If I’m not at my computer when I make a commitment to do something or be somewhere, I usually ask the other party to “please email a confirmation so I’ll have it at my computer and can plug it into my calendar. Otherwise, I might forget.”

Because this has the tinge of “asking somebody to do my work for me,” it’s easier to do with peers or people who feel beholden to me (i.e., subcontractors, people I’m doing a favor for, etc.). But I find that clients are willing to do this, too — especially when I make it clear that they’re doing both of us a favor when they help me remember.

Naturally, this technique works particularly well when I’ve been asked (or have volunteered) to do a favor for someone else. If they forget (or don’t get around) to emailing a reminder to me, I’m 100% off the hook for doing the favor. And for an ADD-people-pleaser who volunteers too often, this workload reduction by attrition can be a real joy.

Adult ADHD? You’re not alone, and you’re not without hope. According to Harvard Health Publications:

Probably the most important recent change in the understanding of ADHD is the growing recognition that people don’t always grow out of it. The number of adults receiving drug treatment for ADHD more than doubled from 2001 to 2005 alone. The symptoms may even interfere with daily life more in adults than in children because adults have to exercise more self-control and do more planning.

In 2003, adult ADHD was included in a national survey for the first time; 4.4% of adults age 18–44 received the diagnosis…

It’s been said that identifying ADHD in adults can be like finding a missing jigsaw piece that solves the puzzle of behavior that looked like laziness, a character flaw, or a learning disability. Medications, group social skills training, individual psychotherapy, vocational counseling, and coaching may be helpful for adults with ADHD. The first controlled study of cognitive behavioral therapy for adult ADHD, published in 2005, found improvements in anxiety, depression, and attention.

from Attention deficit disorder: Old questions, New answers by Harvard Health Publications, February 2006, posted at MSN Health & Fitness.