New Year’s Resolutions for Those with ADHD

New Year’s Resolutions are all about making a commitment to improving our lives and ourselves.  Losing weight and exercising more remain the top two resolutions made by US adults, and those are fine self-improvement goals.  However, if you look at the trends for Americans who are increasingly overweight and in danger of becoming diabetics, it takes more than just a lofty promise to ourselves on New Year’s Eve to accomplish a goal.  It takes a plan.

Not Just a Promise… A Plan!

For the more than 5 million Americans with ADHD, a list of resolutions may include plans to become more organized, procrastinate less, channel your excess energy, and reconnect with friends and loved ones.  A top 10 list of New Year’s Resolutions may include:

1.      Set attainable milestones for project management

            Road signs and mile markers are put in place to help us stay on a path and help us to know where we are when we drive.  Similarly, we need to establish milestones when we set out on a project or complex task.  This is particularly essential for those with ADHD.  For example, if you are assigned the task of contacting all current and potential clients to inform them about a new product or service, you know the outcome, you have an idea where      to start, but how can you determine if you are making acceptable progress to complete the task by its proposed deadline?  You set milestones.  Break up the task into small, attainable, and measurable steps rather than diving      into an outdated list and randomly making calls or contacts.  Board games that have a start and endpoint are excellent examples, as you can see before the roll of the dice where you are at any given point and where want to want to finish.  Develop each step of your project, and write down what you intend to accomplish by that milestone, what you need to reach that point, and when you intend to arrive there.  Then, on that target date, determine if you have successfully reached that milestone, and if not, determine what prevented you from reaching that point.  Make adjustments as needed before proceeding.  Small, manageable, and measurable steps are the keys to a successful project outcome.

To learn more about ADHD treatments, therapies, and tips, visit www.portraithealthcenters.com.  To schedule an appointment at Portrait Health Centers, call (847) 868-3435 or simply click below:

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