How to Survive a Boring Meeting
Traditional learning in high school and beyond is set up for auditory learners. Workplace meetings are also pain-free for auditory neurotypicals. However, those meetings can be hell for the kinesthetic ADHD kind, yours truly included.
I detest prolonged meetings where people talk and talk and talk, sitting in one spot in front of a death-by-PowerPoint presentation. Yet I’ve also three simple ways to cope in such situations.
1. Take massive notes. I take way more notes than necessary to combat boredom. This helps me stay awake, appear engaged (ha!), and process the information in a visual/kinesthetic way. (SIDE TIP: read over them afterwards, highlight what’s important, and file them RIGHT AWAY. Or have a composition book where you write ALL your work notes in, so you only have to look for one place. It’s like a one-stop-shop).
2. Sit in the back and by a door. This way I can see everything that’s going on and survey the scene. Otherwise I spend time turning around and wondering what’s going on behind me. And I can get up and leave at any time, or at least feel like I have an escape route. Sometimes I just get up and go to the bathroom, because I have a teeny bladder (worsened by motherhood) anyhow. Even if you have a Texas-sized bladder, go, just to get out of the room. And…what if there’s an emergency? You can be the first out!
3. Stand up and walk around. If you’re in the back by the door, you can stand against the wall and kind of kick your heels around (not like a jig) or pace slowly. Don’t pace TOO much, or you might arouse suspicion in your neurotypical colleagues.
P.S. If you’re confined to sitting most of the day, make sure to get up periodically. It’s healthier and gets your blood pumping. Or ask your work if you could get a standing work station. There’s also new evidence that sitting is killing you (and your neurotypical peeps, too)! Check out the coolio infographic below with all the scary details.
