One Thing at a Time

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That’s how you’re supposed to do things, right?

You start a project and you work on it until it’s done. You never start one thing without finishing the other thing before it.

Ha.

Are you kidding me?

Right now I bet we have 3,674,765 projects going. Or something close to that.

I bet you do too.

(One of my friends once told me that she thought her husband had this secret fear that if he finished anything he would die.)

It could happen.

So why is it we ADDers have such an issue with finishing things we start? Other than that fear about dying, I mean.

Actually it’s pretty simple.

We like shiny and new. Something less than 5 minutes old, before our interest has worn off.

Last spring my husband decided that we needed hardwood flooring downstairs. A few weeks later he decided it only made sense to paint first, before the floors were done.

Almost a year later – the floors are installed but not sanded or stained. Our living room is painted, but not the kitchen, bathroom or family room. Our bedroom – not part of the hardwood floor project – has been painted in the last couple of weeks.

This is how our brains work.

It’s exciting to begin something new, until it isn’t anymore.

So what’s the solution?

Well, my father-in-law’s solution was to ask someone to come over and help. More hands, less work, more motivation to finish.

And of course you could always pay someone to finish it. Or threaten to. I had a friend who found that tactic very effective. (Oh, and not to blame it all on the guys – we ADD Moms are just as good at starting but not finishing as they are.)

Finally, you can just relax and go with the flow. Get things done as you can in what order you can.

Not always easy, I know.

I guess what I’m saying is that people who do not have Attention Deficit Disorder are the ones who finish what they start.

And in trying to do the same, we are once again trying to fit our square selves into their round hole.

We are different, therefore we cannot be the same.

Let’s embrace who we are, OK?

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle

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

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