BOOK REVIEWS

Pause and reflect

Book review

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Take a moment

No matter whether you are inattentive or hyperactive, adults with ADHD are always in motion. Whether physically or mentally we are always busy, engaged, seldom ever reflecting. We move from one activity to the next without much conscious thought. This is part of the reason why we fail to call our friends, makes plans, do the chores – we are always actively seeking the next interesting activity, thought, conversation or task – we don’t pause!

Auto-pilot

There is much to be gained from pausing. But you must learn to self observe and notice your transitions first. Watch yourself as you move from one task to the next. How many transitions take place like you’re on autopilot.

Thankfully you can break out of auto-pilot and it’s quite simple. It does mean paying attention though. Try to pay attention to your many transitions through the day. When you leave the house in the morning, when you start your email, when you take a coffee, when you ignore the time and stay an extra hour, when you pass over your expenses for email. Each is a transition demands an earlier decision – “what shall I do next”. There are hundreds of transitions in your normal day and hundreds of decisions too.

Pause and reflect

Once your awareness grows of these transitions, you can choose to pause, to defer the next task, and to reflect on your choices. The longer you reflect, the more criteria you can consider. When you consider the next task, ask is this task in my best interests, would another task better serve me. Reflect on options, on the future, on goals and requirements before you make the next transition.

Try pausing and reflecting, maybe there is a more valuable, rewarding and beneficial task or activity that you could be doing right now.

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Andrew Lewis

Andrew Lewis is an ADHD Coach, writer and founder of SimplyWellbeing. He has over ten thousand hours and fifteen years of experience in coaching ADHD executives, business professionals and creatives. His expertise with ADHD is personal, with decades of his own experience, bringing up an ADHD child, running a large support group and in coaching clients often for years He has published his writing via this website and has ADHD online courses in development. His business expertise comes from a twenty years career in software, from programming, through marketing, sales and running a few start-ups.

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