[psychmajortwenty2]

Help!

I have this job.. I get paid a standard rate per hour for 30 hours a week. The problem is that this is my first real serious job. I have no idea what the eff I'm doing. I just graduated from university after postponing finishing my studies because I got a serious bout of depression and then was finally diagnosed with ADHD. Everything all of a sudden made sense to me.. and it was like AHA! Finally I have an answer that explains my entire life and reasons why I seem to be so different from other people.

Honestly, I don't know how I've done so well in school or have been able to accomplish anything.

Since graduating from university, I don't really know what to do with myself. Yeah, I have this job.. and it's for 30 hours a week.. but I don't exactly know how to bill my time. My boss never clarified it with me. Honestly, this whole operation that I work for is pretty unorganized. I'm thankful for the opportunity that I've been given.. but at the same time.. having to create my own schedule in order to figure out when and how to do my work when no one is really telling me anything is really difficult.

I mean.. you think it would be a breeze.. but I almost long for a 9-5 pm job everyday just so that when I got home, I'd be at home and worry about home stuff... instead of now where I am home and I work from home.. so I never really get to escape it.

I always feel guilty because I never get the amount of work done that i want to do.

I feel nearly incapable of really accomplishing anything .. and that really scares me because one day i'd like to get my PhD.. and I don't know how that is going to happen right now because i feel like I'm still such a mess.

Anyways, can anyone relate to this experience of working at home? How do you keep yourselves on task?

[hvert]

I work from home. It's really hard to stay on task!

I find that timeboxing is helpful. I write down the specifics of what I want to do, guess the amount of time it will take, and set a timer. The timer keeps me focused, as I try to finish in the allotted time.

Lately I've been keeping a stack of index cards around for this. As I think of something I need to do, I write it down and get it out of my mind so I can focus on the task at hand.

Can you ask your boss how you are supposed to bill your hours?

[yellowfrog268]

I work from home. We live in a rather small apartment so my work desk is actually part of the dinning room. In other words, I can't close the door and forget about it when done for the day.
Working from home is not an easy thing even without ADHD. Ask any 9-5 person who's made the transition. Distractions are all around, you have to manage your own time, and maybe have to deal with kids or a spouse who think that just because you are home, you are at their disposal.
One trick my pdoc showed me: Get to work as soon as you roll out of bed. Don't worry about getting dressed or doing your hair. Get coffee--straight to work. Work for about an hour and a half then take a short break. The idea here is to avoid letting your mind wander away from work tasks. He said that even on the short breaks, don't get involved in anything other than feeding yourself and going to the toilet.
It has worked well for me. He also suggested using a timer such as an egg timer to keep yourself on track.
Working from home can have great rewards especially if your like me; I don't care for the social aspect of working outside of the home. I just don't want to deal with the drama and crap that comes with it. But, you do have to find a way to be disciplined about it or it won't work. Either you won't get your work done and be let go or you will feel like your always at work because your trying to catch up.
Good luck to you and, I would try and clarify with the boss about time keeping and billing.

[hvert]

Yellowfrog, the suggestion about working as soon as you wake up is a brilliant one. I've been working for the half hour between when I wake up and when my boyfriend wakes up and it's made a huge difference in productivity. It's like how I spend that first half hour sets the tone for my day.

Identifying behaviors that lead to negative outcomes has also been helpful. If I drink coffee in bed, the next thing I know, it's 10 AM and I've gotten nothing done. If I have my coffee in my dining room, this doesn't happen.