I’ll be honest, I don’t like New Year’s resolutions.  They are often not realistic, do not have solid plans behind them and are usually not what I would call “ADHD-friendly”.  I often hear people asking, “What resolutions are you making this year”?  This can easily lead to an impulsive response of, “I’m going to lose weight”, “I’m going to focus more” or  “I’m going to finally manage time better this year”.  Resolutions tend to be susceptible to this impulsivity, general and filled with obligation to fix what is wrong with ourselves.

Will you consider a goal instead?

I’m writing about this now because I am hopeful that you have forgotten your resolutions… Hopeful that you will open to considering the idea of setting ONE meaningful goal for yourself.  Having a meaningful goal to focus your attention can help you overcome the problems often associate with resolutions.

 Brainstorm

To start, brainstorm the ADHD challenges where you would like to make some improvements this year.  Review your list and decide what is the biggest priority for you.  Make this priority your focus for the meaningful goal you are going to set.  I know, it will be difficult to pick just one, but this is really important.  Having one goal where you focus your energy will help you in achieving that goal.  (I also think it will help you improve in other areas, but more on that another day!)

 Set a SMART Goal

After selecting your area of focus, it is time to set a SMART goal.  To make your goal SMART, you can answer the following questions for yourself:

• How can I make the goal as Specific as possible?
• How will I Measure this goal?  (If it is not easily measured, develop your own rating scale.)
• What are my chances of Attaining this goal?  How can I revise the goal to make it more Attainable?
• How is this goal Relevant to my personal and/or professional life?
• What is the Timing or deadline associate with this goal?

When your goal is SMART, you can then develop a useful action plan and monitor your success until you achieve the goal according to the timing you have established.

What do you think, do resolutions work for individuals with ADHD and ADD?

How can you apply these tips to your goals?

PS – You can now subscribe to the show in iTunes!

Below, I have pulled together some of my favorite goal setting articles here at My Attention Coach to provide you a one-stop “shopping” experience.  Let me know your thoughts!

Goal Setting 101

Clear goals that use the SMART acronym do more to move you towards success than any number of New Years resolutions.  This article shares some quick tips to ensure that your goals are SMART.

Review Goals to Get Focused

ADHD can cause trouble staying focused on your goals.  Especially annual goals that are set early in the year.  This article will help you review your goals to help you stay (or get!)  focused.

Prioritizing ADHD Goals

All of your goals are important to you and prioritizing them allows you to focus your valuable time and energy.  When you have ADHD, prioritizing your goals can be extremely difficult, yet it is an important skill to develop.

Let me know your thoughts and any questions below.

Take some time to review your goals or to set some new ones.  Whether it is getting organized, staying focused, starting a new project or something else that I have not contemplated, you owe it to yourself to get focused.

To start, take some time today to make sure your goal is SMART.

• Specific
• Making goals specific give you a better idea of where you are headed.
• Take the example of getting organized.  Saying I want to be better organized might move you in the right direction, but saying that you want to clear all of the extra clutter from the file drawers in your home office is likely to motivate you more.
• Measurable
• When you set your goals, make sure you can measure them.
• Having measurements lets you keep track of whether or not you achieve your goals.
• Attainable
• Goals need to be attainable.  Many times, when talking to clients, I learn that their goals are often set in a manner that makes them unachievable.  As you  know, this can be frustrating.  When looking at your goals, look at them to make sure they are attainable.  If not, break them into smaller steps.
• Realistic
• You must be realistic when setting your goals. If ADHD tends to make you impulsive, it is especially important for you to focus on setting realistic goals. When you set goals, double-check to make sure you are being realistic.
• Timely
•  When you have ADHD, it is important to set timely goals with deadlines to help you keep focus on the goals.
• To reinforce the deadlines you set for yourself, I recommend that you write them down in your planner or calendar.

To learn more about goal setting strategies, register for the teleclass I am offering in August with my coaching colleague Dale Davison.  Goals and ADHD: Practical Strategies that Work for You!

Goal setting can be difficult when you have ADHD.  Join us – Certified ADHD coach Dale Davison, M.Sp.Ed and me for an introductory class where we will share practical strategies for setting and achieving goals that work for you – the adult with ADHD.

Join us for 30 minutes to learn how to

• set powerful goals that you can actually achieve
• set goals that will motivate you
• set goals that will increase your focus
• set goals that will increase your productivity

This will be easy  and convenient…  Call from either your home or office on

Monday 8/22/11  2:30 – 3:00 p.m. EDT  (1:30 – 2:00 p.m. CDT)

or

 Tuesday 8/23/11    9:00 – 9:30 p.m. EST or  8:00 – 8:30 p.m. CST

We really encourage you to join us live so you can get your own questions answered, but the recording will also be available for those of you who can’t make it to either of the teleclasses.

Cost:  complimentary / free
Register by:  9 a.m 8/22/11 to receive call-in number and password

Interested in more strategies and support that work?  Join us for our group coaching by phone starting August 29.  Go from Turmoil to Tranquility!

The practice of gratitude as a tool for happiness has been in the mainstream for years. Long-term studies support gratitude’s effectiveness, suggesting that a positive, appreciative attitude contributes to greater success in work, greater health, peak performance in sports and business, a higher sense of well-being, and a faster rate of recovery from surgery.

But while we may acknowledge gratitude’s many benefits, it still can be difficult to sustain. So many of us are trained to notice what is broken, undone or lacking in our lives. I know this can be especially true for my clients with ADHD.  And for gratitude to meet its full healing potential in our lives, it needs to become more than just a Thanksgiving word. We have to learn a new way of looking at things, a new habit. And that can take some time.

That’s why practicing gratitude makes so much sense. When we practice giving thanks for all we have, instead of complaining about what we lack, we give ourselves the chance to see all of life as an opportunity and a blessing.

Remember that gratitude isn’t a blindly optimistic approach in which the bad things in life are whitewashed or ignored. It’s more a matter of where we put our focus and attention. Pain and injustice exist in this world, but when we focus on the gifts of life, we gain a feeling of well-being. Gratitude balances us and gives us hope.

There are many things to be grateful for: colorful autumn leaves, legs that work, friends who listen and really hear, chocolate, fresh eggs, warm jackets, tomatoes, the ability to read, roses, our health, butterflies. What’s on your list?

Some Ways to Practice Gratitude

• Keep a gratitude journal in which you list things for which you are thankful. You can make daily, weekly or monthly lists. Greater frequency may be better for creating a new habit, but just keeping that journal where you can see it will remind you to think in a grateful way.
• Make a gratitude collage by drawing or pasting pictures.
• Practice gratitude around the dinner table or make it part of your nighttime routine.
• Make a game of finding the hidden blessing in a challenging situation.
• When you feel like complaining, make a gratitude list instead. You may be amazed by how much better you feel.
• Notice how gratitude is impacting your life. Write about it, sing about it, express thanks for gratitude.

As you practice, an inner shift begins to occur, and you may be delighted to discover how content and hopeful you are feeling. That sense of fulfillment is gratitude at work.

What do you think?  How can you practice more gratitude?

Author’s content used under license, © 2011 Claire Communications

Goal Review

To review your goals, ask yourself the following questions:

• What progress have I made towards my goal?
• What adjustments do I need to make regarding my goal?
• What milestones can I set to to ensure I am making progress to meet my goal?
• How can I keep my goals present for myself in my day-to-day activities?

Do a quick review and leave your comments here to let us know how it has helped you.

When you have ADHD, prioritizing your goals can be extremely difficult, yet it is an important skill to develop.  Prioritizing your goals allows you to focus on the most important ones. With prioritization you can gain:

• focus on what is important
• positive feedback when you accomplish necessary tasks
• more time when you can take lower priorities right off your list

Without prioritization, we may get overwhelmed by too many goals, especially if we have a large number we would like to achieve.  All of your goals, of course, have some importance to you, but I would encourage you to move away from the idea that everything must be accomplished TODAY.  By applying some priority to your goals and responsibilities, some of the typical overwhelm can be taken away.

Priorities Change

Remember, your prioritization may change over time and that is perfectly okay!  Review your goals regularly to ensure they are still prioritized correctly.   Of course, this happens with business projects all the time, but it can also happen in our personal lives.

How to set priorities

There is no secret formula that is going to work for everyone when setting their priorities.  It can be helpful, however, to ask yourself a series of questions such as:

• Do any of your goals have external deadlines?
• What are the deadlines and are they negotiable?
• How do the deadlines impact the priority of your goals?
• Is this goal a high or low priority?  (Remember, this isn’t set in stone.  What feels right this moment)

After working on your priorities, take a step back and determine what you need to put on your Must Do list.  Remember that you can’t get it all done at once.  What are the critical goals and action steps that you need to set in the next day, week and month?

How do you prioritize and how can we help?

By setting deadlines, you create a sense of urgency to get working on your goals.  How often do you hear someone say they need to get more organized?  If your goal is to get organized and you give yourself no deadline, how will you know when you succeed?  How will you know when to set a new goal?  Worse yet, how will you know if you did not reach your goal?  Without deadlines, you can lose that spark to get you moving and make progress towards your goal.

If you have some goals already set for 2011, take a look at them and make sure you have included a timeline and/or deadline for achieving your goal.

Do you set timing around your goals?  How can I help you with that?

Monitor your success to Get Focused on your goals.  By doing so, you will be reminded to work towards your goals and you will be able to celebrate the small wins.  By focusing on small successes, you can help yourself build momentum towards your larger goals.

Some Tools to Help Monitor Success

• Keep a journal – write down one success each day
• Use a calendar – enter one accomplishment each day
• Make a special checklist to keep track
• Talk to a friend for a mini-celebration

How do you monitor your success?  Let us know!