|
|
Post by li0nberries on Jun 15, 2013 20:57:39 GMT
just a quick one if I can leave the colour pallet etc...alone. Does anyone have any suggestions for controlling distract ability and hyperfocusing?
i am driving myself crazy at the moment. I am massively stressed and my head has completely gone. I can't remember the last time I finished anything and and I am barely achieving anything other than learning loads of pointless information on anything from growing copper birches to making your own alcohol inks and everything irrelevant to daily life inbetween!
GRRRRRR
|
|
|
|
Post by simonwgill on Jun 15, 2013 21:01:04 GMT
Not really... I just let it run it's course but right now I'm not exactly employed. My hope is that getting onto medication will help me get control of where my focus goes.
If it doesn't, then whatever people do have will be very interesting.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2013 21:31:45 GMT
No, not really. Have just spent virtually the whole day on my bed, on my ipad looking at kittens on cat breeder websites, and my husband has already said we are not having one. By the way, I already have a cat, 4 dogs and a parrot so not really top priority. But, if you want to know what cats are available in any part of the UK, let me know. I can help. I have done my own head in. Sick of reading about them now, but I know what I'll be doing half the night. I've got repetitive tap strain  |
|
|
|
Post by Kathymel on Jun 15, 2013 22:04:35 GMT
Hi LB. How are you? How are the meds going (other than not controlling distractability and hyperfocussing)?
The only thing that stops me losing whole weeks to my laptop is Leechblock, though you have to have enough willpower to set it up in the first place. It's a free download that lets you block all but the websites you need.
|
|
|
|
Post by jan on Jun 16, 2013 10:20:44 GMT
  is this you well and truly de-caved then  hooray !!!! got no solution though sorry  xx
|
|
|
|
Post by DKL - darkknightslover on Jun 16, 2013 13:01:41 GMT
Depends on what you're hyperfocussing on and what work it is that you need to do.
Here are a number suggestions;
Do as much computer work as possible without using a computer or with the internet switched off.
Plan what you need to do before you do it. Break larger tasks down (e.g. essay - mind mapping/bullet points) so they're not as overwhelming/paralysing.
Set deadlines and false deadlines. This requires honesty with yourself/others and creating a setup which works for you. You will need the accountability to an entity (your boss, yourself, your future self, your friend, your ADHD coach, your personal tutor, your colleague(s) or team mate(s).
(At home at the moment I use future self because I care more about the impact I have on others than I do on myself, and using my husband didn't work as there was too much emotion involved. Strangely, "future-me" is a separate person in my eyes. This is a way of using your personal values (not hurting others) and dislikes (disappointment of others) to your advantage.)
Have a prioritisation list and to-do list at hand/at eye level/where you will see it a lot and cannot miss it. This is particularly useful if you are in an environment where your workload needs constant re-jigging as ADHDers are notorious for being bad at prioritisation on-the-fly/in the thick of things. Have the lists together so that you will not miss either one. You can these on paper, on your phone or computer (the former can't have alarms unless you combine with a timer/watch alarm). At work I use an excel document which also logs my time-use and that I send to my boss at the end of every shift.
[If necessary have different versions of the priority list on different coloured backgrounds/coloured texts/fonts so that you can rotate them and do not become too accustomed to it and start "missing"/"ignoring" it. Over time you may need to change it anyway because demands/needs/priorities change or some bits/the layout just doesn't work for you. I recommend laminating it and using a whiteboard pen for temporary needs, or even as your to-do list if you need an all-in-one. If you need to keep it in your pocket, a permanent pen can also be used, but you'll need nail varnish remover pads/hand sterilising gel on tissue to wipe off the text (boots sell little pocket sized boxes of the nail varnish remover pads. When they run out refill with cotton pads/balls and dampen with Nail varnish remover from a bottle (basic ones work best i.e. not moisturising/nourishing. Have not tried acetone free ones but suspect they will work, but not as effectively.)]
Ban all games. I don't keep any on my phone or my computer. Mostly because the only game I've had a long term interest in is a Nintendo handheld console one which has the advantage that you can physically lock it all away. Modern consoles have child-timers that require a code. Make the code too long for you to remember and give it to a friend that you then have to ring up (don't let them ever text or email it to you as it's too tempting to save it) to get it and justify to. Requires honesty to yourself and to your friend. Also who needs games to distract you when we're surrounded by the internet?!
Use a timer to set spurts on how much work time/break time you need (user random is working on an android app to beep at you or something to remind you to stay on task - watch his space!) I sometimes use a ticking egg timer. The sound of the ticking is a constant reminder of the fact time is limited, then the bell is pretty darn hard to ignore. However if a low tech approach means once the alarm has gone, it doesn't come back again. If you're hyperfocussed you WILL think "let me just finish this little bit..." - this is only safe to do if you don't need to do anything else that day/you have a separate alarm set for the next thing you need to do. (The advantage of this is if you're just having trouble just starting, you can seriously promise yourself that you only need to do 4 bits of 15 mins with an enjoyable thing in between. Chances are you might we'll get stuck into it on one session and then you're away!) It will take time to develop the habit.
(I am at an advantage in that the same sort of timer was used when I was a kid when doing practice exams and tests at home, so I have that sort of preconditioning to work with. I've only just recently rediscovered it and am working on making it into a habit. Have a think about if you have any Pavlov-ian "tools" that are similar?)
Always have a clock in your eye line (Windows 7 has a clock widget you can set to "always be on top").
Have a work buddy. Someone you can share a space with comfortably who you won't be tempted to chat to. The chatting temptation can also be removed by you both wearing headphones/ear plugs so the distractee cannot be distracted by the distracter without a concerted effort by the distracter. Also if you become too absorbed, they can become the "timer of last resort".
Find the place/environment you best work in. Office? On your own? With other people? At home? In the kitchen? In a cafe? In the park?!
Warn/ask others not to distract you. At work I have used a notice sat on the backside of my computer montitor saying "warning - DKL working. Please do not distract unless necessary" you can use humour if it's likely to be more effective/makes you feel better about potentially offending others by them possibly taking it as a sign of rudeness.
(I've heard some knitters have a handheld sign or table place name card for use when in a group that say "counting" or "thinking" so that others do not ask them a direct question while they are doing a task requiring undisturbed concentration.)
Use music or background (white or other coloured) noise. This can also double up as a "do not disturb" notice. I only realised this when one of my colleagues commented on how they don't come over for a chat when I have certain albums playing (at my workplace we're not allowed headphones, but we are allowed radios and sound systems for background ambience). I didn't realise I even chose music based upon the sort of work I was doing - I had been choosing based upon my mood, but then found I could also choose music to acquire a type of mood. This may require time to set the habit/brain training.
The basic take home points are
- to make the task at hand as pleasant/the least scary as possible.
- add accountability so you actually do it!
- prevent you getting too absorbed when it's unsafe to do so or even pull you back to the "real world" occasionally/when needed.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using proboards
|
|
|
|
Post by li0nberries on Jun 16, 2013 13:13:56 GMT
The meds were helping till I got so stressed. Far too long a story but I am burning just about everything I cook, once I manage to actually start cooking and turn the oven hob etc on, forgetting everything, can't remember the last time I didn't have to hunt for my keys before leaving the house. Lost bloody school bear a non family coils shoe and have screwed up my daughters school application and that is the tip of the iceberg! So much as I adore the thought of a week or two of letting my mind roam free, ahhh the things I would find out, the places I'd go. I would just leave one morning with my dogs and a tent, hop on a train if I came across one and only get off when I saw somewhere green (after I'd ha d a nap, trains are good for that), then I'd just avoid buildings as much as I could and only find out where I was when I needed to get home. Oooohhh it would be heaven! Sadly I don't have the go with the flow option at mo.  Petra, I sooo know where your coming from, iLOVE my animals, wrong though this maybe, nearly as much as my children and I often find them easier, (bar some aspects of my dogs, the border terrier who could pick up anything bar house training and took longer to get it than any of my dogs/ferrets in past and kids! And my big 14mth old Heinz who still chews anything if he hasn't got instant access to a bone!), but anyway. At mo I've only got the two dogs and 3angora rabbits, due to moving somewhere with a smaller garden and my OH refusing to have anymore indoor pets. This will however change when my youngest goes to school full time and I regularly loose hours looking up the needs and breeders of chinchillas (haven't had chinchillas yet), and other furry cuties. .Hey kathymel, meds were working enough till I got stressed cheers, how about ur's? And how did your finals go? When do you get the results? R u spending more time on our boat now? Please tell me you've still got the stones. I WANT THEM!!!! With all this head walking I've been doing I have the perfect water feature to make with them! So when u realise they have to go, give them to me!!! Er hmmm, I mean please can I have them  .
God, I think I may well have to look into leech block but even before I've decided that I've decided if it doesn't work on the ipad and iPhone then it isn't meant to be  . Janev, your smiling now but you won't be when I'm demanding another challenge from ur cocky Margaret thatcher loving self  
U know ur jealous cause u wish u'd done as much with ur life as she did.
Bet ur not so happy I'm outta da cave now 
xxx |
|
|
|
Post by li0nberries on Jun 16, 2013 13:16:00 GMT
just seen dkl's post. Thank u. Will reread it later and try some of it.
|
|
|
|
Post by jan on Jun 16, 2013 14:17:58 GMT
you gotta catch on to my cold meat and salad phiosophy  - - and your meds def not working if your insane enough to not understand how unacceptable and insulting it is to mention that womans name in the same sentance as mine - its not a cave its a padded cell you need  can't believe your back five minutes and looking for a pasting already !!!! thankfully smashing you in challenges is enough for me and have no desire to destroy destruct or demolish!!!!! think you need some more head walking xx |
|
|
|
Post by Kathymel on Jun 16, 2013 14:23:03 GMT
Hi LB. Sorry to hear that your recent stresses have blown the med effects out of the water. Might they just need titrating up a bit? Do you think you could interpret that line for me? I will find out tomorrow if my GP is willing to prescribe my meds (she did say she would before but things have got complicated and I don't trust anyone, now). This is my battle-thread: Meeting psych today!I still have the stones. The stones are staying. You don't need the stones because you have a clutter-free house. I have, however, just waved goodbye to a horrible Argos desk, so I'm feeling smug. This will last as long as I don't go into my back room where all the stuff that had been piled on it has now joined the stuff that was piled on every other surface. I haven't been back to our boat since uni finished, unfortunately. I keep thinking I must plan a weekend up there, but then I don't. Got this year's results back - disappointing. Not going to get the final results I want unless I get absolutely phenomenal results in my last 2 modules next year. Gutted really, but nothing I can do about it. Nice to have you back here. x |
|
|
|
Post by Kathymel on Jun 16, 2013 14:24:08 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by jan on Jun 16, 2013 14:43:04 GMT
i'm so shocked i always knew i was gonna be a success in life somehow/where (wish my mum/dad still here to share this moment - still ringing in ears 'your never going to amount to anything if you carry on like this blah blah - - - ) i'm an adhd/bipolar internet god(ess) what more could a girl want
|
|
|
|
Post by Kathymel on Jun 16, 2013 14:51:43 GMT
Have you grown wings or discovered any super-powers, yet?
|
|
|
|
Post by Kathymel on Jun 16, 2013 14:52:45 GMT
And another thread successfully derailed! Sorry, LB. |
|
|
|
Post by JJ on Jun 16, 2013 15:52:16 GMT
Thought yr stuff was v interesting DKL - sounds like hard work though and requiring a lot of discipline...
|
|
|
|
Post by DKL - darkknightslover on Jun 17, 2013 8:25:52 GMT
When it's all there put all in front of you like that yeah it does!
It's been evolving over the last 9 months or so, and I've had a lot of support along the way. Namely my employer (who paid for the diagnosis session and suggested the excel daily log in the first place and put the accountability bit in to boot!) And ADDapt Ability with the phonecalls I had with Rebecca to begin with, then the course and coaching, and also this site!
Plus I know a lot of the time I write things in such a way that it might look like I'm doing really well, but a lot of the time I forget about all of these things myself, and it's by writing on here answering others questions that reminds me!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using proboards
|
|
|
|
Post by li0nberries on Jun 17, 2013 21:00:13 GMT
Ok, have finally got to the end of DKL's first response,so must be having a not so bad day? . Thanks for all that dkl, I know you said it helps you, cause in real life Internet janev's the only superhero bleurgh, yuck. Anyway, whatever the reason I am sure you can find other ways of jogging your memory and although knowing u dont always manage perfectly ur self is comforting, ur posts on these subjects always make feel more.... Have deleted the word "hopeful", as too much of a pessimist at the moment ...hmmm..... Inspired, that's the closest I'm going to get for the word I'm looking for. Either way, rambling aside. Thank you. Kathymel, you do your thing, derailing is a necessary requirement I figure, if for no other reason than I often realise I've done that by accident ( where are my rolley eyes.),So sorry about ur results that sucks big time! Next year, please work out well in advance what other people can do to help, even if it seems huge, surely the long term effects on you of having a hand cannot be as dramatic LONG TERM  as ur results. And don't say there isn't anything or I'll bribe janev to bend over facing Wales while ur doing ur exams and we all know that'll be the welsh share of the sunshine for 2014  . |
|
|
|
Post by Kathymel on Jun 17, 2013 21:28:25 GMT
So sorry about ur results that sucks big time! Next year, please work out well in advance what other people can do to help, even if it seems huge, surely the long term effects on you of having a hand cannot be as dramatic LONG TERM as ur results. And don't say there isn't anything or I'll bribe janev to bend over facing Wales while ur doing ur exams and we all know that'll be the welsh share of the sunshine for 2014 . You're right, of course. Just hate asking for help. There is uni help I could use, too, but only just discovered them recently. I wasn't there for my 1st year, so didn't get all the induction stuff. Next time I shall use everything at my disposal. Though at this rate I may put it all off for a year. Not sure I can face going back in Sep at the mo. Have I averted your threat? |
|
|
|
Post by li0nberries on Jun 17, 2013 23:19:37 GMT
:-) postponed it kathymel ;-)
|
|
|
|
Post by DKL - darkknightslover on Jun 19, 2013 0:29:21 GMT
awwww shucks I'm really glad that I'm helping in some way. To make you really laugh though, and derail in another direction because I need to vent and this is sort-of following on from "I'm a bit sh*t too - don't sweat!" - I'm going against all of my own advice. I'm on my laptop. At gone 1am. Because I can't sleep. Because I'm seriously pissed off and upset with myself and the world (but not it's dog, because dogs are nice ). Because I lost my phone and I think I left it on the bus. I have a couple of bus-buddies (Janev - you're not the only one who talks to strangers ) who were both on board this evening, so I'm really hoping one of them picked it up! However no-ones answering the phone and now it's lost battery... thank goodness I'm now using my filofax so much more anyway (it's too big to loose but still fits in my handbag, I think my next phone will be the new Galaxy Note)! Plus it's hot and muggy and I just want to spend some time alone with my laptop doing the stuff that really gets the goat of my other half because we have soooo much stuff to do at the moment, and things at work are ridiculous and we have too many people ill or on holiday and other departments passing on work that's not fit for us to work with, and the people who are around to work aren't working as hard as I believe they should be because they're too busy chatting and therefore disturbing me by annoying me by not caring. GRAAAAAAAAAAARRRHGI;OREJHAGK E;HGIRE;HGR; That is all. P.S. Does anyone have any chocolate? I've just run out.... |
|
|
|
Post by manson88 on Jun 19, 2013 6:17:23 GMT
I feel your pain hate the feeling of hopelessness when things like this happens I lost my work phone a couple of weeks ago it's great no one bothers me! Sent from my GT-I9300 using proboards |
|
xx
.
. 
as ur results.
.
