Lest anyone think that I purport to be perfect or have everything figured out…
I had a fabulous ADHD moment last week. I’ve been having a very busy few weeks, with old clients, new clients, teaching, speaking, and special events, not to mention the rest of life! Well, in the midst of this I found myself getting anxious, wound-up, and started “spinning.” The result was that I scheduled a consultation with a potential new client whom I had met at an event, without really looking closely enough at my calendar, and I double booked her.
Of course we all make mistakes. So I called her right back and rescheduled for a different time that day. [Here’s where it gets good.] But, I still didn’t take a deep breath, slow down, and really look at my calendar… and I double booked her again! Of course I felt like a total idiot. Hard to portray a professional image as an ADHD coach and professional organizer when you can’t keep your schedule straight!
But, this is where I had a positive reaction to my ADHD moment. I felt embarrassed and thought that it would be better to not call her back right away. Maybe if I put it off, I wouldn’t seem so incompetent Changing appointment times twice in a half hour felt mortifying. Luckily for me, this is when I finally did take a deep breath and really looked at the situation.
I realized that the best answer was to own up to my mistake as soon as possible. Give the potential client as much notice as possible. [and use humor as a self defense mechanism…] The result was what I had hoped. I was able to take care of the situation immediately The client was fine with it. It wasn’t nearly as big a deal as I had made it out to be. (It may have even humanized me in that particular interaction. Everyone makes mistakes and such…) But, the best part is, once done, I could let go of the stress and the worry. It became a footnote and a blog entry in my life, not a source of stress. Plus, I didn’t have to remember to call her on Monday and try to arrange it then.
The lesson for me was: if it is stressful, deal with it now. The stress won’t go away if you avoid it. Win-Win!