I was sitting at my desk tonight trying to decide what to write about. (Suggestions are always welcome).
Anyway, as I was thinking, I glanced over at the ladder that is right next to my desk. No, the ladder that is actually sitting over a corner of my desk. There’s some paint and paintbrushes nearby, too.
Re-decorating? No.
Remember Hurricane Ike, back in September? That weekend we got something like 12 inches of rain from Ike and the ceiling in my office leaked. My husband got on it right away, going up into the attic and assessing the damage.
He went to Home Depot and bought some Kilz to hide the stain, and some brushes, and he brushed it on.
Fast forward to early November. Remember our daughter was coming for the weekend, and he had a thousand projects planned, including painting the room she was going to sleep in? She arrived Nov. 7; the ladder was put in place earlier that week. And yet, all that’s been done is what got done back in September.
My husband, like lots of people with Attention Deficit Disorder, likes to start new projects. He’s excited and ambitious and he can just see the beautiful results.
Somewhere along the way, though, something happens. He runs into a snag, or realizes he forgot to get some supplies. Or maybe it’s just too boring. He’s thought of something more exciting in the meantime.
It’s a common enough thing for those of us with ADHD. I can’t say I’ve never done it myself. That would be a big, whopping lie.
There are two things you can do when this happens, other than abandon the thing entirely. Either get someone to help keep you on track (or even work with you), or find some motivation to finish.
The last house we sold inspired a whole flurry of finally finished projects. 🙂