WTF?
Filed under: ADHD and Technology, ADT, Uncategorized
A friend who spends more time texting than I do told me that ‘wtf’ is a contraction of a crude, though often valuable question: “What the f___?” Who knew? Not me, that’s for sure. Until I was properly educated, ‘wtf’ for me stood for ‘Way Too Fast.’ When I thought of WTF, I had been thinking of the dizzying pace of modern life - the relentless, numbing assault of cell phones, BlackBerrys, email, junk mail, Twitter, you name it - and the widespread expectation that we can always find time for one more appointment, one more meeting, one more commitment. Surely with all this technology at our service, we can always find room for just one more thing on our calendars. Can’t we?
Of course we can’t. But we are constantly being told that we can. Almost every day some new gadget or software application holds forth the promise of enabling us to do more things, faster. We can maintain contact with more people, more often. We can be more connected. We can get more done. We can do things faster. Doing more things is good. Doing things faster is good. We will be happier.
But many people are saying that they are not happier at all. They are saying that they are overwhelmed. The truly wondrous technologies that make so many things possible are bombarding them with too many messages, too many demands for an immediate response. Swamped by input and no longer capable of sorting through it all, they seize up and shut down. A leading American psychiatrist, Dr. Edward Hallowell, calls this phenomenon Attention Deficit Trait (ADT). A leading expert in the study of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Hallowell believes that ADT is an affliction that mimics many of the symptoms of ADHD: distractability, inability to remain focused, restlessness, jumpiness. The key difference is this: while ADHD is largely an inherited, genetic neurological condition, ADT arises as a direct consequence of overwhelming pressure on people’s time — and technology plays an enormous role in generating and maintaining that pressure.
As a work-life coach who specializes in coaching adults with ADHD, I am convinced that ADT is a very real issue. In this blog I’ll be exploring issues surrounding adult ADHD and ADT, and I’ll share strategies, tools and ideas about how to become truly happier (and more productive, if that’s what you want), in this WTF world.
