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Rand and ADD

I've been reading about ADD and ADHD. I seem to have one of these.

Olivia Pate wrote about hers on Medium.

Out of Sight = Out of Mind

This is for me, too. I love having a computer because it's easy'ish to search for stuff and can remind me. If I put stuff away, it's gone.

Leaving stuff on my desk doesn't work either- because I focus on whatever I'm doing and tune out the desk. In fact, I rarely see or hear the stupid/tiny little notifications on the top-right of the Mac screen!

I need to structure my work

She insisted people hold her to deadlines, that disappointing others was much more of a motivation than some random time.

I do this by working on a team. I would still overthink and overwork things to produce great code, but to handle deadlines, I'd work late.

A Work Environment without Distractions

This would be good for me. In general, I'd work at an office, so there was just work to do. I enjoyed going to lunch with people, but I usually got engrossed in work and missed lunch.

In elementary school, I did my homework in class. Usually I was bored listening to the teacher, so it gave me something to think about. I usually did it in just a few minutes, and then went back to being bored.

I didn't know it, but I thought I wasn't wanted, so I acted shy. Actually, it was painful to look at people and wish they'd talk to me, so I looked away. So all that was going on was what the teacher was teaching.

Difficulty Picking out Clothes

She has 10 combinations of outfits she wears most of the time because women are supposed to look gook and picking clothes is "frustrating and time-consuming". I would just pick a t-shirt and wear jeans. Working from home, it's usually a t-shirt and sweats.

I hate having to pick something for a video, and I hate shopping for clothes. I don't know what it is that makes this difficult.

One person in my life insisted that I should feel good about my clothes. With effort, I threw a bunch out. But it's still hard to pick something. On the one hand, I have so many thoughts about "how something looks" that I they crowd out any preference. On the other, I can wear things that don't look good, so I'd prefer if someone with "taste" did it for me...


Juneau Orly Samuel also wrote about it on Medium.

Juneau talks about "time blindness," which is losing track of time. Suddenly, it's 1am! This is me. Like now, writing this for "just a minute" instead of working...

She also talks about the same diet, but she has autism, too. My diet is easily the same, but just for convenience.

Chicken and rice are my staples. Most days I have the same meals.

I'll have a handful of blueberries at the start of the day and a cup of hot water. If I'm hungry, I'll have a small bowl of chicken and rice and broccoli, if we have some. If I'm not rushing, I'll cut some green onion from the yard, saute it and make scrambled eggs.

I'm trying to eat healthy. So for lunch (or an early dinner if I had breakfast) I'll have chicken, mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, peppers, raisins, chicken, raisins, and a home-made olive-oil and vinegar dressing. Often I'll add avocado.

I try not to eat dinner, but almost always fail. For years I avoided gluten, but I've been getting Ciabatta rolls (just wheat and olive oil) and I'll add some greens and either (sugar-free) ketchup or hot-sauce.

If I'm hungry, I like the food. I don't ever grow tired of it.

On the other hand, thinking a lot consumes energy. After 3pm, I could eat constantly. It doesn't help, but I'm driven to it...


A Messy Room

I focus on whatever I'm working on. I don't want to think about where things go, so things tend to pile up. I see the mess in my room and on my desk when I go in, but I quickly get lost in my work...

Everyone is different

Gray Miller wrote on Medium that he jots down distracting ideas in a notebook.

That doesn't work for me. I have several places that I work and the notebook isn't there. So I put it on the computer. I have lots of folders with various ideas and projects. It works in that I feel it's saved and it's then out of sight.

I'll get back to work..

Exercise

I like exercise. Maybe this is a bit of the H (hyperactivity) in ADHD? When I start weeding the garden, I can do it for hours. It's exhausting, but I'm driven. or sweeping up outside, I clean up everything. Or cleaning the kitchen. Things occur to me to do and I'll do them.

Did I say I'd get to work?