I wish you success!
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For a lot of people, saying no to other peoples requests is a very difficult thing. I call this the “Golden Retriever Affect”. You want to make sure that everyone around you is happy, so you say yes to every request that is made of you.
By the end of the day, or the week, you feel so overwhelmed and stressed out, due to all of the new commitments, that you can’t seem to get anything started, and you feel like giving up, because there is no way to get everything done, and certainly not done correctly! Overcommitting is one of the biggest reasons that we get stuck, and are not able to move forward on what really needs to be completed. So, how do we learn to say no? Well, politely of course. A simple, “I am sorry, but my current work load, does not give me the time to handle this project and complete what I have already committed to.” will normally do the trick, and almost everyone will understand that, since they are probably overcommitted as well. By not taking on more then you can handle, you will reduce your stress, and be able to complete your tasks, making you less anxious and happier. Taking care of your happiness first will allow you to help others later. I wish you success! Quite possibly the greatest distraction that mankind has ever created is EMAIL! You are sitting at you desk ready to complete the proposal that needs to be delivered this afternoon, and up pops a notification that Don has sent you an email of a joke that you have seen three times, but it is so funny that you have to read it again!
Poof distraction, and before you know it you have lost 30 minutes, checking and responding to emails. It doesn’t have to be that way, turn off the pop up notifications and chimes on your PC email client, your smart phone and take back your day. Try checking and replying to email three times a day 10 AM, 1 PM and 4 PM and get more accomplished! How much more could you get completed if you came in to work and spent the first few hours of the day working on something that YOU need to get done, instead of starting right in on answering emails, and getting pulled in other directions? Some people may feel your aren’t answering quickly enough, but they will then learn that if it is important they should call you. Email was never intended to be used as a way to hold a conversation, that is what phones and face-to-face meetings are for. I was you success! Are you busy from the time you wake up until you go to bed, if you go to bed? Yet tasks never seem to get completed. Don’t give up on a task until you have seen it to completion. Finished with the client proposal, then send it to the client, or print it out for your upcoming meeting.
Start tracking what you work on each day, and what excuses you use for not completing them. “I kept getting interrupted”: Prevent interruptions, close your office door, turn off the ringer on you phone, make yourself unavailable. “There is not enough time to finish”: Start reviewing your schedule, chances are you are overbooking yourself, if most tasks are not completed because you don’t have time, you need to cut back and be realistic. “I’m just to tired to finish”: Again you are probably, overbooked, trying to do to much and not giving yourself enough time to rest and recharge. You really do need to sleep! “I just don’t feel like doing it”: Ah motivation. When you are tracking what you work on, pay attention to what parts of the day you get the most done. Plan on completing tasks during this part, or parts, of the day. I wish you success! Being in charge means that people come to you with questions, problems and suggestions. Having an open door policy creates an inviting and open environment for your employees, but it can also create a non-productive place for you.
Letting people come in and interrupt you at any time, can be a disaster when you are trying to complete a task, or have a deadline looming. Those interrupts often take you into a different thought process and may even take you away from the task at hand completely. When need to focus on a project, have a deadline requirement or just want to complete something, give yourself permission to close your office door, and work! Your employees will understand and respect the closed door and realize that while the door is closed you are off limits. Getting into the habit of giving yourself the time and environment to be productive in will benefit you and those around you! I wish you success! Playing to your strengths is one of the most effective way for ADHD entrepreneurs to create more time in their day. Business people with ADHD tend to spend precious time trying to figure out how to be efficient and effective in every aspect of their business.
By letting go of that need to handle everything, you can focus on those things that you do well, and help your business grow. This might mean shifting some of your responsibilities, or hiring people to do some of the task that you find tedious or difficult, remember if the ADHD brain does not find a task interesting, it will have a tough time finding motivation. Knowing how, and being willing to delegate is valuable for the ADHD professional, people don’t mind hiring someone to cut their lawn or paint their house, so why are they reluctant to hire someone to do job related task? Remember, PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS! For each new commitment you make, give up an old one. If you agree to coach your child’s little league team, give up the school fund-raising committee. ADDers tend to spread themselves too thin, which leads to our old friend, the overwhelmed feeling.
ADDers can spend days agonizing over descisions that others make in minutes. Speed the process by setting a time frame or a time budget cap. If you're choosing a new mattress, for example, set a deadline, and make the best choice you can by that date. If you're deciding which new cell phone to buy, pick a price cap and ignore more costly phones.
Always identify the most important factor to consider in making any descision, whether it's price, convenience, aesthetics, practicality, or something else. Focus solely on that factor when considering your decision. If you are like me, you find it difficult sometimes to start working, because you cannot see the end in sight! You say things to yourself like, “This will take me forever I can’t possibly get this done!”, or “I don’t want to spend my entire day working on this!”
So I have started a system where I limit the amount of time that I spend working, so I don’t feel overwhelmed. I set a timer on my computer for 33 minutes and I work and stay focused for those 33 minutes, I don’t take any phone calls, I don’t chat with anyone, I just stay focused for the 33 minutes. After those 33 minutes I give myself a 10 minute break to do whatever I want to do. Get a cup of coffee, surf the web, whatever! After the ten minute break, I return to my task, if I did not finish it, or move on to a new task. I find by doing this, I don’t feel overwhelmed by how long I think a task will take, because I am only working on it for 33 minutes. Give it a try! I downloaded a timer to use on my computer for free at: http://www.harmonyhollow.net/cool_timer.shtml I hope this helps! |
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