BBW ADD

So the other day I was attempting to tackle four tasks at once and it occurred to me that I have ADD--Attention Deficit Disorder because after four hours, none of those tasks were completed and I had started about three more as well.  This happens to me a LOT and it explains why there are so many half-completed home improvement projects around here.

(BTW I love acronyms, but that has a lot to do with the fact that I live in DC where acronyms and initials are our primary form of communication.  "Where do you work?" "Oh, at the SEC over on 6th and D across the street from DOJ and the AARP building.")

See what I mean?  I am supposed to be writing about my inability to complete anything and I get distracted by all of the pretty letters...

Seriously, this is a major issue and it probably explains why I call myself a BBW in the first place.  A busy person claims to have a lot going on (which I do), but that is because my focus is scattered all over the place.  I need to wash the dishes, but I also decide to mop the kitchen floor because I just cooked, and then I decide that I need to put the garbage out because I just cooked and generated a lot of garbage that might smell, but then I realize that there are no more bags, so I put on my coat and head to the store to buy more bags, which becomes an entire afternoon of shopping for other assorted household needs.  By the time I get back home, I am too exhausted to mop the floor and out of everything else I purchased, I forgot the garbage bags.  I go back to start on the dishes, but by then the water is too cold, so in running more hot dish water, I decide to fill the bucket (might as well) to mop the floor.  While waiting for the floor to dry, I see something else that requires my attention in some other part of the house and I never get back to finishing the dishes.

See how this cycle goes?

The husband encourages me to write lists, which I do.  And when I do that, I manage to cross off a lot of the stuff but that is only when I know that most of these things can be done in a single setting.  As in, I can remember to make appointments and return phone calls and even respond to a bunch of emails because each of those things can be accomplished without me having to leave the room.  But of course, that is only if everything I need is within reach.  If I have to go off to look for something, that brief moment of efficiency is likely to be short-lived.

Another tactic has been the reward-punishment system.  For example, if I complete a task, I will reward myself by having a glass of wine.  If I do not complete something, I might punish myself by eating something unhealthy.  That has not been working too well lately...

But I am determined to tackle my BBW ADD--I just need to focus on the task at hand, which for the moment involves sitting here at my desk.  And I plan to sit here until it is all done; although it is almost lunch time and I have to go down to the kitchen to get something to eat...so I suspect that there is a 50-50 chance that I will end up washing those dishes after all.