Running meetings and projects

[Leakingroofagain]

I have ADHD and having real problems with work. I usually work independently and have learnt to live with flitting between different pieces of work. It works for me on my own projects.

But I've recently had to start managing teams of people on specific projects. What I've established is I cannot do an agenda. I try but then just get sidetracked, jump between different points and everyone ends up confused. I also find it very difficult to direct people with timelines because in my own work, I just get on with it and work on it until it's done.

Any tips on how to not look like a complete shambles?

I can't give specific advice because I have the opposite problem and tend to want to stick too rigidly to agendas (I'm autistic) but have you looked into mentoring at work? It's something I'm trying to sort out for myself at the moment to address the challenges I'm having, in the hope that one to one support and having someone to run things past will help me.

What kind of project management are you trying to do? Would using agile work better for you?

Thanks. I do have mentors but they tend to not do this type of administration role.

I have no idea what agile project management is. I'll Google!

@Leakingroofagain could you get one of the group to chair the meeting on a rotating basis - so you feed into the creation of the agenda but it doesn't sit solely with you? We do this, it's good for team members own development to take a turn in the chair.

Sadly not as it's within my job role and they are volunteers so the organisation and meetings have to fall to me.

It's not just meetings it the entire project. If it was just me doing it, I'd just do it, but I fear I need to do some kind of project milestone documents and I can never work out how long things take. I know if I do it it'd take 30 mins but then I know my own workload but I don't know theirs. I can see what will happen, I'll end up doing all the work myself which is not sustainable as I'm just so awful at communicating project progress or delegating.

Put in a collaborative planning meeting to set the milestones taking everyone’s commitments etc into account. It might be your job to project manage it - but that doesn’t mean you can’t work in a more collaborative way to achieve that.