay attention to.
  • Put important things in designated places (like right next to the door) to make it easier to see them and more likely that you will bring them with you.

Try to keep these two simple concepts in mind as you go through your day. We're not looking for perfection, just for a way to change the odds to make you more likely to do the right thing at the right time. When you find that you wandered off, take a second to reflect back on what happened. What can you learn from that experience? Is there anything you can do differently next time? Look for those lessons from past failures in order to create more successes in the future!


Sunday, July 19, 2009

Creating Your Family Launch Pad

Create a "launch pad" in your home. This is the place (hook, cubby hole, container or decorative basket on top of a piece of furniture) by the door that holds our important out-the-door items. This area is maintained on a daily basis; not a drop zone for just anything coming in the door. This area is for items that must be staged for leaving with us each morning or put away as we walk in the door each evening. This is not a drop zone, but an active area.


If you need additional visual support; directions about what to take out the door or bring in with you upon entering, use a 4 x 6 brightly colored Post-It® to list the five or six important items going out each morning and coming in each evening. You can also list where your put away items need to be stored until you have successfully created your put-away habit.


All family members are responsible for keeping their "launch pad" area organized and ready for use. Smaller children always need their parents help with this process. But by creating this out-the-door routine, family members can be assured that they will walk out the door with what they need and not have to run all over the house collecting items that need to leave with them each morning.

Friday, July 3, 2009

You Create Your Own Internal Weather

The following article was written by David Giwerc, founder of ADD Coach Academy:


Now that summer time is here, I really appreciate every sunny day we experience.It's so great being able to put on a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and walk barefoot in the backyard. I soak it all in. I know that as the seasons change, we have no control over the drop in temperature, as we get closer to the end of the year.


Living in the Northeast, in January and February can be a very cold, dark time of year. The snow turns to ice or melts into mush and there are fewer hours of available sun.


When you wake up in the morning, and when you return from school or work, the physical darkness permeates everything, everywhere. Is it the physical darkness that causes darkness inside of each one of you? Or can you create a new source of internal sunlight that can dominate the physical darkness outside?


I know lots of people who live in beautiful parts of the country, like California and Florida, where the physical sun is outside every day but they are still dark inside. They don't see both kinds of internal and external beauty.

It certainly does help to live where the weather is nice. It is not the only thing that will keep you feeling good. You are the major source of your own light, not the weather. Some of the best times in my life occurred on dreary, cold days and nights by spending times with good friends or even a good book.


It's really a perception and a focus. No matter where you are, no matter what the weather conditions, you still have the power to create your own internal weather conditions. When you choose good friends and fun, fulfilling things to do, it doesn't matter what the weather is like outside. The weather outside of you is out of your control. Even though it may be very dark or cold outside, there is always the possibility of creating internal light on the inside.


How you perceive the weather outside of you has a big effect on the weather conditions inside of you. Even if the darkness outside is foreboding, you still have the ability to shine.