Chapter Summary (#13-16)
Continuing the chapter summary of Pills Don’t Teach Skills, here are the last four chapters 13 through 16.
13. Time Management - Many of us claim our days are never wasted. “I’m very organized” we say “I know where I am going and what I’m going to do”. If you truly feel that way then you are in the minority? Most people become frustrated with a day that is unproductive . We would all like to get more done in a day. The idea of time management has been in existence for more than 100 years. Unfortunately the term “Time Management” creates a false impression of what a person is able to do. Time can’t be managed, time is uncontrollable we can only manage ourselves and our use of time. Time management is actually self management, especially with ADD. It’s interesting that the skills we need to manage others are also the same skills we need to manage ourselves. The ability to plan, delegate, organize, direct and control. We take a closer look at common time wasters which need to be identified. In order for a time management process to work, it is important to know what aspects of our personal management need to be improved. A helpful tip is offered at the end of the chapter.
14. Kids, A New Perspective – I wanted to present my experience on parenting with ADD. The challenge of ADD and raising kids can be overcome. In an odd way, being diagnosed with ADD made me a better father. It forced me to be much more aware, alert and the personal growth that I have experienced has been beneficial in every aspect of my life, especially as a father. I am a single Dad, with equal custody of my son and daughter. Single parents and their children continue to become a rapidly increasing population in North America. Much of the initial research on single parent families focused on single mothers due to the father’s absence. More recently, single fathers with equal custody are starting to become a familiar set up. In my case, you add ADD to that equation, and there is a big growing curve to adjust to. Today’s family units provide a viable alternative to the traditional nuclear families, which seem to be going the way of dinosaurs. The traditional nuclear family is now the minority in North America. A helpful tip is offered at the end of the chapter.
15. Exercise & Nutrition - On my road of experience with ADD I can look back and identify many points along the way that were milestones, where change took place and a shift for the better occurred within me and my life. One milestone that was a key factor in my personal growth, was physical health. I view exercise and nutrition as the building blocks of physical health. Exercise is unique to each individual and with so many different ways to participate, there are a lot of options to consider. For me, I have always been very active in athletics so the process of finding an exercise routine that worked for me was very enjoyable. One thing remains true in almost every person’s life no matter who you are, nothing is better than exercise and balanced eating habits. I hate the word diet! While I exercise in many different ways, the two consistent aspects of my exercise program are running and weight lifting. When I hit the point of realizing that ADD was messing up my life, I was also approaching a weight level that I was disgusted with when I looked in the mirror. In retrospect, I consider my self very fortunate to not have had a serious weight problem. However, the fact remained that I needed to lose 40 pounds and I looked like hell. A helpful tip is offered at the end of the chapter.
16. Learning To Relax - Relaxation, sounds very easy. In reality most adults, whether challenged by ADD or not, often have difficulty relaxing on a regular basis. Learning to relax is an important skill more people should learn. I just used the term “learn”, because in my case I had no idea how to relax. I had to learn how to turn it off and what to do in order to accomplish this. My coaching sessions with Pete Quily were very instrumental in learning how to relax. Each week during our coaching time, Pete would challenge me with learning a new way to relax and planning that relaxtion activity regularly throughout the week. Little things like breathing deeply or picturing a quiet peacfull place in my minds eye. Seriously, I was the first to cringe my brow and wonder if this was a little too odd. However, I gave it a chance and it was effective. Soon enough I progressed into a relaxation web site that took about 5 minutes. I would click on the site and watch the on line relaxation video in the middle of the day when work got a little hectic and stressfull. As time progressed, I soon relaized the only effective way to relax, was to set aside time for myself to relax. A helpful tip is offered at the end of the chapter.