getting things done - tips from someone with adhd and ocd
TRANSCRIPT
GETTING THINGS DONE
Tips from someone with ADHD and OCD
with Jason Lotito
TAKE DRUGS
THANKSQuestions?
Review at joind.in/13205 @jasonlotito
NO, BUT SERIOUSLY
MY ADHD & OCDPart Zero
FOUND OUT I HAD ADHD & OCD AT 33
A LITTLE ABOUT MY OCD
5
BALANCE5 is a balanced number
This is OCD. 24/7It’s not just making sure your code lines up straight. #lolocd
OCD MEANS I WANT IT DONE “THE RIGHT WAY”
We’ll talk about yak shaving later.
A LITTLE ABOUT MY ADHD
OH SHINY!
WHAT’S IT LIKE WITH OCD AND ADHD?
OCDDo it perfectly.
OCDDo it right.
ADHDYak shaving!
OCDDo it right.
ADHDYak shaving!
OCDInterruptions? We can’t do it
right now. Give up.
OCDDo it right.
ADHDYak shaving!
OCDInterruptions? We can’t do it
right now. Give up.
ADHDGood, let’s do something else.
Reddit!
I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG
AT 33 I DECIDED TO GET TESTED
THERAPY AND MEDICATIONFOR THE
OCD AND ADHD
THERAPY TAUGHT ME A LOT ABOUT MYSELF
Things I already knew, but didn’t understand.
MOST IMPORTANT THING IS YOU NEED TO HAVE SELF-AWARENESS
QUANTIFIED SELFPart One
MOST TEND TOOFFER SOLUTIONS
BEFORE UNDERSTANDING INDIVIDUAL PROBLEMS.
–Donald Knuth
“We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the
root of all evil. Yet we should not pass up our opportunities in that critical 3%”
THE KEY TO GETTING THINGS DONE IS UNDERSTANDING WHAT PREVENTS YOU FROM
DOING THEM.
TODO LIST
1. Make todo list.
2. Mark off step 1.
3. Do real big project
EVERY USE ONE OF THESE?“Look at that leather and that handmade quality,
that will definitely help me get things done.”
EVER READ THIS?It’s a good system.
NOT GETTING THINGS DONE IS A SYMPTOM,
NOT A PROBLEM.
THE FIRST STEP IS UNDERSTANDING
YOURSELF.
I’M NOT A DOCTOR, AND EVEN IF YOU ARE,
DON’T SELF-DIAGNOSE.Side Note
ANALYZE WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU DON’T GET
THINGS DONE
RECOMMENDEDEasy to use, inexpensive, works
RESCUETIME
RESCUETIME
• Are you a morning or afternoon person?
RESCUETIME
• Are you a morning or afternoon person?
• How much work are you actually doing?
RESCUETIME
• Are you a morning or afternoon person?
• How much work are you actually doing?
• Interruptions
RESCUETIME
• Are you a morning or afternoon person?
• How much work are you actually doing?
• Interruptions
• Focused on you, not clients/employees
WHAT DID I LEARN FROM RESCUETIME?
WHAT DID I LEARN FROM RESCUETIME?
• I work best in the afternoon.
WHAT DID I LEARN FROM RESCUETIME?
• I work best in the afternoon.
• Emails, chat, and notifications would interrupt frequently
WHAT DID I LEARN FROM RESCUETIME?
• I work best in the afternoon.
• Emails, chat, and notifications would interrupt frequently
• People would interrupt as well
WHAT DID I LEARN FROM RESCUETIME?
• I work best in the afternoon.
• Emails, chat, and notifications would interrupt frequently
• People would interrupt as well
• Meetings
WHAT DID I LEARN FROM RESCUETIME?
• I work best in the afternoon.
• Emails, chat, and notifications would interrupt frequently
• People would interrupt as well
• Meetings
• Interruptions would usually take me up 20 minutes to get back to work
INTERRUPTIONS
INTERRUPTIONS
• Already interrupted, I’d use the time to do other things
INTERRUPTIONS
• Already interrupted, I’d use the time to do other things
• Coffee
INTERRUPTIONS
• Already interrupted, I’d use the time to do other things
• Coffee
INTERRUPTIONS
• Already interrupted, I’d use the time to do other things
• Coffee
• Chat
I’D ALSO SHAVE YAKS
“MULTITASK”
FEAR
I KNOW WHAT I DOWHEN NOT DOING
WHAT I WANT TO DO
BEING AWARE OF WHAT I DO HELPS ME PLAN TO AVOID NOT DOING WHAT I DO
PLANSPart Two
WHAT STOPPED ME• Alerts and Emails
• Meetings
• People
• Yak Shaving
• Multitasking
• FEAR
KNOWING THIS, WE CAN DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO
OVERCOME THEM
ALERTS & EMAILS
ALERTS & EMAILSTurn off notifications
ALERTS & EMAILSTurn off notifications
Emails are not emergencies
MEETINGS
MEETINGSSchedule time when you work best
MEETINGSSchedule time when you work best
Plan other disrupting things around meetings
MEETINGSSchedule time when you work best
Plan other disrupting things around meetingsDo you really need to be there?
MEETINGSSchedule time when you work best
Plan other disrupting things around meetingsDo you really need to be there?
Schedule meetings for half the time
PEOPLE
PEOPLE“One moment”
PEOPLE“One moment”
Require they work for the request
PEOPLE“One moment”
Require they work for the requestSchedule the request for tomorrow
PEOPLE“One moment”
Require they work for the requestSchedule the request for tomorrow
Deflect or Delegate
YAK SHAVING
YAK SHAVINGStop when you realize it
YAK SHAVINGStop when you realize it
Get it done first
MULTITASKING
MULTITASKINGStop when you realize it
MULTITASKINGStop when you realize it
Usually a result of other issues failing
MULTITASKINGStop when you realize it
Usually a result of other issues failingResort to other plans of action
FEAR
FEARDon’t start the big project, do the first step.
FEARDon’t start the big project, do the first step.
Talk to someone else about it.
FEARDon’t start the big project, do the first step.
Talk to someone else about it.Get something working without architecting it.
SPECIFIC PLANS AREN’T IMPORTANTTHESE ARE MY PLANSTHEY WORK FOR ME
Working Done
Working DoneInterruption
Working
Done
Interruption
Not Done
Working
Done
Interruption
Not Done
Working
Done
Interruption
Not Done
Plan
YOU NEED SELF-AWARENESS TO PLAN
HAVING A PLAN MEANS YOU’LL INSTINCTIVELY DO WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
MORE TIPS & TRICKSTHAT WORK FOR METO GET THINGS DONE
Part Three
TRY ONE PLAN AT A TIME
SCHEDULE THINGS IN YOUR CALENDAR
WRITE DOWN NOTES
WRITE DOWN NOTESON PAPER
DELEGATE TO SOMEONE
COMPILE A DONE IT LIST
SCHEDULE RECURRING TASKS
AUTOMATE ANYTHING YOU DO TWICE
TURNS PLANS INTO HABITS
HABITS ARE PLANS THAT YOU FREQUENTLY DO
• When you want to do something, your plan is to schedule time
• Do this enough, and your habit will be to schedule things you want to do
ACCEPT THAT YOU WILL FAIL
SUCCESS IS REALLY JUST OVERCOMING FAILURES
BETWEEN VICTORIES
YOU CAN’T BE SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT ALSO
BEING A FAILURE
SO WHEN YOU FAIL, IT’S REALLY JUST A SIGN THAT YOU ARE ONE
STEP CLOSER TO SUCCESS
I KNOW THIS SOUNDS LIKE MAGIC FAIRY DUST
BUT REMEMBER…
THE KEY IS UNDERSTANDING
YOURSELF
ANALYZE WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU DON’T GET
THINGS DONE
AND TAKE DRUGS
THANKSQuestions?
Review at joind.in/13205 @jasonlotito