Mmmm, most of my stress about tasks is from tasks that:
- I’m not sure if I need to do at all
- don’t need to be done yet
- I can’t work on yet
- are less important/urgent than other tasks
The lighter side of ADHD
Mmmm, most of my stress about tasks is from tasks that:
There's always more tasks though....
I want off this ride, Mr. Bones...
Some actually effective advice I gained from a support group following my diagnosis: link tasks to a goal that you actually care about.
You can’t do it for every single task but the important tasks can usually be linked.
Go to the gym because I want to be healthy: nope
Go to the gym because I need to live long enough to ensure my wife’s safety and financial security: average 3.5 sessions per week; lost 20kg in a year.
Do minor day to day tidying because it’s easier to keep on top of that: nothing
Wife has been away and I want her to enjoy coming home to a tidy house: deep clean.
Plan my home RPG session because I value time with friends: can’t be done
Plan my school club’s RPG sessions because I value my pupils having alternative creative and social opportunities: meticulous notes and setting documents.
One thing that I can’t figure out is reading, which I really love. I got quite a way with a 52 books in a year goal in 2021 but lost steam in the 30s. I ended up binging novellas and short story collections around Christmas to hit 54. As soon as I can justifiably link reading to my wife or pupils, I’ll be an unstoppable reading machine.
Do a reading challenge with your pupils over the semester, or summer or other break to read more than you, and let them do something harmless but embarrassing to you if they win (like decide what hat or shirt you'll wear to graduation or the next parent/teacher conference).
Every book you finish you get to go on a date with your wife to talk about the book (and more).
Damn I wish I could read!
All done!
...
...did I do that correctly? Was I even supposed to do that in the first place?
OMG that's so me!! 3 weeks ago I finally finished a task that took me 25 years to get around to. No exaggeration.
Those 25 years were naggingly stressful.