suitcase1

 

I have a confession to make.

Ten days ago, I returned from our family vacation.  And I’ve yet to unpack my filled suitcase, which is still sitting on my bedroom floor.    Every morning when I wake up, I look at it and make a mental note that I really need to unpack that annoying thing. And every night when I hit the sack, I make a 2nd mental note that I really really need to deal with this.

It’s annoying because even with these daily/nightly reminders, I continue to procrastinate.  Most without ADD don’t think twice about such a little inconvenience- they unpack the day or next day after a vacation. End of story. For those of us with ADD, it’s this constant hide and seek game we play- we know it’s there, know what needs to be done, but we avoid avoid avoid. “It’s boring”. “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Or..we’re so used to seeing it, it becomes part of the landscape of the room.

A suitcase is a metaphor of sorts for our ADD brain. We can keep it closed and no one can visibly see the tangled mess inside. If we’re trusting or alone, we open it to see the disorganization of our thinking processes and how it affects the world around us. Either way, the stuffed, disorganized suitcase is there and we know it. And we kick ourselves over it.

It’s not something people with ADD do on purpose– this pack ratting away of chores that need attending to. Our ADD brain makes it hard to deal with seemingly easy tasks because well, they aren’t easy at all! How do you transition from something you’re hyper focused on and enjoying, to doing something that’s painfully boring? Our poor sense of time makes the task seem like a 2-hour chore when in actuality, it probably would take only 10 minutes to take care of.

I know that at some point, I will get so annoyed with myself, that I will run in and remove everything from that box and put everything away. Once, it took over three months to get to that point of disgust. Ok, maybe six.

When you are faced with a chore or project that stops you dead in your tracks, whether it’s because it seems too difficult, too boring or too time-consuming, remind yourself: by putting in a mere 10 minutes, you will take away hours and hours of self-deprecation, obsessive thinking, and in cases like this, one heck of an eye-sore.

What’s in your “suitcase” that needs tending to?   Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

** Do you need support and guidance in managing your own suitcase? Join the Queens of Distraction and let me and your fellow Queens help you get rid of clutter, finish projects and enjoy the camaraderie of those who truly “get” ADD.