Solutions to What Might Ail You

Would you say you are easily distractible, either by things around you or competing thoughts in your head?

• Is impulsivity kind of a problem for you in relationships? Interrupting, blurting, being snappish?
• Do you get restless if you have to be in one place or focus on one less-than-fascinating thing for too long?
• Does your memory seem to be out of order when it comes to remembering names or appointments or … Hey, why am I in the kitchen anyway?
• What about time management? Do you find prioritizing a challenge? Is planning, short or long-term, a foreign concept?

Here are some tips:

Distractibility due to external factors may be addressed by finding or making a quiet spot to focus. Perhaps a white noise machine to minimize external sounds. Distracting thoughts can be important. If so, have a pad handy to jot them down for later.

Impulsivity displayed as interrupting or blurting might also positively respond to the “I must take a note so that I remember” idea. You might also say something like, “Excuse me for interrupting, …” Snappish? Look at the common triggers and practice alternative responses.

Restlessness takes many forms. Get familiar with your average attention span and give yourself permission to do things in short blocks of time, rotating between things that must be done. Take breaks – and return from them.

Memory issues are so frustrating, aren’t they? Calendars are a huge help. This means calendaring appointments, big tasks, and those things you want to do for yourself. Add both start and due dates for the project. Use your calendar as a commitment book and check it throughout the day.

A visible bulletin board with colored sticky notes and reminder alarms on your phone are other good tools.

If time management is one of your challenges, a calendar might help with this, too – provided you check it religiously. Setting phone reminders and responding to them can help. Also setting a timer, even a kitchen timer, for how much time you realistically can spend on a task keeps you from getting lost in hyperfocus. Finally, since it may be difficult to estimate how much time something will take, add a time cushion.

These are just a few of the tools that can make a difference…if you use them. The tool we all need to use is the honest desire to stay focused, not interrupt, remember what we’re doing, and keeping our time – if not the rest of us – organized.

If you have the desire, I have other tools I am happy to share with you. Just contact me.

-Sydney Metrick