I started to blog some thoughts about my boredom, then got interrupted. I'd love to know your thoughts.

http://blog.godblessthefreaks.org/2007/11/5/on-the-job-boredom

I agree with the lack of direct feedback. I wish I had more at my job. Keeps you motivated more that is for sure.

My job is fairly boring to say the least...even to people without adhd. My boss gives me a lot of feedback though because I let her know that it's something that does help me. I'm in her office about 2 times a day just discussing random things about the office. Normally if she has a lot of meetings or so I tend to stay away, but we meet at least once a week to discuss how things went that week for me and what progress I've made on what projects.

Cool, glad to hear about your positive experience!I should stress that effective feedback isn't just something to benefit us ADHDers. I read a lot of management training stuff, even though I'm not a manager, to better understand how organizations work. The experts are AFAICT unanimous: excellent managers make time to give feedback. See, for example, everything under the feedback tag (http://www.manager-tools.com/category/feedback/)at manager-tools.com (which may make more sense if you start with the oldest content).

Unfortunately, I do not work for such a manager. I can envision that requests for feedback will be interpreted as an inability to self-start, and therefore I conclude that the tiny probability of getting helpful feedback is not worth the substantial cost (in my mind) of asking for it.

Also, feedback is not just limited to managerial feedback, or even to feedback from other human beings! Referring again to "agile" software development methodology, it puts a big premium on constant and easily-repeatable automated testing of your work. If you can easily run a test that makes a green box pop up if it passed or red if it failed, you're more motivated to go ahead and fix your defects now rather than letting them accumulate. That's a different kind of feedback, yet an important one -- if you're writing code and building tests that pass, you get a constant positive inducement to keep doing the right thing. If you never write tests, you don't know if you're doing the right thing.

Other disciplines are obviously much different than software, but my key point is this: We don't just need feedback because we're ADHD. We may need more feedback, or need it more acutely. But every organization should be giving its employees constant feedback. Few do, and we are the canary in the coal mine when we complain about this organizational deficiency.

Ok I haven't had my meds this morning so I really just kinda skipped through that like wendy down the yellow brick road...I think that was her name...

Anyway, I forgot to add it helps that my manager has ADD, too. She's not on medicine she's learned some great coping skills, which hopefully I'll pick up one day...until then where are my pills?

Yeah, I'm a bit long-winded. Gotta consider the context.... ADDForums, duh. :)

Executive summary: Feedback is important and it's not wrong to need it.

At my summer job (Lifeguarding) I felt extremely unmotivated. It didn't interfere with my work or anything, but I was constantly ignored or put down and never got recognized for what good I did. Even my major rescue that I preformed, I just got a bunch of annoyed stares. I always did my job right, did what I was told, was very professional and never slacked off, but it seemed if I DID make a mistake I was treated like I was constantly making mistakes and they got really crabby with me over nothing.

I wanted to kick my boss after he griped at me while I was standing out their in the freezing rain about to pass out, my sinuses had been shot, it was almost dark and I wanted to skin all of the stupid people that would not LEAVE, its almost dark, there are no lights and the parks only open like 30 more minutes, gtfo!!


I dunno if its my fault or not, but I really like to hear positive feedback when I do good, just as much as I want constructive or possibly bad feedback when I do something wrong. I always want to improve myself but I hate that my good deeds go unnoticed and I get yelled at when I screw up like I screw up all the time.

I know where I'm not working next year.