The ADD Business Owner

For Your Distraction AND Education: The SEO Rapper

Do you do business online, or does your business at least have a website? If so, then you'll want to check out The SEO Rapper on YouTube. He's got rap lessons on topics such as Design Coding, Conversion Closing, Paid Search.

Business education has never been so entertaining. I'm ready to hire him!

ADD-friendly Business Travel Tip #3: Be Yourself, ADD & All

When I asked business owners to tell us their biggest challenges when traveling on business, Coach V said:

The biggest challenge for me is to remember all the people I meet at events. Chamber meetings to conferences to consulting, there are so many people and I forget names. Its embarrassing and also stressful.

Poor working memory is is a common problem associated with adult ADD. This means that it can be easy to forgot the "little things," like where you put your keys. It also means you may have a tendency to forget names and/or faces. And if you fear this challenge from the start, your anxiety and stress may make your working memory even worse!

Despite our worries to the contrary, most people are not offended when you politely explain that you have a tendency to forget names (for example.) Try saying something like, "I'm so sorry, but would you tell me your name one more time? I have an awful time remembering names!"

Or, even better, "It's nice to meet you, Jane! And please forgive me if I need you to remind me of your name a few times. It's always been a challenge of mine."

Fortunately, this is one challenge that there's really no need to stress about. It's actually much better to just be yourself, forgetfulness and all. People will appreciate your honesty, and your authenticity.

More ADD-friendly business travel tips can be found here and here.

And don't forget that it's March mADDness over at Experiencing ADDvantages! You can win some great prizes just for commenting on a post!

Combating Email Overload

I know you're all probably getting tired of hearing this, but it comes up so frequently with so many different ADD business owners that I feel the need to keep reiterating it:

Too much time on email is preventing you from being an effective, productive, and profitable business owner. An hour a day keeps email overload away.

I know this is sometimes easier said than done, and I have new tool to recommend to help you control the time you spend on email. Instant Boss is a free web application that can help you keep track of the time you work.

You can set it for 60 minutes of work time, and let it run while you answer as many emails as you can. A small pop up alerts you when the 60 minutes is up. This is how I've been using it and I love it!

You can also program break time, and an "angry boss" icon will pop up and fake-yell at you to get back to work when your break is over.

It's a cute tool but, more importantly, it's a great help to adults with ADD who tend to lose track of time at work. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Oh, and by the way, don't forget to head over to my main blog, Experiencing ADDvantages, for some March mADDness giveaways!

And remember...an hour a day keeps email overload away!

ADD-friendly Business Travel Tip #2: Get What You Came For

In response to my earlier post on Business, Travel & ADD, tac anderson commented:

My biggest problem is actually getting any work done. I always plan to make the most of my down time or get some work done in the evenings (you'd think it would be easier w/ my wife and kids around) but it never works out that way.

It's a great point...and a trap that many of us fall into. We think, I'll be away from the office and all the distractions for a few days so I'll really be able to get some work done!

Of course, it's always a big plus if we can find some "extra time" to get more work done. But business trips can be so stressful and overwhelming to begin with that it doesn't always work in our favor to try to accomplish a lot while we're away. So when my clients ask me to help them prepare for a business trip, I always encourage them to stay focused on the reason for travel.

For example, when attending a conference, determine your primary objective. Is it to present to an audience, sell your products and services, learn new things, or network and forge relationships? The vast majority of your focus and energy need to be directed towards your primary objective. 

If you have the energy and brain power to accomplish more, then that's a happy bonus...and I stress the word bonus. When you have adult ADD, sometimes that "free time" during travel is best spent recharging. 

When you have a tendency to become easily stressed, distracted, overwhelmed, and burnt out, it's best to set realistic expectations of what you can accomplish when you travel for business, and then plan accordingly.

More business travel tips are on the way, stay tuned! If you'd like to tell us about your biggest challenge when traveling for business, then I might just craft an ADD-friendly business travel tip with you in mind!

And in the meantime, jump over to my main blog, Experiencing ADDvantages, for some March mADDness giveaways!