If there was a company that needed someone to waste time, I would be the prime candidte. I can waste time so it dosnt show! I can keep myself busy, so busy that other people think im overworking myself - and accomplish nothing.

Infact, If there was a way I could waste time in a contest, I would definitaly take home 1st place. Im talking self-distraction here people. I can sit down to read a book, and end up cutting my toe nails, listening to music, walking my dog, cleaning the bathroom, virus scanning my computer, and checking my email 25 times inbetween.

Maybe I should write down what I DONT NEED TO DO, and then start trying to focus on it. hell, who knows, maybe Ill end up distracting myself with getting a raise, or finishing a report, or taking notes on something important.

Seems like I have a reverse mechanism built into my brain. I tell myself what I need to do, and then I do everything BUT that one thing. From an evolutionary standpoint, we are built toRUN RUN RUN from everything.

Focus on a Tiger, RUN AWAY. Focus on anything - move away from it. Maybe we need to try focusing on the tasks we use to avoid the things were trying to focus on. Like a reserve psychology on ourselves kinda thing! :faint:

Alright, time to check my email again.

Glad to hear I am not the only one!

I LOOK really busy though! I've been called a "whirling dervish". People even say to me "I just don't know how you do it all" and I answer quite honestly, "Well, I don't get much sleep" and they think I am kidding!

My employers always LOVE me. They see me running around, keeping busy. I even have gotten raises without even completing anything. My boss told me once, You word harder than anyone else in this store and I really appreciate it.

I really do work hard - but work to completion, now thats another matter. I always end up getting fired though, as I just did with another job. Making 16/hr working 4 days a week for 10hr shifts was a great job for me, but unfortunately I couldent focus things for 10 hours. After half the shift was over I was getting antsy.

I guess I need a job that lets me move around a lot and talk to people. If I had a job that required no paperwork, required no reading, just straight up action and talking to people I would do soooo well.

Maybe I should consider a career in sales!

2Busy2Think I know you are posting out of frustration but I have noticed in your flippant remarks you come dangerously close to some pretty good stuff.

To begin

Seems like I have a reverse mechanism built into my brain. I tell myself what I need to do, and then I do everything BUT that one thing. From an evolutionary standpoint, we are built toRUN RUN RUN from everything

From a logical stand point have you ever forgotten to do some thing you really wanted to do? Have you ever forgotten to check your e-mail? When your toe nails grow to the point they are rubbing against the tip of your shoes do you forget to trim them?


The reverse mechanism is called procrastination - putting off some thing you do not want to do but are supposed to do. Right now I am supposed to be looking into having myself finger printed for my nursing license re-renewal. As you can tell I am right on top of it! :rolleyes:

I am putting it off because I think it is utter BS, it is just another appointment I do not have to want to remember spending extra money I would rather spend of some thing else, all because the state is a bunch of morons who have nothing better to do than make up a bunch of rules that are crap. Every time I use my license to obtain a job my employer has do do a back ground check on me any way. Right now I am not using my license for work any way so I am re-newing it because it is expensive to let it lapse. BUT I am not running the other way I am procrastinating - putting off some thing I do not really want to do but know I am supposed to. . . .I have to if I want to remain licensed.

Lets get real! How badly do you really want to read that book any way? How interested in taking notes about ????? any way? I find if I am real interested in some thing I am able to find my way in seeing it gets done. I didn't put off printing my boarding pass because it is so much quicker to print it at home than to wait until I get to the air port to stand in line and check in. . . . so magically my brain remembered to print the boarding pass even though my medications had worn off hours before I turned on my computer. I magically go my ADD brain to remember to charge up my lap top and up-date it her eat home before taking it. . . . I do forget to watch shows some times but it is really not that a big a thing to me usually.



I just did with another job. Making 16/hr working 4 days a week for 10hr shifts was a great job for me, but unfortunately I couldent focus things for 10 hours. After half the shift was over I was getting antsy.


Sitting in one place for 10 hours :eek:

I would never even attempt that even at my age.

but here is a very good example of how you come so close to the good stuff even in your frustration

guess I need a job that lets me move around a lot and talk to people. If I had a job that required no paperwork, required no reading, just straight up action and talking to people I would do soooo well.


Maybe you are correct. . . . sitting in one place focused on one thing is not for you. . . .no big deal many jobs want employees that walk and talk. . . . now escaping paper work completely that would be nice but you can find jobs that require less than others.

If you are good enough at sales you may be able to hire some one to do the paper work for you. . . .or do like my husband and marry them.

My husband has a good gift of gab {too good some times} He can also read body language very well even though he fumbles the close personal relationships some times it isn't because he can't read body language. He reads people so naturally he doesn't even know he is doing it.

He can't plan a day, He couldn't manage his way out of a sack, he runs around in circles some times and doesn't know why he works and works but gets little done. . . .{because he doesn't have ADD} However he can sale sand in a dessert. He can see money in places few think to look. . . .for years that got him by until he tried to expand. . . . that is where I come in.

I can't sale diddlie, and I do not have the financial imagination he does but I can plan a day. . . mine and his and do it with out him really knowing it. I have managed people for decades and I decent, I set up systems and can do so for the functionally disorganized. . . .I excel as a matter of fact because I am so closely related to chaos. Although the paper work isn't much fun I am on medications and can use them to remain focused enough to get it done. . .I have even learned how to not wait until the last second. {by remembering how unpleasant it is when I do that= motivation to go ahead and do it regularly}

From a logical stand point have you ever forgotten to do some thing you really wanted to do? Have you ever forgotten to check your e-mail? When your toe nails grow to the point they are rubbing against the tip of your shoes do you forget to trim them?

. . .I have even learned how to not wait until the last second. {by remembering how unpleasant it is when I do that= motivation to go ahead and do it regularly}

On the first part above, I am not sure it applies here. Procrastination can occur without having forgotten what you were supposed to do. You can be fully aware of the fact that you are not doing "whatever" and still not do it.
Having said that, yes, I have rather frequently forgotten things I really wanted to do. Procrastinated them too!

On the second part above, I thought, based on my reading, that a common ADHD trait was failure to learn from our experiences? For myself, I will say that I have repeated the same behaviors over and over again, no matter how unpleasant the last time might have been Motivation not to experience the unpleasantness is apparently not strong enough.

On the second part above, I thought, based on my reading, that a common ADHD trait was failure to learn from our experiences?

I have heard that too however I do not see it is accurate in my case. It is like saying ADD children do not learn from the consequences of their behavior which is why punishments are not effective. . . . more plant food.

My problem wasn't learning at all, my problems often arise by missing the specifics. Several problem came from being expected to fit into some one else's version of how I should be.



I got spanked every Sunday for wiggling in church when I was six and seven. One would look at me and say I had poor impulse control and failed to connect the spanking with wiggling or perhaps I didn't even remember it.

Considering I still remember it some 35 years later it is illogical to assume I did not remember from one Sunday to the next. I was smart enough to know why I was spanked. I could stop myself from wiggling but it hurt. If I stayed still to long I felt bad inside my head. What THEY failed to understand is NOT wiggling hurt more than the spanking. I made a logical choice by going with the action that resulted in the least amount of pain.

Many ADDer have problem with the internal whys. . . .insight is another word that comes to mind. . . . , Many with ADD tend to be more global in thier thinking as opposed to linear thinkers, therefore we have problems breaking stuff down into sequential pieces.{this is also why we have problems organizing and categorizing} Thus we often do not really know exactly what part of which action lead to the problem.

When we have large projects we understand the concept of the entire project, we may even have some good ideas about the end results however completely a large project requires breaking them down into sequential steps which is a major stumbling block for global thinkers.


I procrastinate with home work not because I did not remember not because I didn't understand the importance of doing it and not because I didn't care about my grades. I had a problem with home work because I had sat in classes all day and the last thing I wanted to do was more sitting. I had a hard time with time management because time is more relative to me than absolute. Relative to what I am doing. Dishes take nine months this takes thirty minutes however according to the clock dishes take about ten minutes and this is taking about an hour to write and I haven't even completed the editing process.

My husband uses procrastinating to focus. He is a global thinker which gives him many of his good idea however he has a hard time breaking down his idea into actual action in sequential steps. . . . .procrastinating until the last minute increases his adrenaline which in turn increase his focus which enhances his ability to direct his focus the steps he still struggles with {chicken with his head unattached} His last minute rush does the same thing for his brain that stimulant medication does for mine.


. My experience is ADDers ability to focus is externally driven as opposed to internally driven like non-ADDers. My husband can not internally will him self to pick a direction so he depends on last minute dead line to do that for him. . . which drives me nuts . . . . it took year for me to break the same habit.



I have rather frequently forgotten things I really wanted to do. Procrastinated them too!

I forget thing I really want to get while at the store but it is the distraction of going to the store which I really hate that causes me to forget. I am soo busy wanting out of the store I can't think of what I went in there for.

The only time I have procrastinated in doing some thing I want is if I have to do things I do not want in order to achieve the part I want.

Like I have some shelves I really want to paint, but before painting I have to do some minor repairs and sand. For a while I did not have the equipment I needed to do the repairs but I do now. . . . I procrastinate still because although I like painting I do not mind repairing I HATE sanding.


If I really want to do some thing like a special activity I rarely forget, I do struggle with the concept of time. Having a problem with time {like not knowing what day it is} isn't the same as procrastinating or forgetting.


It sounded to me like the original poster was having a problem sitting still for hours and doing paper work or reports which sounds pretty boring to me.




For myself, I will say that I have repeated the same behaviors over and over again, no matter how unpleasant the last time might have been Motivation not to experience the unpleasantness is apparently not strong enough.

If the experience is unpleasant enough I tend to avoid repeating it almost to an obsession . . . . . church is still not some thing I am good at going to on a regular basis. . . . . even after 35 years.