Global Creative

Many global creatives (innovators with ADHD tendencies) can really get stuck on timely execution.  ”I can’t seem to pull the trigger, Cam!” is something I often hear.

Many coaches and productivity gurus like Covey, not familiar with ADD, tend to exacerbate this situation by focusing on ‘just pulling the trigger’.  They speak of discipline, desire and necessary risk.  This is understandable when clients are dealing with just hesitancy or resistance.  ”Just Do It” is an effective strategy to move clients into action.  As an accountability and completion specialist, I often resort to this approach especially when clients get stuck in the “Why?” hole of excessive thinking.

Brain Perspective

When we hyper-focus on the act of pulling the trigger we can fail to notice the trigger itself.  In considering ADD, we have to appreciate the underlying neurobiology.  ADD makes us less aware of processes .  Moving into action or pulling the trigger is but one phase of a process (time is a process too).  How can you pull the trigger when the trigger has not been assembled!

So when you get stuck around pulling the trigger, pause and take a look at your trigger! (Expand the Mind from REBEL)

• Map out this action as part of a larger process.  When we get curious about something (even processes)we tend to find out answers .
• Let go of the “this will be boring” self-talk.
• Set aside 15 minutes to look at what goes into a reliable trigger.
• What resources have you not thought of yet?
• Better yet, look at this with someone who appreciates the value you add to your organization.  Brainstorming with others can be greatly beneficial.

In conclusion, use your global creative skill set to look beyond the trigger to pull the trigger and “Just Do It!”

Comments welcome or email me to maintain confidentiality

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach

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A good friend who is also a global creative is a small business owner running a service company out of his house.  Ted is a one man operation so if he is not working he is generally not making money.  He is also an amazingly generous individual – almost to a fault.  If a friend makes a request, Ted will often drop what he is doing and help his friend in need.  To exacerbate the situation Ted owns a pick-up so people are always asking him to haul and drop off stuff.

You can see how these two identites compete for Ted’s attention with ‘generous friend’ often winning out over ’successful business owner’.  This is not an uncommon challenge for global creatives in general especially if they are master responders allowing others to dictate their daily intentions (more on the Responder here)

Covey and Allen refer to these as roles but I prefer identities.  Identities speak more to who you are (father, husband, professional, provider) than a role that you play.  I’ve been focusing on rediscovering and reinforcing identities with my clients recently.  CG’s have a tendency to not only forget the name of the game in the middle of a good hunt (or distraction) but also forget their best identities.

A number of factors can contribute to this.  A fallible memory and limited inhibition (impulsivity) certainly do not help.  Throw emotion  into the mix (would you rather help a buddy or bill a customer?) and you can see how we arrive here.

Best Identities also help to reinforce our level of confidence reminding us that indeed we are up to the task.  They also give us a better option than less-than-stellar identities that can step in when our guard is down (Shiny Object Chaser, Day Dreamer, Walk-by completer)

Steps to Reinforcing Identites

• Name your best identities with appropriate qualifier (successful business owner, for example)
• List attitudes and actions that support this identity (confidence, vision, cultivating new clients/work, billing customers)
• List what happens if you do not regularly step into this identity (stagnating business, loss in visibility)
• List what happens if you do regularly step into this identity (regular completions that contribute to building business)

Posting your best identities prominently to remind the brain (R of REBEL) is a good idea.

Some of mine

• Add Value Coach
• Successful Business Owner
• Knowledgable Trainer
• Generous Collaborator
• Loving Husband and Father
• Olympic Biker (well not really, but it gets me on the bike!)

These are identities I strive for.  I am not successful all the time but having these accessible gives me useful  focal points.

Enjoy!

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach

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Often people come to coaching struggling with an overloaded ‘plate’ of mounting tasks and actions.  ”I just need an extra hour, Cam!” is often the lament.  In addition to letting the mundane pile up, Global Creatives love adding new projects, rarely turning down requests.  The inability to say “No!” is not a character trait (or flaw).  It is related to challenges around prioritizing tasks, projects and requests.  Global Creatives can really struggle here and will often just resort to urgent tactics or the “latest and loudest” approach.

Recognizing we have a glitchy prioritizer (we can make a case for just about any intention) doesn’t mean we shouldn’t prioritize.  The term ‘limit scope’ refers to this prioritizing process not only necessary for timely completions but also necessary for maintaining our sanity!

Recently I’ve been talking about picture frames with my clients.  Frames are a great metaphor for limiting scope, helping demarcate the area where one chooses to make a difference.   This last phrase is important because the struggling GC often has the mindset of “I can do it all!”  Once we let go of this impossible frame of mind then we are free to choose where we focus our attention.   When we actively limit scope we can trade in urgnecy as a motivator and develop tools such as choice and creativity (What makes a global creative a global creative!).  I’ll speak to how limiting scope ultimately leads to ‘mastery’ in a future blog entry.

So if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed then draw a frame around what is essential.  Distinguish the stuff inside the frame from stuff outside the frame.  Natural forces (and colleagues) will try to move items from the outside to the inside of the frame.  Notice this and practice the gentle “No thanks”.  Better yet, confirm your priorities with those who count.

One of my favorite expressions…

When you say No to one thing, you say Yes to another!

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach

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I really feel lousy today.  Both my kids are sick which makes quality sleep nearly impossible.  On top of that, I’ve caught some version of their crud.  And yet today I will exercise.

I will exercise because I know myself well enough to know what I am like without exercise.  Today I teach my class and I make a point to exercise prior to the class.  After aerobic exercise, I just show up more present and add greater value to the training experience.

For years scientists have known the short term benefits of exercise-increased energy, attention and focus being among them.  It’s well known of the good brain chemistry that results from an exercise event.  For the Global Creative, exercise also provides a valuable structure in the work day.  When I ride my bike it frees me from the daily onslought of minutia so I can entertain bigger more important thoughts and ideas.

According to a recent New York Times Article scientists are seeing evidence of longer term benefits from aerobic exercise.  The aerobic part is key.

Here is an excerpt:

Why should exercise need to be aerobic to affect the brain? “It appears that various growth factors must be carried from the periphery of the body into the brain to start a molecular cascade there,” creating new neurons and brain connections, says Henriette van Praag, an investigator in the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging. For that to happen, “you need a fairly dramatic change in blood flow,” like the one that occurs when you run or cycle or swim… – Gretchen Reynolds, NY Times Magazine, 9/20/09

So get out there are build some extra brain cells!

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach

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This is a review of each component of REBEL,  a process I use to help clients with ADHD  get things done.

Today’s blog looks at the second E of REBEL: Exposure to new experiences.

Let’s focus on three distinct areas.

Plan Differently

Execute Differently

Review Differently

By ‘differently’ I mean have a new experience.

Plan Differently

Global Creatives can approach planning in an All or Nothing manner.

They can spend ample time in planning phase not leaving enough time for execution.  These expert planners can struggle with initiating for task and ‘perfectionism’.  They often struggle with Inattentive Type ADHD and cobbling enough energy to activate for task.  They are the ‘vision without action’ folks.

GC’s can also skip the planning process altogether opting for a ‘latest and loudest’ approach to prioritizing, relying heavily on respond mode.  These GC’s often have an excess of energy struggling to tap the brakes in a timely fashion. They are the ‘action without vision’ folks.

For both groups practicing a brief  ’review and plan’ session can make a huge difference in there day.  Ten minutes to determine your top three actions for the day can be greatly benificial.

Execute Differently

Practice focusing on small, significant completions for brief portions of your day.

Two mindsets are handy here:

Practice Mindset

Assuming a practice mindset can be helpful in managing the constant evaluation provided by our friend the inner crtitic.  When we approach actions with a practice mindset we let go of outcomes and judgments.  Think of Tiger Woods on the practice range.  He is not thinking about what may happen – success or failure.  He is focused on being present and consistent.  All that is left for him is hitting the ball.  A mix of challenging actions with fun and rewarding actions is essential too.

Prototype Mindset

The prototype mindset is thinking about version 1.0’s as opposed to 6.0’s.  We have a tendecy to accessorize our tasks adding more actions that can weigh down a decent project grinding it to a halt.  You can always add accessories later.

Review Differently

Global Creatives tend to succeed in big ways and fail in big ways. When they fail,  GC’s can really focus on the failure (the fall off the horse).  So much so that they don’t focus on climbing back in the saddle.  This is related to challenges around effective transitioning.  Reviewing Differently is bringing in the Fire Chief (curiosity and questions) as you sit on the ground brushing of the dirt.  Get curious about getting back in the saddle (there are an infinite number of ways to do this!).  Making space for reflection without judgment (Mindfulness) can really be helpful here.

In conclusion, all of us gain rich learning and insight from our own experiences.  Expose yourself to doing things differently and you’ll be the greatest beneficiary.

Enjoy!

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach

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A very interesting scientific article that makes me ask some fundamental questions about multi-tasking…

SOURCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition, online August 24, 2009.

…Researchers at Stanford University found that college students who made a habit of immersing themselves in various media at once were not very skilled at tests of memory, attention and, ironically, “task-switching.”…

To view the complete article follow the link below

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE57N4UO20090824

Multi-taskers that are not good at multi-tasking?

Hmmm…

Below is an excerpt to explain their findings…

It’s possible, according to Nass and his colleagues, that heavy multi- taskers tend to have a generally “exploratory” orientation: they simply like to gather lots of information, even if that means sacrificing their performance on the task at hand.

OK, so multi-taskers with a general ‘exploratory’ orientation.  Does this sound familiar?

Sounds like possible Global Creative activity to me.

Let’s get clear on the definition of multi-tasking.

Multi-tasking is not doing 2 things at once (contrary to popular belief).  For the brain, paying attention to 2 things (or more) simultaneously is not possible!

Multi-tasking is managing multiple tasks over a long period.  This is where ‘task switching’ is an effective tool (something we Global Creatives can struggle with).

So it is clear the students in the study are not multi-tasking experts.

OK so if they are not multi-tasking experts then what are they?

I would argue that they are multi-chillin’ experts.

Huh?

The key here is the level of engagement.  Engagement has some component of pro-active interaction.  The college students are reacting to multiple inputs and not engaging each at a deep level.  They are passivley being entertained by their media toys, hence the term chillin’.

This brings us to our interest in this article.  Completion of any task demands regular engagement at a deep level for sustained periods of time. Give up the notion that multi-tasking will deliver the project to the team monday morning.  It wont!

Multi-chillin’ is a very passive sport which would fall squarely in Covey’s quadrant IV (not important and not urgent).

So why are the students multi-chillin’?

I can’t fathom a guess but I do know that many of my GC clients are prone to multi-chill.

I see multi-chillin’ as a symptom of overwhelm.  When GC’s are skipping around from activity to activity giving their brains cheap dopamine squirts (little rewards) and not getting any real traction on the most important work.

How can we manage multi-chillin’?

1. develop an awareness for it
2. consider the source(s) of overwhelm
3. make a plan to address the source
4. pull the trigger!  Engage the action that will move the ball forward
5. get to a completion point.

Cameron Gott

ADD Coach

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This is a review of each component of REBEL,  a process I use to help clients with ADHD  get things done.

B stands for Balanced Attack

Exercise the weak muscle.

Set aside time to plan, review, remember, reflect, adjust, organize, prioritize.

Set aside time to work on the important and not urgent tasks (Covey’s Quad II items).

David Allen addresses these two categories as-

Defining Work and Doing Defined Work

Global Creatives like to spend time in his third category – Doing Work as it Shows Up

An approach I like to ‘Doing Defined Work’ is to name one intention for each day (preferably in the AM) that is important but not urgent.  Set aside one hour at first and then build on that.  So regardless of what happens the rest of the day you atleast got your one intention time in.

The key is to do it before you start cranking up your big responder muscle-responding to requests, emails, ‘crises’

You may be saying- “I don’t have time for this Cam!”

That is your urgent brain speaking.  Unless you are a fire fighter or a ER doctor you have the time.  What is helpful here are motivators other than urgency.

Soon I will post my “5 C’s of Completion” Document which touches on motivators other than urgency.

Cameron Gott

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I just added two new resources to the blogroll.

John Ratey’s blog which focuses primarily on exercise and the brain.  John also wrote the revolutionary exercise/brain book Spark.

John Medina’s blog  about “Brain Rules”.

John M. has a refreshing, humorous approach to taking care of our #1 organ.  He emphasizes the need for good brain care, especially sleep and exercise.  He also discusses the over-reliance on stress and adrenalin.  One interesting post explores the fact that our brains are designed to deal with stress for about 30 seconds!

This interests me because many Global Creatives elevate stress to an artform to get things done.

Medina’s website features 12 Brain Rules in video format.

Good Stuff!

Cameron

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This is a review of each component of REBEL,  a process I use to help clients with ADHD  get things done.

‘Expand the Mind’ has two very different components.  Part 1 addressed the practical challenge of freeing up usable space in the ADD brain.

The other component addresses attitudes and useful perspectives.  For example expanding what is possible.  So this component focuses more on improving mind ‘flexibility and resiliency’.

For all of our creativity, Global Creatives can fall prey to one dimensional thinking with respect to action.  Urgency and overwhelm (which produce stress and anxiety) squelch creativity and force the GC into a ‘just push harder’ frame of mind (not very flexible).  A common challenge of ADHD is black and white or ‘all or nothing’ thinking.  This is related to challeges around setting priorities.  It especially comes out when we slam ourselves (ANT’s) showing up as absolutes.

“I always mess up!”

“I never get it right!”

So, when you push a large object you literally put your head down.  Figuratively, when we come to a challenging task we do something similar with our familiar language.

“I just need to push harder!”.

This is a great time to practice the first E of REBEL – an expansive mind.

When we are focused solely on doing and finishing we are not focused on the potential resources that are available to us.

So some informal ways to expand the mind is a Cam favorite – asking questions.

Starting with questions for self (and the Fire Chief)

What have I not thought of?

What has worked in the past?

What is another way?

Questions for others (delegating is hugely under-utilized)

Who is the best person for the job?

Who can I bring in?

As ‘doers’ we naturally want to hang on to tasks and can be reluctant to hand off to others.

This can be useful for the occasional push to finish the big project but not a basket to put all of one’s eggs into.

Informal practice is great but formal practice is really where major headway is made.

Quiet reflective time is a wonderful way to cultivate an expansive, flexible mind.  This can come in the form of prayer, solitude, and mindfulness.  I am a big fan of mindfulness because it seems to work nicely with the global creative brain.

A study at UCLA has found that meditation is bringing real benefits to individuals struggling with ADHD.

Quiet reflection coupled with strategic planning is a wonderful practice that hels to ‘reset’ the brain.  Even 10 minutes of quiet reflection will make a difference.  Then out of this quiet ask these questions:

What are my intentions for the week?

What is one thing I can do each day that will make a difference?

enjoy

Cam

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