1. What is your #1 New Years Resolution this year?
2. Have you achieved your New Years Resolutions in the past?

I asked people to just hit ‘reply’ and send in an email to let me know the short answers to these questions. On other occasions, I have used ‘survey software’, which makes it easy to tabulate and summarize responses, but this time, I thought if people just had to hit ‘reply’ in their email, then they’d be more likely to respond.
And did you ever respond!
In the first 8 hours after the email was sent – I received 153 email responses!
I am appreciative, honored, and touched by the emails sent. I wanted to summarize some of the comments and issues which came forward.
First, I’d like to give you some background.

The Issue With New Year’s Resolutions:
Every January 1st, many people ‘resolve’ to improve things in their lives. The gyms are full, the diet clinics are doing brisk business, and people plan to change their lives.
And by Valentine’s day (or maybe even by January 7th?), the resolutions are gone, forgotten, and things are back to ‘normal’.

And when it comes to people with ADD/ADHD, it can be very hard to make and keep resolutions. The symptoms of ADD/ADHD include poor focus, distractibility, impulsivity, etc. And, many people with ADD/ADHD have executive functioning difficulties. One executive function is: goal directed persistence! If everyone in society has trouble with keeping resolutions, how easy is it going to be for people who have trouble with ‘goal directed persistence’?!

And when it comes to family members who care for their loved ones with ADD/ADHD, they often get so burned out by their daily support and advocacy that it can be hard to focus on themselves…

So, with all of the odds against us here, why did I want to talk about New Year’s Resolutions?

It is my personal belief that we need to continuously strive for improvement. We need to evaluate where we are, and continuously set goals to reach the next step.
And not everyone agrees with me… BUT on New Year’s – this is a chance when everyone is considering New Year’s Resolutions. Many people are thinking about setting goals, and they want to achieve them.
I view this as a chance to help you – if you want it.

Your Responses To My Email Questions:

154 emails in the first 8 hours!
The first 80 or so got personal responses, and then I had to just read the emails, because I was running out of time.
I did read every email, and let me say this:
I am very touched and appreciative to each and every one of you who wrote in (and if you respond after this post goes live, I will happily read your email as well!)
As I was reading your emails, I realized that when you wrote in, you were letting me in to your hopes, dreams, and sometimes wounds (from previous hopes and dreams which didn’t go well). I was touched and honored that you were kind enough to share this very personal information with me. And I don’t take it lightly.

In my email to you, I wrote the list of the top 10 New Year’s Resolutions according to About.com. They are:
1. Spend More Time with Family & Friends
2. Fit in Fitness
3. Tame the Bulge
4. Quit Smoking
5. Enjoy Life More
6. Quit Drinking
7. Get Out of Debt
8. Learn Something New
9. Help Others
10. Get Organized

But I wanted to know what your top resolutions were.
While this isn’t an official ‘tally’, here are some of the top themes which came up over and over again when you wrote in your #1 New Year’s Resolution:

1. Have more patience (with my ADHD child, spouse, or with myself)
2. Declutter, and get organized
3. Lose weight/gain health
4. Spend more time with friends/better connection with family
5. Save more money/spend less/earn more
6. (I resolve to) Not make any more resolutions because I always let myself down
7. I don’t make resolutions, I work on year round improvement

When it came to the question of “have you been successful with resolutions in the past?”, the answer was a resounding “No”. Though there was a (powerful) minority who have been partially or fully successful in the past with resolutions.

There were several emails which I’d like to quote:

Regarding question 1: What is your #1 New Years Resolution this year?

John said: For the first time, to set goals for myself.

N. said: This year number one is : Take care of myself FIRST.

A humorous response: Marvin wrote: I’m a 70 year old who was diagnosed with ADHD almost 20 years ago. I have had the same resolution for several years and am one of the few people I know who has consistently been successful in keeping theirs: No new tattoos. (Of course I don’t have any old tattoos).

Regarding Question #2: Have you achieved your new years resolutions in the past?

Suzy said: (I don’t achieve my resolutions because) Like you said…..I don’t persevere. Top resolution should be to be more self disciplined…..that would take care of a lot!!

Kay wrote: No it is the same each year, the list is the same…. same goals, same ending.

Psalm says: Resolutions are rather intimidating to me. I prefer to think of goals, such as small, incremental, attainable goals.

Jennifer: I have not always achieved my resolutions but I have when I am very specific with the goal.

N. wrote: Yes, I achieve them because I type them up and paste them inside my wallet, checkbook, reading material etc and post them where I will see and be reminded of them every day plus I announce them to my inner circle for support.

Of course, as you can see – your wisdom came through in the emails. As you were sharing your comments, many of you revealed the answers to success with setting and achieving goals and New Year’s Resolutions.

And remembering the importance of the fact that we are in the area of mental health, there were some emails which were very personal, and acknowledged how hard things can be for people. Here is one example:

As J. wrote: My New Years resolution is to learn to live with ADD and all it brings, to fight the bully at work who constantly yells at me and to not commit suicide because of my poor self-image. Have I achieved my past new year’s goals? No, of course not.

Of course, I personally emailed J., and encouraged a visit to the doctor and/or therapist to work on J’s issues and challenges. (Our thoughts and prayers are with you, J!)

After reading 154 emails with people’s hopes, dreams, wounds and fears, I reiterate that I was personally touched and honored that you shared all that you did.

In the next few days, I’ll be sharing some thoughts and ideas for your on how to do well with your New Year’s Resolutions this year. Your emails have motivated me a lot to make sure to give you some helpful tips and strategies.

I’ll wrap up with this:

Jamie wrote: “Thanks…just curious…what were yours?”

When it comes to resolutions, I do take the time to review the past year, take stock, and look forward to the new year, and I do set goals. I set specific, measurable goals, with deadlines on them (3 month, 6 month, 9 month, 12 month) – and my goals are written down.

My three main goals (or goal categories) this year are:

1. Family: Support my family more and increase my connection with them
2. Health: Improve my health and well-being
3. Finances: Improve my business and financial well-being

Thanks again, and watch for more updates in the coming days.

Best,

Dr. Kenny

p.s. please share your thoughts and comments below in the comments section…

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: ADD, ADHD, Goals, New Year’s Resolutions

And… most people take some time to consider what they are thankful for.

I am thankful for so many things. Including:

• My Family and Friends
• My Health
• My profession, and the ability I have to help people on a day to day basis
• The fact that I was born at the time I was (we live in amazing times, with incredible opportunities)
• The fact that I was born in Canada (it may get cold here, but it is one of the best countries in the world, in my opinion)

And I’m also thankful to you - my blog reader or subscriber – because you’ve chosen to share your journey with ADD/ADHD with me, and you allow me to come onto your computer screen, or into your email inbox to share my thoughts, perspective and advice. I also really appreciate your comments, feedback and participation in the dialogue.

Now – I love Thanksgiving, and I think it is a wonderful yearly ritual.

And I encourage you to practice gratitude more regularly than once a year.

When I say ‘practice gratitude’, I mean that I encourage you to take a few moments, and quiet yourself down. Get comfortable, slow your breathing, and even close your eyes. Think about who and what you are grateful and thankful for. And then feel the feelings of gratitude and love for what you are focusing on. This exercise can take just a moment, and it can be tremendously helpful for you.

When you achieve a state of gratitude (with true feeling and emotion), it changes how you feel, as well as how you interact with the world and others. This can help you in our stressed out, overly busy world – especially if you have ADD/ADHD yourself, or if it’s in your family.

I encourage you to practice gratitude regularly – ideally daily.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Best,

Dr. Kenny

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: ADD, Adult ADD, Adult ADHD, Gratitude, Parenting, Thanksgiving

There are so many details to take care of, including:

• Decorations
• Cards
• Gifts
• Events
• Food…
• And the list goes on and on…

And the worst part is that many adults with ADD often get overwhelmed, and then down when they feel that they have messed up for yet another year…

Why not start off the holidays with some strategies that can help you out?

Adult ADD Coach: Lynne Edris (from Coaching ADDvantages), can help you with some strategies to help you to do better this holiday season.

Steps to help you out:

First: Watch this video where Lynne shares some specific strategies to help you out:

Second: Join us for the live coaching call on Monday November 21st at 9:15 pm eastern time. Just click here to join the Insiders Membership Site.

[hyperlink family="impact,chicago" size="18" color="B10000" textshadow="1" alignment="center" weight="bold" style="normal" lineheight="110" linkurl="http://attentiondifferencedisorder.com/members/join-insiders/" linkwindow="_blank"]Join Insiders >>>[/hyperlink]

And, we hope you have a great holiday season

Best,

Dr. Kenny

p.s. there are many benefits to being an ‘Insider’. Click here to find out more.

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: Adult ADHD, Coaching, Holidays

And most parents are thinking: ” This whole thing could have been avoided, if my son (or daughter) didn’t leave this till the last minute!”

Procrastination is a complicated issue. There isn’t a one size fits all answer to it. To fully understand what’s going on with procrastination, and to help you to find solutions for it, I’ve interviewed Diane O’Reilly, from Indigo Tree Coaching below. She’ll help you to understand what’s going on with clutter, and also how to develop strategies to improve it.

To Join The Attention Difference Disorders Insiders Membership and

Participate in the Coaching Call for Parents

of Kids and Teens with ADD/ADHD:

“Overcome Procrastination”

>> CLICK HERE NOW <<

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©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: ADD, ADHD, Coaching, Procrastination

Paperwork is often a big issue, as well as impulsively buying something that seemed great at the time, and now is just filling up more space.

And then clutter can get overwhelming…

It can lead to embarassment, and it can contribute to social problems – you don’t want people to come over because of how embarasing your clutter is. And then you may feel bad about your kids not having their friends over because of it.

And this can lead to guilt and shame.

On this post – I interview ADD Coach Lynne Edris (From Coaching ADDvantages) about how to clear clutter.

(watch the video until the end – you’ll not only hear me mess up (and have a good laugh over it), you’ll learn how you can get specific strategies and skills to conquer your clutter)

Join Us For the ADD Coaching Class: Conquer Your Clutter
On Monday October 24th at 9:15 pm Eastern Time

By joining the ‘Attention Difference Disorder Insiders Membership Site’
>>Click Here To Find Out More<<

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©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: ADD, ADHD, Adult ADD, Clutter, Coaching

Dr. Frager was kind enough to let me share the recording of the radio station with you. You can hear the radio interview here:

Please share any comments below.

You can pick up a copy of Attention Difference Disorder here.
Best,
Dr. Kenny

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: Adult ADHD, Dr. Stan Frager, Radio Interview

That said, there was a great article online that just came out, which talks about how some entrepreneurs consider their ADHD to be a superpower. It was in Smart Money, was called: “Why Some Entrepreneurs Call ADHD a “Superpower”" and it talks about some successful business people with ADHD.

How can these entrepreneurs consider their ADHD a superpower?

This article shares the positive, as well as some of the possible negatives associated with the condition, as seen in this quote:

On the plus side, people with ADHD often have an immense amount of energy, and they think outside the box — because their ideas could never fit inside one box. On the minus side, they have an inability to focus on what bores them, can make sloppy errors when rushing (which is almost always) and have a stronger-than-average tendency to put a foot in their mouth.

Some of the entrepreneurs mentioned include high profile business people with ADHD, including:

• Paul Orfalea: founder of Kinkos
• David Neeleman: Founder of JetBlue airlines
• Peter Shankman: angel investor and technology expert and principal of The Geek Factory

This article also discusses some smaller business owners – like Steve Ferree – who bought a franchise of Roto rooter, and found that his ADHD impacted some of his ability to manage his business.

It is important to do one task at a time – and not to multitask – especially if you have ADHD. My favorite example of this from the article is from Peter Shankman:

Shankman takes that concept to an extreme. Asked to write a book in two weeks, he reserved a business class flight to Tokyo. When he got there, he drank a few espressos in the lounge, turned around and came back. He finished the book in 30 hours. The trip cost $4,000 and was “worth every penny,” he says.

All in all, this article highlights how the ADHD brain can help people in business, and at the same time, it provides some balance… i.e. that ADHD can cause problems if the right strategies or treatments aren’t in place. I like this approach, because this is similar to the stance that I take in my book – that ADHD can have its strengths, but you do have to get the negative symptoms out of the way.

Please share your thoughts and comments below.

Best,

Dr. Kenny

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

You can read it here: 15 Signs You May Have Adult ADHD.

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: Adult ADHD, Huffington Post

We now know that approximately 4% of the US adult population has ADHD, though most people have trouble finding a doctor to diagnose them, and provide them with the treatment to help them.

Experts are currently reviewing the diagnostic criteria in the DSM. The new version – the DSM-5 will be coming out in the next year or two. In this report, a scientist is reported to say that the criteria for adult ADHD will be adapted in the new version of the manual. This will likely help adults with ADHD to get the diagnosis that they need – and no doubt it will also raise concerns by the skeptics that too many adults are being diagnosed. I will likely welcome the change – because it is my impression that it will likely improve things for adults with ADHD more than it will hinder or harm.

What do you think?

Best,

Dr. Kenny

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Margarita Tartakovsky wrote a great article on Psychcentral called: Tax Prep for People with ADHD for Next Year. You can read the full article at that link.

The three main points of the article:

1. Figure out what information you should be saving
2. Have a way to record tax deductible expenses
3. Create one place for tax related paperwork
4. Schedule tax time each week.

With some work early in the year, and a small amount of time throughout the year, you can improve your tax prep significantly. This can help you to file on time, save on late fees, or get a refund much more quickly. It can also lower your stress.

Do you have any tricks or strategies that work well? Please share them in the comments below.

Best,

Dr. Kenny

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: ADHD, Tax Prep, Taxes