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This morning I followed a link in a Comment left by Jenny and Erin to their blog post where they ask a question (or three) about the role of habits in your life. I have written previously about the myth of changing a habit in 21 days, so I was intrigued. In their “quest for understanding“, Jenny and Erin ask:

1. How big of a role do habits play in your daily life?
   
2. Do your habits typically form intentionally or unconsciously?
   
3. What approaches have you found successful in shaping them?

As I am one of those lucky people gifted with ADD and a touch of OCD, habits are an enormous part of my daily life, although the term “ritual” may be a little more accurate. Some of the things that I do as part of my daily routine were initially formed unconsciously, and have been intentionally groomed and adapted; other behaviors, the ones that form the foundation of ‘getting through the day‘, were definitely formed intentionally as part of my lifestyle therapy.

Drugs are not (necessarily) the answer

I tried a couple of different prescription medications for ‘treating’ my ADD, and while they worked for me in the sense that I was able to sit still and do my work, the side effects proved to have a very negative effect on my relationship with my significant other. My doctor’s answer was an additional prescription for combating the side effect. Nice.

Instead of taking that route, I made a careful examination of the things that I needed to do and the tasks I needed to complete. Then I created mini-schedules for accomplishing repetitive tasks that was not boring and kept me free from distractions. Then I went off of the medicine.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective ADD Adults

There is a complete post at this link, but here is a list of habits for you to cultivate in order to bring a positive spin to your ADD:

1. Do what you’re good at. Don’t spend too much time to get good at what you’re bad at (You did enough of that in school).
2. Delegate what you’re bad at to others, as often as possible.
3. Connect your energy to a creative outlet.
4. Get well enough organized to achieve your goals. The key here is “well enough”. That doesn’t mean you have to be very well organized at all - just well enough organized to achieve your goals.
5. Ask for and heed advice from people you trust - and ignore, as best you can, the dream-breakers and finger-waggers.
6. Make sure you keep up regular contact with a few close friends.
7. Go with your positive side. Even though you have a negative side, make decisions and run your life with your positive side.

(Please keep in mind that I am not a doctor or a therapist. If your medication is working for you, by all means, continue. But do not be afraid to ask your doctor about alternatives.)

This pair of books by Dr. Hallowell are an incredible resource for the ADD Adult, or for a parent of an ADD Child. I cannot recommend them highly enough. If you decide to order these for yourself, please consider supporting this blog by clicking these links. (Thank you!)

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If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/6k7fyp. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen