This I believe

Overall Belief Statement: Focus.

Memoirs of a Guy with ADD

What was I writing about again? Oh yeah.

Today’s technological advancements in entertainment have made staying on task very difficult. First-world problems. For those of us with ADD things like focus and concentration are alien and almost mythical. Even while I am writing this sentence I am battling the urge to check my phone, watch TV, check Facebook, and pretty much everything else except write this. But here I am… Or there I was, I should say, because as you are reading these words now in YOUR present tense, they were created in MY present tense, which is now in YOUR past, which would also mean these words are time travelers…
My brain just exploded. That reminds me, I need to return the Back to the Future dvds to my brother, I could probably get to it this afternoon, but wait, I still haven’t finished the third one, maybe I could watch it before I finish this pap--

Focus. Jeremy, Focus

It’s like I’m a kid in a playground, surrounded by Xbox swings-sets and iPhone monkey-bars, while confined to the boring old essay sandbox. In order for me to get any work completed, I have to temporarily channel my inner-Amish man and cut myself off from technology entirely. Seriously. I completed this first draft with a quill and ink hovered next to the oil lamp. I may have exaggerated slightly, but you get my point.

Everyone has suffered from procrastination at least once in our lives. Some of us more than others. I don’t even remember the last time I finished an assignment without an impending deadline only hours away. If it wasn’t for the last-minute, I’d never get anything done. I thrive on it. Despite the pressure that my self-inflicting situation puts me through, my work is surprising quality. And I end up spending a lot less time on it than I would have completed the assignment earlier. But the big downside to this is that the longer we put things off, the less likely it will be completed.

 It’s when the thoughts start creeping in. “Oh, I don’t NEED to study for this test, I could probably pull out a ‘C’ without it.” Or “I can afford a couple missing assignments. They’ll be averaged out at the end of the semester.” These are dangerous.

That’s when I have to dig down deep and find my motivation and remind myself why I am here and do the work with my goals in mind. Self-motivation is not an automatic trait in the human mind and I’ve learned that motivation is fueled by past failures. I have the drive to succeed because in the past, I did not. Having Attention Deficit Disorder  makes it harder to summon, but I do. And when I do, I’m rewarded with a warm sense of accomplishment and a satisfying middle-finger to ADD.