Many adults with attention deficit disorder (ADD) struggle
with the same challenges. One of the biggest challenges
faced by ADD adults is creating and implementing structure
in their lives.
Life without structure can be chaotic and overwhelming. As
an adult with ADD, you probably don't need rigid structure,
but some general guidelines to help order your day, your
week, or even your month.
When you find structure that works for you and you stick to
it, structure takes the pressure off. It allows you to go
through your day without having to make too many decisions
about what to do or when.
So if structure is so helpful for adults with ADD, why is
it so difficult for us to create it for ourselves? Well,
when you have a tendency to become overwhelmed with the
details of day-to-day life in the way that adults with ADD
so often do, creating structure is a skill that doesn't
come easily. It must be learned, often in adulthood.
And, as with learning any skill, the best way to build
structure into your life is to do it slowly. I suggest
starting with a bedtime routine. In this case, it's easiest
to work backwards:
1. Determine the best time for you to go to sleep each
night. Choose a time that will allow you to get a full
night's rest. Let's use an example to demonstrate, and say
11:00pm.
2. Next, take some time to "get ready for bed." That might
mean brushing your teeth, getting your clothes ready for
the next day, taking medications, or whatever it is that
you do before you go to sleep. If these activities take
about 15 minutes, then you would begin getting ready for
bed at 10:45pm.
3. Finally, pick a few "wind down" activities that will
help you relax and de-stress. This might include taking a
bath, reading, meditating, journaling, or even watching
television--provided the shows you choose aren't intense.
Spend about an hour winding down and allowing your brain to
slow down so that it's not racing when you're trying to
fall asleep. In the example provided here, you would start
winding down around 9:45 or 10:00pm.
Note: Whatever activities you choose to wind down, make
sure they don't involve the computer! Nothing will wake up
the ADD brain faster than email or the Internet.
After you build structure into your evening and find
yourself comfortably sticking to it, you can begin to build
more structure into your day. Until then, bedtime is a
great place to start!
And don't be discouraged if it takes a while to make this
routine stick. You may need to tweak the times and
activities to suit you, and you may experience some trial
and error along the way.
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Jennifer Koretsky is the Founder of the ADD Management
Group, Inc. and the author of the new book Odd One Out: The
Maverick's Guide to Adult ADD. Jennifer and her team work
with ADD adults who are overwhelmed with everyday life in
order to help them simplify, focus, and succeed. For free
resources and information on adult ADD, visit
http://www.ADDmanagement.com . To learn more about Odd One
Out, visit http://www.odd-one-out.net .
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