Jobs: The Dreaded One Year Mark

Does this pattern sound familiar to anyone?

1. You start a new job, and it's SO exciting. You
invest yourself 200% (to the detriment of the rest of
your life), and you're the rockstar new employee. You
shoot up in the ranks, find yourself being offered
promotions far earlier than they're normally given out,
everyone praises you as an amazing employee, etc.
You're early to work every day and stay late every
night. The next day you're ready to go do it all over
again! Super focused.

2. Seven or eight months go by, and you're suddenly not
showing up early any longer. You're showing up *barely*
in time to avoid actually getting in trouble. You're
starting to procrastinate on things that are due at
work, but it's by no means officially a problem. Hey,
they all still think you're a rock star! But your days
off become appreciated, and you've toned down to 100% of
expected investment.

3. Eleven months to twelve months go by. Suddenly
you're struggling to get to work on time- getting
seriously distracted in the morning, having problems
keeping track of time (which you always were, but since
you're not hyped to go, there's no internal PUSH that
lands you there early). You're bored, and you know it.
Your performance declines. You're no longer the best,
but work is just starting to figure it out. You're
totally procrastinating on things that aren't immediate,
and while you've always made lots of airheaded little
mistakes, you don't have rockstar status any longer. So
they're starting to notice. You get increasingly
frustrated with little things, and you find yourself
thinking about what else might be out there. Things go
from bad to worse. Suddenly everyone is really noticing
the ADD behaviors because all they're seeing are the bad
ones, and the good ones aren't showing up any longer.

Every single job runs like this for me. It's always
right about at the year point where I suddenly start
losing interest, my performance declines, and on one can
quite figure out why. The rest of you feel that way?
If I can just get some kind of major change at work, I
can buy myself another few months. But if there's no
change, it's all downhill until I finally just leave and
find something else.

How do other people cope with this? I can totally understand where you are coming from. For years never got further than your number 2 or 3 cos always something went wrong, maybe said something impulsively that was inappropriate and I whirlwinded into a depression and left. Any way, what I can offer here is this, I work in a team now (I also now have my diagnosis and meds) albeit voluntary work, but it is the longest i have ever stuck anything out and that is with motivation and success, I get the motivation I need because every now and again will do something which gets praise and also one of the team I hve told about my ADD and she was totally pleased for me and with me that I had gone as far as getting a diagnosis. I feel a bit blessed, dont want to be corney ,, but I would say the only way out of it is to work in a team where you usse your strengths and leave your weaknessesw behind. Perhaps there are other jobs in your work place which really appeal, maybe there is someone you might trust with your diagnosis...... dont do anything impulsive... but give it some thought. I have started writing alot, articles, pr letters, mails dealing with difficult members, if there is anything I feel uncomfortable I immediately say, wow hold on , I alsoget what I do checked by someone else because I can be terribley impulsive . I also make a joke out of my weaknesses because I think that is the only way to let people know about them without giving them a business card with ADD written on it. sink39861.5978009259

KDLmaj,

Don't feel bad, I am 37 and have had at least 43 or 44 jobs in my lifetime. I can really relate, things seem to "START OUT" well, and as time goes on things start to decline. Then the company decides they do not want you anymore... Im still trying to find whatever it is intended for me to do in life but it has not been an easy road.... Check out my story on page 92 when you get time... people aound you say never let it gt the best of you but it's easier said than done...

This is such a good post. I experience what you experience all the time. The only thing that kept me on the same job for a while is that the company was so full of drama that management changed all the time. This change helped me.

I am now unemployed and I am terrified of going out on interviews and starting all over again.

Hang in there...you are definitely not alone.

ADDME

Wow, someone finally wrote my story. LOL

I think the longest I stayed at any one job was maybe 2 years tops. I have been at my current job for about a year and a half and I still like it, I still get along with everyone. But the problems are: I can't seem to solve my own little problems - I always need someone to guide me through a situation or to hold my hand. I ask the same questions over and over again. There's certain procedures at my job that I just totally don't understand. Because of the economy, my company has suffered and there's simply just not enough work to do. I want to be viewed as a valuable employee and the days where I feel like that valued employee are becoming fewer. I sometimes interrupt people or talk too loud. Knowing I am ADD helps but I always go back to old patterns. I sometimes say inappropriate things (trying to be funny I guess) and people look at me weird. But I'm still liked at work (surprise, surprise). When I moved here and got this job, I was so determined that I was going to stay here for at least 5 years. (I always screw up somehow or get bored or something) Then the recession hit. If the day comes where I lose my job, the best I can do is to make sure that it wasn't because of something I did.

I am so happy you posted this and it couldn't be written better or more clear if it had come from my own brain! There is one twist though that I have managed to do at my current job (which I am beginning year 9 of BTW) and that is that I take "mental health" breaks and renew. I started reading up on aspects of my job that are not being performedas good as they can be, new trends in the area, and develop new things to try when I return to work. I know what you all are thinking, VERY typical ADHD behavior and yes, it truly is.

The funny thing is with these new little "game plans" I get excited again and it usually takes me through a few weeks of renewed excitement at work and can get me through until I run into a busy patch or until I need another "break". I'm not saying I actually bring many of my projects to an actually implementation or ending point, but I do get to spend time on something that's not routine or mundane and it seems to really help. Heck, I've been plugging away for 9 years now and have still been moving up. If it wasn't for the horrible unemployment rate right now I would worry that it was just that they needed me, but it appears that I am pulling it off and folling them all

It's truly nice to know that's it's not just me that feels like a total flak sometimes. I was only recently diagnosed and before this was cause for a lot of anxiety and depression, not to mention fear of possibly losing my job. I also went throug periods where it was so bad I was coming up with reasons to not go to work, or showing up hours late stating that I had appointments at my son's school, or blah, blah, blah any other lame excuse.

You've got to do anything you can to trick yourself into finding some excitement again. Use your ability to get gung ho about things to your advantage, even though we all know we will likely never finish them they don't and it's all about getting the actual work done and keeping the employer happy.

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