The following account is of a writer with ADD who successfully and consciously made the decision to honor his career dreams. Along his path he continues to use his ADD symptoms as a form of management and inspiration. He was able to develop a host of excellent strategies for ADHD in his work environment as well.
“When I was diagnosed with ADD, things became a lot clearer to me. I then realized why I act the way I do and am very grateful that I learned of it. After all, I firmly believe that knowing and accepting that I had this “uniqueness” is my first step to moving forward.
The truth is, although I was expecting my ADD to be a hindrance to my having a career, things turned out quite differently for me. Instead of causing confusion and frustration, my ADD symptoms helped me in my career decision instead.
Now that I realized the kind of “uniqueness” that I possess and its nature, I was able to quickly rule out the jobs that I thought of as boring, routine, and “non-active”. It occurred to me that if I had this kind of “uniqueness”, I should tailor fit the kind of job that I’ll be choosing to it so I can capitalize on what I have. This in itself helped me rule out 75% of my so called job options.
My ADD symptoms helped me in other ways as well…
- It helped me in organizing
It may sound weird but it really did!
Knowing that I had ADD, I quickly realized that if I am to accomplish anything, I should organize and write down my plans on a piece of paper and stick it on my desk. That way, even if I get distracted, I’ll be able to get back to what I was doing ultimately keeping things organized and well planned.
When organizing, I suggest that you put down the time, task, deadline, and the number of minutes you should spend for the task (do not exceed 50 minutes per task).
- It helped me accomplish more and meet deadlines
I’ve heard a lot of people say that this is also a common struggle that people with ADD have. Not for me!
Since I have ADD, I made it a point to use timers to make sure that I was able to stick with what I’m doing on a given amount of time.
Not only was I able to avoid procrastination, I ended-up giving the task at hand 100% of my efficiency therefore avoiding unnecessary mistakes. I only set the timer at 50 minutes tops. Normally, people with ADD can focus on a single subject for just about 50 minutes. If you work within that time window, then your performance is at its best. That said, don’t even set your timer to 55 minutes or even an hour, you’ll be less efficient and you’ll make tons of mistakes if you do.
My ADD symptoms have been a blessing to me and my career decision. In the end, it all comes down to you and what you decide your life to be. Think about it… A lot of people with ADD are still successful but there are also those that allowed themselves to be broken by it. Which do you want to be?
Know that instead of looking at ADD as a handicap, you can harness it to be a powerful tool in becoming successful in your chosen career giving you a better and a more fulfilling life.”