| Last year, Erin and I met with a business | | | | our personal lives are slightly different. As |
| consultant to discuss plans for the ADD | | | | adults with ADD, you and I are responsible |
| Management Group. During the meeting, the | | | | for creating our own structure and |
| consultant mentioned something about my "out | | | | containment. |
| of the box" ideas, and Erin stopped her. | | | | |
| | | | This means that in order to benefit from our |
| "Everyone always talks about 'out of the box' | | | | creative ideas, we've got to: |
| ideas!" Erin exclaimed. "Where is this box | | | | |
| that everyone talks about? I've never | | | | Be realistic about which ideas are worth |
| understood what 'out of the box' means." | | | | pursuing, which ones are worth ditching, and |
| | | | which ones are worth saving for a rainy day. |
| The consultant smiled very sweetly at Erin | | | | |
| and simply replied, "That's because you ARE | | | | Plan to follow through on those really good |
| the box, Erin." | | | | ideas. It's not enough to think about how |
| | | | great something could be. An action plan is |
| Boxes Are Our Friends | | | | essential. |
| | | | |
| I've said it many times - Adults with ADD are | | | | Remember when your high school English |
| creative, big picture thinkers. It's easy for | | | | teacher taught you to answer the questions |
| us to be creative. It's easy to float from | | | | 'Who, what, where, when, why, and how' in |
| one interesting thing to the next. | | | | your essays? Answering these six little |
| | | | questions is an excellent way to devise a |
| It's actually much harder to harness that | | | | plan. |
| creative energy and turn it into | | | | |
| productivity. Producing results requires | | | | Structure our time to produce results. This |
| putting a lid on your creativity long enough | | | | means making time to act on the good ideas |
| to let the ideas come to life. It means | | | | while still managing day-to-day life. It |
| getting in the box and containing the ideas | | | | means setting deadlines and finding ways to |
| before they get too big to manage or--worse | | | | remain accountable. |
| yet--before they float away. | | | | |
| | | | You've heard that saying, 'There's a time and |
| This is what Erin does for the ADD Management | | | | place for everything,' right? It applies |
| Group. I offer the ideas, and she puts them | | | | here. There's a time to be creative, and |
| in the box. She grounds things just enough to | | | | there's a time to be productive. |
| ensure that the good ideas get pushed into | | | | |
| action. It works. | | | | Your creative brain can be an incredible |
| | | | asset in life...provided that you get in the |
| Of course, this is a business example, and | | | | box once a while and contain it. |