Step Away

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As ADD Moms, we have all had times when something we were trying to do got the best of us.

I remember spending most of a weekend trying to make a change on my website and failing. Rather than stepping away from the computer for a while, I spent far too much time that weekend trying to work it out.

Finally I had to give it up and I didn’t come back to it until a few days later. Within a hour or two, I had made the changes I wanted. It was simple and easy and completely clear to me what I needed to do.

And yet, the previous weekend, that same task was beyond my abilities.

That happens a lot to those of us with ADHD, and it can be confusing and frustrating for us and for those who depend on us.

The ADHD mind has it’s own unique way of ordering things and filing them away.

For instance, my mind might associate a recipe for chocolate cake with my Aunt Betty, who is famous for her chocolate cake. Therefore, my mind might file that information under A for aunt or B for Betty, but not perhaps under C for chocolate and cake.

You know how your mind jumps from one thing to another, often without any seeming connection between ideas? It’s kind of like what this t-shirt from Cafe Press says:

Cafe Press

OK, so your brain does the same thing when storing information.

So my brain thinks “chocolate cake = Aunt Betty” and files the information accordingly.

Where your brain files information may not always be as logical as my example, and often the brain does a few jumps from one thing to another before finally settling on what to do with the information. This is especially true for new information.

And who knows? Maybe our brain does something equivalent to putting your car keys down somewhere and forgetting where.

One thing is for sure, though. When you are having one of those days when something you know how to do is just not working for you, you need to learn to step away from it for a while.

Eventually it will come back to you, usually when you’re not trying so hard.

Picture of Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle is the writer of Lacyestelle.com and the Podcast host for An ADD Woman.

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