As you may or may not know, this professional organizer was blessed with a son who has ADHD. This month is National ADHD Awareness Month so I thought it appropriate to discuss time management. It tends to be one of the bigger issues for adults with ADHD.
My son, now age 21, is notorious for procrastinating. He loves to sleep, usually from 3:00 a.m. until whatever time he needs to get up, either for school or work. The thing is, he waits til the very last minute to get up, grab a shower and run out the door.
Today he has classes from 8:00 a.m. until 2:45 p.m. This morning I suggested, gently of course, that perhaps he take something to eat with him since it will be many hours until he gets home. I suggested quickly grabbing a bagel, so he would at least have something. He is not one to pack a lunch the night before, no matter how many times I recommend this. (Since he is 21, I no longer make lunches for him. Call me a bad mom.) His response was "But...I don't have any time!". Seriously? He didn't have time to open the fridge and grab a bagel, put it in a sandwich bag and head out the door. (He doesn't do breakfast.) I think not!
Here's my theory. We all have 24 hours in a day. It's what we do with them that counts. If he would have just simply woken up 15 minutes earlier, he would have had the time to take his shower and grab that bagel to take with him.
In other words, it does take some preparation and some thought as to what we need to do and how much time we need to do it. Then we prepare accordingly. Waking up 15 minutes earlier could have made such a difference for him.
I am still working with him on this issue, but here is some "food" for thought (no pun intended, well...maybe) for those of you that find that you are running out of time in the morning to get out the door. Simply prepare.
To start, make a list of what you need to do and then estimate how long it will take you to do it. Then add a cushion of time to avoid that last minute rushing around.
Simply by taking some time (of which we all have the same amount) to get organized and create a plan, you will find that you are no longer saying "But...I don't have any time!".
Try it out and let me know how you make out. If you need some addidtional help, let me know. I am here when you are ready.
In the meantime, take some "time" today to remember 9-11-01. I think we can all find a few minutes today to do so.
