"Not now." "I'm not there yet." "I can't think about that
right now."
These are some of the most popular phrases that come out of
my mouth during the business day. Like most adults with
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), I measure time in one of
two ways: Now, and Not Now.
This can be an effective strategy when dealing with crises,
but it can also hold an ADDer back in their business. When
you have ADD, there is always something grabbing your
attention. You can spend way too much time allowing
distractions to take over in the Now, and important things
without deadlines attached can easily become the Not Now.
Here's a great example: Cash flow is slow and you know that
you're going to be in trouble in a couple of weeks if you
don't come up with a solution to solve the temporary
problem. You start off your Monday morning thinking that
this problem will be the first one you deal with...
...but when you sit down at your desk and find your email
Inbox overflowing. It feels more important in the moment
and answering email becomes your Now, while the cash flow
problem becomes your Not Now.
I see it over and over and over again: the biggest obstacle
in the lives of ADD business owners is email! It never
stops, and it never slows down. Emails are probably the
number one distraction for us in our businesses. While
email distracts, interrupts, and annoys just about everyone
with a job, it's actually worse for the adult with ADD.
Because of our attention inconsistencies, we're more likely
to have our concentration broken by the knowledge of a new
email, prompting us to read the email, and often making us
feel pressured to respond right away. All this time on
email leaves little time to get in the flow and get some
real work done. However, there is a way to break this
cycle: shutting email down and eliminating the distraction.
For me, the best course of action is to start out my day
answering emails for one hour. I get through what I can,
and then I shut it down. First I answer team emails, then
client emails, vendor emails, and so on. Emails that aren't
important--those that don't affect client servicing or the
bottom line--don't get answered quickly. I will often check
email once again at the end of the day but, for the most
part, just read and not respond.
Contrary to what you may think, this isn't a difficult
habit to cultivate. There are a few steps you may need to
take to get there:
1. Make the decision to eliminate the continuous
distraction of email.
2. Inform the people who email you that you'll only be
responding to email once a day, and that it may take a day
or two for you to respond.
3. Get help answering emails that don't need to be answered
by you. You'll be amazed by how much more you can actually
get done when your email isn't open all day long!
If email was your only distraction, you might be okay. But
when you have adult ADD, a busted copier, a lost phone
number, or a great article can easily occupy your Now,
perpetually knocking the important stuff into Not Now.
Prioritizing and planning your day certainly help, but
there's a strategy for this challenge that is often
overlooked. It involves a form of "time" other than Now and
Not Now: the Business Development Day.
Business Development Days are scheduled work
days--preferably once a week on the same day--in which you
shut out all the distractions and allow the bigger,
long-term issues to become Nows before it's too late.
When you employ this strategy, you not only ensure that
your business grows and prospers, you also reduce a great
deal of stress!
----------------------------------------------------
Jennifer Koretsky is the Founder of the ADD Management
Group, Inc. and the author of Odd One Out: The Maverick's
Guide to Adult ADD. Jennifer and her team work with ADD
adults who are overwhelmed with everyday life in order to
help them simplify, focus, and succeed. For free resources
and information on adult ADD, visit
http://www.ADDmanagement.com .
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