“I Hate Waiting!” How to Become More Patient in 4 Steps

Waiting is agonizing for some people with ADHD who experience problems with patience, time-blindness, and delaying gratification. If waiting feels painful, use the WAIT strategy when you find yourself in a long line, on hold, in a waiting room, or enduring any other of life’s inevitable hold-ups.

cjchr

July 20, 2021 at 1:48 pm

I knit to help me cope with waiting. Or just when I have to sit still and listen. If I need directions with me, I scan and print a copy, rather than hauling an entire book. It has many benefits–it can be a conversation starter. It relaxes the people around me, rather than hyping them up like fidgeting would. It also lets people in authority know…that I won’t go away until they deal with me. And the side benefit is I have lots of hats and sweaters. If someone asks me to knit for them, I generally refuse–or I charge a minimum of $10 per hour, to be sent to a charity of mutual agreement. (I’m retired, and don’t need money.) The downside–my right brain refuses to count beyond two. If I have my knitting, my purse, and a third item, I’m at very high risk of leaving something behind. I’m learning to keep all three items in my cone of vision–and that helps. Also, I’m learning that if I’m wearing a sweater somewhere and I take it off, it should go in my bag or stay in front of me! But hey–a fidget with payoff–what’s to lose?