What do you if you can't seem to do anything?

Life swings dramatically for the ADHDish and ADHDers. I knock it out of the park some days. On other days I can’t find the parking lot. Recently, I couldn’t remember directions to the park for about a month.

I disconnected from friends, missed appointments, and didn’t care for myself well. It culminated in postponing surgery for reasons mostly out of my control (more on that at a different time). That’s put me on a trip spin through an anger, depression, and dread spiral.

On the third day in the dread phase, a combination of appointment cancellations and snow shutting down the city allowed a break in my schedule to have coffee with my climbing partner and friend.

My friend said, “when you flounder, you need a foothold.” When you are struggling, don’t reach for the most difficult project. Find something juggy (for you non-climbers a jug is big, easy to grip hand hold).

Win the basics

Many high performers feel driven only to go hard. We dismiss the simple tasks. Yet, completing these simple tasks enables you to go on and do the hard you love.

_______________________________________________________

Psychology Concept of the Week

Cognitive fluency is simply “ease of understanding.” is how we feel about taking in new information. It’s the subjective experience of the ease or difficulty of completing a mental task.

If you want to learn more about cognitive fluency, here are some ways it's used in the literature:

Unkelbach, C. (2006). The learned interpretation of cognitive fluency. Psychological Science, 17(4), 339-345.

Schwarz, N. (2004). Metacognitive experiences in consumer judgment and decision making. J. Consum. Psychol. 14, 332–348. doi: 10.1207/s15327663jcp1404_2

_______________________________________________________

Performance Tip

Create a list of Juggs

Write out the following

1. Actions that take less than 10 minutes that you enjoy?

2. Actions come easy to you and related to your goals?

3. Actions require little effort and are important?

Keep that document somewhere to find it easily when you are struggling.

Invitation

I want a life that is better than you can imagine. I want that for you. I want that for me.

I only know how to do that by learning, growing, and getting experienced guidance/feedback along the way.

Please do the task. Please send me a dm to let me know what you did!

I offer bespoke performance coaching for ADHDish folks if you want additional assistance. My time is limited, given my busy practice. It's not cheap. But if you want to take your life to the next level, click here to apply

Have a great day.

Drew