ADD people see the big picture, but even more... the universal picture, about how things fit together. Because of that, randomness seems perfectly normal to us. It makes sense, where linear-thinking people just don't get it.

So now what happens is because we can see such a huge, huge picture, the next thing is we can get so overwhelmed by what we see that it could make it extremely difficult to get started and prioritize and try to figure out. They think, Well, how do I tackle this great big huge picture?

The major number one skill that any ADD person can learn when they start to feel overwhelmed by prioritizing, is what we call "chunking it down," "breaking it up."

Something as simple as cleaning your bedroom, where you've left piles of things on every surface over the past three weeks, can be overwhelming if you have ADD. You have piles of clothes, piles of make-up, piles of coins, business cards, everything--everywhere! How do you do it?

And you take a look at that and you go, "Oh my gosh. Now I clean this room and then look at my next room and look at my entire house and, oh my gosh, that reminds me of the garage is so full as well.

Here's the key--chunk it down. That's totally important, and here's what it looks like:

OK, start with the top of the dresses. Clean that. If you think of one area at a time, it works better for people with ADD. It will work for your kids with ADD, too. Tell them, "Clean the top of your night stand. Pick up your clothes from the floor. Dust your furniture." If you do this, one thing at a time, it will work. Give yourself or your kids one area at a time to straighten.

Chunking things down is so important. Yet, some people with ADD have trouble doing it. If you can do it, you'll save a lot of time, but what happens when you have ADD and don't have enough attention span to be able to do this?

Some ADD people can't do it and here's why: They can't stay focused enough long enough to chunk things down and make that list. It drives them crazy. They end up getting distracted 12 times while they're trying to break this big project down into little pieces. So what's the solution, what's the answer?

There are two answers, if you have this type of ADD. If you do, you can get someone to do the chunking down process for you. He or she can iron out the details for you and when they report what they are, they need to be laser specific. They need to put a project into a simple list of tasks, and they have to be very clear on what it is that you need to do.

But if you don't have the money to hire an assistant, or you don't have anyone else who can do this for you, what can you do?

One thing is to write each task down, even if they aren't in order. Write them like a to-do list.

Once you get the chunks figured out, then set your ADD-friendly system. One category will be for things that can be done or that need to be done quickly. Another category will be for intermediate tasks, things that can wait, but need to be done in the next phase. And finally, categorize those things that need to be done, but can wait for a while.

After you're done with the first category, move to the second, and do the same thing. Do the same for the third category, too. Then, you'll have the whole thing done before you know it.

Maybe this system seems too simple for you, but when you have ADD, it's just an easy way to get projects completed, no matter what they are. Big projects can overwhelm people with ADD, but they may be very important to you to complete. So, think in chunks, one bite at a time, just like the man eating the elephant.

Here are a few suggestions:

Let's say that you want to belong to the swim club so that you can exercise regularly, but you can't afford the membership. What if you have a friend that also likes to swim, but doesn't drive. Well, make a deal with them. You drive them to the swim club, say three times a week, and in return, they can pay for your membership.

Or, what if you're a new parent? You're probably a little worried about leaving your newborn alone with a stranger, especially since your ADD needs to know where everyone is all the time. But what if some of your friends have kids? Maybe you can make babysitting arrangements with them. Like, you take care of their kids this week, and they watch your baby the next. It's better than paying someone, and you'll have the added faith that your baby is with someone you know and trust.

Maybe your ADD just can't get behind housecleaning, but you can't afford to hire a housekeeper. No problem! Call some housekeepers and tell them that you'll watch their kids or do their taxes or something in return for them cleaning your house every week.

The barter system worked for a very long time in human history. What's wrong with using it now? If you have ADD, you're bound to have things that you just don't want to do. Find other people who like to do what you hate to do, make some kind of an exchange, and your life will be much, much smoother.

We disagree. We think it was more about excitement than consistency. People who have ADD need lots of excitement to be consistent, and in doing that in such a short burst, the excitement was there.

Short bursts of time at a high rate of speed, thats an ADD trait. Were good at the bursts. We're like the bunnies, right? When you have ADD, you can move really fast.

What if we had said, "Let's do the 12 Axioms over 12 months. It will be a year-long commitment. We'll do one a month, and at the end, it will be great. This is one of the first things we're going to do together, and even though we have ADD and don't know each other very well, it's all going to work out,"?

How boring is that? Boring isn't something ADD people like, and we'd have lost our enthusiasm. We'd probably have stopped by the third call---90 days of maintaining excitement. What people are learning through our ADD Axioms would never have happened. Our ADD wouldn't have let it.

So, if you have ADD, think short bursts. What can you do in a short burst at a high rate of speed? This gives you a deadline. We said were going to do 12 Axioms in 12 days. Pretty solid deadline. And all we did was use our natural ADD strengths to be able to do that.

People asked questions on the different ADD Axioms and we answered them. We're very good about that. We have tons of new ideas about how to work with ADD, and we did it pretty quickly. By using previous ADD research, knowledge and our own experience, we focused, used short bursts of time, and got the Axioms done. It was great!

This is a great model to use when you have ADD, in anything that you need to do. If you need to write a speech, design a web site, or whatever, focus on short periods of time and very high energy. That will set your ADD brain to doing some pretty interesting stuff--some awesome stuff, actually.

What if you have to write a huge report for your job, and you have ADD, right? Well, decide when it's due, then say, "Every day for the next 5 days, I'm going to write one page." If you do that and keep yourself working in short bursts, you'll have it done, and on time!

That would be awesome. It's better than saying, "I have 30 days to do this. I'll find the time somehow, but I'm not sure how. I guess I'll just have to schedule in the time for 5 days, and at the end of that time, it will be done."

Be sure to break this down into sections that can be finished in an hour, tops, and really crank whatever it is out. Some people's ADD gives them different attention spans, but decide what's best for you. Give yourself little deadlines, like, "I'm going to finish this graph in ten minutes," and crank it out. You can do it!

What we both did ultimately, in a very different way, is learned to use those ADD things that we were fighting against as our greatest strengths.

What we discovered that in the fever of creation, of working with many projects, or making problems go away, whatever, it helped the attention deficit symptoms to subside. Now, we have learned to be in those states more than we're not.

Something interesting that most ADD people don't know is that they tend to have higher IQs. ADD people tend to have IQs that are about 20% higher than the average person.

And 80%. of prisoners are diagnosable with attention. We're not doctors. This static showed up and an article, and it made sense.

If that statistic is correct, it says a lot about personality traits that get you into trouble with the law. ADD people don't generally like to follow direction. They're a little bit thrill seeking, and they like to do things their own way.

I've also read that almost 80% of entrepreneurial people are also diagnosable with ADD. What's the difference between an entrepreneur and a criminal?

Entrepreneurs don't like to follow direction, like a good thrill, and aren't good with authority, either. So, instead of working for other people, they have their own businesses.

And, you know, if there's anything to those numbers at all, if there's anything, even a shred of truth to what we just stated, then there's one thing that's very, very important that everyone should realize. Which is, look, if you have attention deficit or attention deficit traits and characteristics, you probably get stressed out really easily. You're probably high anxiety. You probably have some shreds of insomnia or at least times in your life where you can't sleep.

People with attention deficit don't like having people tell them what to do, and prefer doing things their own way. Your brain works smarter and quicker than everyone around you, but that doesn't make life easier, does it?

Entrepreneurial people have learned how to use their ADD. Some peole are lawbreakers. It's just a matter of which side of the ethical coin you're on, and that's not meant to be a judgment.

The thing is, if you have attention deficit and don't really know how to deal with the things that make you different, remember that those things are really your strengths. Use those strengths. You may not be successful in the linear world and need your own thing. Decide what your strengths are. Play to them, and never let ADD get you down.

Thanks, Mike!

It works like this:

Step number one is to sit down and make a list of everything that you've done over the past few days that you can remember doing. Go someplace quiet for ten minutes. Set some kind of alarm for ten minutes, and write down every task that you do or that you've been doing. You can focus your ADD brain on this task in a short burst and come up with everything you've done.

Include cleaning toilets, answering emails, dusting, fixing a pipe--whatever--anything outside in your house, in your work, in your business, with your relationships -- what are all the things that you've been doing? Do a huge brain dump.

You're going to look at that list and go, "Wow!"

Now, put your ADD focus into the next step.

Everything that you do is generally related to one of four different categories--household or business, which breaks down into three categories: administrative, production, or sales and marketing.

Step two, then, is to categorize each one of those tasks. So as you go through, figure out is this a household thing, an administrative thing, production, or a sales and marketing thing? Put an A beside the task for administrative, an H for household, and so on.

You will immediately get a picture of what it is that's dragging you down, where you're spending a good portion of your time. You see, all this needs to be done before you can even think about delegation. Because without this knowledge, without this information, basically you're going to hire someone, you're going to trade with someone, you're going to work with someone, whatever it is -- and they will just stand there because you can't explain what you want.

Don't let that happen. Focus your ADD brain on exactly what you need and/or want, and then move on to the next step...

The process is that people often say that cigarettes relieve stress. You'll see them running right outside to smoke a cigarette when they're anxious or really worried about something.

What's interesting about that is that cigarettes dramatically add to your stress level. Your blood pressure rises, your heart beats faster---your body is showing every symptom of stress, but smokers still believe that cigarettes reduce the stress level in their bodies.

You're squirming. You maybe feel embarrassed. You're not feeling very good about yourself. You finally say, "Fine. I'll just smoke a cigarette." You grab the cigarette. You bring it up to your lips. You're getting ready to light the thing. Before you even take your first puff, your brain says, "Whew, my friends aren't going to give me a hard time anymore. I can relax. I can feel good." A whole mixture of neuro-chemicals are released that end up going out throughout the entire body to relieve anxiety, stress, and tension, because you're not going to be given a hard time anymore about not smoking.

Before you take the first puff, you're feeling better. From then on, the smell of a cigarette, the feel of a cigarette, the look of the cigarette, and even the smoke from the cigarette tell your brain to relax. Your brain starts relaxing the body or gives you the illusion that your body's relaxed. Bam! You think it's a stress reliever and you continue to believe that for the rest of your life. Thus, every time you get stressed out, you want to go and you want to smoke a cigarette. Make sense?

These habits are so quickly ingrained. It makes you wonder, How can I change a habit or create a new one?

In both cases, what you actually need to do is create a better, more powerful, stronger habit than what you have already.

Identify what the old habit is that you want to replace. An example would be that you drive a 1986 Oldsmobile, two-door coupe, and it's leaking oil like mad. It's really blowing black out the back end. You only get about three miles to a gallon, can only take it up to about 35 miles per hour, and you don't even have a radio.

You have a job as a part-time nurse. You're not making much money. In fact, you're just scraping by. You're on call that night and a man is rushed into the hospital. Whatever the situation is, it really doesn't matter. What does is that you're responsible for saving his life.

You saved his life. Your self-esteem just went higher, but still, it's just part of your job. Right?

What happens if a couple days later you come home from a long 12-hour day--you drive your Oldsmobile home--and there's a car sitting in your driveway with a big, red bow on top of it, and it's your absolute dream car? Maybe you have your absolute dream car, or you know what it is; either way, what is your absolute dream car?

What if you go up to the car and see an envelope that's addressed to you. There's a key inside and a note from the man whose life you saved. He says that the car is for you, just for saving his life. Plus, he's covered your insurance for the rest of your life. He's checked it out with the hospital, so he's not breaking any rules. The car is yours.

You're too tired to mess with the new car that night. You're just wiped out. So, you decide that you'll drive it tomorrow. When you wake up, you look out to make sure you weren't dreaming. The car is still there!

Now, which car would you drive to work? The new one, right? And the following day, which car will you drive? The new one! I think anyone would do the same thing.

Here's why: You're now excited. You're pumped. You're ready to go on driving the new car. It's perfect. It's all about intensity. You don't have to think about it and you don't give your old car a second thought. Your new, souped-up car is perfect for every situation.

Habit is like that. The only way you'll beat an old habit is to create a new one that's much more satisfying.

We'll discuss that in a future article.

Use a timer. Give yourself an hour, fifteen minutes, five minutes even, to do something you really don't want to do. During the time that you've set aside, don't do anything else, either. Don't answer the phone. Don't check your email. And don't mess with stats or anything else online that might have you ADD distracted.

But let's say you're moving and you need to have everything packed in a month. Decide how long that will take you and double it. Then, set aside a portion of time to work on moving every single day, until it's done. Aside from that boring time, you'll have the rest of your time to be creative and do the things you like to do, and you won't have to feel guilty because you aren't doing the boring thing that you have to do.

Still, if you don't make a schedule, you may not get whatever it is done on time, or you'll be rushing like crazy at the last minute, suffering high anxiety, and wondering why you didn't do it sooner.

What happens then? You're guilty, mad at yourself, and feel like a failure. It's terrible! So, don't do that. Make a plan, make a schedule, and follow it. You'll be much happier and more successful, if you do.

When it comes to clutter, like physical clutter, ADD people can get into idea or visual overwhelm. If you're a visual processor, you can get into visual overwhelm really fast. But when you're at home, having a nice weekend, you may tend to dump your stuff wherever it lands. At the end of the weekend, your family may say to you, "Did you stop taking your ADD medication or something?" When you look around, you see things piled everywhere. Maybe all of the cupboard doors are open and the drawers, too, just flung open! Well, okay. Here's the thing. Most ADD people hate to pick things up.

It's easy to drop it places, but you probably hate picking up. However, you probably need at least one clean area where you can rest your eyes, where you know that you're not just gonna get this assault of new ADD thoughts and ideas from that pile of clutter, or that feeling of just ugh! from doing it. So here's what you do... Just keep dumping and piling, and dumping and piling until 5:00 on Sunday afternoon.

Let's say there's a movie that you want to watch at seven. So at 5:00, you say to yourself, "You get to pick this stuff up. You get to clean up." Then, set your timer, and say to yourself, out loud, "You're gonna feel so great when you sit down and watch this movie, because everything's gonna be all cleaned up!"

Give yourself two hours to do it all. Then, when it only takes you 20 minutes to pick everything up, you really feel great. Always go on that concept of how great it's going to feel, how good it's going to look, how happy you're going to be when any crappy task is done.

And if you get it done way ahead of schedule, well... you'll just rock the party!