Telling ADD people that they need to delegate things they hate to do is a simple answer to ADD procrastination. But when you have no money to pay people to do things for you, what happens? Things just don't get done. Well, here are five great ways to handle delegation, and it doesn't necessarily mean spending any money:



1. Enlist your non-ADD partner: Even when people don't have ADD, they have to do household chores that they detest. Linear-thinking people usually just suffer through and do them anyway, but our ADD brains aren't like that. We'll procrastinate on doing things or we'll forget and they just won't be done at all. So, sit down and make a list of the things you hate to do and those that you like to do. See where your partner's list meshes with your own. You may be able to trade off all the unpleasant things, while taking on the hated tasks of your partner's.

2. Employ your children: I'm not suggesting that you just slough off things you don't like to do to your kids. I mean, you can, but here's the thing--make it a learning experience. Give them a small chore to do and a small allowance when they're about five years old. For that age, it should be something simple like setting the table. Then, increase your child's responsibility level along with the amount of their allowance each year. This way, you're teaching kids that you have to work for money to buy the things you want. Just be sure to make your kids buy their own toys, except on special occasions like birthdays, with the money they earn. That way, they'll also learn about saving for special items, too.

3. Make a deal with your friend or neighbor: Find out what your friend or neighbor hates to do around the house, and just like with your partner, see if you can't trade. Maybe they like to wash windows, while you prefer cleaning the kitchen. You can clean your neighbor's kitchen while your windows are being cleaned.

4. Get an inexpensive helper: Check with the local high school or college and see if there aren't some kids that will work for minimum wage and help you with the chores that you hate to do yourself. If they work a couple of hours a week, the cost would be well under $20.

5. If you have the money, pay: Hire professionals! If you can afford to delegate to people that you have to pay, you might be surprised at how inexpensive some things can be, such as having food catered in or hiring an accountant to pay your bills. It's better to pay people to keep your accounting straight than having your car repossessed because you just forgot to make your monthly payments. That can happen with ADD, even though you never intended it.

Delegating tasks can take a real load off your mind when you're ADD. If you have nobody to delegate to or to trade with, then develop a system that helps you to do the things you hate to do on a regular basis. Schedule your day in 10-minute segments and rotate 6 tasks each hour. Make sure there are more things that you like to do in the mix than things you hate to do or you're going to have the dreaded ADD procrastination kick in and it won't be a system that works. But by doing 5 things you like and 1 thing you hate, the hated chore won't seem so bad because you won't have to be doing it for very long. ADD doesn't mean that you can't achieve completion of things you don't like to do, you just need to have a system for doing them.