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The Einstein-Ashe Formula for ADHD Management
Which I totally made up as the reason why I can’t have fancy things.
I’ve written before about the not-fun aspect of ADHD when you discover something that works really well to counter some particular executive dysfunction…until it doesn’t. The process of hedonic adaptation, common to all humans, means that the app or routine that was fun and interesting at first eventually stops feeling that way.
I believe that the neurotypical reaction is something like “well, I’ll just do it anyway, because it works well.” Not being neurotypical, my reaction used to be “I thought this was the One, but I was wrong…I’ll have to look elsewhere!” because the searching for a thing is almost always more enjoyable than actually having it.
And yes, that reaction wasn’t just for productivity apps. It happens with jobs, with houses, with cars, with relationships, with kids…wait, no, strike that last bit. But I remember my father giving me very valuable advice back when I was in yet another serially monogamous breakup: “Son, you’re going to have to eventually keep working on your relationship even after it stops ‘feeling’ good, or you’re just going to hop from one to another your whole life and end up alone.”
