So true. I have a deliberate trigger process (a series of links) that reliably takes me thru my morning PC check-ins and initial household bits (standard walk-thru/re-set of the house), and a reliable ToDo paper stack at my left elbow on the desk. Since I can't clear that stack in a single day, I have to re-examine/extract from it every day or two to make sure my "deal with this" list is re-prioritized for the next couple of days, else anxiety results.
Alzheimers is forcing more of my natural tendencies into this direction (hard to remember multiple things at once), and the only answer is to better routinize procedures and stick to them.
I feel it. in my 50's i learned I had ADHD, whatever that is. The school system diagnosed my daughter as ADHD. She is a bright young lady but has organizational and motivational issues. She can't remember easily stuff orally transmitted to her.
I related to that, I have been that way my who life. If I'm trying to find some place and stop and ask for directions all it will get me is the next turn or two before I forget what I was told even if it was clear and concise. I almost never get lost and navigation whether land nav, marine or any other that involved clear written landmarks or using a map is not just a skill but a gift of mine. Spin me around and ask me where north is? No problem. Drop me in heavy forest and spin me around and give me a minute of observation and yeah... north is that way!
Give me an oral list of instructions 10 items long.. I might remember the first 2.. Coping with that for directions on the road means hoping they are really clear in their directions and building a visual map in my head from them while they speak that I can refer to when following said directions. Show me on a map where I am and where I need to go and it might only take a glance to have a functional idea of how to get there from here.
For general purposes I like to talk on the phone and not text. For the transmittal of addresses, instructions, lists, etc.. please send me an email or text message. To chat about our kids, life, the universe and all other shit either call me or go away. I am not texting you on the phone. My arthritic fingers object!
Shockingly enough thought give me a full size keyboard and and I can type a novella response in no time flat. 9th grade typing class has paid off over and over and over again through my life. God bless that old IBM typewriter and the cute girl behind me that I was constantly turning to look at as I continued trying to type. Eventually it did work and I have bounced between 40 and 60 words a minute for a chunk of my life. Less now because of the old painfully inflamed fingers.
My saving grace and what made me very high functioning with ADHD was I had a very very good memory and lightening fast mental processes up till the age of mid 40's when age or raising children caught up with me and now I can't remember shit. Including where the coffee cup I put in the microwave 30 seconds ago is. I will find it tomorrow morning though so there is hope. I hope?
Being self employed the good memory really helped, i could keep and did keep a months worth of appointments in my head with out ever using paper or digital calendar and might miss 1 a year. cant to that now.. reference mid 40's *#)%#($#.
Being different or thinking different isn't disability, it's just different. The disability only comes into affect if your unaware of how YOU actually work and learn to work with that. I have always been self analytical and was aware that verbal directions sucked for me and there for would just say hey.. could you start again so I can write that down. Once I wrote it down I didn't actually need the note.. the process of writing it was visually and enough for me to remember.
I watched the diagnosis of my daughter and the difficulties she has in school and could pretty much claim every single thing they say about her. Whats frustrating is that we know this shit now and they have all kinds of good techniques to help people cope with those mental differences like her and I and then the actual teachers in the classroom ignore it and give her a hard time.
It's kinda like the phrase if you ignore history we will keep doing the same shit over and over (paraphrased). We now know but ignore what we know.
This was much more organized in my head after I read the article. lol. I'm going to blame it on the involuntary waking from the involuntary nap I had this morning. Waking up after the cat walked across me in the lazy-boy and startling me awake. According to my daughter, aforementioned, it had done so three times prior before I actually fully startled awake. She was highly amused and let me know it in no uncertain terms, while giggling.
You might want to look into Agile Software Development. Not the fads and consultants that are sold as Agile. A friend calls these fragile, and they’re junk.
But the roots of Agile are the recognition that progress is better than planning, that responding to change is better than rigidity, and that most people really don’t know what they want but you can find out in small increments.
This is really amazing advice. Long to do lists paralyze me, but short ones of must do make sense. I’m bookmarking this to reread and find more nuggets of operational wisdom. Thank you, Cedar!
"We’re the ones who keep the systems running, even if not always in straight lines..." When I transferred to Staff Duty, my boss, a Navy 0-6 NFO told me, "We are the 'System', we have to make it work". That was instructive. You dive in and just get things done. The doables, the priorities, the important things come to you without having to overthink it. (Caveat: But never underrate thinking.)
Got a little misty reading this. Every time I look around my house or yard I feel like a failure. There are some great tips in this essay! No more than five items on the list? Sold. "Body doubling" makes so much sense to me. Wow. I know it’s always motivating when somebody works alongside. What are your favorite YT channels for this?
So true. I have a deliberate trigger process (a series of links) that reliably takes me thru my morning PC check-ins and initial household bits (standard walk-thru/re-set of the house), and a reliable ToDo paper stack at my left elbow on the desk. Since I can't clear that stack in a single day, I have to re-examine/extract from it every day or two to make sure my "deal with this" list is re-prioritized for the next couple of days, else anxiety results.
Alzheimers is forcing more of my natural tendencies into this direction (hard to remember multiple things at once), and the only answer is to better routinize procedures and stick to them.
I feel it. in my 50's i learned I had ADHD, whatever that is. The school system diagnosed my daughter as ADHD. She is a bright young lady but has organizational and motivational issues. She can't remember easily stuff orally transmitted to her.
I related to that, I have been that way my who life. If I'm trying to find some place and stop and ask for directions all it will get me is the next turn or two before I forget what I was told even if it was clear and concise. I almost never get lost and navigation whether land nav, marine or any other that involved clear written landmarks or using a map is not just a skill but a gift of mine. Spin me around and ask me where north is? No problem. Drop me in heavy forest and spin me around and give me a minute of observation and yeah... north is that way!
Give me an oral list of instructions 10 items long.. I might remember the first 2.. Coping with that for directions on the road means hoping they are really clear in their directions and building a visual map in my head from them while they speak that I can refer to when following said directions. Show me on a map where I am and where I need to go and it might only take a glance to have a functional idea of how to get there from here.
For general purposes I like to talk on the phone and not text. For the transmittal of addresses, instructions, lists, etc.. please send me an email or text message. To chat about our kids, life, the universe and all other shit either call me or go away. I am not texting you on the phone. My arthritic fingers object!
Shockingly enough thought give me a full size keyboard and and I can type a novella response in no time flat. 9th grade typing class has paid off over and over and over again through my life. God bless that old IBM typewriter and the cute girl behind me that I was constantly turning to look at as I continued trying to type. Eventually it did work and I have bounced between 40 and 60 words a minute for a chunk of my life. Less now because of the old painfully inflamed fingers.
My saving grace and what made me very high functioning with ADHD was I had a very very good memory and lightening fast mental processes up till the age of mid 40's when age or raising children caught up with me and now I can't remember shit. Including where the coffee cup I put in the microwave 30 seconds ago is. I will find it tomorrow morning though so there is hope. I hope?
Being self employed the good memory really helped, i could keep and did keep a months worth of appointments in my head with out ever using paper or digital calendar and might miss 1 a year. cant to that now.. reference mid 40's *#)%#($#.
Being different or thinking different isn't disability, it's just different. The disability only comes into affect if your unaware of how YOU actually work and learn to work with that. I have always been self analytical and was aware that verbal directions sucked for me and there for would just say hey.. could you start again so I can write that down. Once I wrote it down I didn't actually need the note.. the process of writing it was visually and enough for me to remember.
I watched the diagnosis of my daughter and the difficulties she has in school and could pretty much claim every single thing they say about her. Whats frustrating is that we know this shit now and they have all kinds of good techniques to help people cope with those mental differences like her and I and then the actual teachers in the classroom ignore it and give her a hard time.
It's kinda like the phrase if you ignore history we will keep doing the same shit over and over (paraphrased). We now know but ignore what we know.
This was much more organized in my head after I read the article. lol. I'm going to blame it on the involuntary waking from the involuntary nap I had this morning. Waking up after the cat walked across me in the lazy-boy and startling me awake. According to my daughter, aforementioned, it had done so three times prior before I actually fully startled awake. She was highly amused and let me know it in no uncertain terms, while giggling.
You might want to look into Agile Software Development. Not the fads and consultants that are sold as Agile. A friend calls these fragile, and they’re junk.
But the roots of Agile are the recognition that progress is better than planning, that responding to change is better than rigidity, and that most people really don’t know what they want but you can find out in small increments.
That does sound intriguing, thank you!
https://agilemanifesto.org/
This is really amazing advice. Long to do lists paralyze me, but short ones of must do make sense. I’m bookmarking this to reread and find more nuggets of operational wisdom. Thank you, Cedar!
"We’re the ones who keep the systems running, even if not always in straight lines..." When I transferred to Staff Duty, my boss, a Navy 0-6 NFO told me, "We are the 'System', we have to make it work". That was instructive. You dive in and just get things done. The doables, the priorities, the important things come to you without having to overthink it. (Caveat: But never underrate thinking.)
Got a little misty reading this. Every time I look around my house or yard I feel like a failure. There are some great tips in this essay! No more than five items on the list? Sold. "Body doubling" makes so much sense to me. Wow. I know it’s always motivating when somebody works alongside. What are your favorite YT channels for this?
For housework, Midwest Magic Cleaning, for yard work Midlife Stockman or Al Bladez.
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I feel so seen, my friend.