This is not a joke, this is a serious dilemma in the lives of a couple where both partners have ADHD! A lot of times, Sonny and I find that we have different "dislikes" in terms of household tasks, which is great because household chorse tend to flow nicely. However, because we both actually really like cleaning and organizing the house, those "dislikes" are generally determined by how much we CAN'T STAND something because it clashes with our ADHD thinking processes...and this is a problem when we both CAN'T STAND the same task.
Which brings me to the dishwasher. We both LOVE loading it, because it's satisfying to clean off the countertops and you feel "done" when it's full.
(pause)
...when it's full.
...when it's full.
...when it's full.
(smack-smack) Sorry, that's where our brains start skipping and the white noise begins. It's easier to write about emptying the dishwasher than to actually empty it.
Emptying it requires ferrying a bunch of little things to different cupboards and drawers and holes in the wall and...well that's just not ADHD-friendly. Whether you are hyperactive or inattentive, that task (we find) is just flabbergastingly frustrating.
In this case, it means that I generally end up doing it. This is not a slam on Sonny, it's just that I've consciously taken some extra steps in my relationship with the dishwasher to try to give it less power. I have a little mind-game that I have to play with myself where I tell myself HOW GREAT IT'S GONNA BE TO FILL IT UP AGAIN! Thus, I find that it's easier for me to motivate myself to do it, obviously, when there's dirty dishes in the sink again, waiting to be washed. To make it an extra challenge though, and more of a game, I try to get ahead on it so that the washer is just standing there OPEN and READY before the dishes even pile up. This type of game brings me right up to the line where ADHD starts to look like OCD...
That seems to be the key...make it some kind of game in order to make it interesting. It works, but I'll tell you what, it's a lot of work for the result of an empty washer. Thankfully, Sonny, when asked, will help me do it...it doesn't take two people to do this, obviously, but it's more fun that way :) (Although I'm pretty sure it takes longer because I start talking...gah...)
Which brings me to the dishwasher. We both LOVE loading it, because it's satisfying to clean off the countertops and you feel "done" when it's full.
(pause)
...when it's full.
...when it's full.
...when it's full.
(smack-smack) Sorry, that's where our brains start skipping and the white noise begins. It's easier to write about emptying the dishwasher than to actually empty it.
Emptying it requires ferrying a bunch of little things to different cupboards and drawers and holes in the wall and...well that's just not ADHD-friendly. Whether you are hyperactive or inattentive, that task (we find) is just flabbergastingly frustrating.
In this case, it means that I generally end up doing it. This is not a slam on Sonny, it's just that I've consciously taken some extra steps in my relationship with the dishwasher to try to give it less power. I have a little mind-game that I have to play with myself where I tell myself HOW GREAT IT'S GONNA BE TO FILL IT UP AGAIN! Thus, I find that it's easier for me to motivate myself to do it, obviously, when there's dirty dishes in the sink again, waiting to be washed. To make it an extra challenge though, and more of a game, I try to get ahead on it so that the washer is just standing there OPEN and READY before the dishes even pile up. This type of game brings me right up to the line where ADHD starts to look like OCD...
That seems to be the key...make it some kind of game in order to make it interesting. It works, but I'll tell you what, it's a lot of work for the result of an empty washer. Thankfully, Sonny, when asked, will help me do it...it doesn't take two people to do this, obviously, but it's more fun that way :) (Although I'm pretty sure it takes longer because I start talking...gah...)
No comments:
Post a Comment