Poll: too many choices

In My Humble Opinion
1

Two questions:

  1. Do you have ADD or ADHD?

  2. How often do you find that you have a lot of trivial things you want to do (chores, errands to run in different locations, choice of leisure activities/which hobby to devote time to at the moment etc), and can’t decide which means you don’t do any of them?

2
  1. no
  2. yes. Take yesterday for example. I stayed home from work and had all day to do whatever. I had some stuff I wanted to do in World of Warcraft, a temple to complete to find another fairy in a Zelda game, a few other games I am in the middle of, three books I am in the middle of, a lot of stuff recorded on the DVR that need watching because it is filling up, straightening up the living room and the bedroom and some laundry to do.

I ended up pretty much just vegging in front of the tv. It was nice and relaxing because sometimes I stress myself out because there is so much stuff I want to do and I know I can’t do it all RIGHT NOW like I want to.

3

For the record, I’m at least as interested in responses from people who say no to #1 as yes.

4

  1. Probably

  2. Constantly

5
  1. no, although I’m a multitasker and get bored relatively easily
  2. occasionally. I’m the queen of plans, specially of “alternative plans:” if I drew any plan of mine, it would look like a family tree, from how many “what ifs” I’ve considered. But there are times I get overwhelmed; almost always it’s because someone is talking to me while I’m trying to get organized or make a choice (I think in pictures when I’m organizing, so words intrude a lot).

My grandmother may have it (she has the attention span of a 3 month old child, except when the task at hand is one she’s set for herself; I’ve met people with ADHD who shared this). She doesn’t so much get overwhelmed as refuse to make plans. She doesn’t get overwhelmed when shopping; shopping for clothes, both Grandma and me are the kind of person who take one look at a piece and say “no” - if we like it, we take one look at it on and know straightaway whether it’s a “yes” or “no.” Both of us dress by the method of having a bunch of tops which combine with any of a bunch of bottoms (no ensembles).

I don’t think my mother has it, but she gets overwhelmed by choices easily: taking her to a big supermarket is like a trip to Hell. Her plans are completely linear and anything that throws them off is… as bad as going to the Mall of America. There’s been times when, for example, my brother has called Friday morning to say they’d be coming for lunch on Sunday. Mom throws her arms up, calls upon the fury of all the saints and the patience of all the demons, spends over two hours shuffling menus back and forth… often, to do what I would have done as soon as I’d hung up the phone: leave the menus as they had been initially, but with three more people on Sunday. The calendar where she writes them down looks like a battle between two armies of archers by the time she is done, though, from arrows marking changes and counterchanges.

Then again, she spends at least half an hour going over the menus every day. That’s half an hour when she’s already prepared them in advance: coming up with menus for three days can mean upwards of three hours.

Shopping for a single piece of clothing can mean running three or four full circuits of every store in town; she dresses in ensembles. Having a blouse get a run is a tragedy, because it means that the ensemble now needs a new blouse… but what if the new blouse goes well with the skirt and shoes but not with the jacket? I’m getting tired just from thinking about it!

6
  1. Yes.
  2. All the time. Makes my work life difficult, but I survive. It involves breaking everything I do into mini-mini tasks, though.
7
  1. No
  2. No. If I plan to do a number of things, I just putter along and get to them one-by-one. If I don’t finish them all, I don’t much care. If I get sidetracked, I don’t much care. If I don’t accomplish any of them, I figure I didn’t really want to all that badly, so again, I don’t much care.
8
  1. Yes, I suffer from ADD but I think for the most part I have things under contr
9

Nicely done. :wink:

10
  1. No. Well, I’ve never been diagnosed and don’t think I have it.
  2. Yes, or rather frequently I’ll be paralyzed because I will be naturally tending to one activity but thinking I really should do some other.
11

  1. Yes

  2. All the freaking time.

12
  1. No.
  2. By definition…I have several hats I wear at work, so to speak, and each one requires additional work and I could probably spend days on just one task, but try to keep all of those proverbial plates spinning at the same time. Plus, I try to spend some time with my SO when at home, but then have emails, and phone calls, and then have “to do” lists around the house. It is so very rare that I can look around and say, “I have nothing to do…” I sort of long for the days I had a mindless 9-5 job and came home and forgot about it until the next day, or Monday. Now I am constantly feeling guilty if I don’t do things, and catch myself going to bed thinking “and don’t forget to…” for the next day.
13

  1. No

  2. Very rarely - I usually know exactly what I want to do, and I do it.

14
  1. No
  2. No. I rarely get an urge to do anything in particular, and certainly don’t get overwhelmed by the number of things I want to do.

Sometimes, like happens to everyone else, there is too much going on and I don’t get around to doing everything I intended to do. I don’t think that’s what the OP is asking for.

15

This is pretty much my answer too.

16

  1. I strongly suspect I have it.

  2. Yes, but not just with trivial tasks; major things too.

17

  1. No

  2. Rarely. If I have a list of things I need to get accomplished for the day, and I don’t finish it, I get stressed out. I find I can’t relax until I get everything done.

18

  1. No.

  2. Yes, if I haven’t made a list of things to do. It doesn’t take me long to write one, but if I haven’t given it some thought beforehand, I’ll get distracted mid-task. For example, I can’t just “clean the living room.” I have to write down “fold laundry and put it away.” Then, “move toys downstairs to basement,” “sort and recycle mail,” “vacuum rug.” If I don’t, I’ll wind up doing something like beginning to sort the mail, then realizing the recycling needs to go out, then the trash, etc. Things get done, but not the things that I want/need to get done first.

19

  1. Yes

  2. Constantly. But it’s not paralysis, I am always getting something done, just not necessarily what started out on the list. But then I am a Manager, and the parent of a two-year-old, so wherever I am there is a likelihood that someone else’s needs will take precedence over my personal priorities.