How'd I end up *here*, and how do I get *back*? (✨The Side Quest✨)

Greetings, y'all! 👋😁

In a previous post, I mentioned that I was almost caught by ✨The Side Quest✨ (yes, the sparkles are necessary), and how it's the main culprit in my poor time management issues. I wanted to expand on that a bit more here. 😊

Maybe you've heard someone say, "I fell down the rabbit hole." or "I followed a rabbit trail, and now I don't remember where I started." when talking about starting out on one thing and during the course of whatever it is they're doing, their attention moves to something else they see, so they follow that, and then something else grabs their attention so they follow that other thing, and so forth. 

If you've found yourself scrolling social media, and hours later you're on some obscure website that's totally unrelated to what you started out viewing, or if you're having a conversation with someone and find yourself going off on a tangent, congratulations! You've been hijacked by ✨The Side Quest✨! 

With the internet, it's very easy to start off in one place and follow links here and there until you're reading (or watching) something you may not even have known existed, or you've gotten a glimpse into the life of your best friend's cousin's sister's third ex husband's fourth wife's boyfriend's ex-father-in-law's cousin's youngest grandchild's aunt on his mother's side.

✨The Side Quest✨ has led me down some interesting paths online, and I've learned a lot of things (some of them useful) that I otherwise wouldn't have, had I not followed the rabbit trails. I've also had some really cool conversations (and met some really cool people) following conversational tangents. 😊 Unfortunately, there's a dark side to ✨The Side Quest✨ that takes a bit of shine off the sparkles; it can be a massive time suck. 😑

It's very frustrating to take the time to plan out a project and begin working on it, only to get sidetracked. What happens to me most often is that I'll think of something that is "project-adjacent" and jump to that, and then the cycle continues until I have a string of unfinished tasks behind me, and I've lost track of what I'd planned to do to begin with. My train of thought jumps the tracks a lot. 😑

In my work, I have defined tasks and deadlines, so I can't go wandering off with ✨The Side Quest✨ too far, but it still catches me now and then. For instance, I may be looking for a particular file, and I'll notice that the file directory is disorganized. Instead of getting the file I was after, I'll make new folders and organize the directory. Since it's shared, I have to notify others that the files are now in new folders. After that's done, then I'll see a message or two that I missed, so I'll catch up on messages, and by this time, an hour has passed, and I still haven't gotten the file I needed for the task I was on originally (whatever that was). Calgon, take me away! 😱

Since I've been on medication to treat my ADHD, ✨The Side Quest✨ hasn't been able to hijack me as often, but I've been able to recognize it sooner when it does, so it's a little easier to get back on task. My healthcare professional and I are still working out which medication and dosage is the most effective to manage the symptoms without overmedicating. I feel like we're very close to the "sweet spot". 

For so many years, I struggled and tried to cope with ADHD, figuring it was too late to do anything about it, since I'm not a kid or a teen (or even a young adult) any more. It wasn't until I read personal stories from people around my age (and a few who are older) who sought a diagnosis and treatment, and got it, that I saw a glimmer of hope that maybe it wasn't too late. And here we are today. 😊

Be blessed, and be a blessing! 😊

Megan