Perfectionism is what shoots many of us in the foot. I'm as guilty of that as anyone. When I need to write a report that is going to a school, I want that report to be PERFECT, and imagining that what I am about to write has to be perfect makes the actual task of writing extremely daunting. Many of my clients report difficulties with getting started - often on writing tasks, but on all kinds of projects. You have, no doubt, heard people tell you that the best way to approach large projects is to break them down into smaller, more manageable bites. That's a very good idea, but there are other ways to make daunting tasks seem more doable, and that's to remember that THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE PERFECT! It's no big whoop. Really, it's not! Even if at the end of the day, it has to be very, very excellent, you are allowed to start with something very far below average, and that's OK.

For individuals diagnosed with AD/HD, getting started (or the Activation function, as psychologist Thomas Brown describes it) is often the most difficult part of a task. Once one can finally get the "butt in the chair" and correct document fired up on the computer, a major part of the battle has been won. I am always looking for tricks and tips to help my clients (and myself - let me be perfectly honest) get started on the tasks they needed in order to lead productive lives and have successful careers. To that end, I'd like to share with you a wonderful video I recently came across.

Elizabeth, Gilbert is the author of Eat, Pray, Love, a book I thoroughly enjoyed. She takes the perfectionism and near-paralysis we all feel when faced with a large project (in her case, she's mainly talking about writing) even further away from being OUR responsibility. She talks about how all we really need to do is "show up," and after that, it's helpful to adopt an older model, similar to "waiting for the muse." Our job is to be there ready to receive, not to be a genius all the time. That's just exhausting!

As a Psychologist in private practice, I spend a great deal of my time searching for resources and recommendations for my clients. When I happen on to something good, I would like the opportunity to share that information with ALL of my clients and anyone else who might benefit from my great finds. Since I am a bit of a tech-junkie myself, I am particularly interested in technological tools that may help my clients with AD/HD or who struggle with organization to become more productive.

While I do intend to write about a variety of topics on this blog, my first goal is to begin sharing the links that I come across. I use Delicious to organize my personal bookmarks, and now I've set up a special Delicious account just for links I wish to share with my clients. You will see these updated regularly in the sidebar. If you are someone who uses an RSS reader, I recommend subscribing to my downtownpsych Delicious RSS feed. If you don't know about RSS readers, then you should! Here's a video to help get you started with RSS. It stands for "Really Simple Syndication," and it really is simple!

There is also an RSS feed for this site. RSS links are usually presented using a standard format, which is a little orange square. You've probably seen it many times before. The RSS feed for this blog is located in the right sidebar, just about my Delicious links near the top.