A.A.A.D.D
I was at a wedding dinner last night and someone at my table mentioned that sometimes he feels he has been busy but does not seem to have got much done. Coincidently, an ex-classmate, now residing in the UK, sent me a note just last week on AAADD or Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. Obviously, it was written as a humorous note but when I read it, it sure sounded familiar. I reproduce the note below.
Recently, I was diagnosed with A. A. A. D. D. - Age Activated Attention
Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests:
I decide to wash my car.
As I start toward the garage,
I notice that there is mail on the hall table.
I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.
I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the trash can
under the table, and notice that the trash can is full.
So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the trash first.
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out
the trash anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.
I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left
My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go to my desk where I
find a can of Pepsi that I had been drinking.
I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Pepsi
aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.
I see that the Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in
the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi a vase of flowers on the
counter catches my eye--they need to be watered.
I set the Pepsi down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses
that I've been searching for all morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water
the flowers.
I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.
I splash some water on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up
the spill.
Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.
At the end of the day: the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid,
there is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter, the flowers aren't
watered, there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can't find the
remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with
the car keys.
Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really
baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired.
I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for
it, but first I'll check my e-mail.
Perhaps that's why I can only do one thing at a time. Once, I tried to fill the water tub and feed the dogs while the tub was being filled and it resulted in the water running and overflowing for 2 hours. No wonder time management courses are so popular.
Recently, I was diagnosed with A. A. A. D. D. - Age Activated Attention
Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests:
I decide to wash my car.
As I start toward the garage,
I notice that there is mail on the hall table.
I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.
I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the trash can
under the table, and notice that the trash can is full.
So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the trash first.
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out
the trash anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.
I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left
My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go to my desk where I
find a can of Pepsi that I had been drinking.
I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Pepsi
aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.
I see that the Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in
the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi a vase of flowers on the
counter catches my eye--they need to be watered.
I set the Pepsi down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses
that I've been searching for all morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water
the flowers.
I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.
I splash some water on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up
the spill.
Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.
At the end of the day: the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid,
there is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter, the flowers aren't
watered, there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can't find the
remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with
the car keys.
Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really
baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired.
I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for
it, but first I'll check my e-mail.
Perhaps that's why I can only do one thing at a time. Once, I tried to fill the water tub and feed the dogs while the tub was being filled and it resulted in the water running and overflowing for 2 hours. No wonder time management courses are so popular.
posted by Guy in the glass at 9:30 AM
4 Comments:
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder - What a professonal way to call something as simple as 'lack of focus' !
have u ever noticed how your wife does her house chores ?
she loads the washing machine & let it run; something for lunch is cooking on the kitchen's stove; she is buzy feeding the 2 kids - small-one on the "walker chair" another on the floor while she's folding the cloths and watching TV...
3A2D is a man problem.
I thought so too. But I was just informed on Sunday that a family friend, the mother also left the water running in the garden the whole afternoon. Multiplexing is probably fine when younger. When older, we need to scale down the multiplexing.
This routine sounds so much like my mom's daily nightmare!
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