This is strange advice, isn’t it? Who sets out to be unrealistic?
Imagine:
“Honey, I’m going for groceries, I’ll be back in 4 hours.”
Wouldn’t you wonder, “How much food do we need?”
But if you have ADHD this, or a close version of this, happens all of the time, and there is no abundance of groceries showing up at your door. How does a 45-minute trip to the store end up taking hours? Well, for starters, it probably depends on the store. If it’s of the big-box sort, there were probably lots of interesting items that triggered a lot of imaginative explorations into endless possibilities, which equals having had to make decisions, and THAT takes time. You really can’t expect to pass up that S’Mores Kit on sale, especially when it’s buy-one-get-one-free!
What if…
- We keep one and give the other to my sister.
- Well, maybe just keep both for when friends come over to visit.
- How long are these good for? 90 days…
- I need to loose weight; I have no business eating them.
- I wonder how much I weigh now?
- The kids will love them.
- Each kit makes only 6? What a rip off.
- I’ll have to get 2 kits just for my kids.
- Maybe I should get 4 of them.
- What if they taste bad?
- What’s the expiration date?
- Oh, yeah…90 days, ok…what’s today’s date?
When do you think they notice that S’Mores Kits are not even on the grocery list?
Solution: Make a deal with yourself; do not buy anything that is not on the list, ever.
Now, is that realistic? Well, yes, but it takes practice. It takes a lot of discipline, that is, at first. Eventually, it becomes a habit, a happy habit, which takes about 2.5 – 3 months to form. But after that think of the time you’ll save!
Suggestion: Try it! It worked for me.
This used to happen to me ALL the time. Now, just once in a while. This works for me too – you have to have a list and you have to stick to it and it does take Practice!