Repost: The Cloud is Here to Set You Free

I’ve frequently mentioned and posted material from Dr. David Nowell here before, and this is another great piece from him, this time describing the many ways that “cloud computing” can help those of us with ADHD to manage our symptoms a little better.

The full article is available on www.psychologytoday.com and can be read in its entirety here: The Cloud Is Here to Set You Free.

(From Ed the editor/webmaster): My only gripe with his article is that it doesn’t explain clearly enough what “the cloud” is for the truly technology-challenged. Here’s my quick addendum:

As it relates to helping people with ADHD function better, “the cloud” refers to a variety of web-based (meaning they exist out on the internet, not on your own PC or cell phone) tools that do things like provide us with calendars, to-do lists, alarms & reminders, and instant access to key information anywhere, any time. One good example of this is Google’s GMAIL and Google Docs products. GMAIL is a web-based email system (probably like the one you’re using right now) and Google Docs is a secure, personal folder for your documents, photos, etc. that you can access from any internet-connected computer and most smart phones.

How does this help with ADHD? Say you’ve got a family member who’s taking a lot of prescription medications. You could write all of their meds down in a document and store it in Google Docs so it’s always available through your phone when you’re visiting the doctor or pharmacist. Or maybe it’s the game schedule for your daughter’s soccer team, or your packing list for the upcoming camping trip. You get the idea.

GMAIL and Google Docs tie in together and share a web-based calendar, to do list and address book as well.) Throw in tools that can provide instant maps and driving directions like Google Maps and you start seeing how this could be helpful for those of us who can be forgetful or who are perpetually running behind all through our day.

GMAIL

Google Calendar

Google Docs

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The Cloud Is Here to Set You Free

Web-based strategies for an organized and focused life

Published on August 8, 2011 by David D. Nowell, Ph.D. in Intrinsic Motivation and Magical Unicorns

One of the challenges for people with ADHD -- or any of us for that matter -- is having the necessary tools at hand when we need them. My clients who struggle with organization and time management tell me they spend 30 to 60 minutes on a typical day looking for their car keys, their calendar, or their phone. And even if it doesn't entirely "set you free", the cloud does offer some practical solutions for many of these challenges.

Now the cloud is not a real thing, and it's not even a new thing. Much of your social life is already in the cloud (think Facebook) and available to you at your office, home, and on your phone. Your email has been in the cloud since the mid 1990s. Anyone who had a Rocketmail account 15 years ago was essentially engaged in cloud-based communication, and one of the great features of webmail was its universal accessibility. It was always just there.

And there's more that the cloud can do for you. Three common organizational problems with practical cloud solutions are:

Read the full article

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How are you using The Cloud to help stay organized, efficient, or at least more or less sane? What’s worked well for you? What hasn’t been as effective? Why?

Post Meeting Discussion: "Relationships and ADHD"

(This is a repost of the 10/13/2009 entry on the old FOCUS+ blog)

Click here for meeting notes.

Ruth Evenhouse guided a discussion on the topic of "Relationships and ADHD", which focused primarily on close personal relationships.

Issues raised:

• Stress associated with impulsive behavior by a person with ADHD - sudden plan changes, impulsive statements, impulse shopping, etc. The groiup also discussed the flip side of that issue, i.e. how many of us with ADHD have difficulty adjusting quickly and effectively when someone else changes plans on us on short notice.


• The frequent disconnect between individuals with ADHD and those close to them without ADHD regarding things like organization. Individuals with ADHD are frequently disorganized, with information in piles instead of being neatly filed and with the all-too-common side effect of arriving late for appointments or missing them altogether.


• The fact that ADHD minds are drawn to the newest and/or most interesting tasks before them instead of the most urgent or important ones.

Some options for improving those factors in relationships, as well as the ability of the person with ADHD to function effectively, included:

• Hiring a professional organizer to help cull and organize elements of a person's work or personal life and to put in place a realistic, sustainable organization system with the apropriate tools.


• For the more budget-minded among us, one member suggested a DIY (Do It Yourself) approach by reading The Personal Efficiency Program (PEP). available at Amazon.com and most bookstores.


• Setting up "launch pads" for onesself and one's children that are pre-staged every evening for the morning' s launch. Homework, backpacks, lunches, car keyes, cell phones, etc. are all placed in one specific area for "grab and go" use in the morning. This speeds the process, lessens stress and greatly reduces the chance of running late because one hat to search for his or her car keys for a half hour.


• Setting up ground rules. If the punctual, non-ADHD partner is ready to go, then she/he has the option of leaving alone to arrive on time for the event and the slower partner can simply follow when ready.


• Setting up a calendar/to-do list that is permanently visible at one's workstation or in one's home. This avoids the out-of-sight, out-of-mind problem. A calendar can also help one to be more realistic when factoring in preparation, clean-up and travel time for activities.


• Using an alarm watch or something similar to remind the person to "remember to remember" - to pause and ask themself: what am I forgetting to do right now?

Finally, the group took some time to acknowledge the positive impact that ADHD can bring to a relationship. Persons with ADHD can be very spontaneous, energetic, enthusiastic and creative people. Very often they (we) are mutually drawn to people who need that "spark" but also bring with them the more practical and organized characteristics that we need.

Any comments or personal stories you'd like to share on this topic?

Any questions that you didn't get the chance to ask?

Any other suggestions for how to make sure that the impact of ADHD on a relationship is a positive, or at least a neutral, one?