Executive Function Deficits, procrastination, and book-writing

[dawnd]

Below the cut is a letter to Samantha Bennett, on the topic of organization, Executive Function Deficits, procrastination, and trying to accomplish the task of writing a book

Comments

i never thought i was ADD

[klrmn]

until this last bout of unemployment. it seems to be rather atypical ADD, but it does have common threads. iirc, ADD is distinguished by trouble concentrating alternating with hyper-focus. but where most ADD people have trouble concentrating, i have trouble *not* hyper-focusing. the good news is, i hyper-focus on work / school (because that's historically been what i find least boring). the bad news is, if i'm hyper-focused on work, i'm not remembering to focus on eating, exercising, or otherwise taking care of my health. and i have trouble doing work tasks that require my attention to bounce from place to place (keeping up on email, regression testing) and/or do not provide high enough information input (like meetings).

not sure if this gives you any additional insight, but i figured i aught to share.

Re: i never thought i was ADD

[dawnd]

Yeah, that all sounds familiar. :) I'd agree that you might want to consider (when you have insurance again... ;) getting some ADD testing.

Re: i never thought i was ADD

[klrmn]

*shrug* i can't take the meds, i overreact to them, so there's really no point in having yet another diagnosis.

Re: i never thought i was ADD

[dawnd]

I disagree. Understanding exactly which places are challenging for you can help you to understand how to work with your particular issues. I know when we did the testing for Allegra, I found it enormously helpful in understanding which things were really bad for her, and which things she excelled in. :)

[inflectionpoint]

I am very curious about this post - are there strategies that are effective for developing greater executive function if you are low on it?

[dawnd]

Not that I know of. It seems to be about managing what you have, and not wasting it on trivial stuff (e.g., with Allegra, it's just plain stupid to have her copying math or word problems down off the board if there's another way to get that information to her; much better to just give her a worksheet with the problems on it and let her start working right away.) Of course, I am not a researcher in this area, so I could be wrong. The field is changing very rapidly. :) I'd suggest doing a search on Executive Function Deficits and Strategies and see what turns up.