When Mental Disorders Collide

I've always prided myself on being a multitasker. I can be in the middle of several projects at once. I can read several books at a go, keeping track of all the plotlines and characters. I can be hooked on several TV shows at any given moment, recalling quotes, episodes, characters, plots. Ok, not so much on that last one; my memory gets a bit fuzzy when I watch tv shows marathon-style.

Yesterday's affirmation though, pulled me up short.

Today I shall very consciously "do one thing at a time".

That got me thinking. Yes, I do several things at any one time, juggling tasks and responsibilities. That's always suited lil ol' me, as ADD as I am. But what if I were to focus my energies on one thing and only one thing?

And so I went about my day, trying my darndest to focus on only one task at hand.

I'd do things the normal way. Start-do-complete-file away. Start-do-complete-file away. I'd focus my energy on doing only one thing at a time.

Which is when I realised that...it's just not me. Sure, wrapping things up and putting them away neatly appeals to my OCD tendencies. But it took even more energy for me to keep a reign on my attention span. It was, to say the least, extremely tiring.

So I decided to revert to form for a while, to see how that would go.
(Note: 'revert' = to return to a former habit, practice, belief, condition, etc. It does NOT mean 'to respond'. Next time you're using 'revert' in an email, stop and think.)

And it worked so much more.

Letting myself get distracted every now and again with an email, a tweet or a brief zone-out actually leads to me being more productive and efficient. My mind flits around so much, that in the middle of doing something, a thought or question will pop in. So I'll take a minute to look it up, then go back to my original task, curiosity satisfied. When I tried to remain only on one task, the random thought would be nagging me, thus rendering me unable to actually work. Then when I finally decide to look it up, I realise that I've forgotten what it was that I wanted to check, afterwhich I waste a good few minutes trying to recall it.

So, as always, I'm doing things my way.

Pandering to my ADD side by allowing myself little distractions and mini-tasks.
Satisfying my OCD side by keeping things around me in their specific place, thus helping me be calmer and more efficient.



Insane people are always sure that they are fine. It is only the sane people who are willing to admit that they are crazy.
-- Nora Ephron