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Part of keeping up my own personal level of productivity is looking for other resources and advice from others in the Getting Things Done community. Many times I have seen posts and comments on blogs and websites where the author mentions how their GTD practice helps with (or is hindered by) their ADD. This post will be the first in a series that will explore the hidden benefits of ADD and how they can be harnessed by the principles of Getting Things Done. Subscribe to the RSS feed to catch them all.

Attention Deficit Disorder is a real condition that affects millions of people to varying degrees. One resource that I have found to be incredibly useful is Delivered from Distraction by Dr. Edward Hallowell. This book is a wealth of information about ADD including (from the website):

• how to determine if you have ADD
• the latest information on medication and whether or not to medicate
• how environmental factors, such as air pollution, food additives and excessive use of electronics (TV, the Net, etc.) can contribute to ADD
• reports on latest brain scan studies
• brain exercises that improve attention
• how to master the power and avoid the pitfalls of ADD
• how to sustain a successful marriage with an ADD spouse

I have read this book in chunks, here and there as those with ADD are known to do, some parts three or four times and I cannot recommend it enough. Since I began my GTD practice at the beginning of the year I too have found that my ADD is both a help and a hindrance. Dr. Hallowell explains why:

Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD, is a misleading name for an intriguing kind of mind. ADD is a name for a collection of symptoms, some positive, some negative. For many people, ADD is not a disorder but a trait, a way of being in the world.
[…]
People with ADD have special gifts, even if they are hidden. The most common include originality, creativity, charisma, energy, liveliness, an unusual sense of humor, areas of intellectual brilliance, and spunk.

However, some of the disadvantageous characteristics include chronic underachievement, mood difficulties, low tolerance for frustration, and difficulty in turning their great ideas into significant actions.

A tool that Dr. Hallowell has created for promoting the talents and strengths of ADD is his “5-step Plan“:

The first step is to connect - with a teacher, a coach, a mentor, a supervisor, a lover, a friend (don’t forget God or whatever your spiritual life leads you toward). Once you feel connected, you will feel safe enough to go to step 2, which is to play. In play, you discover your talents and strengths. Play includes any activity in which your brain lights up and you get imaginatively involved. When you find some form of play you like, you do it over and over again; this is step 3, practice. As you practice, you get better; this is step 4, mastery. When you achieve mastery, other people notice and give you recognition; this is step 5. Recognition in turn connects you with the people who recognize and value you, which brings you back to step 1, connect, and deepens the connection.

Being creative-types, I often find that many of the GTDers out there use their blogs and other social networking to get connected, especially to those who share interests outside of Getting Things Done. The practice of GTD is perfect for Dr. Hallowell’s plan, in that the Workflow practice of collecting, processing, organizing, reviewing and doing is a prime opportunity for creating a Coaching relationship. It also requires creativity and “craftyn-ess” (hack a notebook lately?), which we view as play. As our GTD practice progresses it can be tracked, the implementation can be evaluated and improved upon, thus practice leads to mastery.

With this mastery of the GTD process, the positive effects of ADD are brought to the front of your personality, and people will notice, while your lifestyle changes will relegate the negative effects to the background. Our family and co-workers will see that we do get more done, in less time and with less stress. This recognition is important to those of us with ADD, due to the corresponding weakness of chronic underachievement (and the “special attention” we often received in school). It sure feels good when we finally get something right! This of course brings us back to the beginning of the cycle, as we re-connect with our family and associates, gain new colleagues, and begin to coach others in a growing role as a GTD mentor.

Next in the series: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective ADD Adults

(Mainly because this is all I can manage at one sitting!)

Post script: If you have ADD (diagnosed by a professional or not) leave a Comment on how you cope with your positives and negatives. I will address these in a future post in this series.

You can order the book from Amazon here: