Copyright (c) 2010 Jennifer Koretsky

Planning is something that adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) have a lot of difficulty with.

So many things in life require planning. Getting organized requires a plan. Doing a project (like a report at work or a paper at school) requires a plan. And time management, especially, requires a plan.

Now before we go any further, let me be really clear about this:

While it's true that ADDers have difficulty planning, this doesn't mean that we can't plan. The problem is that we usually don't think we need a plan!

We often don't want to "waste time" by creating a plan in advance, and we trust ourselves to just wing it. But this rarely works. It just leads to a lot of procrastination, indecision, and overwhelm!

So those few minutes that you didn't want to "waste" on planning actually cost you a whole lot more time in the end.

There really is no underestimating the importance of planning. And because it may not come naturally to us, I believe that planning is one of those skills that many adults with ADD have to learn later in life. I know I certainly did.

And there's good reason for learning how to plan, even if you do end up learning this skill later in life. The thing is, planning makes your life a whole lot easier.

Think about it this way:

Imagine you're going on vacation. You're driving to a different state that's a few hours away.

Would you get in the car and start driving without a map, or directions, or a GPS? In theory, you could get on the highway and follow the road signs. But your trip would be pretty stressful, and you'd probably take a lot of wrong turns!

It's much easier to get to your destination when you're being guided, and you have a tool that instructs you on where to go next.

This is what planning in daily life is all about. Your plan is the roadmap that tells you were to go next, and makes your whole life easier.

And I have to tell you, nowhere is your plan so important as when it comes to time management.

Planning your day alleviates so much stress! When you take just a little bit of time each day to create your plan, you're essentially creating a roadmap for yourself that guides you on what to do, and when to do it.

When you create a plan for your day, you take control of your time and tasks. Planning eliminates a whole lot of procrastination, indecision, and overwhelm. Best of all, it helps you to be more productive and get things done!

And believe me, even if you're not used to planning, you absolutely can do it. You can learn this skill and benefit from it at any point in your life. And better late than never, right?