rheanna

Thunor,

Thank you for the positive report -- wow! Im impressed at how you are making decisions that move you >>>forward>>> towards your goals!

I am not surprised that you are doing so well at work. You are smart and there is plenty of structure around you to remind you of what you're supposed to be doing.

School is, by its nature, a bit harder -- not because the work itself is harder, but because you are expected to set up your own structure to get the work done. Not an easy thing for us ADDers!

What order are you doing things in each day? I am assuming (for whatever that's worth!) that you are:
1. taking meds
2. doing a full day's job
3. attending classes
4. doing homework for classes

So, my first thought is that the meds are not lasting into the late evenings when you are struggling with this foreign concept of attending to your studies. Would it be possible to consider a small dosage of regular (not long-lasting) med after work to carry you through the evenings?

Another thought is that, as I said above, it's much easier to attend to tasks when the structure is provided for you. One of the things that helps me is the concept of "when I am in this place I do this activity". At work (when I used to be a member of the gainfully employed class of folk), I generally was able to put in a reasonable day's work because that's what you did when you were there. Or you got fired.

By the time I got to college, I had figured out that I could pay attention better when I was sitting in the front row right under the teacher's nose, and, of course, it was a lot easier to pay attention when the teacher had something interesting to say!

However, homework was another problem. It's tough to do it when there are so many other temptations for whiling away one's time. If I were in college today, what I would do is schedule time in the school (or town) library or someplace that isn't at home, where the task at that time and at that place is to do my homework. No other temptations.

Another thought is that there might be someone who could act as your "homework coach" -- someone to whom you would have to report on a regular basis regarding specific tasks and guesstimates for required time for upcoming assignments, guesstimate amount of studying required for tests, reporting of whether these tasks have been accomplished, and regular re-assessments of expectations. In other words, an outside stucture.

Yes, it's much easier to discuss your class topics right there in class -- that's the outside structure that we ADDers need -- there's nothing else to distract you right then and there and you can impress your professors with your brilliant insights about the topics. The homework (reading and writing assignments) are not so easy, because you -- the ADD boy -- can always find more interesting (and easier!) things to do.

So the idea here is to work with your ADD brain -- you need an outside structure. It may be a place (such as the library) or a coach who will hold you accountable, and/or a dosage of short acting meds for later in the evening, and/or specific music in your earphones to enable you to concentrate.

You're doing great!!! Don't compare yourself with other folks who seem to be having an easier time of it -- they are successful merely because they have found a way that works for them. Once you find the methods that work for you, you'll be able to accomplish so much more without the distractions of low self-esteem.

I'm proud of you!!!

--Rheanna