Archive for Resources
Why ADHDer’s Can Use “The 80/20 Rule” To Increase Productivity.
Most of you have probably already heard of the 80/20 rule. You know the rule that states eighty percent of your results come from 20 percent of your efforts. The flip suggestion is that 80 percent of the effort doesn’t proportionately impact your company’s bottom-line.
Although this rule sounds simple and may seem to have nothing to do with ADHD, it is one of the most powerful productivity enhancers available, and can be particularly effective for Entrepreneurs by with ADHD.
Because the 80/20 rule is counterintuitive it is frequently overlooked.
As intelligent people, we pride ourselves on being logical, therefore, we reasonably deduce that 50 percent of our results come from 50 percent of our efforts and 60 percent of our results come from 60 percent of our efforts…and so on. Even worse, we conclude that if we work 12 hours it’s because there wasn’t an alternative. It’s hard to imagine we could actually do more in less time.
Even when working with those who intellectually “understand” the 80/20 rule, I’ve rarely encountered a client who meaningfully translated the rule into changes in how they organized their work day.
Why you might ask? As a general rule, I’ve found it is easy for people to recognize when someone else is inefficient, yet it can be very hard to recognize this same tendency in ourselves. Accordingly, whether people “understand” the 80/20 rule people, or not, they frequently tend to complain about not having enough time to get things done.
For Example
Let’s say that you work a typical eight-hour day. If it’s true that you get 80 percent of your results from 20 percent of your efforts, what could happen if you got laser beam focused for 96 minutes each day (20 percent of eight hours)? To give it a try, get a timer and set it for 96 minutes. Without interruptions, focus on your No.1 priority for the day.
Try this as early in the day as possible, before you get bogged down with e-mails, returning calls, meetings or other distractions. Many of my clients who have tried this idea have told me they were amazed with how much they accomplished. Try it for one week and see how well it works for you.
Why Is This Approach So Effective For ADHDers?
Clients with ADHD have found this method particularly effective for two reasons. First, it reduces distractions that frequently impeded their productivity. Second, it allows people with ADHD to maximize their ability to hyper-focus. Hyper-focus is the tendency to become absorbed in tasks that are stimulating and rewarding. Though they may have difficulty focusing, organizing, and completing certain mundane tasks, ADHDer’s frequently are able to focus intently on activities that interest them.
Using Multiple Intelligence to Tap into Hidden Genius of Entrepreneurs with ADHD
Click here to take Free Multiple Intellgence Test
Years of working with clients with ADHD has taught us at that there are multiple types of intelligence. One of the strongest predictors of success is the ability to tap into and harness your particular type of intelligence or Learning Style.
The theory of multiple intelligences was developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University. It suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited.
Instead, Dr. Gardner proposes eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. These intelligences are:
Linguistic intelligence (“word smart”):
Logical-mathematical intelligence (“logic smart”)
Spatial intelligence (“picture smart”)
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence (“body smart”)
Musical intelligence (“music smart”)
Interpersonal intelligence (“people smart”)
Intrapersonal intelligence (“self smart”)
Naturalist intelligence (“nature smart”)
Our schools and culture focus most of their attention on linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence. We esteem the highly articulate or logical people of our culture.
However, we should also place equal attention on individuals who show gifts in the other intelligences: the artists, architects, musicians, naturalists, designers, dancers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and others who enrich the world in which we live.
Unfortunately, many gifted people with ADHD didn’t receive much positive reinforcement for them in school. As kids, many of these Entrepreneurs, in fact, ended up being labeled “learning disabled,” “ADHD (attention deficit hyper-activity disorder,” or simply underachievers, when their unique ways of thinking and learning weren’t addressed by a heavily linguistic or logical-mathematical classroom.
The theory of multiple intelligences proposes a major transformation in the way our schools are run. It suggests that teachers be trained to present their lessons in a wide variety of ways using music, cooperative learning, art activities, role play, multimedia, field trips, inner reflection, and much more.
To begin to learn more about — and to start to harness — your unique learning style, answer the questions below “true” or “false”. (Click here to take the Test).
For a step-by-step plan and all the details for harnessing your particular type of intelligence, contact Entrepreneurs with ADHD, and recieve a Free 15 minute consult. Learn how to harness this strength in some amazing ways that will change your life at home, school and work.
You can also contact us at 301.588.4600
5 Tools Every Entrepreneur with ADHD Should Be Using to Get — and Stay — Organized…
By Vernestine Laughinghouse, CPO and Shane Perrault, PhD
Many people think that getting organized is cleaning up, but that actually couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, people who are truly organized never need to clean up, because they have a defined method for managing every item they handle. Sound confusing?
Luckily, it’s really not.
Simply stated, being organized means that you have a defined process for dealing with everything that you encounter in life. At the office, this most often applies to pieces of paper, e-mails, voice mails, and any other information that is passed to you physically in some way. If you don’t have a defined process for managing this information (especially in paper form), then you probably do one of four things:
1. Stack it in a pile
2. Stuff it in a drawer
3. Spread it across your desk
4. A combination of all three
Chances are, taking the above actions works all right for you most of the time. You can probably usually find what you need. You probably feel as if, for the most part, you have a handle on where everything is.
That may be true, but the fact is that your desk is still cluttered, which contributes to feelings of being overwhelmed and overworked, and who needs that?
Barbara Hemphill, author of Taming the Paper Tiger at Home, says that “clutter is postponed decisions,” and she is right. Because even if you think that you like your piles of paperwork, the fact is that you will ultimately need to sort through them and make all of the associated decisions.
Instead of wasting time chasing paper around your desk, end the cycle before it starts by creating a decision-making process for every time that you encounter something new:
Five Great Rules for Getting (and Staying) Organized:
1. If you are never going to need it again, then Discard or Recycle it
2. If you need to ask someone for help with it, then Delegate it
3. If there is something you need to do about it, then Take Immediate Action
4. If there is something you need to do about it, but it can wait for later, then File it for Follow-Up
5. If you may need it later, then Put it in a Reference File
Taking one of these five steps will help you to get more organized!
