thinkythink

Writing and Working Spots

The other day I was talking to my sister about how I get work done, and how I used to get work done...  I suggest to clients that they think about how they got work done in college, because sometimes that really gives some clues about what the optimal spot is for them to work.

I used to go study spot-hopping. It was hard to focus on reading or intense studying for long periods, but I had a lot to do. So I'd find a spot with the right level of stuff going on and the right level of background noise, and work there for anywhere from thirty minutes to a couple of hours. When either my focus burned off or the noise level changed too much, I'd get up and go to the next spot. I was lucky at UMASS that there were tons of options; study rooms at the library, places to get lunch, coffee shops on campus, in Amherst, and in Northampton. Moving from place to place gave me a little break and a little movement. Then I could buckle down again for a bit. The University of Amsterdam was a little harder, while I was doing my Master's, but I could alternate between the train, the dining hall, and the awesome little Philosophy Department library, which wasn't so quiet because everyone was working in small groups trying to understand Kant, which can't be done no matter how many translations you have, and because there was a lovely dog named Flor who hung out there.

The right level of background activity and noise: even toned conversations. Enough for it to sound like a lull in the background, but not like people competing for airspace. Occasionally something to eavesdrop on half-heartedly or half-ear-edly.

Goal: enough to occupy the whitespace in my brain, the inattention. The part that gets too busy thinking and speeds away from the task - and thought- at hand. Not so much that I can't absorb what's in front of me.

It often would change and become too much in one place at lunch time, and then another study lounge or what not would get quiet enough. Silent areas of the library were often too quiet The funny thing is that my sister did exactly the same thing. We both still do a version of that, using coffee shops, libraries, benches, in our "spare" child-free moments to work. How about you? What's your working sweet spot? Does a dog make the difference?

Groovera - more music to work by

Just found a new source of music to work by... internet radio station Groovera. They have three channels in the chilled-out realm, and I found it when I inexplicably couldn't connect to my old standby, Afternoon Nap. Right now I'm listening to Groovera's Jet City Lounge stream.  

Downtempo music isn't always right for me, but it has been for a few years. As I'm sure I've said before: it's about whatever magically optimal level and type of stimulation/background works for you. The key for me is to find the right mood, the right groove, while quieting the mind enough to focus in on what I'm doing.

What music works for you when you're working? Please share in the comments because I want more ideas!

Welcome!

I'm Becca Colao. I used to struggle a lot with my mind in overdrive, but I've figured out a lot in the years since I found out I have ADHD, predominantly inattentive type. I've found there's not information out there about what I call the hyperthinking experience of ADHD, and I wanted to humbly begin to change that with my blog.
I'm also a coach. I help people with challenges around focus, distraction, time, planning, and finding the most effective strategies, systems, and structures to suit the way they are built. Many of my clients have ADHD. Some do not.

Brain Dead

I've been trying to post. Really. I'm just enormously tired. I'm not uninspired; I've come up with things I want to post about (focus/work styles; oh wait there was a longer list that I've forgotten- see I'm tired and have no memory). I thought I'd read some of my favorite blogs and see what tickled my thoughts or just warmed my neurons. Of course this started by finding that over at finslippy, Alice is having a bit of writer's block,
and asking her readers for help getting re-started after trying times.

For those of you with ADHD, getting re-started with a habit routine is something you probably have to do all the time. I say habit  because habits and ADD brains don't go together so well. We don't just, say, write every morning at 8:30 for a few days and then discover that lo! we are automatically writing at 8:30 every day.

Instead, most days it remains a conscious activity, replete with a difficult process shifting focus away from whatever you were doing before (showering? reading e-mail?) and shifting it to the target activity. This includes remembering what you wanted to do, remembering when you wanted to do it, and remembering what time it is right now. So to you I say, do not expect your desired habit to become a habit. Ever. It might, but don't expect it to. Just keep plugging at doing it every day. Climb aboard the wagon every day. Hone your skills at starting anew with a routine. Let go of your sense that it should be easier...that it should be automatic... that you shouldn't have forgotten; this sense is what's eating all your energy to actually get down and do it.

If you're inattentive type ADHD, this sense can eat your energy, chew it up, create more energy as a by-product of digestion, use this energy to think about what you wanted to do in colorful detail, all the while forgetting to get up and do it, forgetting to eat breakfast, and making it feel hard and boring by the time you finally remember you're still thinking about it an hour later.

I want to sum this up in a nice package of: what my writing routine is. Or: tips to make routines easier. I'll work on that but meanwhile I'm going to get up and actually retrieve the hot beverage I've been meaning to drink before it is no longer hot.

Unempty Homes

Recently I started an email group for parents in my neighborhood. Did I already post about how the opportunities for socializing explode when you become a parent?
One thing that has taken me by surprise is how many people are working from home. It seems like practically every household has one member working from home at least some of the time. This must be an exaggeration (though some households have two work-at-home members). But it does mean a shift in perspective about a couple of things.

1. All those houses are NOT empty during the day
2. The 9-to-5 office job norm? Not so normal anymore.
3. Parents are figuring out how to do childcare, family life, and work/life balance differently, one parent at a time.

But reviewing #2, maybe it's been that way for a while. That's what the Bureau for Labor Statistics says in this report from 2004 :

"In May 2004, 20.7 million persons usually did some work at home as part of 
their primary job,the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department 
of Labor reported today.  These workers, who reported working at home 
at least once per week, accounted for about 15 percent of total 
nonagricultural employment in May 2004, essentially the same percentage 
as in May 2001."

This report is four years old now, but reports no significant change since 2001, i.e. that 15% of us work from home at least part of the week.  So that office job assumption? Out the window.

Getting through the workout

I went to my running workout yesterday. A few things I have to mention:

• Music helps get into the running (or whatever other exercise). I left my ipod in the car because it was raining. I know it makes me faster.
• Without music, it's easier to crap-talk myself. It's pretty easy to crap-talk myself, and I don't think it's just because I've just missed many workouts because of a cascade of viruses and baby ear infections and the like. I don't think it's because I feel sluggish from all the sickness, and "run" like it. I think it's easy to do.
• It's hard to keep the pep talk going. The best is when I let go and experience what I'm doing. (music helps that too).
• I know this isn't just me- or just ADHD. My track club buddies confirmed similar experiences.
• Pros of working out alone: I don't feel like I have to "catch up" to everyone else or go at a specific tempo
• Cons of working out alone: I have less motivation, pay more attention to too many details of what I'm doing and thinking, and it's LESS FUN.