I have always loved back-to-school.
As a kid growing up in the pre-ADHD age, a new school year meant another opportunity to finally do school right. I would finally pay attention, do my homework and get good grades. I spent hours organizing my new school supplies and planning (ok, daydreaming) how this year would be different. I would sit at the desk in my bedroom (the same desk I still sit at as I type this post, the same desk my mother used in her youth) and “practice” doing my homework. And I always struggled to get to sleep the night before the first day of school, I was too excited to finally show everyone just how smart I really was. This would be the year I would make my teacher and parents proud!
Alas, many of my fellow ADDers know how this tale plays out . . .
I would make it through the first few days, maybe a few weeks, even a whole month, depending on the teacher, then I would slip back into the same old bad habits – talking in class, daydreaming, and unfinished or flat out forgotten homework assignments. “If only she would apply herself,” each teacher would lament to my parents at that first parent-teacher conference.
The lackluster report card at the end of each school year never overshadowed the possibility that the new school year could be, would be different.
Now that I’m a mom, and my years are once again marked by more than the changing weather, but by the school year calendar as well, I have rediscovered that same back-to-school anticipation, enthusiasm and hope for achieving new heights. Sure there are still unfinished and yet-to-be-started projects littering my house and to do lists, but another school year is upon us and great things will happen!
Why save all the resolution making for New Years Day? Personally, I’m too exhausted after all the holiday hoopla, back-to-school is the perfect time for my resolution making – personal, parental and professional.
As an adult ADDer, I’m working on being a bit more realistic about what I can get done in a day, and I’m a wee bit more forgiving of myself when things don’t. Sure, the negative self-talk can still get pretty loud in my head, but I’m working on tuning it out. And my determination to do things better, to get things done (eventually) remains strong.
It’s been a hectic summer here in Weeksworld. I kept waiting for the lazy days, but a husband off in China on business for most of the summer, baseball practices and games, my first adult ADHD conference and my own workload meant there were only the occasional lazy moments to be grabbed before dashing off to the next thing.
My strategy for success this year . . . first I’m going to take the first week and half of this new school year to catch my breath, get myself back on track (and back to the gym!) and start working on a plan.
There is much to share with you all, so many posts to write, and things to add to my little corner of the blogosphere! There’s bloggerly, photography and consulting business to tend to and develop. And then there’s the L-O-N-G list of household projects to finally finish. The threat of this ADDer getting overwhelmed and shutting down on it all is significant. Compiling multiple lists, setting realistic and attainable goals and making a plan to achieve them is a must! Otherwise, I’ll be writing a very similar post next September!
Don’t worry, I’ll keep you posted on my progress! You know me, I can’t keep me mouth shut (or my fingers still).
Do you have any personal projects, goals or resolutions you’ll be working on while the kids are at school? What are your strategies or tricks for staying on track and getting them done?
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