Multi-Tasking Got You Down?: A Guide to Help Your ADHD Brain Focus
ADHD Coach Casey Dixon wrote this ADDitude Magazine article exploring the ins and outs of multi-tasking, its impact on ADHD, and how to refocus your energy to get back on track.
Just Tired - Or Tired of Work? starts with one reader's question about how to get a handle on their tendency to multi-task - both at home and at their job - and the negative impact it has on the quality of their work. Though the reader mainly asks for tips and strategies on how to stop their habit of focusing on multiple tasks at once, Casey's response goes into greater detail about why we multi-task and why it's especially troublesome for folks with ADHD.
More importantly, Casey explains that there are 4 critical areas that will help us increase our focus and decrease our desire to multi-task:
1. Focus: The more focused you are, the more you will resist the temptation to multitask.
2. Plan: While you have some focus, hit “pause” and plan how you will use your time.
3. Motivate: Create motivation.
4. Limit: Limit distractions.
The article goes into detail about why these 4 areas are so helpful for people with ADHD, and provides valuable "How-To Tips" for each one to help you avoid falling into the trap of multi-tasking. These tips include simple things like:
Keeping a "master task list".
Starting with the part of a task that seems most fun.
Making your own "deadline" for big tasks.
Turning off notifications on your phone or computer.
>> To read the full ADDitude Magazine article, Just Tired - Or Tired of Work? - click here. <<
Want to learn more about managing your ADHD to increase your efficacy at work? Check out more of Casey's articles... Click here to read about managing your email inbox and here to read about using breaks to refuel your ADHD brain. If you want to read more about productivity, click here to read about accountability and here to read about getting your ADHD brain to start (and stop) tasks.
Looking for more support to help you get a handle on your ADHD? Casey offers ADHD individual coaching designed for lawyers, professors, and business professionals. She also provides online coaching groups - The Focused Lawyer is an ongoing coaching group specifically for lawyers with ADHD, and Live Well ADHD is a 6-week group coaching workshop for business professionals.