Ok, I am not sure this is the correct forum but I don't know where else to place this post.

Here goes: I have so much trouble focusing on just ONE thing. There is so much I would like to change about myself but I don't know where to start.

I would like to lose weight,improve my health, quit smoking, become a much better housekeeper, and go to school to get my nursing ( LPN) license but I don't know what order to do things in. Plus, I get impatient, have trouble sticking to long term goals, and get bored quickly. I don't want to overwhelm myself.

Does anyone else have this problem?

This is a forum for ADHD hun, we all have that problem.

Hi Jett...

Do you take meds? Or are you still taking meds? If not, perhaps it's time to reevaluate taking them again, or if you were and there are issues maybe it's time to tweak things some. I would suggest , with either yes or no answer it might be time to see the doc again. Just a suggestion. I am not able to function happily off my meds. I have learned coping skills for the ADD although it's a little to uncomfortable for me off of them, I can survive. The BP meds there is no choice and without them, pending major mood swings that can leave me useless, I can't focus or maintain daily tasks worth a crap.

I'm sorry you are having trouble, lack of focus is a common thread we share here like Matt said. I hope things get better for you, keep in touch and let us know how you are doing.

Regards,
Hope

Here goes: I have so much trouble focusing on just ONE thing. There is so much I would like to change about myself but I don't know where to start.


This is really pretty common and may get frustrated trying to change every thing at once. I began with one area that brought me frequent frustration and worked on that until it became second nature and then began on the next thing.

Jett

If you have ADHD or think you might have adhd, and it is causing problems for you, maybe you should see a doctor about getting it treated?

If you are already getting treated for it, welcome to the club as all of us here are pretty much the same in terms of a lack of ability to control focus. Getting it treated helps a lot but is not a cure by any means. This forum is about supporting people with adhd and I think you will find that a lot of people here have developed some useful ways of coping with their adhd.

What I'm trying to say (and doing a bad job of it) is that once it is treated the adhd can be a bit better. Beyond that there are a lot of coping strategies which a person can employ to work around the problems. With that in mind, this forum is a very good resource for learning to cope with ADHD.

Me :D

Ok, I am not sure this is the correct forum but I don't know where else to place this post.

Here goes: I have so much trouble focusing on just ONE thing. There is so much I would like to change about myself but I don't know where to start.

I would like to lose weight,improve my health, quit smoking, become a much better housekeeper, and go to school to get my nursing ( LPN) license but I don't know what order to do things in. Plus, I get impatient, have trouble sticking to long term goals, and get bored quickly. I don't want to overwhelm myself.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Here goes: I have so much trouble focusing on just ONE thing. There is so much I would like to change about myself but I don't know where to start.

I would like to lose weight,improve my health, quit smoking, become a much better housekeeper, and go to school to get my nursing ( LPN) license but I don't know what order to do things in. Plus, I get impatient, have trouble sticking to long term goals, and get bored quickly. I don't want to overwhelm myself.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Ummm...yes. Except for nursing school and smoking. But I could probably fill those in with something different.

You're certainly not alone. Good luck!

The interesting thing about your issue, or rather our issue, is that all these issues are tied together.


I would say becoming a better housekeeper is the single biggest goal you should aim for. Yes I know it sounds silly but it's true and heres why, your inability to focus makes alot of things difficult, the only way to keep your ducks in a row is relentless organization, you have work on habits that make you a better housekeeper, and that housekeeping will bleed into everything.

-Clutter is your enemy because it makes it hard to focus when theres a mess.
-Disorganisation is your enemy because anything that you do requires you have some sort of order lest it become another point of distraction.

Your physical clutter is an extension of your mental clutter they are inextricably linked.

So build a schedule, and try your damnedest to stick to it, find a place for EVERYTHING and for the things that you can't classify shove em into one place out of your line of vision.

On your PC enforce the one application at a time rule.
You can't focus with a hundred apps open.
One of my personal issues is that for a long time I thought multitasking was a good thing.

There is nothing further from the , we all have a finite amount of mental faculties and each task has to compete for mental capaticy and times.

Tabbed web browsers are the bane of your existence, stop every few minutes of work and ask is this what I should be doing?
If not Bookmark it and exit it.

This should be your existence day in and day out, constant cleaning of your mental clutter, it will fix nothing but it will help immensely.

I have so much trouble focusing on just ONE thing...

Take a number... Get in Line...

you are in the right place!!! :D

My two cents- have ONE career and ONE hobby and be true to your family. Stick with them through thick and thin.

GOOD LUCK! :rolleyes:

Jett

If you have ADHD or think you might have adhd, and it is causing problems for you, maybe you should see a doctor about getting it treated?

If you are already getting treated for it, welcome to the club as all of us here are pretty much the same in terms of a lack of ability to control focus. Getting it treated helps a lot but is not a cure by any means. This forum is about supporting people with adhd and I think you will find that a lot of people here have developed some useful ways of coping with their adhd.

What I'm trying to say (and doing a bad job of it) is that once it is treated the adhd can be a bit better. Beyond that there are a lot of coping strategies which a person can employ to work around the problems. With that in mind, this forum is a very good resource for learning to cope with ADHD.

Me :D

Yea, I am on meds but have had them scr#wed around with lately. Why? because medicaid has decided to only allow 3 name brand prescriptions per month. I was taking 5 medicines. My cocktail was wellbutrin, lamictal, lexapro, and adderall-xr. I was also taking chantix to quit smoking. I have been skimping on the adderall because I can't get anymore filled until the middle of next month because of the insurance change. I only had enough until the 26th of this month!!

Yea, I had to go to the doctor and quit the wellbutrin and get the lexapro changed to another medicine!

Courtesy of their stupid policy change which of course I was not informed of ahead of time, my focus and concentration has s*cked. I even somehow passed a stopped school bus without thinking ( I know that was illegal). Now I have to go to court and could lose my driver's license for 3 month. Great, huh?

My house has gone from from just being a bit messy to a total disaster and I have been so depressed lately that I sleep and eat too much.

Hope things get better soon. By the way, I have ADHD as well as being bipolar.

The interesting thing about your issue, or rather our issue, is that all these issues are tied together.


I would say becoming a better housekeeper is the single biggest goal you should aim for. Yes I know it sounds silly but it's true and heres why, your inability to focus makes alot of things difficult, the only way to keep your ducks in a row is relentless organization, you have work on habits that make you a better housekeeper, and that housekeeping will bleed into everything.

-Clutter is your enemy because it makes it hard to focus when theres a mess.
-Disorganisation is your enemy because anything that you do requires you have some sort of order lest it become another point of distraction.

Your physical clutter is an extension of your mental clutter they are inextricably linked.

So build a schedule, and try your damnedest to stick to it, find a place for EVERYTHING and for the things that you can't classify shove em into one place out of your line of vision.

On your PC enforce the one application at a time rule.
You can't focus with a hundred apps open.
One of my personal issues is that for a long time I thought multitasking was a good thing.

There is nothing further from the , we all have a finite amount of mental faculties and each task has to compete for mental capaticy and times.

Tabbed web browsers are the bane of your existence, stop every few minutes of work and ask is this what I should be doing?
If not Bookmark it and exit it.

This should be your existence day in and day out, constant cleaning of your mental clutter, it will fix nothing but it will help immensely.What you said makes sense. I have even been told by others that keeping my house clean and in order will help with my ADD, but like most people with ADD, I put stuff off and then forget about it. Not good.

I will put your advice to the test and then let you know how it works out.

Thanks

For goodness sake, get your ADD Testing and Meds done before you start School.

HA! Does anyone have those problems? It's a club and we are all members :)

Really - you are not alone.

~Bryan
www.adderworld.com (http://www.adderworld.com)