Tuesday, November 2, 2010

May I Have Your Attention Please?

Some years ago I self-diagnosed myself with ADHD. What are the symptoms, you ask?
  • Often fails to give close attention to detail or makes careless mistakes (sometimes);
  • Often has difficulty sustaining attention to tasks (often);
  • Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly (rarely, only when I'm not interested in what the person is saying);
  • Often fails to follow instructions carefully and completely (no, not really);
  • Losing or forgetting important things (very rarely);
  • Feeling restless (all the time!);
  • Often fidgeting with hands or feet, or squirming (YES!);
  • Runnng or climbing excessively (um, no);
  • Often talks excessively (please. I can't stand when people talk too much);
  • Often blurts out answers before hearing the whole question (no);
  • Often has difficulty awaiting turn (maybe, but not really).

Ok, so maybe I don't technically have ADHD, but I feel like I do. My attention span is very short. I'm one of those people who needs to have multiple things going at once. If I don't, I just might start fidgeting and squirming. When I'm home, I'm usually on my laptop, watching TV, tweeting and texting from my phone, and eating. At work...well, I will only share this with you if you promise not to tell...

At work, I work. I do. Seriously. But I also, read my favorite blogs, check personal email (I have 5 different personal email accounts), tweet, check my blog stats, draft blog posts, hop on Facebook, send text messages, make personal phone calls (gotta make my hair and eyebrow appointments), browse the Internet (I'm always checking to see if I can find a great deal on Amazon), chat with friends via instant messenger, chat with colleagues via instant messenger...hmm, what else? Oh, snack at various points throughout the day. Ah, and yes. Listen to my iPod. Not only do I listen to music, but I also listen regularly to a few podcasts (ranging from sports to NPR to a not safe for work after hours show).

Again, Working Girls, I do real work too. Despite, what I just said, most of my day is actually spent doing real work (real meaning the work I'm paid by my employer to do). But you can understand, right? My work days are LONG. If I don't do some of this stuff when I'm at work, it will never get done.

So Working Girls, what are you doing during your work day (besides reading Working Girl, of course!)?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am the exact same way!! I work my 8-5 but still manage to listen to my iPod, podcasts, read my entire Google Reader, post on my blog...all while working. Most of my work is reading so I need the mental break. I don't feel bad about managing my attention.

Love the blog btw. I often forward it to my working girl friends!

Anonymous said...

Hey how do you do that I have recently(4 months ago)started working. And afyter that i barely get time to read blogs write my own blog. Watch my favorite movie. You are lucky that you make iy possible.
Cheers!!
Me here

AM said...

Honestly it sounds quite a bit like a mild anxiety disorder (I say mild because you're functioning well, from the sounds of it). All of the symptoms that you have are typical of anxiety, and all the ones that you don't are typical of ADHD. Granted, you don't have to have ALL of the symptoms of something to be diagnosed, but it sounds quite a bit like a general anxiety disorder or just a high level of stress, which translates into energy for some people (hence the fidgeting and distractions)

Lawyer Working Girl said...

Hmm...interesting, AM. You sounds very knowledgeable about this stuff.