This article is for you if:
You set plenty of goals, but reach few to none because you get bored easily. (A common trait among people with Adhd, but it can, surely, happen to anyone)
Despite being an Adhd-er myself, I DO sometimes actually finish projects and reach goals, and I’ve recently found a way to work through the moments of de-motivation, boredom, and loss of interest that I experience shortly after I start a project.
I didn’t read about this in a book and this isn’t some breakthrough approach in productivity written by any famous and super-successful personal development guru.
I’m just an average gal with a short attention span, experimenting my way through life, and taking notes about what works for me.
Maybe it’ll work for you…
Here’s the synopsis
Choose about 3 short-term goals.
Every day work on those 3 goals, alternating between goals throughout the day.
For example
I’m writing a book, I have fitness goals, and I’m a stay at home mom.
So, throughout the day, I alternate between bursts of writing sessions, fitness sessions, and sessions of being a super-involved, awesome mom :)
Why it works
I’ve been doing this for a few weeks, and I believe it has worked for me because it’s comparable to the concept of circuit training.
What is circuit training?
In physical fitness, circuit training is short bursts of exercises, followed quickly by another burst of exercises that target a different muscle group.
Switching between exercises that work different muscle groups allows you to workout without resting and keeps your heart rate up.
Alternating Goals
In a similar manner, you can try short bursts of motivated productivity towards reaching a goal, followed by another short burst towards a second goal, and then a third, and repeat throughout the day.
Don’t stare at the blank screen
Imagine sitting at a desk writing all day. Eventually you would get tired of staring at the screen, and you’ll probably deal with a few creative blocks along the way.
Rather than fight through the blocks, walk away before they even start, and move on to a fresh burst of productivity focused on an entirely different goal.
And you don’t only bypass your creative blocks. You bypass the decline in motivation that occurs when you work on one thing for too long.
This circuit training approach to working towards my goals has kept me from getting bored or losing interest too quickly and most importantly, it’s kept me MOVING.
And as Newton’s Law of Motion states…
A body in motion stays in motion, and a body at rest stays at rest.
KEEP MOVING, and reaching your goals… is kinda inevitable.
Denise – i inadvertently started the circuit training for ADHD-ers (BTW..i’m self diagnosed) and it works wonders. one day while trying to figure out what my next sentence was going to be, i bolted up and started doing laundry. low and behold, the words started to come to me. i’m sure this method may be hard for some to fathom, but it works for me. thank you for reassuring i’m ‘normal’…whatever that means!
Ha! I do the same thing! And just so ya know… so did Hemmingway. He would walk away from the page in the middle of a sentence/paragraph so his subconscience would keep working on the story and that would keep him from getting stuck.
Might not work for everyone, but we know what works for us! :)
welcome back! great advice. I like the idea of thinking of it as circuit training. Makes perfect sense.
thanks, Cam :) I know, I’ve been MIA from the blogosphere.. trying to finish up some projects!
I’ve found this to work well for me, too. It especially works well for things that I really don’t want to do – like cleaning my garage. Just work for a short burst of time and then move on to something else. Taking these breaks and switching allows you to really throw yourself into the work when you are doing it, which means less time overall spent on doing something. It’s certainly a great idea!
Thanks, it seems to work for me, so I figured it was worth sharing :)
This is what I do, but I never thought of it this way. I will work for an hour or two on one task, than take a break. I make sure that I rest and eat during the day. I can get really focused, so switching things up means that I take my rest periods.
Makes sense to rest and eat – that should give you some extra energy to keep going.