Using Mantras to Focus ADD
By Dana Rayburn, Adult ADD Coach

ADDed Success is ADD Coach Dana Rayburn's monthly newsletter about living
successfully with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD / ADHD).

Welcome to ADDed Success!
Today, let's wrap-up our topic of using mantras to help focus Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder.

Traditionally, mantras are used by various religions to enhance focus during
meditation.

I've found, people with ADHD can successfully use mantras to boost focus and
improve day-to-day life management.

In last month's ADDed Success we talked about the clutter busting mantra "Take it
to its final destination." If you need a refresher, click here to read last month's ADD Success article, "Clearing Clutter - When Close Isn't Near Enough."

Click here to read another ADD Success article about "Quit Thinking and Start Acting."

You may recall in the last ADDed Success, I asked readers to send in their
favorite ADHD mantras. Thank you for your excellent responses! Here are those I
found most useful:

Finish What You're Doing
Penny says "This saying keeps me on track when I'm tempted to flit off to another
task before finishing the one I'm working on. It keeps me from leaving a trail of
half finished tasks behind me."

Speed Kills
This is Henry's favorite mantra. "It's not what you think," he says. He uses it to
remind himself NOT to procrastinate on projects and particularly on simple tasks
like responding to e-mail queries. "I often get questions from colleagues that
take less than a minute to answer, but I sometimes let them languish for days
even weeks, thus creating a negative interaction with a co-worker. I guess it's
another way of saying Quit Thinking and Start Acting."

Enough Is Enough
Catherine says, "Sometimes I do too much. I can make things more complicated
than they need to be. Just the thought 'Enough is Enough' reminds me to simplify
and rethink what I'm doing. Often I find I can cut out much extra work and finish
things more quickly and easily than I thought."

If It's Worst, Do It First
Sue sent me this one. She says, "when I'm faced with different tasks and can't
decide where to start, I think 'If it's worst, do it first' - that way not only do I know
where to start, but also all the jobs after the first one simply get easier to do!"

Focus
Just one word is enough for Dave. "I guess I'm like other ADDers. My mind tends
to wander and I can move through my day without paying attention to what I'm
doing. When I catch my thoughts wandering I tell myself to 'focus'. It helps me
become more present and aware."

If you haven't yet used mantras, I hope you'll give them a try. They are excellent
tools for Outsmarting your ADHD

The Last Word
I can't resist sneaking in one last organizing mantra.

Before I was an ADD Coach - when I was a hands-on professional organizer - I
found the best question to ask while helping clients clear clutter, was "How are
you going to use that?"

Deciding how you're going to use something leads to your next action. If you
answer "never" your next action is to get rid of the darn thing - either give it
away or throw it away.

If it's something you'll use, thinking about how you'll use it leads to where to keep
it. After all, it's easier to be organized when you keep things where you use them.

When I run into former organizing clients, they tell me that to this day when
they're rooting out clutter they can still hear my voice asking, "how are you going
to use that?"

Ah, the power.

To Your ADDed Success,
Dana

PS. - Trouble Staying Organized? No Problem! Reserve your copy of 'Organized
for Life' at the special 'early-bird' price.

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their life. Learn more about coaching for business people and other high
functioning adults with ADHD.

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