ADD Solutions for a Happier Work Environment

Do you have trouble at work? We mean, are you distracted, or find it hard to sit still in one place for very long? Are you disorganized? Do you just find yourself very unhappy or even failing at the career you have chosen? If you have adult ADD, this scenario could easily be the case.

The 40-hour work week might seem like a strait jacket for you, and it might hinder that great ADD energy and creativity you have inside. But you also have the ability to hyperfocus and get things done, providing that they're projects that interest you. You're probably great at things like detecting and solving problems, but you probably shy away from the paperwork involved. It's just too boring!

There is a solution! Find an ADD-friendly job that you can love and that can love you and benefit from your ADD brain.

Running an entrepreneurial business is one way to solve the issue. Being your own boss, and running things the way you'd like them to run is ideal for someone with ADD. However, you may need to hire people to take care of the details. Though the issue is not one of self-sufficiency in all respects, having your own business is one way to be in control.

But adults with attention deficit love nothing more than action. Being in a fast-paced career, like police officer, fire fighter, or EMS technician, might be the ideal situation for you if you're a high-energy person. But the truth is that adults with ADD are in countless number of jobs, and they have found ways to succeed.

Watch out for impulsive behaviors. It can have you flying off on tangents, away from your goals for the day. Because of your ADD, you may be trying to do too much, which brings on stress and even higher levels of ADD behavior. Instead of accepting or volunteering for every new project, back off a little. Fill in other things to do when your primary responsibilities to your job are fulfilled. If you overload yourself, all that will happen is that you'll be even more unhappy.

Distractions can impede your progress, too. Set your watch to beep every ten minutes so remind you to focus. Another way to stay focused is to focus in for short time spans. For instance, do something you really hate for 10 minutes, then do something you really love. Find six activities that you need to accomplish and rotate the tasks, every ten minutes, for every hour. That way, you'll never be bored. If you have fewer tasks or a longer attention span, then rotate fewer tasks. Yet, this diversity can keep you on target and away from distractions.

Boredom is one of the major issues for adults with ADD. We just hate boredom! The rotating tasks plan is one way to reduce the time you have to spend focusing on boring tasks, but if you can't do that, try to accomplish the boring things when you're at high energy levels, usually at the start of your day. Try delegating some of the boring tasks, too. Just because you hate to do something, it doesn't mean that other people hate to do it, so don't feel as if you're pawning a job off on someone else.

But whatever you do, don't procrastinate. Jump in and get the hard parts of whatever it is you don't want to do done first. That makes the rest of the job easier in comparison. You have to realize that the quicker you get into something, the quicker you can forget about it instead of having it hang over your head. If you still can't get into a job, find a good accountability partner, someone who will jump on your case if you don't have something done on time.

If it's people that you're having trouble with, did you ever consider that your ADD might be the issue? If you constantly interrupt people who are talking, that could raise some hackles. When you find yourself doing that, stop talking and apologize. Learn to listen. Also learn to be more diplomatic. Honesty, though an admirable quality, isn't always appreciated in social situations.

Any of these ADD-related situations can cause work problems. But don't jump to another job, just yet. Try some of these strategies and see if they don't help you to be more productive and more sociable. Yet, if you can't, if you're still that square peg, find a more flexible job that will suit your ADD abilities and make yourself a happier person.

Tellman Knudson and Stephanie Frank know well about ADD, as both of them have been diagnosed ADHD and ADD respectively, though both are highly successful entrepreneurs. Get more tips on dealing with your adult ADD at InstantADDSuccess.com (http://www.instantaddsuccess.com/).