Do you remember when you were young and carefree, coasting through school assignments at the last minute? Or social engagements flowing effortlessly from one to the next? As an adult with ADHD, those days may feel like a distant memory. Suddenly, responsibilities pile up, work seems endless, and relationships require much more attention. What changed?
In this episode, we explore why ADHD symptoms often worsen from childhood to adulthood. Turns out, the structured school environment and malleable young brain provided a protective cocoon. Youthful resilience and novelty-seeking behaviors also naturally complemented ADHD traits.
But adult life removes those scaffolds. We're faced with open-ended choices, little external accountability, and increasingly rigid thinking patterns. Stress compounds the challenges. Without school forcing new learning, our minds stagnate. Mental elasticity gives way to knee-jerk reactions. Dopamine-seeking behaviors like substance abuse or gambling frequently emerge. It's no wonder ADHD feels debilitating.
The good news? We can recreate youthful advantages through scheduling routines, mindfulness practices, brain training, and lifestyle changes. Structure liberates the ADHD mind from decision fatigue. Meditation and new hobbies boost dopamine. And cognitive exercises build mental agility. By bringing back elements of childhood, we can recapture some of its ease. The path requires diligence and self-compassion. But reclaiming our younger resilience is within reach.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (02:00) - Support the show: Become a patron!
- (05:18) - Were things better back in the day?
- (09:06) - Performative Busyness
- (15:14) - The ADHD Twist
We're eager to please, but at what cost? For people with ADHD, saying yes to requests from others often means sabotaging our own priorities. Urgency provides a dopamine hit; the instructions are clear. Best of all, we aren't fully responsible for the outcome. But every time we dodge our obligations to take on extra, we chip away at our future.
Before automatically agreeing to favors, pause and examine your motives. Are you truly available or just procrastinating? Will you have to sacrifice critical deadlines to accommodate? Respect your time. Invest in your goals, not just other's. Your needs matter too. Stop self-sabotage disguised as service. Prioritize a future fueled by purpose, not avoidance.
We talk about some key principles this week including time shielding for protecting our time from distraction, the values calendar to help align time to our values, and margin for interruption in our schedules.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:43) - Connect with Us!
- (02:14) - Patreon! Join the club! patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (03:44) - Sabotage
- (18:52) - Time Shielding and the Values Calendar
- (29:32) - Margin
When everything is on fire, how do you escape the flames? For people with ADHD, overwhelm can consume our days in a blazing mess of forgotten tasks, ignored priorities, and competing demands. Like a wildfire swallowing the horizon, the urgent eclipses the important until catastrophe looms. Fortunately, firefighters don't panic in the face of infernos. They methodically suppress the flames by targeting fuels one at a time. We can borrow their approach. Tackle the smallest task first for a quick win. Preserve your critical relationships, health, and finances. Let go of time-wasters that won't devastate. Once the blaze subsides, sift through the ashes and rebuild. Learn from the near-disaster to prepare for the next. With level-headed focus, even the most raging overwhelm can be contained. Don't let the flames consume you. Become the firefighter, armed and ready.
It’s possible we’re overdoing the fire metaphor. But that’s what we do on the ADHD podcast... we lean in, even when it’s too hot to handle.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (03:06) - The Podcast!
- (04:08) - Become a Patron! Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (04:55) - The Five Alarm ADHD Productivity Blaze
The ADHD Tax is real—and it's costly. A recent poll found over half of people with ADHD lose over $1000 a year to fees, fines, and forgetfulness. We call them ADHD Taxes: late bill payments, expired food, unpaid subscriptions. Benjamin Franklin said nothing is certain except death and taxes, but ADHD Taxes are optional. With planning and habits, we can eliminate these penalties that drain our time, money, and self-esteem. ADHD may be lifelong, but the taxes don't have to be. Learn to stop the cycle and keep that currency—money and time—in your pocket. The cost of a ADHD Tax? Your peace of mind. The gain from ending it? Priceless!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:53) - Become a Patron! Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (02:49) - The ADHD Tax
This week on Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast, Pete and Nikki explore what it means to be uncomfortable and why that's not always a bad thing.
The inspiration for this topic came from Melissa reflecting on a step in the GPS process where members review past experiences with strategies and tools from the previous week. She wondered whether it was the tool/strategy that wasn't working or if it just felt uncomfortable because it was new. Melissa asked if we're giving up too quickly on new things by saying they don't work for us when maybe we haven't given them enough time.
So, what does it mean to be uncomfortable or outside your comfort zone? Dictionary definitions describe it as feeling unease, awkwardness, distress or lack of confidence. Many ADHDers regularly feel this way, and these are feelings we try to eliminate with new strategies. So why stick with a new system if it brings up the same negative emotions?
There’s a bit of a sidetrack around systems with acronyms that can distract from the real effort, all while increasing discomfort, which poses the question: is discomfort important?
The bottom line? Don't let initial discomfort lead you to quit on a new strategy too soon. Stick with it, and you might find great benefits once you move past the unease of the unfamiliar. Discomfort doesn't have to last forever.
Links & Notes
- Learning to Learn and the Navigation of Moods: The Meta-Skill for the Acquisition of Skills
- Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (03:59) - Getting Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable
- (20:34) - Discomfort Signaling
In "The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking," you're introduced to the unconventional notion that the pursuit of happiness might actually lie down a 'negative path.' Oliver Burkeman invites you to consider embracing life's uncertainties and insecurities, challenging the prevalent culture of positive thinking. Overly optimistic mindsets, he argues, can lead to a denial of reality and set you up for greater disappointment. The book delves into the idea of "negative capability," encouraging you to become comfortable with ambiguity and resist the urge to hastily resolve doubt.
Burkeman guides you through the Stoic philosophy, which emphasizes controlling what you can and accepting what you cannot. He introduces you to the concept of negative visualization, a Stoic practice of contemplating the worst to temper anxiety and build resilience. This conversation also takes you through the paradox of control. Burkeman illustrates how accepting failure can be a conduit to success. He challenges the fixation on goals, advocating instead for a focus on routines, suggesting that happiness is better pursued indirectly as a byproduct of a life lived in alignment with personal values.
Lastly, the book beckons you to confront the uncomfortable directly through practices like mindfulness and to appreciate life's fragility through memento mori. Burkeman introduces the concept of antifragility, where you gain strength from stressors. He proposes a balanced life approach, where accepting death, failure, and uncertainty can lead to a more authentic form of happiness. As you reflect on these ideas, you'll find "The Antidote" not just a critique of Western culture's happiness obsession but a practical guide advocating for a more realistic and accepting approach to the inevitable challenges of life.
Links & Notes
- Buy The Antidote: Happiness for People who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking
- Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:56) - Support the Podcast by Joining the ADHD Community!
- (03:17) - The Antidote
- (08:00) - Toxic Positivity
- (15:04) - Stoicism
- (20:34) - Mindset is Not Positive Thinking
In his provocative book Four Thousand Weeks, author Oliver Burkeman confronts our culture's obsession with productivity and efficiency. He makes the case that with a limited lifespan of around 4,000 weeks, our pursuit of packed schedules and perfect work-life balance is ultimately futile.
Burkeman urges us to embrace the unchangeable reality that our time is finite. Only by accepting our human limitations, he argues, can we focus on what matters most and live with intention. Rather than desperately trying to find more time, we should recognize that time management is impossible. Every moment we gain elsewhere means a sacrifice of something else.
Confronting the brevity of life is daunting but also liberating. It allows us to pare down our priorities, say no to less meaningful activities, and zero in on how we truly want to spend the days we have. Presence becomes more important than productivity. With mortality as a guidepost, we can live each moment more purposefully.
The book is an enlightening take on time, work, and what makes life meaningful. Burkeman blends philosophical insights with practical advice to fundamentally reframe how we approach our use of time. Four Thousand Weeks is a compelling invitation to examine our values and construct daily routines that align with what we cherish most. Though our weeks are limited, we have the power to fill them with intentionality.
Links & Notes
- Oliver Burkeman
- Buy Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
- Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (02:23) - Support this podcast by becoming a Patron
- (03:10) - Four Thousand Weeks
It's season 28 and we're kicking it off with a look at how we make decisions. See, we all have models through which we see the choices before us. We decided to start this series with a look at some of the acknowledged mental models around decision-making to help us create a vernacular we can use to discuss how our brains are impacted by choices in our lives and our ADHD.
Mental models are bite-sized, condensed views that help us understand ourselves and the world around us. We explore various mental models that can both aid and hinder our decision-making, such as the tendency to want to do something, confirmation bias, hindsight bias, overgeneralizing from small samples, social proof, and opportunity costs. We discuss the importance of using these models with caution and not relying on them entirely for decision-making. Join us as we explore these fascinating concepts and gain insights into how our biases and tendencies can influence our choices.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (03:24) - Support the show and Become a Patron today!
- (04:23) - Mental Models of Decision Making
- (08:14) - The Tendency to Want to Do Something
- (12:22) - Confirmation Bias
- (22:20) - Hindsight Bias
- (29:38) - Overgeneralizing from Small Samples vs. The Law of Large Numbers
- (34:46) - Social Proof
- (39:28) - Opportunity Costs
We’re having so much fun talking about planning that we’re sticking with it another week! And this time, it’s all about what happens when we fall off the wagon.
How do you stand up with courage and strength and admit you’ve strayed from your system? How do you face the flood of email when you get back from a well-earned vacation? We’re digging into the tools and practices that will help you get back in the saddle and shake the shame of the struggle along the way!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (00:19) - The ADHD Conference Report!
- (06:42) - Sponsor: TextExpander
- (09:36) - Coming Back to Planning Systems
We're talking about planning again and we're taking on your questions! Getting started, long-term planning, making transitions, and even AI tools are on deck for this week's show. The big topics:
- How do you get started planning when you haven't done it?
- How do you plan to plan?
- Struggling with personal deadlines?
- What if you’re struggling to make plans more than a few weeks ahead of time?
- How do you plan for things that don't have concrete goals?
- What do I do during transition time?
- AI and how do I use it?
- So... why TickTick?
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:58) - Support the show: Become a Patron at Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (04:59) - How do you get started planning when you haven't done it?
- (09:20) - How do you plan to plan?
- (13:58) - Struggling with personal deadlines
- (21:10) - Struggling to make plans more than a few weeks ahead of time
- (27:12) - How do you plan for things that don't have concrete goals?
- (31:54) - What do I do during transition time?
- (38:26) - AI and how do I use it?
- (51:38) - So... why TickTick?
Pete’s in the hot seat this week as Nikki walks through a listener question of the motivational variety. For reference, here it is:
“When we have a plan of quadrant two tasks, important but not urgent, it is impossible to focus on those at all if there are ANY quadrant one tasks... urgent and important... unresolved. What’s interesting is that you might think, sure ... do those. They’re urgent and important. But the problem is that maybe you’ve done your part on them. You’re waiting for an email response... you are time-blocked from doing anything about it because a store isn’t open... something like that. It’s unresolved, AND you can’t do anything about it, AND you can’t focus on anything else that is on your list that would move other projects forward as a result.”
There’s an emotional yo-yo at work here, and you can bet there is a healthy dose of limiting beliefs. But there is also a very real connection between this attachment and the ADHD brain. Nikki walks Pete through an exercise that aims to make this relationship a bit softer.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:39) - Support the Show: Become a Patron at Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (03:05) - Sponsor: TextExpander
- (06:51) - The Planning Motivation Game is Afoot
On this week’s show, Pete and Nikki break down how to create and implement planning systems that work with the ADHD brain.
“There is not a perfect calendar, planner or task manager for ADHD,” notes Nikki. “What matters is that you build trust and consistency with your chosen tools.”
They start by addressing common misconceptions about finding the “right” organizational system. As Nikki explains, no one tool determines success - only your willingness to use it consistently builds planning skills. She cautions against getting distracted searching for a flawless system. What matters is finding tools that fit your workflow and building habits around using them daily.
What causes so many to abandon their carefully chosen systems? They share the psychological traps that sabotage trust in planning tools, from perfectionism to learned helplessness. They discuss how forgetting to use the system consistently or failing to personalize it to your needs also hinders success. Tune in to gain insight into why your tools may be failing you.
The key to results is forming a habit of using your system, not the system itself. They offer tips like starting small, scheduling planning time and allowing flexibility as you build consistency. Nikki emphasizes that mistakes are part of the process - you must persist through frustration to cement reliability.
Create order amidst the chaos of ADHD through insights on building planning systems you can trust. Pete and Nikki guide you through myths, pitfalls, and practical strategies for long-term consistency. Discover how small steps create big change.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:27) - Support the show! Get Member-Only D&D Special through Patreon!
- (04:05) - Planning Systems and Why They Fail
- (05:13) - What are we counting on our planning systems to do?
- (20:51) - Perfectionism
- (31:47) - Routines
- (34:53) - Beware the "Best Of" Recommendations
In this week's episode of Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast, hosts Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright interview Dr. Tamara Rosier about motivation and ADHD. Dr. Rosier, author of "Your Brain's Not Broken," shares insights from her experiences as an ADHD coach and professor to uncover motivation strategies for those with ADHD.
As Dr. Rosier explains of those living with ADHD, "There is really no research explaining our success in the modern world." Her book aims to send a "love letter" to those struggling, affirming that "You're okay. And I know it feels hard for you, but you're still okay."
The hosts dive into the complicated relationship between ADHD and motivation. Dr. Rosier notes that while ADHD can make people appear self-centered as they struggle to survive, most "are incredibly sensitive" and "heart forward." Pete adds that ADHD allows people to "forget the important things"—like basic needs—while seeking self-actualization. Dr. Rosier agrees this makes success especially difficult, as "easy things are very difficult" for those with ADHD, yet they still accomplish much.
To build motivation, Dr. Rosier suggests first assessing your values—why something matters. She coaches Nikki to uncover beliefs like "I should enjoy cooking" that create pressure. Next, acknowledge the difficulty but willingness to do hard things. Tie actions to values, not beliefs that demotivate. Dr. Rosier advises imagining your future self; what actions would serve them well? For her, laying out morning clothes helps future Tamara. Finally, notice existing successes instead of dismissing them. Despite feeling inconsistent, for example, Pete already walks his dog each and every morning.
While discussing motivation, Dr. Rosier exposes thought patterns that sabotage us. Beating yourself up rarely helps. Instead, start by naming emotions and difficulties without judgment. Accept dissonance between wants and responsibilities. Motivation takes self-awareness, values exploration, and celebrating every step forward.
Here are a few key takeaways:
- How ADHD impacts motivation and success
- Steps to take to understand and build motivation
- How to shift from self-judgment to self-acceptance
- Strategies to uncover motivation blocks like beliefs
- The importance of aligning actions with values
- Ways to celebrate small consistency wins
With compassionate insight, Dr. Rosier exposes why motivation is so complex yet possible. This inspiring episode explores practical strategies to overcome motivation challenges. Anyone seeking to understand themselves and build motivation from within will find this a thoughtful listen.
Links & Notes
- Learn more about Dr. Tamara Rosier
- Follow Dr. Tamara Rosier on LinkedIn
- Get the book: “Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD” by Dr. Tamara Rosier
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:49) - Support This Podcast: Become a Patron at Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (04:22) - Introducing Dr. Tamara Rosier
- (14:28) - Separating Feeling from Motivation
- (18:18) - Motivation and Self-Actualization
- (26:20) - Ego and Self-Centered Worldview
- (31:57) - Tying Motivation to a Value
- (33:36) - Coaching FOR Nikki!
- (57:00) - Learn More
Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright aim to explore the meaning of joy, the differences between joy and happiness, and practical ways to cultivate more joy in daily life living with ADHD.
This episode dives into the essence of joy, including surprise moments as well as practices that help align us to experience joy more frequently. Nikki shares insights from a recent retreat focused on sound, music, and vibrations for generating joy and harmony in life.
Key points covered:
- Defining joy as moments of transcendent happiness sparked by surprise, versus the overall state of happiness. "Joy involves changes in visual perception. Colors seem brighter, motor behavior, physical movements feel freer and easier, smiling happens involuntarily."
- Happiness as a constant state, while joy represents fleeting peaks within the state of contentment. An analogy: "Happiness is a 100-story building and joy is the elevator that takes you to higher floors briefly."
- The importance of letting difficult emotions move through you rather than ruminating endlessly. "Feel the storm, and then let it move through you."
Questions we answer in this episode:
- What is the difference between joy and happiness?
- How can we cultivate more joy in daily life?
- What are tools for moving through grief or trauma to regain joy?
Key Takeaways:
- If seeking joy, focus on aligning practices toward joy.
- Turn toward positive thoughts, music, sights that spark joy. What you focus on grows.
- Meditation, journaling, and talk therapy help stop rumination loops.
This is an uplifting episode on aligning ourselves to notice and generate more joy in daily life. Quotes like "the past no longer counts, the future hasn't been written yet" inspire us to be present for fleeting moments of joy.
Links & Notes
- Learning to Learn and the Navigation of Moods: The Meta-Skill for the Acquisition of Skills
- The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage
- Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett: How to Understand Emotions - Huberman Lab
- Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:49) - Support the Podcast and Become a Patron!
- (02:43) - Joy & ADHD
- (05:55) - What is Joy?
- (14:11) - Do you create joy?
- (21:35) - Moods
- (24:43) - 17 Seconds
- (32:55) - Huberman Labs Podcast Note
The world can be a tough place. We know that our ADHD doesn't make that any easier. But our health and well-being depend heavily on the worldview we cultivate in spite of our challenges. This week, we're talking about optimism, how we find it, and how we make it a practice in the face of struggle.
We’ll talk about the things that get in the way of our efforts to feel optimistic like emotional dysregulation, rejection sensitivity, an impulsivity. The thing is, in the face of all those challenges, we’re already wired with our other tools to regain control. We’re generally OK with therapy and strengths-based approaches to wellbeing, for example.
So let’s explore mental models that impact us. These include Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset, Cognitive-Behavioral models, and Martin Seligman’s Explanatory Style theory. That’s the one that has impacted Pete the most this month. For the sound of a mind being blown, listen in.
This episode is brought to you by Stimara. Get your next favorite fidget and engage your brain with a fidget designed by neurodiverse adults for neurodiverse adults and save 15% along the way. Visit Stimara for yours today, and thank you to Stimara for Sponsoring The ADHD Podcast!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (04:44) - Sponsor: Get 15% off Stimags from Stimara at https://takecontroladhd.com/stimara
- (07:30) - On Optimism
- (11:48) - Mental Models of Optimism
In this episode, we welcome James Ochoa, a counselor, coach, mentor, and intuitionist who has been helping adults with ADHD for over thirty years. James shares his insights on the importance of community in our ADHD journey and updates us on his upcoming book, "When the Shiny Wears Off: Navigating the Lifetime Storms of Adult ADHD."
We discuss the value of being part of a community and what it means to belong to a group of people who understand what you experience every day. We also explore the benefits of joining a community, such as personal growth, a sense of belonging, new friendships, learning new things, and practicing interpersonal skills.
James emphasizes the importance of recognizing that our motives for joining a new group or community are not always altruistic and that we only have so much extra time to share. Most importantly, he walks us through the power of developing your internal support group, using creative visualization to create your community in times of need.
In conclusion, James reminds us that being part of a community is crucial in our ADHD journey. It can provide us with a sense of belonging and help us grow personally. Thank you for joining us in this episode, and we hope you find it insightful and helpful in your own ADHD journey.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:14) - ADHD THANK YOU!
- (02:18) - SPONSOR: Save 20% on your first year of TextExpander Today!
- (04:56) - Welcome James Ochoa!
- (07:48) - Exploring Community
- (11:52) - Internal Community: The Mental Support Group
- (20:52) - "But, I have too many friends..."
- (27:58) - Post-COVID Resillience
- (36:24) - How do you become an unselfish member of a community?
The esteemed Hall of Fame ADHD Podcast Guest and dear friend Dr. Sharon Saline graces the show once again! This week: why is it hard for ADHDers to be authentic joiners? Sharon offers her wisdom on the value of community in managing ADHD, addressing the fears and hesitations that can often prevent individuals from seeking out communal ties.
One of the main topics we discuss is avoidance behaviors towards community engagement. There are myriad reasons why a person might be reluctant to participate in group settings, such as social anxiety, previous negative experiences, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD), fear of the unknown, and confusion about how to navigate new situations. Dr. Saline emphasizes the potential impacts of such isolating behaviors on a person's physical, mental, and social well-being. She also highlights the importance of fostering relationships, regardless of their novelty, and addresses the common misconception that having a few friends who may not fully understand an individual's experiences is sufficient.
How do we approach overcoming the avoidance of community engagement? Dr. Saline provides practical advice for those who seek the connection a community offers but are held back by their fears. She discusses the potential benefits of therapy or professional healthcare consultations to better understand and manage these fears. She also provides strategies to combat the paralysis often brought on by the fear of RSD and the "what if" scenarios that can hinder one from entering new group situations. Her advice to those who've had negative group interactions in the past is particularly powerful, urging them not to let past experiences define their future opportunities.
Links & Notes
- Learn more about Dr. Saline on her site, https://drsharonsaline.com, and make sure to pick up a copy of her fantastic book, "What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life”— it’s fantastic!
- Get Sharon's Free Handout Right Here!
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (02:46) - Introducing Dr. Sharon Saline
- (04:32) - Why is Community Important?
- (16:10) - Social Anxiety
- (22:26) - The Avoidance
We come to you with a pivot today and a follow-up discussion to last week's conversation on ADHD stigma. What is normal? Why is it such a charged word? And what can we do to reprogram the world around normal to represent any point on the vast neurodiversity spectrum?
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (04:20) - The ADHD Stigma
Kody Lukens has been an entrepreneur since the age of 15, when he filed his first LLC. Now, he is the creator behind Stimagz - a successful magnetic fidget toy that was funded on Kickstarter.
When Kody was first diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, he was frustrated by the lack of resources tailored for adults dealing with ADHD. He started searching online for recommendations and communities that could provide support but found very little that resonated with his needs and experience as an adult with ADHD. This inspired Kody to start creating his own ADHD-focused content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The response was overwhelmingly positive, indicating a real need for content created by and for adults with ADHD.
While creating content proved draining at times, Kody persevered because he knew first-hand how valuable resources and community can be for someone newly diagnosed with ADHD. He continues to fill his own need for community by engaging with the people who interact with his content. Through this experience, Kody has gained significant insight into the need for accessible education, support systems, and community for adults with ADHD.
This passion led him to create Stimara, a company dedicated to building tools and products designed specifically for neurodivergent individuals. Stimagz, their magnetic fidget toy, has already sold over 10,000 units. Kody and the Stimara team are constantly working on new innovations to support the ADHD community.
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (03:57) - Introducing Kody Lukens
- (06:43) - INCUP Motivators
- (11:09) - Finding Community
- (16:11) - Fidget Stigma
- (22:11) - Design Philosophy
- (26:53) - Kickstarter... and running the business
This week, we delve into the complex issue of emotional dysregulation, a common but often misunderstood symptom of ADHD. Emotional dysregulation refers to an impairment or inability to regulate feelings, which can lead to an overreaction to minor setbacks or challenges. This issue is deeply rooted in the science of emotion regulation.
And it's central to the sabotage we use on ourselves when we use "I don't wanna" as a strategy for productivity.
To better understand this, we reference an article from ADDitude magazine which discusses the role of the amygdala, a part of the brain responsible for emotional reaction and decision-making. Typically, a surge of emotion such as anger or worry triggers the amygdala to send a signal to the cerebral cortex, which can then restrain the emotional response, allowing for a moment of pause and assessment before action. However, in those with ADHD, this amygdala-cortex signaling is significantly weakened, often leading to impulsive reactions to strong emotions.
We also discuss "The Resistance," a concept from Steven Pressfield, one of Pete's favorite writers on creativity and motivation. Pressfield describes "The Resistance" as a negative force that aims to distract and prevent us from doing our work, a concept that can be frustratingly familiar to those grappling with ADHD.
Emotional dysregulation can have profound impacts on our lives. When faced with a setback or perceived failure, the resultant flood of intense emotions can inhibit our willingness to try again, fueling limiting beliefs and often leading us to use our emotions as an excuse for inaction. However, it's crucial to remember that feelings are fluid and fleeting. They should not be allowed to dictate our actions.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (02:15) - Support the Show on Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (05:16) - Sponsor: TextExpander!
- (08:03) - I don't wanna
- (10:01) - The Amygdala Hijack
- (13:48) - The Resistance
- (17:07) - I Can't versus I Won't
- (25:19) - Backpocketing Success
We had something of a scheduling snafu this week and our guests didn’t show! Don’t worry, they’ll be back. Bun in the mean time, Nikki and Pete carried on an impromptu AMA-QA show with members in the live chat and we decided to share a piece of it with you.
The question that sparks the answer is, “how do you help others with transitions when you suck at them yourself?” Great question, and that gets us talking all about Bandura’s thoughts on self-efficacy, how pride can help you learn hard things, and more!
If you want to hear the whole conversation, head over to https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast and sign up to get your very own member-edition podcast feed! Thanks everyone!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
Buckle up for an episode packed with laughter, real talk, and maybe just a dash of existential dread. We've roped in our buddy and partner-in-podcasting-crime, Tommy Metz III, who you might recognize from that other awesome show, "What's That Smell Presents: All The Feelings".
Kick back as Tommy spills some tea about himself, the mysteries of his life, and why on Earth he's hanging out with us today. He also drops the mic about the 8th season of "What's That Smell?" and its shiny new transformation into "All The Feelings". And, speaking of feelings and changes, our chat today is inspired by that very first episode of "All The Feelings" that talks about -- you guessed it -- Change. Tommy's got some wisdom nuggets about big transitions that he's itching to share with us.
We then dive headfirst into the deep end of the pool labeled "Big Transitions". You know the ones we're talking about - like that cold shock of returning to work after a lazy vacation, or trying to remember what "normal" felt like after being sick for a while. Oh, and let's not forget the Herculean task of changing daily routines or dealing with the horror of a new commute route. We mull over why these transitions feel like climbing Mount Everest without oxygen, touching on fun concepts like the Hedonic Treadmill (spoiler: it's not a new fitness trend), our good old friends Fear of The Unknown and Fear of Failure, and that stubborn mule we call Resistance to Change.
But hey, it's not all doom and gloom! Sure, change can seem as appealing as a root canal, but often, the reality isn't nearly as terrifying as our overactive imaginations make it out to be. If you're wrestling with big transitions, we've got some top-shelf advice: ask for help (it's not a crime, we promise), blab about your feelings to someone who'll listen, and try to channel your inner Sherlock Holmes to get curious about what's new.
And if you're still feeling like a cat on a hot tin roof, let's play a game of "What if". What's the absolute worst thing that could happen? Once we break it down, you'll see that most of our "worst case scenarios" are about as likely as being struck by a meteor while winning the lottery.
So come join us for this rollercoaster ride as we laugh, learn, and maybe cry a little about transitions, fears, and just all the feelings. Together, we'll navigate this crazy maze of change and come out the other side with a few more laugh lines and a whole lot more wisdom.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (05:00) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (05:29) - Tommy... and All The Feelings
- (08:39) - Micro-transition Review
- (12:51) - Learning from Small Transitions, in service of the Big Ones!
- (17:43) - Fake Dopamine
- (19:37) - Aggressively Settling
- (24:44) - Hedonic Adaptation
- (34:37) - Finding Joy on the Other Side of Change
- (41:29) - Check out AllTheFeelings.fun. Seriously.
In this episode, we're shifting gears from our prior focus on games to delve into the world of transitions, particularly from the perspective of individuals with ADHD. The first area we explore is the concept of micro transitions. These are small changes that occur throughout our day, whether it's switching tasks, moving from one conversation topic to another, or even everyday activities like waking up or moving to a different location. Despite their seemingly minor nature, these transitions can pose substantial challenges for those with ADHD.
One of the central discussions in this episode centers on why transitions are often so hard for people with ADHD. The difficulties stem from the fact that ADHD can negatively affect executive functions. This can manifest as time blindness, difficulty in starting and stopping tasks, hyperfocus, and poor working memory. On a practical level, this might mean an individual with ADHD struggles with moving from a fun, dopamine-producing task to a boring or avoided task, remembering the reason for moving from one room to another, or leaving for work on time due to difficulty transitioning from waking up to getting ready.
Our conversation takes an intriguing turn as we propose a novel way to think about transitions: not as a change in contexts, but in rewards. This perspective encourages us to be aware of the hidden rewards of our current activity while also reminding ourselves of the potential rewards of the upcoming task. Poor transition management can lead to chronic lateness, which can impact jobs or relationships, and even a decline in health and wellness due to inadequate sleep.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:54) - Support the show! Become a Patron!
- (03:44) - Transitions
- (08:36) - Changing Rewards
- (15:41) - Transition Treats
This week we're diving into the Paradox of Failure. It's something game designer Jesper Juul came up with, and it's all about how gamers are weirdly drawn to the very thing we're trying to avoid: failure. Even when a game is exasperating, we just keep going back for more. It's all part of this cycle Juul talks about, where we set a goal, totally flub it, and then scramble to find a solution. It's a crazy ride, but it helps us grow and keeps us from throwing in the towel.
Dr. Carol Dweck taught us about the "growth mindset." It's all about loving a good challenge and not letting failure get you down. Instead, we use it as a springboard to get better and smarter. We'll also share some tips and tricks to help you embrace this kind of mindset, so you can tackle failures head-on, whether you're battling a boss in a game or facing challenges in the real world.
Links & Notes
- Fear of Failing? The Many Meanings of Difficulty in Video Games
- Video games and the paradox of failure
- The Learning Game — Ana Lorena Fabrega
- What Is A Growth Mindset? 8 Steps To Develop One.
- Carol Dweck: A Summary of The Two Mindsets
- Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (00:58) - Support the show!
- (01:28) - Discord Changes a-Plenty!
- (03:25) - Embracing Failure
- (08:26) - The Paradox of Failure
- (24:54) - Rebranding Failure
We’re continuing our series on gaming and ADHD this week. So far, we’ve explored how gaming ignites creativity and can expand perspectives and horizons. But what if we told you there was a game that is designed and build expressly to aid in treatment of attention disorders?
That’s EndeavorOTC, the latest release from Akili Interactive. This is a company that cut its teeth on the FDA-Authorized pediatric game, EndeavorRx, the first and only prescription treatment delivered through a video game. With EndeavorOTC, they’re looking to help adults.
Eddie Martucci is CEO of Akili and joins us today to talk about the game, how it works, and what it just might be able to do for you.
Links & Notes
- Learn more about EndeavorOTC
- Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:31) - Support the Show: Become a Patron and Jump in Discord!
- (03:25) - Sponsor: TextExpander
- (05:46) - Introducing Eddit Martucci
- (10:22) - EndeavorRx
- (14:04) - Getting Docs on Board
- (18:54) - Playing the Game
- (24:32) - Meanwhile... in the real world...
- (32:48) - Non-prescription EndeavorOTC
- (37:20) - Pricing
Colleen Macklin is a game designer and a Professor in the School of Art, Media and Technology at Parsons School of Design and author of Iterate: Ten Lessons in Design and Failure. She’s interested in how games model and reveal ideologies through systems. And, incidentally, she reports she was recently diagnosed with ADHD, which makes her doubly cool in our crowd. She joins us today to talk about games and gaming and neurodiversity.
We explore a wide range of topics, from the impact of ADHD on Colleen's life and teaching to her love for games and game design. Colleen shares her thoughts on how games can engage attentional deficits and embrace a broad neurodiversity spectrum. She also shares her journey with the game design collective Local No. 12 and their creations, including the videogame "Dear Reader.”
Playing games helps us to rediscover playfulness in our lives no matter your age. If there’s one thing we hope you’ll walk away from this episode thinking about it’s that you have the opportunity — the gift — that is creating more play in your own life everyday. You don’t have to be a tabletop gamer, or a programmer in the video game field. All you have to do is wake up and decide: today, we play.
Links & Notes
- ColleenMacklin.com
- Dear Reader
- BudgetBall
- Iterate: Ten Lessons in Design and Failure (The MIT Press) by John Sharp and Colleen Macklin
- The Monopolists by Mary Pilon
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (02:12) - Support the Show • Become a Patron! Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (03:45) - Introducing Colleen Macklin
- (06:07) - Colleen's Road to Diagnosis
- (09:23) - Colleen's Road to Games
- (13:59) - Exciting Game Tech ... and Budgetball
- (21:19) - RSD and Becoming a "Better" Gamer
- (28:43) - Where Poker and RPGs collide
- (32:46) - Using Games to Learn About Ourselves
- (35:36) - "If you want to understand something, make a game about it."
Chris Legge joins The ADHD Podcast to discuss his tabletop roleplaying game, Soft Focuses. Chris developed Soft Focuses as a journaling game aimed at simulating the experiences of living with ADHD. Players take on the role of someone with ADHD and journal their experiences, cooperating with themselves as both player and gamemaster.
The first edition of Soft Focuses was released after extensive research and playtesting. It focused on recreating the core experiences of ADHD. After positive reception, Chris created a second edition, adding rules to simulate common ADHD comorbidities like anxiety, OCD, ODD, depression, and more. The new rules aimed to capture a more holistic ADHD experience.
Overall, Soft Focuses provides a unique tool for building empathy and perspectives around ADHD, but also gives us an excuse to talk about role playing and the psychosocial exploration of different parts of ourselves in the process. You can find the game on Chris’ website, Lumberwood Studios.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:19) - Join the Community • Become a Supporting Patron!
- (02:31) - Introducing Chris Legge
- (05:54) - How does ADHD Influence Gaming
- (07:48) - What is a Table Top Game?
- (14:52) - The Journaling Game
- (17:50) - Soft Focuses
- (29:26) - Research
- (33:34) - Life Imitates Games
- (37:34) - Learn More
Living with ADHD often feels like a losing battle. Our brains desperately need dopamine to stay focused, but no matter how hard we try, there's never enough. Chores pile up, tasks go unfinished, and frustration mounts. But what if we could find joy in the mundane? Harness the power of play?
Games have been with us since the dawn of humanity, releasing dopamine and making complex systems comprehendible through fun. In games, we learn without fear. We explore new worlds, defeat dragons, save kingdoms! Games are a refuge, a mental playground where we become the heroes of our own stories.
It's time to unleash our inner hero and turn daily life into a game worth playing! Equip powerful weapons like Timers of Timing to race chores and magical Rewards of Snacking to celebrate quests completed. Seek out Fellow Gamers to inspire friendly competition. Download Apps of Destiny that transform drudgery into daring challenges!
At last, release your mental shackles! With the spark of playfulness, no task is too tedious. Laundry Dungeons and Sweeping Coliseums await. Through gamification, chore becomes choice, work becomes wonder, frustration becomes fun. Let the games begin! ADHD, we're coming for you.
It’s possible we’re digging in too deep on some of our colorful gamer lanuage there, but hear us out: there’s a lot we can learn about ourselves and our relationship with ADHD and we’re kicking of this, our 27th Season, with a series of conversations and interviews about the value of rediscovering play in our lives!
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (02:04) - Support the Show! Become a Patron at https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (03:20) - Sponsor: TextExpander
- (05:30) - Our Favorite Games!
- (12:06) - Why Games? It's all about the dopamine
- (14:20) - "Games make rules fun."
- (23:42) - What Games Teach Us
- (28:15) - By the way... addiction
- (35:46) - Gamifying Your Day
We want to thank all of you who took the time to participate in our 2023 ADHD Job Survey. The 63 responses provided a wealth of insight into your experiences in the workplace. Overall, the results show that while work can pose many challenges for adults with ADHD, many of you have found fulfilling jobs and developed solutions that allow you to thrive no matter what you're dealing with on the job itself.
Work can clearly be challenging for folks with ADHD, and yet many of you have found jobs you enjoy and developed strategies to cope. Your experiences demonstrate the diverse talents, interests, and perseverance of that makes this community shine. Thank you for sharing your stories—they inspire and help others navigate similar paths. Keep talking about your lives; we're listening!
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (03:14) - Sponsor: TextExpander!
- (05:40) - The 2023 ADHD Community Job Series
- (07:15) - Current Employment
- (22:37) - Past Jobs
"Without time, you don't have attention; without attention, you don't have time.”
This week on the show, we're exploring the artifice of bureaucracy and administrative structures of traditional work, and how it can be difficult to navigate with an ADHD brain, and we have the perfect guest to help us do it. Dr. Kourosh Dini is a board-certified psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, author, and musician, and most recently, he created the Waves of Focus course and community for those struggling with ADHD and other "wandering minds.”
Along the way, we look at the social and administrative contracts at work, and how to positively adapt our behavior toward managers and other authority figures while dealing with anxiety, fear, and RSD. We discuss Dr. Dini's concept of the wandering mind, how it applies across domains, and the struggle of “holding it all together” for the world while deeply struggling internally. Finally, we explore the idea of “hiding” ADHD at work for those trying to find a place to fit in.
If you relate to any of this, you owe it to yourself to listen to this show and check out the robust catalog of Dr. Dini's fantastic contributions to the world of productivity with kindness.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:12) - Support the Show!
- (03:27) - Introducing Kourosh Dini, MD
- (04:19) - The Wandering Mind
- (08:10) - What if we're out of sync?
- (14:33) - Adjusting to Artificial Structure
- (15:22) - The Visit
- (18:53) - Hyperfocus and Flow
- (23:47) - Moving to Practice from Pattern Recognition
- (27:57) - Risks and Stress Testing
- (34:41) - The Edge of Action
- (36:41) - Hiding ADHD
Shell Mendelson has built her 35-year career in education and career counseling. There are a lot of career counselors, though. What makes Shell indispensable for us today is that she has ADHD herself and has spent that career helping others make career choices that reflect joy and passion for their unique ADHD brains.
This week on the show, Shell brings us new insights into jobs and the ADHD brain. We talk about finding the right match, how to target those deal breakers we've been thinking so hard about the last few weeks, and how to approach discussing ADHD with hiring managers. We review what it takes to find a career coach that can help you with your unique career direction and how to work with a career coach to get the most out of the relationship.
One other thing about Shell that is germane to this conversation: she was mentored by Richard Bolles, author of What Color is Your Parachute?: Your Guide to a Lifetime of Meaningful Work and Career Success She's custodian of the methodology now and has taken it in her own wonderful direction to help the neurodiverse population. Even so, we're intrigued by just how well the Parachute model aligns to our thinking around ADHD and encourage you to check out the book. It's a classic. And Shell has an updated working for ADHD adults which should be available in the next two months. Keep an eye out!
Learn more about Shell right here, and make sure to connect on LinkedIn if you're on the hunt and need a coach!
Other Links
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:19) - Support the Show: Become a Patron and Join the Community! https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (03:29) - Introducing Career Counselor Shell Mendelson
- (09:23) - What Color is Your Parachute?
- (15:54) - What makes the ADHD hunt hard?
- (18:53) - Where is ADHD in the process?
- (23:51) - The ADHD Disclosure Question
- (29:51) - The "Means to an End" Job
- (37:55) - Performance Plans
- (44:29) - Moving into the Job Hunt
- (49:05) - The Job Market
- (53:56) - Learn More
This week, we’re continuing our job series and talking about deal breakers — those things that you see or experience in your job or on the job hunt that you simply can’t or won’t tolerate. We asked our listeners to weigh in on the topic again this week, and it turns out they had a lot to say.
The conversation spans hard conversations on salary and overall compensation, through dealing with managers on expectations around job requirements, and we land on values, the things we can't tolerate in our work not because of what we're asked to do, but because of what the organization stands for.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the deal breaker survey and we hope you're able to listen to this and reflect on your own experience!
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:55) - Support the Show! Become a Patron at https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (03:56) - Our Dealbreakers
- (11:05) - Community Dealbreakers
- (11:31) - Salary Dealbreakers
- (17:45) - Management & Job Dealbreakers
- (31:51) - Values
This week's episode we're talking all about red flags and warning signs in a work environment. We dig just a bit into our own stories of past jobs we've had that didn't work out so well, and looking for any red flags in the job postings and interviews. Missing deadlines? Making mistakes? Task overwhelm? We've been there.
We then asked our community members to share any red flags they have experienced in previous work environments and were handsomely rewarded. We heard about red flags before getting the job and interview clues, such as long job postings, competitive salaries that are not actually competitive, and interviews that become defensive or too long. We also heard about red flags to look out for once you have the job, such as unclear work expectations, special treatment for high profile employees, and management not fostering a work-life balance. We discussed the difficulty of cultural change in conservative industries, and how harassment is often brushed off to avoid conflict.
Thanks to all who wrote in sharing your stories and being a part of this series!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:59) - Support the Show: Patron.com/theadhdpodcast
- (02:56) - The ADHD Book Club with James Ochoa's book: Focused Forward
- (04:03) - 2023 De-Clutter Challenge
- (05:24) - Sponsor: TextExpander
- (08:16) - Red Flags at Work
This week, we explore the age-old question, "What do you do?" and the anxiety that it can cause. What started with Nikki doing her civic duty as a potential member on a jury leads us to discuss how this question can lead to us feeling boxed in, forced to express our identity through a job title.
How do you answer this question differently, by sharing hobbies or passions that we enjoy, or aspects of our job that we find meaningful? These alternative answers can lead to more engaging conversations and can help all of us to reclaim our identity in a way that is more meaningful than just a job title.
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (02:43) - The ADHD Book Club
- (03:48) - 2023 De-Clutter Challenge
- (07:51) - Jobs
Our friend James Ochoa is back! This week we're talking about the lessons you can learn from inflection points in your ADHD journey. What did you learn? What did you gain? What can come from it?
We start with an event. Take some time in a grounded space, and think of an event from your past that we either positive or problematic in relation to your experience with ADHD. For Pete, it was an experience early in his freelance career, something that still causes physical discomfort twenty years later.
Next, ask yourself these life-transformation questions:
James suggests using this exercise as a resource journal of life experiences and memories, a place to catalog the positive experiences and process the challenges over time.
This week, James leads Pete through the exercise and conjures up all that old discomfort and quite a few laughs, all to rewire old experiences for the better.
Learn more about James, his work, and his ADHD Town Halls on his website right here!
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:00) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (02:34) - Organizing Challenge Time!
- (04:42) - Welcome Back James Ochoa!
- (05:32) - Seven Years of Focus Forward
- (07:36) - The Power of Your ADHD Story
- (12:48) - Where the River Meets the Sea
- (21:00) - Setting up the Exercise
- (44:44) - The ADHD Bookclub with special guest James Ochoa!
This week, we're exploring the transformative power of the "yes, and..." principle, a cornerstone of improv performance. This simple yet effective phrase encourages performers to not only accept but also expand upon their partners' spontaneous ideas. How can this mindset apply to daily life for those of us with ADHD? Today, we’re navigating how to use comedy to handle unexpected situations with ease and resilience.
We dive into the concept of "yes, and..." as a tool for embracing and moving forward through challenging, unexpected, or complex moments. By replacing the instinctive "no, but..." response with a more adaptive and flexible attitude, it becomes easier to face adversity head-on and maintain momentum.
We discuss the rejection faced by performers, writers, and directors alike, their coping strategies, and how they manage not to take rejection personally. By drawing parallels with rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD), we uncover techniques to foster acceptance and perseverance.
Mandy Kaplan is an actress, vo artist, singer, writer, ninja and podcast host living in LA. Her voice can be heard in hundreds of commercials/video games/and SO many audiobooks. Onscreen, she can be seen starring in the feature film 30 Nights of Sex to Save Your Marriage available on Tubi TV for free right now, a film she also co-wrote and produced. Her cabaret Miscast: Right Singer, Wrong Song has been running in LA for over 12 years.
Mandy Fabian was the director and creator of Lifetime’s first digital series, The Young Hillary Diaries, and co-created and wrote the Amazon series Dropping the Soap, which won Jane Lynch an Emmy! She’s a Sony Television Directing Program Fellow, was named “Best New Filmmaker of the Year” by NewFilmmakers LA, and her latest screenplay, Late Bloomer, was selected for the Meryl Streep/Oprah Winfrey Writers Lab. Most recently, she completed her feature directorial debut Jess Plus None, an awkward comedy that will be released in the fall of 2023.
Together, they co-host the Mandcave, a podcast about two best friends who have nothing in common except their names on TruStory FM. Our ultimate goal for this episode is to inspire listeners to find humor amidst life's challenges. By nurturing a comedic perspective and using it as a roadmap back to happiness, we hope to encourage a more profound reflection on the power of laughter in overcoming adversity.
Links & Notes
- Check out the Mandys in their podcast: Mandcave
- In LA? Get tix for Mandy Kaplan’s Cabaret, “Miscast LA: Right Singer, Wrong Song”
- Check out the trailer for Mandy Fabian’s film, “Jess Plus None”
- Watch Mandy Kaplan’s film, “30 Nights” free on Tubi right now
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:56) - Support the Show: Become an ADHD Patron at patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (02:18) - ADHD Book Club: Focus Forward by James Ochoa
- (03:57) - Introducing Mandy Kaplan and Mandy Fabian
- (05:18) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (05:50) - Friends of ADHD
- (08:09) - Tools to Build Funny as a Shield: Yes... And?
- (11:02) - Contexts, Surprise, and Shame
- (16:14) - Celebrating Trash on the way to Gold
- (18:27) - Listening
- (21:48) - Getting Uncomfortable at Being Uncomfortable
- (26:41) - Rejection
- (39:40) - Laughing Through Grief
We've had a terrific run looking deeply at self-compassion and ADHD over the last month. This week, we're taking a look back and reflecting on lessons learned, changes made, and opportunities ahead.
Along the way, we welcome Bryan Brunelle to the team as the first of our Mod Squad members. If you're a member of our ADHD Discord Community make sure to reach out to Bryan ... or, just wait... sooner or later he'll reach out to you!
The ADHD Book Club is opening up enrollment for the next term when the group covers our friend James Ochoa's book, Focus Forward. Learn more about the book club and get your name on the list right here!
This week's episode is sponsored by our friends at TextExpander. Make work work the way your brain works. Learn more and save 20% on your first year subscription at takecontroladhd.com/textexpander today!
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:31) - Support the Show! Become a Patron Today!
- (03:06) - Sponsor: TextExpander • takecontroladhd.com/textexpander to save 20% on your first year!
- (06:36) - New Team Member!
- (09:07) - The ADHD Book Club • Focused Forward by James Ochoa
- (10:09) - Self-Compassion Reflections
You have a plan. You have a vision of yourself and your performance. But what happens when plans change, or the world doesn't share your perspective on your own experience? When RSD sets in, your ability to manifest compassion for yourself is most important.
We kick off with a review of RSD, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. Need to dive in a little deeper? Look no further and Dr. William Dodson's article on the topic in ADDitude Magazine. Even better, check out our episode with him on the subject from a few years back.
Once you understand RSD and how RSD can contribute to emotional storms (check out James Ochoa on Emotional Storms here), you get a better picture of the importance of taking your compassion into your own hands. When no one else is looking to care for you, what tools do you have in your bag to care properly for yourself?
This week: tools you can use to cope, regroup, and recover.
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (03:12) - Support the Show on Patreon! patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (06:17) - A Review of RSD
- (16:20) - The RSD Connection to Self-Compassion
- (25:45) - Building Tools for Self-Compassion
- (29:36) - Finding the Single Match in a Dark Cave
Casey Dixon is a respected Life Coach with a unique focus on science-based, innovative, collaborative coaching and advising for high achievers with ADHD or executive function challenges.
So, why is Casey back with us during our series discussing self-compassion and ADHD? Because it turns out that the way we talk to ourselves is universal. Even those living with ADHD who appear to have achieved success live with the threat of negative self-talk, denial, fear, and more. Creating a self-compassion practice is central to freeing ourselves from those feelings and moving forward.
Learn more about Casey and her work at DixonLifeCoaching.com.
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:58) - Support the show: Become a Patron at https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (05:09) - Introducing Casey Dixon
- (09:48) - The ADHD Trifecta
- (13:36) - The Roller Coaster of the Trifecta
- (24:14) - Building the Habit of Self-Compassion
- (29:31) - Burnout
We've been talking about ADHD and self-compassion over the last several weeks. But how do these experiences tie into other difficult emotions like anger, fear, worry, anxiety, and grief? Nikki and Pete continue the series on the show this week.
For background, we're working through chapter 16 of The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer, as well as Neff's TEDxTalk, "The Space Between Self-Esteem and Self Compassion.".
The journey through difficult emotions starts and ends with acceptance. But finding that emotional release isn't easy, nor does it happen in a straight line. But by labeling our experience, by finding the areas in our body that are manifesting current struggle, we can find a path toward release.
- Breathing for Pattern Interrupt with James Ochoa
- Interrupting Negative Patterns with Dr. Dodge Rea
- Jerry Campbell and the Dynamic Tension Between Love and Fear
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:40) - Support the show: Become a Patron at https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (02:42) - Tax Study Hall
- (04:56) - GPS Enrollment!
- (06:48) - All the Feelings
- (14:13) - The Stages of Acceptance
- (19:59) - Hyperfocus, Amygdala Hijack, and Strategies for Reset
- (28:37) - Awareness and Soothing
Special thanks to TextExpander for sponsoring this week's show.
We've talked about parenting with her. We've talked about therapy and ADHD. But my favorite episode with Dr. Sharon Saline was all about sinking thinking and self-compassion with ADHD. So, you can imagine that embarking on this series on that very subject would bring her back to the show.
Sharon is the author of the award-winning book, What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life and The ADHD solution card deck. She specializes in working with neurodiverse children, teens, young adults, and families and aims to help outside-the-box thinkers improve executive functioning and social-emotional skills while also building practical communication tools and self-esteem.
Sharon says that she, herself, is a perfectionist in recovery, and she offers key insights into perfectionism and its impact on ADHD. How does perfectionism drive self-compassion down? How can you use "just one thing" to turn what seems to be impossible into a daily practice? How do you avoid compare-and-despair? All that and more this week with our great friend Sharon Saline!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:16) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (02:18) - Sponsor: TextExpander!
- (04:38) - Tax Study Halls Now & GPS Open Enrollment Coming Soon!
- (06:00) - Introducing Dr. Sharon Saline
- (07:24) - Perfectionism
- (12:58) - Perfect is Subjective
- (18:56) - Procrastination
- (23:14) - The Critic and the Cheerleader
- (32:18) - Domain Perfectionism
- (39:16) - One Step Forward
- (41:00) - Making the Impossible a Practice
- (44:08) - Learn more about Sharon
We're continuing our conversation on self-compassion and ADHD with a walk through the garden of shame. You know that garden, the one with the plants we nourish and carry with us, the blooms we sniff regularly, all laced with the poison of regret and self-doubt. This week, we're tearing up that soil.
The conversation starts with a recap of concepts from The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer, as well as Neff's TEDxTalk, "The Space Between Self-Esteem and Self Compassion.". Quick reminder of the three core elements presented by Neff and Germer:
The biggest challenge to overcome, which we seem to struggle with universally, is the idea that just letting go of negative feelings is hard. You can't just read that in a book or hear it in a podcast and suddenly do it. But more important than that: it's ok for it to be hard to find yourself underneath all the shame. You're in there. And as long as you keep talking about it, one day you'll get there.
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (02:33) - Shame
Why do you treat yourself worse than you would treat a dear friend?
That's the central question of today's conversation and it centers on our ability to muster self-compassion, a practice of treating ourselves well when we need it, rather than thinking of ourselves only in terms of our struggles.
The conversation starts with a walkthrough of concepts from The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer, as well as Neff's TEDxTalk, "The Space Between Self-Esteem and Self Compassion.". Central to the conversation are the three core elements presented by Neff and Germer:
We walk through each with examples today, and take a tour of the interconnected elements of anxiety and depression that sidle up next to ADHD on this journey toward self-compassion, and review how that impacts the ADHD brain. From there: Tools to build the muscle of self-compassion before you hit an ADHD storm!
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:08) - Support the show! Become A Patron
- (03:30) - Self-Compassion and ADHD
The last time Aron Croft was here, he shared his story of his education and personal background meeting ADHD reality. But you know what else? He built a successful Fortune 500 career and a highly successful training business teaching his 8% Productivity Habit, which helps ADHDers complete what we like to call clogging tasks, those tasks you've put off for months, and need more than simple willpower to get them done.
He's back with us this week to share how the ADHD reality meets the business world and how you might find success by pivoting a business school classic model for your own needs.
We're talking about the 4PM model: Product, Promotion, Pricing, and Process come together to illuminate the M, Market Fit. But Aaron argues that ADHD business owners need a second M: the ME Fit. Listen in as we explore how to prioritize the Me Fit into your operations, how to figure out what your Me and Market Fit really is, and how to use this model to decide if your best business inspirtation is really a good fit for your hard work.
Learn more about Aron at FreeADHDTraining.com and check out his TikTok summary of 4PM2 here!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:42) - Introducing Aron Croft
- (07:56) - The Four Ps for ADHD
- (15:02) - The Round-Robin
- (35:23) - Prioritizing the Me-Fit
- (39:10) - What if you're not an entrepreneur
- (42:12) - Learn More
Morgan Hancock calls herself a troublemaker. This week, you're going hear about her being a troublemaker in high school. And again in summer school. And again in the Army.
And then you're going to hear how she was diagnosed with ADHD and channeled that restless energy into commercial real estate, motherhood, and her passionate advocacy of the arts, including her art-focused bourbon charity, Bourbon with Heart, Inc.
Morgan joins us this week to talk about her experience doing all those things living and working with ADHD.
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:20) - Support the Show • Become a Patron at https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (04:15) - Introducing Morgan Hancock
- (11:18) - Making the Turn with Attention
- (18:10) - Bourbon with Heart
- (24:46) - A look at systems
Maggie Isley is a designer, coach, and speaker. She’s the co-founder and creative director of 929 Studios, where she works with businesses around the world to form cohesive brand identities. She is also the co-founder of Be Unemployable, a podcast and educational brand for neurodivergent entrepreneurs with our new best friend of the show, Jamie Cutino. Maggie joins us today to talk about her work with neurodivergent entrepreneurs and how to get unstuck in our professional growth.
In her recent TEDx Talk, she discussed her revelation that business plateaus are rarely just business problems. Working exclusively with a neurodivergent population, she found a connection between people becoming stuck in their own professional growth and their current state of healing from past trauma.
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:06) - Support the show• Become a Patron!
- (02:25) - Group Coaching is Here!
- (03:24) - Sponsor: TextExpander!
- (06:51) - Introducing Maggie Isely
- (13:20) - Boat anchors are temporary
- (22:42) - What about the data?
- (26:32) - Trauma and Self-Awareness
- (33:12) - Pattern Recognition
- (34:51) - Maggie's Coaching
- (39:03) - Taking Advice
- (42:26) - Provoke Yourself
It's not easy to get out of bed every day with your eye on building and growing your own business. Whether you have people depending on you as a part of your own team, or you're working as an indie contractor, the responsibilities, emotional, and intellectual weight on you as a business owner is simply different than it was when you went to work for someone else.
This week, we're talking about the experience of owning your day. We talk about the pros and cons of hustle culture and the value of time blocking. We talk about finding the support you need to get the work done and the challenges to memory and organization that come from the outside -- the state, licensing entities, and regulators.
It's not easy, being the boss, but it's incredibly rewarding if you find your way forward. From two people with more than a decade each owning their own businesses, we bring our hard-won experience to you this week.
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (05:08) - Getting Down to Business
At first blush you might think that ADHD would hinder your chances to successfully start a business, but this week's guest has something to say about that. Jamie Cutino offers occupational therapy based coaching for women with ADHD and sings the praises of ADHD as a bouquet that can truly benefit the entrepreneur.
Jamie Cutino is a Master of Occupational Therapy and founder of Outsmart ADHD and co-founder of Be Unemployable, an educational brand and podcast for entrepreneurs. We talk about her journey discovering ADHD in the face of trauma in the family, her work as an Occupational Therapist and how that practice helps with ADHD. We lean into rejection sensitivity and how we can heal through normalizing past rejection to get through future rejection.
Check out Jamie's TEDxCWRU talk here.
But most important we dissect what it takes to pull apart the lessons of your ADHD and how it can help you when starting and running a business, and where the sharp edges are for you to care for as you march your way toward being unemployable!
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:58) - Support the show: Become a Patron!
- (04:04) - Group Coaching is Open: Winter-Spring 2023!
- (07:00) - Introducing Jamie Cutino
- (08:04) - Being an Occupational Therapist
- (15:04) - Entrepreneurs ❤️ Business
- (18:10) - Rejection
- (24:00) - Adjust to the Miss
- (27:10) - Being the Boss, Fighting the System, Embracing the Energy Swings
- (30:38) - Celebrating the ADHD
- (32:20) - Early Lessons
- (38:10) - Be Unemployable
- (42:22) - Learn More
Nikki's daughter is in recovery from an eating disorder, a condition that impacted her emotionally, physically, and made for some dark times in the family. She also lives with ADHD. It turns out, those two things are frustrating bedfellows.
Trigger Warning: This episode describes the experiences of a minor living with an eating disorder, as well as exploring the details behind eating disorders and its relation to ADHD. Listener discretion is strongly advised. If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, you don't have to go through it alone. Help is available: National Eating Disorder Association Helpline: (800) 931-2237
Trigger Warning: This episode includes a brief discussion about suicide. Listener discretion is strongly advised. If you or someone you know is engaging in self-harm or contemplating suicide, there are people who want to help. Please reach out: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US): Dial 9-8-8 to talk or send a text to 988 If you are outside the US, please click the link to find a helpline for your country http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html
We've got something of a special show this week, one that is — we hope — as impactful and educational a conversation for you, as it is personal for us.
Nikki's daughter is in recovery from an eating disorder, a condition that impacted her emotionally, physically, and made for some dark times in the family. She also lives with ADHD. It turns out, those two things are frustrating bedfellows.
In fact, research has shown that those with ADHD have a greater risk for developing binge eating disorder or bulimia nervosa than their peers without ADHD and a 2007 Harvard study found that girls with ADHD were almost four times more likely to have an eating disorder than those without ADHD. Why is someone with ADHD more likely to have an eating disorder? That's our work this week.
To help us out, we've invited Dr. Roberto Olivardia to join us. Dr. Olivardia is a Clinical Psychologist and Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. In his private psychotherapy practice, he specializes in the treatment of ADHD (particularly with comorbid disorders), Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and in the treatment of eating disorders in boys and men.
He graciously agreed to talk to Nikki, and our very special guest, Nikki's daughter, Paige, who shares her experience in her own voice.
Learn more about Dr. Olivardia and check out his book, The Adonis Complex: How to Identify, Treat and Prevent Body Obsession in Men and Boys.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (04:02) - Dr. Olivardia's Opening Perspective on Eating Disorders
- (07:16) - Eating Disorders versus Disordered Eating
- (10:42) - Body Dysmorphic Disorder
- (13:26) - ADHD and Eating Disorders
- (19:18) - The Blur of Diagnosis
- (21:13) - Welcome Paige
- (26:14) - A Disordered Relationship with Food
- (32:31) - Social Media
- (43:06) - It's not the person, it's the disorder
- (59:46) - Recovery & Nutrition
Parts of this episode contain discussion about addiction and/or substance abuse. If you or someone you know is dealing with addiction or substance abuse, there is help: Substance Abuse National Helpline 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
How’s your phone? Good? You might just have it in your hand right now, right? Well, if you’re in the camp that feels your phone behavior is getting in the way of, you know, living your life, the community comes to the rescue today.
Along the way, Pete has a bit of a rant on using the word "Addiction" when describing our use of technology. Yes, he feels strongly about it. No, he's not an Addiction expert. But he does have some people who are experts who are as frustrated as he is about the use of the word. Our collective hope today, though, is that you hear a different perspective that might give you a new lens through which to view your own use of technology without reducing your agency when it comes to getting it under control.
Special thanks to Matt Raekelboom for giving us permission to use the audio from one of his TikTok videos in this week's show. You can check out our last episode with Matt here, and if you don't have a social media issue you're trying to get under control, visit his Insta here.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (02:02) - Support the Show: Become a Member!
- (03:02) - Sponsor: TextExpander!
- (05:40) - Group Coaching Updates!
- (06:42) - Problem Devices
- (11:04) - Pete has a (potentially) irrational rant about "Addiction"
- (21:54) - Maladaptive Behaviors and ADHD
- (23:44) - Standing Up to the Algorithm
- (29:52) - One Sec
- (32:16) - Removing Apps, Deleting Accounts
- (34:14) - News Feed Eradicator
- (35:02) - Retraining Your Brain
- (36:16) - Using Lock Screens
- (39:08) - H.A.L.T.
Is this the year to work harder, get tougher, and go further? Maybe, for you, it is. We’re not here to judge. But if you’ve struggled with traditional resolutions and using the new year momentum to make significant change in your life, then we’re here to present an alternative.
Emily Ladau shared her perspective on FUN goals as an alternative to SMART goals on Mastodon (link) pointing to her full piece on WaPo. How well does her perspective as a disability rights advocate translate to the neurodiverse? Turns out... pretty well. Listen in and see for yourself!
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:38) - Support the Show! Become a Patron
- (03:32) - NEW New Resolutions?
Not everyone is a cook, but we all deal with food at some point or another. And if you’re frustrated with how your ADHD brain functions when it runs headlong into meal planning, this week’s episode is for you.
We talk about the importance of the recipe reset and the power of cleaning out the system in favor of meals you actually eat. We talk about how important it is to think of meal planning as the organizing system that it is. Plus, we offer a few new apps that might meet your needs for organizing and scheduling your mealtime fun!
Links & Notes
- Download the TCA Meal Planning PDF
- Plan to Eat
- Mela (iOS, iPadOS, macOS)
- Paprika Recipe Manager (iOS, macOS, Android, Windows)
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:44) - ADHD Meal-Planning
- (08:57) - Meals are a planning activity
- (12:45) - Plan to Eat
- (14:33) - Honey
- (19:37) - Mela
- (23:03) - Reset your Recipes
- (29:19) - Meal-planning tips
Discord Mom Melissa Bacheler is here! And she brings a ... what's that? A GAME SHOW pitting Pete and Nikki against one another to the bitter end? Plus questions from listeners about focus and tab overload and what we would do at the end of the world! Join us for our very last episode of 2022!
Along the way, we answer YOUR questions: what’s the value of coaching for ADHD? What do you do when your tabs are overloading your browsers? What do you do if the electrical grid fails? How do you focus at work? How do you overcome test stress in college? What does it take to settle on task AND project management tools? CAKE OR PIE?? These are huge questions that merit serious reflection and we’re taking them on today.
Thanks to TextExpander for once again sponsoring this show!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:09) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (04:54) - Sponsor: It's TEXTEXPANDER TIME!
- (08:04) - Who is YOUR Co-host Anyway?
- (18:48) - Q&A
- (19:08) - What is the value of ADHD Coaching?
- (22:40) - Browser-tab overload?
- (27:59) - Pete faces the end of the world?
- (31:01) - Focus at Work
- (34:56) - Self-confidence tips for college students?
- (41:38) - Project management AND Task management?
- (46:58) - Cake or Pie?
- (48:32) - Resources for ASD and ADHD?
- (50:06) - Other podcast recommendations?
Ok, let's get this out of the way: We're big fans of You Need a Budget. Like, huge fans. Massive, life-changing kind of product fans. So you can imagine that we're a bit beside ourselves this week.
See, for someone who has had struggles with money in the past, discovering a tool that has the capacity to rewire your brain around budgeting and spending is a pretty big deal™. That's YNAB, a budgeting tool like no other. Even better, while the team had not intention to make a budgeting tool that can work for folks with ADHD brains, for a lot of us, they did just that.
Jesse Mecham is the Founder of YNAB and personal finance expert. He hosts the You Need A Budget Podcast, the Beginning Balance Podcast and is the Wall Street Journal best-selling author of the book of the same name, You Need A Budget. The Smart Money Mama herself, Chelsea Brennan, introduced us to YNAB in 2020 and the tool quickly landed at the top of our list of favorite, life-changing services, so Jesse is here not only as a budgeting guy we think you might like to meet, but because we are legit fans.
YNAB isn't a sponsor of this show, but we encourage you to visit right away and sign up for their 34-day free trial and see how it works for you.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:38) - Support the Show: Become a Patron at Patreon.com/TheADHDPodcast
- (04:39) - Introducing Jesse Mecham
- (11:55) - The Tenses of Money
- (14:55) - The Four Rules
- (15:53) - 1. Giving Every Dollar a Job
- (18:57) - 2. Embrace your True Expenses
- (24:03) - 3. Role with the Punches
- (25:15) - 4. Aging Your Money
- (28:25) - The Elusive Emergency Fund
- (31:45) - What if you hate "Budgeting"
- (33:15) - Your Credit Card and You
- (37:41) - What if you're overwhelmed?
- (41:29) - YNAB as a Couple
- (44:44) - Kids
David DeWitt is a Certified Financial Planner living with ADHD and joins us today to walk through some of the challenges of building — and sticking to — a holiday budget with ADHD.
But that's not really the whole story. David takes us on a tour down history lane. It's a tour that starts — and ends, actually — with the concepts around envelope budgeting, a classic in the budgeting universe that focuses on categories and cash. Well, we're note using cash anymore, but the idea of building your budget in a way that allows you to track what you spend, when you spend it, and keep your credit intact is central to budgeting for the ADHD brain.
And that helps us to figure out where our impulsivity is taking hold, where it might not be healthy, and where it might be costing us a bunch of money. And when is that important? When our patented hyper-generosity is on edge: The holidays.
- DeWitt Capital Management
- ADHD Money Talk with David DeWitt
- 'The ugly truth behind your fancy rewards credit card' — Emily Stewart, Vox
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:21) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (05:14) - Introducing David DeWitt
- (15:38) - Thinking about Money with an ADHD Brain: Reverse Budgeting
- (22:48) - Credit Cards
- (28:46) - Rewards Cards
- (31:38) - ADHD Impulsivity in the Holidays
- (38:40) - But wait! My finances are a mess!
- (44:14) - On reprogramming for budget dopamine
- (49:40) - By Now, Pay Later
This week, in our third episode of our Techvember series, we're revisiting picks from digital episodes of the past. We started last week with email, followed up with work apps and tools, and now we're going home with a review of past recommendations for apps and gear that will automate your home and get you into shape!
We didn't take on these picks in this particular order, but this should be everything we dropped in the conversation this week!
- A few old Smart Home tools:
- SmartThings by Samsung
- AT&T Digital Life - Wemo smart plugs, switches, and dimmers by Belkin
- Google Nest
- Smart Garage Doors by Smart Home
- Kēvo Smart Lock by Kwikset
- Wi-Fi Smart Lock by August
- Apple Home App
- Zigbee
- Z-Wave
- Introducing Matter
- Phillips Hue
- Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium
Health & Fitness
- Lose It app (Pete and Nikki rec)
- Apple Health
- Withings wireless scale
- Day One app
- The Mindfulness Bell
- Productive
- Coach.me
- Runtastic
- Runkeeper
- Zombies, Run!
- MyFitnessPal
- LoseIt!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:29) - Support the Show: Become a Member
- (03:59) - Sponsor: TextExpander
- (06:36) - Smart Home
- (10:17) - Matter
- (16:49) - Thermostats
- (19:33) - Health & Fitness
- (28:13) - Day One
- (29:45) - A few more running apps
- (33:04) - Sleep
- (34:45) - Habits
This week, in our second episode of our Techvember series, we're revisiting picks from digital episodes of the past. We started last week with email, so of course we have to follow up a bit on that. From there, though, we dig straight into recommendations around work.
We didn't take on these picks in this particular order, but this should be everything we dropped in the conversation this week!
- Email Followup
- Email Clients
- Todo & Time
- Files
- Hazel (macOS)
- File Juggler (Windows)
- Notes
- Obsidian
- DEVONThink
- Evernote
- Notability
- GoodNotes
- Apple Pencil/iPad
- Pencil by FiftyThree (Now available as Paper and Paste)
- Text Manipulation
- Launchers
- Sharpening the ol' Saw
- Pete's Professional Lineup
- Pete's Menubar Lineup
- Fantastical with Next Appointment
- Cardhop
- Cleanshot X
- Magnet window manager
- Express VPN
- Dropbox
- SoundSource from Rogue Amoeba “Superior Sound Control for Mac
- Bartender: To organize apps running in the background in the menubar
- Alfred
- Pastebot
- Hazel
- Rocket MacOS: slack-style emoji-picker across the whole system
- Backblaze
- CleanMyMac
- SetApp
- Script Menu
- TextExpander
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- Accessibility Shortcuts
- Todoist
- 1Password
- Raycast
- Stage Manager
- Toggle
- Parcel MacOS
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:02) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (04:46) - Email Follow-up
- (21:42) - Tech at Work
We haven't talked about email specifically in a while, but we've heard you talking about it plenty. It's still an issue that causes overwhelm and stress — whether you have what you see as too many email messages in your inboxes, or you just don't have a strategy for managing work outside of your email client. This week on the show, we're taking on email for 2022, how it stacks up with other work management tools, Inbox Zero, GTD™, email bankruptcy and more. Along the way, we mention Gmail, Outlook, Spark Mail, Todoist, and DEVONThink, but none of these are specific endorsements — the most important thing we can offer in this show is a set of suggestions for helping you to hopefully see email in a new way, reduce stress, and get back to life.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:59) - Become a Patron! Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (05:36) - Email 2022
- (11:00) - Overwhelm
- (14:33) - Sidebar: Texts and marking texts as unread
- (18:35) - Inbox Zero
- (26:23) - Pete's Picks: DEVONThink & Todoist with Keyboard Shortcuts
- (28:59) - Delete vs Archive
- (33:03) - The GTD Connection: Five Choices
- (35:03) - Email Bankruptcy
- (38:59) - Multiple Email Addresses
- (45:30) - Maintenance
Our ADHD can feel like a weight on our backs. But what happens to you when you stop, take stock, and celebrate what is going right?
This week on the show, TCA Coach Lynn Warner joins us to discuss celebrating our Wins with ADHD. But it's not just about knowing that cakes come on birthdays. Today's lessons are about retuning your brain, training yourself to see the wins around you — big and small — and finding ways to reward yourself appropriately. This means learning new language, and seeing the world with fresh, more positive eyes.
As a bit of follow-up this week, we answer a few listener questions that were originally addressed to dietitian Nicole DeMasi Malcher. Listen to the show for details, but here's the handy list of snacks we reference on the show. Thanks Nicole!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:44) - Introducing Lynn Warner
- (04:31) - Follow-up: Nutrition!
- (09:03) - Why did you become a coach?
- (10:57) - Celebrating ADHD Wins
Aviva Nirenberg has ADHD in the family. Mom of three children with ADHD, and non-ADHD spouse of a husband with ADHD, her coaching career started with the lived experience in helping her family navigate the world while living with ADHD. Now, she's a certified ADHD and Family Coach and is one of our valued coaches here at Take Control ADHD.
This week on the show, Avivia joins us to talk about natural approaches to navigating your ADHD. No, that doesn't mean supplements and such, rather simple, straight-forward re-assessment of how you handle sleep, exercise, and nutrition — and how they work together for your body and brain.
Learn more about Aviva and her coaching with TCA. And, if you're looking for the countertop herb garden, it's Aerogarden, and here's the Amazon link to it.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (02:38) - Introducing Aviva Nirenberg
- (06:22) - Sleep
- (12:08) - Exercise
- (22:54) - Nutrition
- (30:11) - All the changes, all right now
- (31:50) - Mindfulness
Feeling overwhelmed? Let's be honest: Probably. This week we're taking on ADHD overwhelm with coach Ian Wahlert as we deal with unplanned transitions, breaking down big thoughts, avoidance, and shut-down.
But first, we have a little follow-up from last week's show on the question of transitions. Number one, how do medications help when you're thrown by surprise transitions? Does your relationship with your meds, and all that your meds do for you, help to ease transitions — surprise and expected alike?
From there, Ian helps us navigate overwhelm, shame, avoidance, and shut-down, as we lead up to Nikki and Ian's group coaching session on this very subject!
Learn more about Ian here, and check out their group coaching session today!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:19) - Sponsor: TextExpander!
- (06:00) - Introducing Ian Walhert
- (06:49) - Follow-Up: Surprise Transitions!
- (07:28) - Does medication help with transitions?
- (11:13) - Coming back to tasks after transitions
- (17:47) - The Big Segue to Overwhelm!
- (31:34) - Shame and Shutdown
- (37:31) - Managing Interpersonal Relationships
Why are transitions so hard with ADHD? Big ones, little ones, rare ones, daily ones, it seems like changing context from one to the next is like running through three feet of mud when everyone else is floating on air.
It might be your big transitions — holidays, vacations, big blocks of time. It might be little transitions — leaving for work, coming home. It might be micro-transitions — going to sleep, waking up. It might even be surprise transitions — transitions you didn't know were coming at all. Whatever the kind of transition you struggle with, you're not alone in that struggle if you're living with ADHD. This week, we're talking all about transitions, and have some tips for you to make your transitions a little bit easier.
Don't forget: It's not too late to check out ADHD Group Coaching and get yourself signed up today!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (04:55) - The Trouble with Transitions
- (05:58) - What is a "transition"?
- (14:56) - Unconscious Transitions
- (18:15) - Using James Ochoa's Pressure Breathing Technique for Transitions
- (22:12) - The Transition Day
- (25:11) - Planning to Help Transitioning
- (26:28) - Get up and Move!
- (27:06) - Alarms and Reminders!
James Ochoa is a licensed professional counselor dedicated to treating, understanding and exploring adult ADHD. He lives with ADHD himself and has long demonstrated his introspection and exploration through his work and writing. His book, Focused Forward, gifted us a whole set of new language when we talk about our relationship with ADHD and we’re thrilled he’s back to check in with us today, his SEVENTH appearance on The ADHD Podcast.
And why is he here? Because he’s devoted his work lately on using breathing to interrupt negative patterns. As James tells us, breathing is the only autonomic system in the human body which we can exert direct control over. If we’re not thinking about it, breathing just happens. But if we do think about it, we can speed it up, slow it down, even stop it for a spell. So how do you use it to teach your body some new tricks? We’ll learn from James today!
- Check out James’ Town Hall Series
- James’ Professional Trailblazing: A New Roadmap for Treating Adult ADHD
- Check out Shiny Merch!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:21) - Support the show: Become a Patron!
- (02:39) - Group Coaching is Back!
- (05:24) - Introducing James Ochoa
- (07:11) - Breathing as a Pattern Interrupt
- (15:41) - The CO Model
- (22:42) - What is Safe Self-Resourcing?
- (30:01) - The Five Breath Pressure Technique
- (32:59) - James walks us through the exercise
- (40:02) - State Change
- (44:05) - Learn more
Dr. Lola Day is a busy mother, double-boarded physician, lifestyle strategist, and ADHD-trained life coach for ambitious women. She is a case example for people living with ADHD who want to accomplish more in their lives, tame their hyperfocus, and tune their internal engines.
But she's found that along the way, what she runs into the most with her ADHD clients is a standard of achievement defined by stress and burnout, women dedicated to results at significant cost to their health and well-being.
She believes with the right systems and strategies, all women can live wholesome, healthy, and fulfilled lives without overwhelm and without sacrificing their goals, passion, or family, and she joins us this week to talk about how she channels her work into LollieTasking!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:09) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (02:08) - Sponsor: TextExpander
- (04:18) - Group Coaching is Coming Back to TCA!
- (05:23) - Introducing Dr. Lola Day
- (10:45) - What toll, ADHD?
- (14:41) - Adapting to ADHD
- (18:21) - Adding more to a full boat
- (26:05) - Working with Women
- (30:24) - Rest
- (35:37) - Balance and Delegation
- (42:34) - LollieTasking
- (44:29) - Learn More!
You live with ADHD, so you know what it feels like to be stuck. But what happens when you tell an ADHD coach what you're going through? You get a whole new way to think about moving forward!
It all starts with that feeling of shame and embarrassment that comes under the weight of the tasks you feel you have not completed. That’s how this particular episode started, in fact, a set of conversations Nikki has had recently with clients feeling this same thing.
To get to the other side of it, we journey through that shame, the language of limiting beliefs, and come out the other side with a change to how we tell the stories of ourselves.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:04) - Support the Show: Become an ADHD Community Member!
- (02:27) - What to do when you don't know what to do
Tommy Metz III is a filmmaker and storyteller in Los Angeles, CA. He directed the feature film ‘30 Nights’, and his latest short ‘Static’ is going to be playing in festivals starting next month. He’s also an anxiety-riddled mess and co-host of What’s That Smell? A Sometimes-Funny Podcast about Humans and Their Anxieties. He’s here because he was dragged to be here in an effort to follow up on the last time he was here in May 2019.
Our purpose today? We’ve talked about emotional storms in the past, credited to James Ochoa. To start us off this week: what do you do when the anxiety storm hits, the cannonball of fear in your stomach? What causes it, connects those experiences, and how do you get to the other side of it?
Along the way, we talk about our “favorite” anxieties that have come up on the WTS podcast. We talk about the contagion that is anxiety and how easy it is to personalize others' anxieties and make them our own. Finally, we share a segment from episode one of the seventh season of What’s That Smell at the very end of this week’s show!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:06) - Support the show: Become a Patron at patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (02:28) - Introducing Tommy Metz
- (04:20) - Exploring the Anxiety Cannonball
- (19:25) - Talking about talking about anxiety
- (21:10) - The Anxiety Contagion
- (26:40) - "Favorite" Anxieties
- (35:52) - WTS7
- (39:56) - Special: A bit from WTS episode 7, season 1
How's your relationship with food? Do any emotional eating lately? Feeling that magnetic pull to McDonalds? You think there might be any ADHD hidden in there knocking away at you? Nicole DeMasi Malcher is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and founder of eatingwithADHD.com, where she helps people with ADHD stop binge-eating and learn to have a healthier relationship with food and body image and she's going to help us all out this week.
Along the way, we learn about the role of a dietitian in your life and how they can help you build a better relationship with food. She helps us understand our relationship with diet, intermittent fasting and food rules, and how we can move toward healthier relationships with food by embracing gentle nutrition and intuitive eating.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:35) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (02:44) - Introducing Nicole Dimasi Malcher
- (06:04) - What does a dietician do?
- (08:13) - Dealing with ADHD grief with food
- (12:35) - What is disordered eating?
- (17:27) - Intermittent fasting
- (20:18) - How about vegan? Vegetarian?
- (26:25) - Intuitive eating and food rules
- (32:17) - So... what about weight loss?
- (37:53) - Gentle nutrition
- (42:17) - Replacement thinking
- (47:26) - Listener Question: Picky Eaters and more
You know how it happens. You get your diagnosis and you start the research. Before you know it, you’re in such a search for tools and strategies to help you with your ADHD that you forget to live your life.
This show is our reminder to you of a few things. First, you don't have to do everything at once. In fact, you might find you adapt more quickly when you research less, try fewer new tools, and slow down your ADHD adaptation.
Second, it's OK to say no to things. In fact, you might just find a sense of excitement that comes from letting go of obligations.
Third, well, Pete has a thing about time blocking.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:37) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (02:47) - Sponsor: TextExapander!
- (06:59) - Stop and Smell the Roses!
- (11:20) - You don't have to hold all the tennis balls
- (17:13) - Schedule Foibles are NOT a Moral Failure
- (20:43) - But wait... does your ADHD define you?
- (28:34) - JOMO & Margin
- (32:29) - Timeblocking Gives You Freedom
We did an episode on ADHD and over-talking a few weeks back and boy-howdee did you have thoughts! This week, we’re doing a listener feedback review covering how you prefer to manage — and help to manage — over-talking and ADHD in yourself and others.
The feedback came in two broad categories. First, you shared your personal preferences in how you want others to treat you when you’re over-talking. That is to say, when people you’re close to notice that your stories are veering into ADHD tangent-territory, how do you want that communicated to you? How will you be best equipped to hear this sort of guidance without feeling shamed or judged?
The second big group came in the form of guidance for kids and families. How do you work with your kids or partner when over-talking overtakes family time? How do you instill a culture in your family where you’re teaching and building muscle around sharing conversation space?
We got some terrific suggestions on the best way you manage ADHD over-talking and we’re thrilled to share!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (02:14) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (02:48) - ADHD Over-talking Follow-Up!
- (05:15) - Personal Preferences
- (17:23) - Suggestions for Kids and Families
Memory is not one thing, says our guest, Dr. Ari Tuckman, and ADHD might be at the center of your struggles with each component of memory at any given time. More important than understanding that ADHD and memory are sometimes troubled partners is understanding just what you can do to improve your odds when trying to remember the important stuff.
We talk about being kind to yourself and understanding that your memory challenges do not represent a moral failure! And Ari challenges head-on the notion that relying on reminders is a sign of weakness, that there is a difference between an alarm or notification and the motivation to do the thing the alarm is reminding you to do — one does not make the other a failure.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Success Strategies for Adults with ADHD — Ari Tuckman
- Ari Tuckman, PsyD, MBA
- ADHD After Dark: Better Sex Life, Better Relationship by Ari Tuckman
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:18) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (04:22) - Introducing Ari Tuckman
- (05:41) - What is Memory?
- (16:27) - Keeping it all in your head...
- (20:36) - The Alarm versus the Motiviation
- (24:37) - Introducing: The Awful Inner Child
- (39:37) - State Dependent Memory
People with ADHD talk. And sometimes we talk a lot. We might be nervous or excited, insecure or scared; for whatever reason, these triggers cause our mouths to go right into overdrive.
This week on the show, Nikki and Pete talk about over-talking. What happens in social situations when you find yourself over-sharing? How about parties in which you reveal sensitive information? And have you ever been in a group conversation and didn't realize you were monopolizing the show? We've all been there, and this week we want to try to dissect why.
Links & Notes
- ADHD Communication Hacks
- Am I Talking Too Much? How I'm Teaching my Brain to Listen
- Don't Just Talk, Communicate
- Being Social and Making Friends as an Adult with ADHD
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:32) - Support the Show: Become a Member!
- (05:38) - Sponsor: TextExpander
- (09:39) - ADHD & Over-Talking
Today, we’re talking about the truth in all it’s shapes and colors. If you’re living with ADHD, you might find you have a sometimes-questionable relationship with the truth, whether you’re struggling to be one hundred percent honest about a project at work, or dinner plans at home, and whether you’re lying to others or to yourself in the process.
Dr. Norrine Russell is back with us today to share her experince working with ADHD kids, parents, and coaches in navigating the not-always-black-and-white rules of honesty we create for ourselves, and what we need to do to corrall our baser instincts as a result of fear and uncertainty in our lives.
Links & Notes
- Russell Coaching
- Asking the Right Questions about ADHD Before, During, and After Your Child's Diagnosis by Dr. Norrine Russell
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (05:48) - Introducing Norrine Russell
- (13:00) - The Parent Perspective • Trust & Privacy
- (18:00) - Who are you lying to?
- (21:00) - Going into "Brain Mode"
- (38:25) - Lying & Time
- (43:52) - Norrine's New Book!
As our guest says it, a lot happens when you have a new creature to care for. The lessons that come when you’re facing the stressors of new parenthood might unlock some things you don’t know about yourself: ADHD.
Dr. Marcy Caldwell (ADDept.org) is director and supervising psychologist at Rittenhouse Psychological Assessments and is a licensed clinical psychologist who has been specializing in the treatment and assessment of ADHD and learning disabilities for over 15 years. She joins us today to answer some of our frequent questions about parenting and ADHD, from hormonal changes to how moms and dads each understand how ADHD symptoms emerge under the changes of parenthood.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:41) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (03:01) - Sponsor: TextExpander
- (06:50) - Introducing Marcy Caldwell
- (11:27) - Inattentive ADHD
- (13:51) - Horomes & ADHD: A Primer
- (17:59) - Sleep!
- (21:45) - New Dad Diagnoses?
- (24:56) - Guidance for the Post-Pardum ADHD Struggles
- (29:57) - Getting Diagnosed After Your Kids
If you’re parenting a teen, you know the challenges we’re talking about today. And whether you live with ADHD yourself or not, those challenges are made even more real if your kiddo is living with ADHD. Today on the show, we’re sharing our own lessons learned when it comes to navigating the universe of parenting teens with ADHD.
The biggest lessons revolve around communication, awareness, and balance. But what are the major milestones that stand before you as a parent of a teen when it comes to getting the ADHD assessment? Preparing for college? Confronting life skills and deadlines? And, perhaps most important as a parent, how do you avoid letting your experience with school, ADHD, anxiety and more to color their experience and expectations with ADHD?
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:59) - Support the Show: Become a Patron at patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (04:23) - Partentings teens with ADHD
This episode was a delightful accident.
It started with a conversation with one of our fantastic community members, Shoshanah Blaiss, how casually mentioned that she was running late for her session with her art therapist, and ended with a connection to that very artist, learning about her work, her process, and the incredible value that comes with embracing art as a channel to connect with ourselves across the neurodiversity spectrum.
Andrea Krakovsky is a teaching artist in Georgia whose work helps her clients to heal through the creative process. This week, Andrea leads us through that journey of healing through creativity — whether you believe you're creative or not — and how the physical connection with the media can help you learn about yourself while finding grounding in your ADHD, anxiety, and more.
Find Andrea at andreakrakovsky.com, and don't forget to check out the Feelings Wheel!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:38) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (04:41) - Sponsor: TextExpander is BACK!
- (07:36) - Introducing Andrea and Shoshanah
- (12:14) - What happens in Art Therapy sessions?
- (14:41) - Do materials equal feelings?
- (22:56) - Create... then throw away
- (26:26) - Prompts
- (32:46) - Children versus Adults!
- (36:36) - The Value of the Relationship
- (39:10) - Getting Started
Rach Idowu was diagnosed with ADHD Combined Type in January 2020, just before her London ADHD clinic closed down due to the pandemic. Undaunted, she started AdultingADHD on Substack and began to document her own personal experience and the research she would go on to do about her ADHD.
Since then, she has been featured in the New York Times, Inverse, and Mashable, and has been a featured panelist at Facebook, Ubisoft ComicCon London, and other organizations talking about ADHD in the workplace.
Along the way, she created a series of flashcards designed to help those with ADHD and supporting ADHDers to better understand details of ADHD that reflect the research she has engaged in over the years. You can find them at ADHDTraits.com.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:14) - Introducing Rach Idowu
- (04:20) - The Pandemic Diagnosis
- (12:49) - About the Newsletter
- (13:53) - ADHD & Work
- (21:35) - Opening up about the diagnosis in the interview
- (26:07) - Advocacy & Influencers
- (28:30) - Tools of the Trade
- (30:09) - The Flashcards
KC Davis is a licensed professional therapist, author, and speaker. She is the creator of the mental health platform Struggle Care, where she shares a revolutionary approach to self and home care for those dealing with mental health, physical illness, and hard seasons of life.
She's with us today to talk about her role in the neurodiversity community as a TikTok influencer, how she stumbled into her favorite video community.
We love KC not just for her TikTok, though. She's author of the book How to Keep House While Drowning, where she catalogs her approach to healthy living while embracing your struggles as morally neutral, not personality judgments. Her approach to living, shame, and struggle is, frankly, a breath of fresh air.
Learn more about KC and her work at StruggleCare. And, of course, buy the book in your favorite format now.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:56) - Support the show!
- (04:49) - Welcome KC Davis
- (09:39) - ADHD is not your moral failure
- (18:59) - Cleaning and Trauma
- (22:11) - Neurons that fire together wire together
- (24:42) - ADHD Diagnosis rewrites history
- (35:51) - What's the big message?
- (47:11) - Becoming an Influencer and The Five Things
For the next few weeks, we’ll be talking with ADHD influencers. You might have seen them on YouTube or TikTok or Instagram talking about their experiences with ADHD — we want to talk with them about their experience leading them to become creators.
Kicking off this series we welcome Matt Raekelboom. Matt’s a Toronto-based influencer predominantly on TikTok and Instagram sharing his tools and strategies around ADHD, fitness, and healthy living with his 300,000 followers. What you don’t get if you just stumble across Matt’s one-minute videos, though, is any taste of the long road he had to take to get it posted.
He was an ADHD kid of the 80s, when we were wandering the wilderness of ADHD and medication, and ended up over-medicated and misunderstood. He battled substance abuse and homelessness, but regained his footing with an explosive passion for discovery of how his ADHD had played a part in all his troubles, and how it would play a part in his future successes, too.
You can find Matt on Instagram and TikTok, naturally, and check out his community at Journey2ADHD.
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- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (04:22) - Introducing Matt Raekelboom
- (10:16) - Nikki admits she's old, doesn't follow influencers ;-)
- (11:25) - Matt's ADHD legacy
- (28:42) - How do you post video #2? Getting Over Imposter Syndrome
- (35:05) - Platform Choices
- (46:31) - A bit on meds
- (50:48) - Journey2ADHD
With over five hundred episodes across twenty-four seasons of Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast, it can be dizzying to figure out how to get started. That’s why we — Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright (your fair hosts) — recorded this episode. It’s for you, new listener, a brief guide that can help you get the most out of the podcast and the fantastic ADHD community that runs through everything we do. Thanks for joining us on this ride. We hope you find what you’re looking for!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:09) - Where to Find Us
- (03:41) - Why a Podcast?
- (05:24) - About our Episode Numbering
- (08:45) - Our Purpose
- (10:25) - What do we talk about?
- (12:13) - Podcast Categories
- (15:29) - The Live Stream
- (17:34) - Joining the Community
This week we’re tabulating lessons learned from our recent series on overcoming obstacles. Over the last month, we met Mallory Band dug into imposter syndrome, RSD, and ADHD. Aron Croft shared his experience through higher education when his expectations ran straight into undiagnosed inattentive ADHD. And Christina Avallone shared her perspective on thriving in a digital world and building healthy relationships with your tech.
If you haven’t listened to these episodes yet, check them out in your podcast app or listen on the web right here:
- Imposter Syndrome, RSD & ADHD with Mallory Band
- When expectations meet your ADHD with Aron Croft
- Thriving in a digital world with Christina Avallone
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:53) - Support the show: Become a Patron! Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (02:07) - Summary Fun!
- (02:37) - Imposter Syndrome
- (08:33) - When Expectations Meet ADHD
- (17:05) - Thriving in a Digital World
This week on the show we’re talking with Christina Avallone, author of Thriving in a Digital World, to discuss the pitfalls many of us face when technology starts to take over.
For Christina, it started at home as she navigated the massive technological shifts as a parent to her now-grown daughters. This experience led her down a path of research and exploration into technology, how a pathological use of our tech can impact the brain, and how systems presumably designed for productivity and connection can actually cause increased distraction and disconnection.
Her book is driven not by a call for technological abstinence, but for understanding. For Christina, that means raising her children safe, in her faith, and aware of the tools in their pockets to do good in the world, while understanding their perils at the same time.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:59) - Sponsor: TextExpander
- (07:03) - Introducing Christina Avallone
- (13:04) - Crossroads: Co-mingling tech and distraction
- (19:04) - Context Switching Challenges
- (22:34) - Being Present
- (29:13) - The FOBO-Rudeness Connundrum
- (32:10) - You Might have a problem with your tech if...
- (38:21) - Building a healthy relationship with your tech
- (41:08) - Learning to Learn your Technology
Aron Croft was set up for success: Great college, high expectations from an education-centered family. Then ADHD stepped in. Aron lives with inattentive ADHD once the structures of his early education were left behind on his journey to college, the struggles set it.
In fact, he struggled non-stop for 15 years before he discovered his relationship with ADHD. In spite of years of struggle, he's since built a career of his own, from finding success in major corporations to starting his own coaching practice for students with ADHD.
This is a story about the conflict that exists between desire and expectation for success, and the reality of running into the brick wall of shame with a coach who has seen it from both sides.
You can learn more about Aron and his work at Hidden ADHD, and make sure to check out Aron's Masterclass: "Get Sh*t Done With ADHD — Without Constant Stress and Self-Criticism (A Proven 3-Step Process)" while you're there!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (04:48) - Introducing Aron Croft
- (12:02) - Moving to College, Losing Structure
- (23:20) - Diagnosis Story
- (35:43) - Inattentive ADHD
- (39:27) - Productivity
- (41:38) - The Three Slogans
Here we are. Episode one of our new podcast. This week, we're talking about how we capture ideas, how we make room for new things in our lives, and how we make sure the things we really want to do have air to grow and flourish, while the things we don't are allowed to evaporate.
Along the way we talk to two of my favorite brains, Doc Anderson and Brett Terpstra.
We talked to Doc some months back on The ADHD Podcast about The Hero Engine. Since then, he and I realized we have a lot of nerd stuff in common and it is in fact Doc whom I credit for the term "Vampire Projects" in this show.
Brett is working on a few projects in addition to his newish gig at Oracle. Bunch is his text file automation app, and Doing is his command line activity log. We'll talk about both this week.
Listener Susan wrote in with a question about creating fillable PDF forms. I go into more detail in the show this week but here are direct links to what I recommend: Adobe Creative Cloud, PDF Pen Pro from Nitro.
Finally, if you’re listening to this show on the website, thank you. But if you want to get it wherever you listen to your podcasts, I recorded a video to help you out.
Update: We've got the transcript of the show up now. Sorry for the delay. Click here to check it out!
- (00:00) - Welcome to Placeholder
You know it, you live it, you suffer through it: It’s IMPOSTER SYNDROME! This week on the show, executive function coach Mallory Band joins us to talk about the weight of the imposter on our shoulders and how we might use the lessons of executive functioning to shake free of it.
We start with a walk through imposter syndrome and how it manifests in our lives. Because it's not just the imposter weighing on us, it's the compound pressure of anxiety, fear, compulsive behaviors, and more that all play a role in how we see the person we see in the mirror.
Mallory wrote two pieces for ADDitude over the course of the last year on the subject. 'How my Imposter Syndrom Sapped Me of Myself,' which she followed up with, 'How the Pandemic's Uncertainty Forced Me to Become More Secure in Myself,' both available to read for free. Connect with Mallory on LinkedIn and learn more about her work at Essig Education Group.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (05:27) - Introducing Mallory Band
- (06:51) - What is an Executive Function Coach?
- (10:19) - The two sides of imposter syndrome
- (17:09) - RSD (Rejection Sensitivity)
- (19:35) - How do you retrain your brain?
- (28:31) - The Masks we Wear
- (36:15) - Imposter Syndrome and Burnout
We’ve had a busy month around here at Take Control ADHD. This week, we’re introducing a new episode in to our podcast calendar. We don’t have a great name for it yet, but rest assured a great name is inbound! For now, we’re talking all about lessons we’ve learned in March.
We started with a conversation on managing tasks against a visual representation of our time. It’s not easy, but sometimes stepping back from all the things you think you have to do on a given day and starting instead with the time you have to do things is the best way to get started with smart prioritization. From there, we introduced PACT Goals (Purposeful, Actionable, Continuous, and Trackable). Patrick McGinnis, the originator of FOMO, introduced us to FOBO (Fear of Better Options) where we learned the value of asking the universe for help to get a true gut-check on our feelings. Unblocking and Tackling helped us split our attention between getting ourselves unstuck and doing hard work, and finally, Casey Dixon helped us face facts about burnout!
We finished our March Madness Pledge Drive having met our goals with your help and we’re off to April with a bunch of behind-the-scenes work and the launch of Placeholder — Pete’s new tech and systems podcast starting this week!
This week’s episode is brought to you by TextExpander. Keep your message consistent, save time and be more productive, and be accurate — every time — with TextExpander. Visit https://takecontroladhd.com/textexpander to sign up today and get 20% off your first year as a supporter of The ADHD Podcast Community. And if you’re looking for how you can get started, just check out our February Workshop with Vic Martinez, trainer on the TextExpander team, for a video walkthrough!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:29) - The March Madness Pledge Drive is Over: THANK YOU
- (04:02) - Sponsor: TextExpander is Back! takecontroladhd.com/textexpander
- (08:27) - Lessons Learned
Burnout. That word probably means something to you. But for all the feelings the term conjures for you, there are so many feelings you just might have experienced yourself completely unaware that those feelings, too, are symptoms of burnout. And identifying where burnout lives, where it stops and ADHD begins, can be a tricky business, indeed.
Casey Dixon is an ADHD Coach who has worked with wide range of individuals living with ADHD over the course of her career. She’s the founder of Dixon Life Coaching, a site that is dedicated to the mindfulness approach to ADHD through simple daily practices to help you with everything from focus, to movement and settling. This week on The ADHD Podcast, Casey joins us to help us deal with the horrors and the terrors of burnout.
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (00:45) - Support the Show: March Madness on Patreon!
- (03:59) - Introducing Casey Dixon
- (04:30) - On Burnout
- (16:37) - Compartmentalizing
- (19:33) - Beating Burnout
- (24:03) - The Five Ds
- (30:15) - What if it's really... the Job?
- (32:51) - Is a Vacation the Answer to Burnout?
- (38:44) - Proper Vacation Shame
It’s case study day! Nikki has been working with a client struggling to get unstuck behind some big, challenging tasks. Those tasks are hiding behind other work making it tough to prioritize. After a few sessions with Coach Nikki, they settled on a pair of sessions they’re calling “Unblocking” and “Tackling” sessions. This week on the show, Nikki walks through the process with the aid of messages from the front lines in the form of client emails describing the challenges and successes that came from them!
Haven’t heard our trailer for the upcoming Placeholder podcast? Stick around to the very end to check it out!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:21) - Support the Show! Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (05:18) - Case Study: Unblocking and Tackling
- (31:48) - Placeholder Trailer
- (00:00) - Welcome to Placeholder
Patrick McGinnis, the person behind the term "FOMO", is back. This time, he introduces us to — as he calls it — the evil brother of FOMO that can ruin your life. That thing is FOBO.
The Fear of Better Options.
It's the fear that there is always something better for you out there that holds you back from making the most important decisions of today. It foils any effort you might make toward commitment. It keeps you looking inward, at yourself, behind a veil of selfishness disguised as investigation. It can make you a lousy friend or partner. And it can make you hate yourself.
This week, Nikki and Pete dive into Analysis Paralysis. Here's your background reading from Patrick McGinnis himself.
Here an entry on Michael Crichton's Wikipedia entry on Gell-Mann Amnesia, if you're interested in further reading on the subject.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (04:38) - FOBO!
- (06:33) - FOMO v FOBO
- (08:04) - FOBO, Executive Functioning, and ADHD
- (14:20) - The McGinnis Approach
- (18:56) - Other Approaches
- (29:18) - Overcomplicating the Simple
Never heard of PACT goals? You’re in for it today! We’re talking about a goal-setting metaphor with greater attention on outcomes than process and we think it has real legs when it comes to ADHD.
PACT is a goal-setting technique and stands for Purposeful, Actionable, Continuous, and Trackable. Compared to other methods that focus on outcomes, PACT goals focus on output. What does that mean? Well, hopefully, but the time you get to work on your well-formed PACT goal, you’re doing it without all the shame that comes from feeling as if you’ve failed a process. This is a tool and a metaphor, and if it works for you, you’ll be building new habits in no time.
Links & Notes
- ‘Meet PACT: The Goal Setting Technique You’ve Never Heard Of’ by Tammy J. Salmon-Stephens
- Join the Pledge Drive! — Become a member in March for bonuses, live events, and help us reach our goal and launch a new podcast just for members!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:00) - It's PLEDGE DRIVE TIME!
- (08:46) - PACT Goals
- (28:24) - How does motivation impact PACT Goals?
Here's the case: a busy professional is struggling with 20-25 overdue, bright red tasks in their task management system every morning. But they have a great system! They know exactly what work needs to get done at any given time. So, why aren't they getting the work out the door?
Because of time, dear friends, time.
This week on the show, Pete has a walk through a few task systems in an effort to build our own, and help this busy client to get the most important work done without feeling horrible about the rest. Along the way, we talk about Getting Things Done, David Allen's system of stress-free productivity that appears to cause more stress than it curbs, The Eisenhower Matrix, Kanban, Scrum, and Agile Results.
There is a lot to think about in this episode. Remember, you don't have to pick one and roll with it for the rest of your professional life! In this episode, we're picking and choosing the systems that make the most sense for us with an eye toward managing our time, not our tools.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:19) - Support the show! March Pledge Drive! Become a Member at Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (07:22) - Time & Tasks: A history
- (13:27) - GTD
- (17:12) - The Eisenhower Matrix
- (25:31) - Kanban
- (28:43) - Scrum
- (35:00) - Agile Results
- (41:06) - The Punchline
You can't do what you want to do. You never finish what you start. You aren't able to focus. Sure, we say this stuff to ourselves when our ADHD is getting the best of us. But how often is that really true?
This week on the show, we examine what lives between all and nothing and try to tackle the beast that is all-or-nothing thinking with some tools you can employ right away.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:12) - Sponsor: TextExpander asks you: What can you do with more time each month?
- (03:20) - ADHD Member Update!
- (04:55) - What Lies Between ALL and NOTHING?
Kim To is CEO and Founder of Flair, a new platform designed to help you access a range of healthcare services to manage your life with ADHD. She's also Asian living with ADHD, and has spent much of her effort since her diagnosis exploring what it means to experience ADHD in a culture she describes as unaccustomed to the ADHD experience. She joins us today to talk about her ADHD coaching practice, what it means to share the responsibility of exploring ADHD in her community, and building a practice around inclusivity and understanding.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:24) - Support the show — Become a Patron!
- (02:06) - Upcoming TextExpander Workshop
- (04:48) - Introducing Kim To
- (07:27) - ADHD Diagnosis and Culture Shock
- (17:49) - Perfectionism
- (20:56) - The Responsibility of Teaching a Culture about Trauma and ADHD
- (24:36) - About Flair
We'd never heard of the phrase stinking thinking until Sharon Saline used it with us on the show this week. But we knew what it meant immediately. We live with it. It's the thinking we use about ourselves when we're compromised or when our reserves of resiliency have been tapped, and when what we need more than anything else is just a little bit of self-compassion.
But as ADHDers, finding self-compassion isn't always natural. We have to make a practice of it, integrating the language and behaviors of compassion into our days and hours such that when we need it, it's not so hard to find.
Dr. Sharon Saline specializes in an integrative approach to managing ADHD, anxiety, executive functioning skills, learning differences & mental health in neurodiverse children, teens, adults & families and she joins us again today to talk all about living with ADHD and still managing to find a dose of self-compassion under the weight of it all.
About Sharon Saline, Psy.D.
Sharon Saline, Psy.D. has focused her work on ADHD, anxiety, learning differences, and mental health challenges and their impact on school and family dynamics for over 30 years. Her unique perspective, a sibling of a child who wrestled with untreated ADHD, combined with decades of academic excellence and clinical experience, assists her in guiding families as they navigate from the confusing maze of diagnoses and conflict to successful interventions and connections. Dr. Saline funnels this expertise into her book, What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life. Heralded as an invaluable resource, her book is the recipient of two awards: Best Book Awards winner by American Book Fest and the Gold Medal from Moms' Choice Awards. She recently published The ADHD Solution Deck: 50 Strategies to Help Kids Learn, Reduce Stress & Improve Family Connections.
Find Sharon on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn
And, in case you're wondering, here's a little background on Alternate Nostril Breathing
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:57) - Support The ADHD Podcast • Become a Partron!
- (03:43) - Introducing Sharon Saline
- (04:34) - Why Self-Compassion?
- (07:22) - Why now?
- (12:10) - When we don't feel "met" — What is self-compassion?
- (17:57) - The reduced capacity for resilience
- (21:11) - Climbing out of the negative shame spiral
- (27:24) - The self-compassion practice
- (37:57) - Alternate Nostril Breathing
Erik “Doc” Anderson is an ADHD coach who specializes in helping people become the hero of their own stories. Erik is an ADHDer and also has Cerebral Palsy.
Humans are wired for stories. Our lives, our desires, our hopes, and dreams, they’re all fueled by the metaphors that define who we are. Doc learned early that negative, limiting stories can be as damaging as positive stories are motivating. Today, we’re talking about how we can rewrite our own stories from someone who’s spent a lifetime rewriting his own, and in doing so made the choice to live in a much larger world.
About Erik “Doc” Anderson
Erik Anderson has been a long-time advocate for system change. In addition to serving on state boards and commissions, he coordinated state government efforts in Iowa to fight employment discrimination against women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. Later, he moved on to work as an advocate with a federal technical assistance program under I.D.E.A. to help parents of children with disabilities get services in public schools. Now he works independently in the field of self-advocacy as an ADHD coach.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (05:51) - The Challenge of Introducing Erik "Doc" Anderson
- (14:16) - Becoming a Coach
- (19:33) - The Hero Engine
- (30:54) - Fact, Truth, and the ADHD Negativity Bias
- (33:24) - Acceptance & Responsibility
- (35:46) - Making Self-Advocacy a Practice
It’s 2022! And we’re kicking off the new year and new season with change. Specifically, we’re going to look at how the language we use influences the way we think about and approach the world around us.
As an anchor for the conversation, Nikki gives us a review of I Get To: How using the Right Words Can Radically Transform Your life, Relationships & Business by Alicia Dunams, a book that has helped us to refine the way we think about the language we use and how it influences our own mood as we approach hard things. We communicate through our words, tone of voice, and non-verbal cues such as body language. As Dunams says, “crafting our daily language with effective words and tone is a true art.”
Along the way, we lean on two other resources. The first is the work of Karen Reivich, author of The Resilience Factor: 7 Keys to Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming Life's Hurdles. She gives us a framework to reframe negative thinking in a positive light.
And Emily Campbell gives us insight into how our natural spirit of curiosity — not judgment — is the secret to healthy emotional well-being in her piece, “Six Surprising Benefits of Curiosity” published in Greater Good Magazine by UC Berkeley.
This week’s episode is sponsored by TextExpander from Smile Software. TextExpander is central to our daily productivity and with a little curiosity and exploration, it might just be for you, too. Listeners of the show can save 20% on their first year by visiting textexpander.com/podcast.
Links & Notes
- I Get To: How using the Right Words Can Radically Transform Your life, Relationships & Business by Alicia Dunams
- The Resilience Factor: 7 Keys to Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming Life's Hurdles by Karen Reivich
- “Six Surprising Benefits of Curiosity” by Emily Campbell
- Sponsor: TextExpander from Smile Software
- What Is TextExpander?
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:42) - Sponsor: TextExpander
- (06:02) - Support the Show: Become a Patron
- (07:32) - Change Your Language: "I Get To: How Using the Right Words can Radically Transform Your Life"
- (13:58) - How Rewards Impact Language
- (15:58) - A Brief Aside on The QUIT Center...
- (18:20) - What do you THINK you can do?
- (22:10) - Facing the Impossible Situation
- (23:00) - Why not? What if?
- (30:35) - The Power of the Pause
- (39:09) - Pete's Dad's Words to Live By...
This week, we’re wrapping up our trio of treatment episodes with a conversation on coaching, and how the coaching process can help you integrate your life with your ADHD. Whether or not you have decided to pursue the perfect prescription, or trace a treatment through therapy, a relationship with an ADHD coach can help you turn your awareness, acceptance, and new strategies into action.
This week on the show we talk about what an ADHD coach will do for you. We help identify the key differences between therapy and coaching. And we discuss the gray areas that might call for either a therapist or a coach. Most important, we talk about what it means to be ready for change and to know if managing your ADHD with the help of a trained and certified coach is right for you.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:09) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (07:51) - Coaching
- (09:54) - What is ADHD Coaching?
- (19:34) - Taking Action and Readiness for Change
- (38:21) - The Group Experience
Have you ever tried talk therapy? It can be intimidating, learning to open yourself up to a stranger, but with the right therapist, it doesn’t have to be uncomfortable for long. We’re continuing our series on ADHD interventions with Dr. Sharon Saline, psychologist and ADHD specialist. She joins to talk to you, the therapy novice, about what you can expect from therapy, what you should expect from your relationship with your therapist, and how you can make the therapy relationship thrive in support of your ADHD.
New in ’22
About Sharon Saline, Psy.D.
Sharon Saline, Psy.D. has focused her work on ADHD, anxiety, learning differences, and mental health challenges and their impact on school and family dynamics for over 30 years. Her unique perspective, a sibling of a child who wrestled with untreated ADHD, combined with decades of academic excellence and clinical experience, assists her in guiding families as they navigate from the confusing maze of diagnoses and conflict to successful interventions and connections. Dr. Saline funnels this expertise into her book, What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life. Heralded as an invaluable resource, her book is the recipient of two awards: Best Book Awards winner by American Book Fest and the Gold Medal from Moms' Choice Awards. She recently published The ADHD Solution Deck: 50 Strategies to Help Kids Learn, Reduce Stress & Improve Family Connections.
Find Sharon on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:53) - Pete's Nanowrimo Update
- (04:40) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (07:43) - New for '22!
- (19:55) - Introducing Sharon Saline
- (23:12) - Getting Started in Therapy
- (25:02) - Finding the Readiness for Change
- (28:38) - What can a new client expect?
- (31:10) - A little about CBT
- (32:48) - What to look for in your therapist
- (34:30) - A Case of Grief
- (38:46) - Therapy, Medication, & Coaching
- (48:46) - The Self-Compassion Dance
- (51:17) - Is there an end to therapy?
- (53:51) - Can't find a therapist? What do you do to help yourself?
What do you know about your ADHD medications? We didn’t know much, so we brought in the expert, Dr. William Dodson, a Board-Certified adult psychiatrist and one of the first clinicians who specialized in adults with ADHD decades ago.
Because here’s the thing: we don’t deal much with ADHD meds. As a coach, Nikki refers folks to their physicians. And apart from being a patient himself, Pete’s experience dealing with medications is far from diverse. And yet, the field of questions we get from folks in our community relating to medications is vast. Today, we start the process of getting those questions answered.
Not Debunking Myths, Clarifying Understanding
As Dr. Dodson says, no one ultimately is going to care about your specific decision around medication other than you. But it’s important that you have the data you need to get your questions answered before you make that decision yourself. We can say this for sure: Dr. Dodson is a professional in the field with qualified experience in practice and a respected and verified source. We hope you find something you can take away from this discussion that helps you in your decision-making.
About William W. Dodson, M.D., LF-APA
Dr. Bill Dodson is a Board-Certified adult psychiatrist was one of the first clinicians who specialized in adults with ADHD 25 years ago. He has been on the faculties of Georgetown University and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He was named a Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association in recognition of his clinical contributions to the field of ADHD (2012).
He was the recipient of the national Maxwell Schleifer Award for Distinguished Service to Persons with Disabilities (2006). He has written more than 120 articles and book chapters designed to help a lay audience better understand ADHD and its treatment.
Dr. Dodson is now semi-retired and devotes most of his professional time to working with homeless adolescents on the streets of Denver and writing a book about the optimal treatment of ADHD in both children and adults.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:36) - Support the Show • Become a Patron
- (04:11) - Introducing Dr. Bill Dodson
- (05:14) - Standards and practices for Medication
- (14:30) - The Acid Warning!
- (16:30) - Sleep and Meds
- (19:32) - Controlled versus Non-Controlled Substances
- (24:34) - Pregnancy and ADHD Meds
- (26:46) - Addiction • "The White Male Phenomenon"
- (33:18) - The Tolerance Myth
- (39:21) - Medication and Heart Conditions
- (43:32) - The Risks of Non-Treatment
- (45:18) - Find your Finely-Tuned Sweet Spot
- (48:07) - Risks for Exercising with Stimulant Medications
- (48:45) - Decline in Affect after Long-term use
- (51:42) - Long-acting versus short-acting stimulants
- (53:46) - Dr. Dodson's RSD Research Request
- (56:05) - Find Bill
There isn’t any magic to any one specific episode. But, wow, you all, if you had asked us in 2010 if we had any idea that we’d still be doing this show twelve years and 500 episodes later, well, suffice it to say we’d be as gobsmacked then as we are now for having made it that far.
And we made it so far because of all of you, listeners, study hall attenders, coachees, brain players, and ADHDers who have been riding this podcast train with us, no matter how long you’ve been on board.
This episode is just a bit self-indulgent. We talk through a bit of history, we share a clip or two from the early days, but mostly we celebrate with you, thanks to your numerous submissions sharing what The ADHD Podcast means to you.
Thank you. We love you. We love this show, and we love doing it for you.
Pete & Nikki
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (04:04) - How did the show start?
- (11:01) - The Office Closet
- (24:14) - From Organizing to ADHD
- (33:31) - The Shocktato Incident
- (47:12) - The First Guest Interview
- (01:04:11) - The Music
It’s NANOWRIMO TIME! Every year, writers of all sorts come together to contribute to the writing madness that is National Novel Writing Month. The goal: write 50,000 words toward a novel in 30 days. Pete has been participating in NaNoWriMo in some fashion or another since 2003 and will once again be picking up the pen on November 1 to write another book. And...
It’s hard. Really hard. Today on the show we thought we’d use this opportunity to talk about Big Audacious Goals (BAGs) … how are they different from work projects? How do you set yourself up for success? How do you prioritize something that’s important to you when you’re the only one who actually cares about it?
The approach is a little different this week. Pete is going under the guidance of Coach Nikki to reframe his experience with goal setting, shame, and what it means to be successful. We hope the demonstration with a real life project that Pete cares about a lot is a good example for how you might tackle your own Big Audacious Goals!
And if you’re interested in joining us for the NaNoWriMo write this year, make sure you join us in Discord and introduce yourself in the #nanowrimo-2021 channel! The channel is in the public area in the community server so you don’t have to be a supporting patron to join.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (04:29) - Nano-nano
- (07:13) - Let's Talk About BAGs.
We’re wrapping up ADHD awareness month with just one more message dedicated to everyone puzzling their way through a brand new diagnosis of ADHD. You know who you are. You now have words to describe what you’ve been living through all these years and you’re eagerly downloading every journal article and book about ADHD. You’re listening to podcasts just like ours and you’re drinking from the proverbial fire hose every chance you get.
Here’s a secret: that actually gets tiring. It gets overwhelming, too. You might not think it right now, but at some point, you’re going to wear out, get distracted, and move on to something else. And the person that’s going to impact first is you.
This week on the show, frequent guest James Ochoa is back with us to help us figure out how to build the team. Who do you need to look to for direct support and what do you need to beware of so that you don’t crash into intervention fatigue? James is author of Focused Forward: Navigating the Storms of Adult ADHD and knows a thing or two about all this.
But what’s better than one Ochoa? TWO OCHOAS! James bring his son Jules back to the show, fresh out of grad school and diligently producing season two of their own ADHD podcast, The Complex. We’ve talked about the complex before on the show and we’re big fans of the first season. We’re thrilled to head back into the building to learn more about the ADHD residents and their confused non-ADHD landlord, just trying to do his best for the building.
Patrons get access to episode one of The Complex in their member podcast feed now. Want to hear it? Join up today!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:03) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (07:02) - Intervention Fatigue
- (10:32) - Navigating the New Diagnosis
- (14:10) - Embracing Mindfulness
- (16:05) - The Shinies Wear Off
- (22:19) - Heading Back to 'The Complex'
Jude Parker Koski has dedicated his career to serving marginalized communities through work in the nonprofit sector since 1996. He has helped youth experiencing homelessness access education, advocated for LGBTQIA+ youth and families, worked to reform foster care policy, and helped preserve urban open space and community gardens.
He’s also a transgender professional, and he joins us today to talk about his experience supporting his communities while living with ADHD.
OK, this isn’t one of our shorter episodes. We get that. And it’s just fine if you want to skip around. But here’s why we thought it was important to have this conversation and share it in full: because Jude’s experience overcoming internal and external questions of gender identity sit right at the intersection of the same journey with his ADHD. What he has learned as he continues to live through both experiences can teach us quite a bit about our own journeys. We hope you find the same and perhaps learn a few new lessons about the fluidity of your own lived experience.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:23) - Support The ADHD Podcast: Be a Part of Independent Podcasting
- (08:23) - Introducing Jude Koski
Like any good superhero, we all have our origin stories. Unlike those same superheroes, we sometimes struggle to save the day if we’re distracted by shiny door knobs.
This week, we’re sharing the stories our listener’s submitted about their diagnoses. Where were you? How old where you? What do you remember about the time and how you were treated? Whether you were six years old and super confused, or 36 years old and … well… super confused, your story matters. And we think that these stories have something teach, too. Just hearing how others were first diagnosed offers each of us a chance to reflect on our own path. If nothing else, certainly, they’re a reminder that we are not alone.
Stories of shiny door knobs this week on The ADHD Podcast.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (05:27) - Help Grow the Show • Become a Patron!
- (07:41) - Where were you when...
Why are some tasks harder than others? Is that task itself suddenly that much more challenging that everything else you're doing? Likely not. What's different? The way our brains are triggering as a result of it.
This week on the show we're pulling apart the things that allow us to make some tasks a bigger deal than others. What is it that makes one task evolve into a monstrous clogging task while others breeze by? We pull apart "brain distortions" that impact our thinking and assess our executive functioning challenges that impact our time and process management.
From there, it's all about attitude — can we really take a step back and approach tasks from the perspective of growth and accomplishment even as we're struggling to grow and accomplish it? We'll see this week!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:27) - Support the Show! Join on Patreon.
- (04:16) - ADHD Awareness Updates!
- (07:13) - Let's talk about tasks...
- (14:27) - Thought Distortions
- (20:39) - But when do you eat the frog tho?
- (23:33) - Emotional Self-Regulation
Coupled with distraction, negative ADHD self-talk is scrawled on the box describing ADHD. If we were in a global competition, we'd gold medal in it. When your ADHD is on lock, that voice can be destructive. This week: how do you manage that little voice when ADHD is having a very good day?
How often do you hear it in your own voice? I’m always late. I can never stop when I need to. I can never get started.
This is a symptom of ADHD and we all have it in some fashion or another. And as this is a conversation that is part of our transitions series, we have to remind you that when you are struggling with making context shifts, you're likely celebrating with negative self language. You're not broken. You're not doing anything wrong. It is... exactly what it is.
This week on the show, Nikki and Pete are talking about this negative self-talk and ADHD and how you can start reprogramming your brain toward self-kindness and compassion.
Oh, and if you have any trouble with that, you should take some advice from Nikki and listen to a little of her favorite music.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:27) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (03:41) - Negative Self-Talk
The last year has been traumatic. For all of us. In some way or another, we've been impacted by COVID and it's upended our lives. We're talking about transitions on the show in this series and coming to terms with the change we've endured in the last 18 months will be important in defining what we want the coming years to look like.
As inspiration, Nikki started with an article by Sari Solden, Imagining Life After the Pandemic: Helping Women with ADHD Move Forward with Purpose. In it, Solden outlines her ADHD-friendly blueprint for re-imagining life in a post-pandemic world.
But she wrote the article just a few months ago and we're already shaken by the changes in the world since. As rapidly as events evolve around is, we're challenged to adapt more quickly than ever. Feeling guilty about the things you didn't get done? Loving that you don't have to say "no" so much these days simply because you've been invited to do so much less? Worried about your rituals and losing what you've gained in the last year?
You're not alone. All that and our own reflections on our collective return to a new world, one in which we exist with a new kind of pandemic, and adapt our behaviors to whatever that may bring us and those we love.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:58) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (03:25) - Transitions
Changing gears is hard with ADHD. Moving from one thing to the next can feel like a chore and the range of emotions is wide. Distracted by too many options and moving too quickly? Stuck in hyperfocus and angry or frustrated that you're being shocked into a transition too soon? That's the point today. Moving from one state to the next, one activity to the next, is enough to throw the world into disarray. But this is the world we live in. So how can we learn to adapt?
Dr. Thomas Brown has some terrific insights when it comes to this subject and we talk about his work a bit as a framing device: Activation, Focus, and Effort. These are the three executive functions that help us understand why our transition skills might be lacking, and giving ourselves a bit more care and feeding in these areas can pay big dividends.
Pete does mention his love of big clocks that set themselves. He has La Crosse Technology Atomic Clocks all over his house.
From planning to setting the right expectations, if you have trouble with transitions, this show is for you.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:52) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (03:36) - Task Switching with ADHD
- (19:27) - Make Task Switching Easier
We're continuing our family series on the podcast with our dear friends Elaine Taylor-Klaus and Diane Dempster of Impact Parents. Together, they have taken their ADHD coaching and evolved their work into an incredible resource for parents raising complex kids.
Independence starts today
The rock-climbing metaphor is striking. Every move toward independence and confidence happens in the smallest of movements, not giant stretches. It is only with the gift of hindsight that we're able to see the great strides we've made. But if that's the case, how do we know what to do here and now?
Through an assessment of two parenting experiences this week from your fair hosts, Diane and Elaine walk us through the things we can celebrate, and the steps we might take to redirect in an effort to implement the tools we can learn to help our complex kids to be independent and successful.
Take a minute to browse Impact Parents and learn more about the work Diane and Elaine are doing for parents.
- (01:07) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
We're continuing our conversations on ADHD and family relationships on The ADHD Podcast with a discussion on teens. "But wait," you might be thinking, "I'm no teen... what do I need with this episode?" Just hang with us a bit.
We're talking to the authors of Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Teen ADHD, Drs. Karen Bluth and Mark Bertin, a book not written about teens and ADHD, but too them. It's one of the rare experiences that asks teens directly and personally to think about their ADHD, their relationship with others and their experience at school and work.
A Teen ADHD Book for All
We've read the book and agree: it's an approachable read, not lingering in the complexities of neuro-diversity, but not shying away from the way the brain works. The main focus, however, is around building a healthy social life, independence, good grades, all in a voice that lets the reader know they're not alone when they get frustrated or feel isolated along the way.
The authors join us on the show to talk about the tools that help on the way, mindfulness and self-compassion. And this is where we come back around to you all, likely adults, likely not expecting to be introduced so favorably to a book on ADHD and teens. Well, as we hope you'll hear today, our guests are presenting a mindfulness and self-compassion practice as a tool for all of us, as "the engine for change" in our lives. We live with ADHD, we're parents of ADHD kids, our ADHD lives contain multitudes. Giving ourselves a compassionate pat on the back can go far in helping us approach the world with confidence and kindness to others.
About Karen Bluth, Ph.D.
Karen Bluth is on faculty in the department of psychiatry and a research fellow at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is founder of the Frank Porter Graham Program on Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Families (https://selfcompassion.web.unc.edu). She is a certified instructor of Mindful Self-Compassion, an internationally acclaimed eight-week course created by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer; and is a codeveloper of Self-Compassion for Educators, a self-compassion program offered through Mindful Schools.
Bluth is also cocreator of the curriculum Making Friends with Yourself: A Mindful Self-Compassion Program for Teens, the teen adaptation of Mindful Self-Compassion; and Embracing Your Life, the young adult adaptation. She is also author of The Self-Compassion Workbook for Teens and The Self-Compassionate Teen. As a mindfulness practitioner for more than forty years, a mindfulness teacher, and an educator with eighteen years of classroom teaching experience, Bluth frequently gives talks, conducts workshops, and teaches classes in self-compassion and mindfulness in educational and community settings. In addition, she trains teachers in Making Friends with Yourself internationally.
About Mark Bertin, MD
Mark Bertin is a developmental pediatrician in private practice in Pleasantville, NY. He is author of How Children Thriveand Mindful Parenting for ADHD, which integrate mindfulness into the rest of evidence-based pediatric care; and a contributing author for Teaching Mindfulness Skills to Kids and Teens. He is on faculty at New York Medical College and The Windward Institute, on advisory boards for Common Sense Media and Reach Out and Read, and on the board of directors for APSARD (the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders). His blog covering topics in child development, mindfulness, and family is available through PsychologyToday.com, Mindful.org, and elsewhere. For information about his online mindfulness classes and other resources, visit https://developmentaldoctor.com.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (04:10) - Support The ADHD Podcast • Become A Patron at patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (07:52) - Introducing Mark Bertin and Karen Bluth
- (15:46) - Starting a conversation about self-compassion
- (20:21) - Parental modeling of negative behavior
- (21:23) - Meditation and Mindfulness
- (25:39) - You are not your ADHD
- (27:52) - How do you expect teens to engage in the material?
- (31:15) - Teen emotions and ADHD
We started our conversation with Dr. Norrine Russell with a plan in mind. We wanted to talk with her about the systems and processes she uses with her clients at Russell Coaching to support frustrated kids and families living with ADHD. She told us she'd be fine with that, but then said, "can I tell you what's on my mind?"
What was on her mind is something on our minds, too. In our search for process perfection, we risk putting up walls for communication those we're trying to support. We're great at systems, too, but time and project management comes with a cost: we risk losing compassion and empathy, hardening ourselves to the things that give us the joy and support to move on.
Thinking Fast and Slow
It's easy, living with ADHD, to imagine that thinking fast is the solution to distraction. If you think fast, after all, you might just finish a project before you're distracted by something else. Thinking slowly, on the other hand, gives your mind and body the time and space required to integrate new views, concepts, and experiences.
The act of thinking about thinking is metacognition, and Dr. Russell gives us a series of terrific examples this week as we think through our experience overcoming stress and anxiety in the process of living with ADHD. And while we're at it, check out this story on CBS Sunday Morning, 'Helping Students Cope with the Pressure to Succeed' on our highest achievers and their ability to manufacture stress and anxiety to a damaging point.
About Dr. Norrine Russell
Dr. Norrine Russell began Russell Coaching in 2009. Her passion for providing support to frustrated students and weary parents is fueled by her own experience of raising two complex children who are both neurologically atypical (her children’s diagnoses include autism, mood disorders, ADHD, giftedness, and learning differences). Dr. Russell knows firsthand the exhaustion parents face as they day in and day out seek solutions for their out-of-the-box children. She is committed to supporting the psychological well-being, education, and family life of all her clients.
Dr. Russell has a Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University with a focus on psychology and education. She consults with and trains at both public and private schools across the Tampa Bay area. She has taught psychology and education courses at Sweet Briar College, University of Minnesota-Morris, and a number of other colleges.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (08:43) - Welcome Dr. Norrine Russell
- (17:05) - Empathy and Compassion
- (27:28) - Thinking Fast and Slow
- (32:59) - Metacognition
- (45:55) - Manufacturing anxiety and stress
Today on the show we're talking to the kids.
Ok, not all the kids. We're starting with our kids, because they're ours, they live with ADHD, and they're pretty astute humans.
There are some things they want the rest of us to know about their experience with ADHD that might just surprise you.
What the Kids can Teach about ADHD
There are a few things that surprised us as we embarked on this journey to interview our kids about their experience with ADHD. First, they're usually ahead of us in their thinking. They've already done their own research, they understand modeling behavior and have started to pick up tips and tricks by simply observing other kids who have their skills on lock, and they aren't afraid to try new things.
Like most of us, they don't appreciate being criticized, and they don't always understand the scrutiny.
Most important, they can see when they're falling behind and they — again, like the rest of us — are frustrated.
We talk about the study skills and habits that the kids most appreciate, and the support systems they prefer when trying to be productive at home. We share their enthusiasm for the systems and opportunities set up by their teachers and support staff at school, and how their social groups see their ADHD. Finally, we have a few words on medication to report.
The bottom line, from the kids: "I wish people would be more understanding about my movement," and "Be gentle. I know how my brain works. I don't need you to tell me anymore. Just give me a little time to catch up."
We did a little research after this exploration with the kids and found a stunning parallel of reports from others around ADHD communities. There seems to be no time better than right in the middle of our family series to sit back and listen.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:08) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (04:04) - What the Kids Want You to Know
Before we went on our annual July break, we posted a question to you: What do you do to keep your family running? Living with ADHD inside the complex organism that is your family, we wanted to know what kinds of systems you have in place to keep the trains on time as best you can, together.
ADHD Family Solutions
You answered! We grouped responses in four broad categories: Alarms, Planning, Cleaning, and Meal Planning, and today on the show we have a review! Some of live by alarms and use the snooze surgically. Some of you call out Getting Started with The Fly Lady and her shiny kitchen sink approach to contagious cleanliness. You shout out to Dana K. White from A Slob Comes Clean for her honest approach to organizing. You even give Pete a chance to shout out his new vacuum (it's the Shark upright, FYI).
What we do know is that you all are getting it done with ADHD and your families, and that we all have a long path to walk to feel like we're truly on top of things. So this week we raise a glass to all those strategies that help us feel like we're moving just a little bit closer to the goal every day.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:00) - Support the show • Get the new Pete Podcast Coming Soon!
- (05:01) - What do you do to keep your family running?
- (05:38) - Alarms
- (14:52) - Planning and Routines
- (28:22) - Meals
As we kick off our twenty-third season of Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast, we're looking at families. These are some of the closest relationships we have in our lives — we live with them, eat with them, play with them, sleep with them — but how does ADHD contribute to our family relationships?
This week, Dr. Michelle Frank returns to introduce us to The Gottman Method. According to the website of the originators of the method, John and Julie Gottman, here's what we know about The Gottman Method:
The Gottman Method is an approach to couples therapy that includes a thorough assessment of the couple’s relationship and integrates research-based interventions based on the Sound Relationship House Theory. The goals of Gottman Method Couples Therapy are to disarm conflicting verbal communication; increase intimacy, respect, and affection; remove barriers that create a feeling of stagnancy; and create a heightened sense of empathy and understanding within the context of the relationship.
When we spoke to Dr. Frank about couples and ADHD, she was ready to jump right in — she's a respected specialist in using Gottman Method Couples' Therapy and sees it as one path that happens to be uniquely suited to improving communication between partners who have some mix of ADHD between them.
Building our Sound House
Dr. Frank introduces us to The Sound House theory and we meet the Four Horsemen (Criticism, Contempt, Defensiveness, and Stonewalling). In this context, we look at what allows ADHD to throw our relationships out of balance and how to find realignment along the way.
About Dr. Michelle Frank
Dr. Frank is a clinical psychologist specializing in providing diagnostic and treatment services to individuals with ADHD. Her work with clients is all about finding strengths-based approaches to learning how to live with ADHD. She works with college students, adults, and families and the book she co-authored with Sari Solden — A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD: Embrace Neurodiversity, Live Boldly, and Break Through Barriers — was released last summer. Learn more about Dr. Frank.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:22) - Support the Show! • Patreon.com/theahdhpodcast
- (08:49) - What is the Gottman Method?
- (17:28) - The Sound Relationship House Theory
- (24:00) - The Four Horsemen
- (33:06) - ADHD is Out of Balance
- (42:50) - Balancing Planning in the Mixed ADHD Relationship
- (52:51) - Finding a Therapist the Works with ADHD
It’s the end of the road ... for this season. And to celebrate we’re taking a walk down memory lane for the shows that made the most impact on us, the guests that gave of their time to our community, and of course: Shocktato.
Links & Notes
- The Original Livestream Shocktato Incident. Let me just say this about that: I think my Shocktato is somehow damaged. There is no way a toy like this should be overclocked like it is. It made my back sweat… and back sweat is never child’s play.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:59) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (03:53) - A Bit on Seasons
- (07:08) - The Review!
Friendships are already a challenge with ADHD. What happens when you're also living with social anxiety and rejection sensitivity? We pull apart a few important lessons on the show this week, not the least of which is the following: in all likelihood, people like you more than you think they do. Is that hard to hear? Then you need to listen to this week's show.
Nikki brings an exercise and resource to help you breakdown the RSD we live with, and how to deal with the disappointment that comes when we make ourselves vulnerable to close friendships. Pete helps to catalog those friendships thanks to the work of a new book by Robin Dunbar. Check out the infographic here and listen in for more.
Links & Notes
- 5 Ways to Deal with Disappointment — Dr. Radha Modgil
- Friends: Understanding the Power of Our Most Important Relationships — by Robin Dunbar
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:13) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (05:25) - The Dunbar Friendship Circle
- (10:11) - More is not always better
- (14:12) - The Social Anxiety Disorder Flag
- (20:17) - Learning about Friendships & Kids
- (26:24) - Dealing with Rejection
- (33:05) - A digression on Fun
Is it common to struggle to develop friendships with ADHD? Let's just say, if you're struggling yourself, you're in good company. Struggles to manage time for friendships, develop close, meaningful ties, are made all the more difficult thanks to the bouquet of ADHD factors.
This week on the show we’re thrilled to welcome back the fantastic Melissa Orlov. She’s a leading expert in how ADHD affects relationships. On top of that, she’s an award-winning author of books including The ADHD Effect on Marriage, and The Couple's Guide to Thriving with ADHD. She’s founder of ADHD & Marriage where she writes regularly alongside a cast of incredible contributors and hosts a large community of adults learning about ADHD in their relationships.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:54) - Support the Show • Become a Patron
- (02:30) - Friendship and ADHD with Melissa Orlov
- (05:56) - Do you tell your friends about your ADHD?
- (11:34) - The Value of Friendships
- (14:46) - ADHD and Memory
- (19:53) - Dating
- (23:42) - Stories we tell ourselves
- (31:00) - Community Questions
We met Sonal Singh as she was managing the virtual green room and serving as host for our session at last year’s CHADD International Conference on ADHD. Our paths had never crossed, but as we started chatting we realized just how fascinating her path had been.
She is India’s first certified ADHD coach. We think this is fascinating. What would you do if you were in her shoes, and you had the opportunity to teach all those in your sphere about neurodivergence and executive function and the entire spectrum of ADHD?
Of course, Sonal is doing much of her work with an International audience from her home in Delhi and we certainly don’t want to set her up as an ADHD savior for an entire country! But, we think hearing of her experience in this place and time can give us an interesting insight into the development of ADHD awareness as a culture, and that’s worth discussing on the show next week.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:02) - Introducing Sonal Singh
- (07:14) - ADHD Infrastructure and Support
- (13:49) - Navigating the Journey of ADHD Awareness
- (18:24) - Getting Therapeutic Support
- (21:13) - Training to Talk the Talk
- (22:24) - How do we measure changing perceptions?
- (26:22) - How does culture impact coaching?
- (33:00) - Demand to become coaches?
Did you know focus requires focus? Yes, it sounds a touch nonsensical, but when you're living with ADHD, the act of focusing has a tendency to become unhinged. And unhinged focus can damage what you're otherwise out to find: productivity.
This week on the show we're talking all about focus, the state of mind appropriate for best focus, and how you can take care of your mind and body so that when you need to find focus, it's there.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:24) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (06:18) - Focus on Focus
Looking for focus? Like music? Have trouble focusing WITH music? We might just be able to help you out this week.
Focus@Will is a service offering focus music to help you tune in to what you’re doing so that you can get it done. Will Henshall is the musician and inventor behind the service and joins us today to talk about the tool, the technology, and how it just might be your next secret weapon in your war on distraction.
What’s different about the music? What makes it so good for focus? Will tells all this week with examples from channels across the site that help a wide range of brains to raise the noise floor and get working. We talk about entrainment, and why it can be both a useful tool for some people, and an even bigger distraction for others. Plus, we dive into a bit of 90’s music history to hear about Will’s past life as a founding musician behind Londonbeat.
About Will Henshall
Will Henshall is a Los Angeles based tech entrepreneur, inventor and music producer. He was the founding member and main writer in the UK pop soul band Londonbeat. Their massive early 90s hit ‘I’ve Been Thinking About You’ reached #1 in the Billboard chart and was the top selling single in all major territories and won him BMI/PRS songwriter of the year. In the mid 90s, he founded San Francisco-based audio tech company Rocket Network. The “DigiDelivery” media transfer system, now part of ProTools 12 Cloud collaboration, is a standard tool used everyday in pro audio production for TV, movies and music. He sold the company to Avid in 2003. His most recent start up is focus@will, a science driven instrumental music streaming service (2m users) that helps people at work and study reduce distractions and be more productive. He holds five patents, and has a new one in on the way.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:38) - Support The ADHD Podcast • Become a Patron!
- (02:02) - Introducing Will Henshall and Focus@Will
- (02:36) - A little bit about Londonbeat
- (07:26) - Will's background in tech and ADHD
- (16:21) - The Distractability Index
- (17:06) - A digression on Ned Hallowell
- (18:38) - Meanwhile... back to the distractibility index...
- (19:46) - Habituation and the Noise Floor
- (24:10) - The technology
- (30:26) - Does entrainment work?
- (38:10) - The Google Glass connection
What does it mean to have? We’re not just talking about material possessions here, but how do you relate to having anything? Food? Space? Time? Focus? Productivity? Living with ADHD, we often live in a position of lack, of not having enough, of not being able to do enough, of scarcity. But we don’t have to live that way, and this week’s guest is going to tell us why.
Author Victoria Castle joins us this week to talk about her book, ‘The Trance of Scarcity’. She helps us understand the trap of scarcity and the transformation to abundance. Even more, she helps us revisit our own bodies and our lived experience. We talk about what we aspire to with our ADHD, and how we can redraw that map to create the role models that serve us.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:56) - Introducing Victoria Castle
- (03:48) - What is the Trance of Scarcity?
- (14:40) - Somatics
- (25:28) - How does loneliness magnify the Trance
- (35:37) - Remapping our Aspirations
This week, Brittany Smith joins us to talk about technology and how it fuels productivity. We talk about battling the fear that comes from new tech tools, the overwhelm from that feeling of too much technology, and how you can actually find the spark of motivation hiding in an examination of the things that de-motivate you about your tools the most!
Brittany Smith is an ADHD, Productivity, and Technology coach in Portland, Oregon. She has her MS in Cognitive Neuroscience and uses the latest tools and her love of technology to help her clients get more done, with less stress.
This week, Brittany joins us to talk about technology and how it fuels productivity. We talk about battling the fear that comes from new tech tools, the overwhelm from that feeling of too much technology, and how you can actually find the spark of motivation hiding in an examination of the things that de-motivate you about your tools the most!
Links & Notes
- Brittany Smith at Devise & Conquer Consulting
- Obsidian: A second brain, for you, forever
- DevonThink from DevonTechnologies
- Data Privacy Day at Apple: Improving Transparency and Empowering Users
- What is App Tracking Transparency and how do you block app tracking?
- Apple Shortcuts User Guide
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:01) - Support The Show • Become a Patron!
- (02:24) - Introducing Brittany Smith
- (06:15) - Falling in Love...
- (17:23) - Friction
- (18:51) - Finding Motivation through Technology
- (21:07) - Automating Brittany with Shortcuts
- (23:46) - Brittany's Planning Process
- (26:14) - Information Management
- (31:59) - Less is More
- (33:32) - Automation
- (39:32) - What have you given up? What are you most excited about?
It's time to get into the weeds! Plan your day like a star with a few simple guides to keep in the back of your mind. Where do you start? First things first... don't skip!
From there, it’s a piece of cake! This week on the show we’re reviewing the transition from weekly planning to daily planning; how do you take those big rocks and provide just enough detail in your time management so you’re able to get things done? Plus, we review our own individual processes for daily planning and look forward to hearing more from you!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:12) - Support the show • Become a Patron!
- (02:37) - What to Avoid when Planning Your Day!
Planning is a real delight. It’s one of the most fun things I can do with my precious time! When I sit down to plan, the only thing I really want to plan, is the next session of planning, which can’t come soon enough.
... said no one with ADHD. Ever.
Yeah, we know. Sitting down to plan your week is hard, and if you’ve ever been burned by missing your own plan, you might not find a whole lot of value in it. This week on the show, we’re going to make the case that maybe, just maybe, you’re falling into one of three perilous traps that have impeded your successful efforts to plan. If you can get your hands around these three, you’re off to the races!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:30) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (04:00) - What does it mean to be productive?
- (07:02) - Number 1: Not having a fixed time to plan your week
- (10:56) - Number 2: Your planning session is too long
- (12:46) - Number 3: You're doing the work while you're planning
- (17:08) - GPS Review
You've heard us talk about the value of accountability partners before, but what does that relationship look like? What do you ask of one another, and what can you expect?
As you’ll hear, we’re not big fans of the word “accountability.” If you’re turned off by the word, if you find it sounds a dash too much like you’re being punished or investigated, you’re not alone. In fact, maybe that’s what has been keeping you from exploring this valuable practice! We hope you love our spin on it, and that maybe after the show this week, you’ll give it a shot yourself. From finding someone you can trust, someone who can relate to your habits and adjust to your expectations, to finding someone for whom you can contribute equally, this week we’re all about building accountability relationships that work!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:08) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (03:30) - Productivity Stuff
- (04:40) - We don't love "Accountability"
- (05:50) - Introducing the PP
- (08:47) - The Benefits of a PP
- (13:38) - Cato: The Ultimate PP
- (16:27) - Finding a relationship focused on movement
- (19:08) - Failure is a State, not a Judgment
- (21:27) - Setting Up for Success
We’re wrapping up our series on strategies from our community for living our lives with ADHD that work... most of the time! This week, we’re talking all about organizing, alarms, and acceptance!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:09) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (02:52) - General Organization
- (14:19) - Medication Management
- (17:22) - Acceptance
We’re back and cranking through more incredible strategies from our community for living our lives with ADHD. This week, we’re talking all about finding focus and alarm tricks!
Links & Notes
- Notability: Fall in love with note taking (iOS, iPadOS, macOS)
- DAKboard: Customizable display for photos, calendar, news, weather and more! Update: Pete undersold this. Turns out they actually sell complete units that you don’t have to build your old computer to use! Incredibly cool tool and reasonable pricing!
- Freaky Alarm
- Time Timer Applications
- Share your Apple Watch Face with others
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:12) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (05:14) - ADHD Strategies that work ... most of the time
- (09:24) - Focus
- (24:18) - Alarm Tricks
We learned so much from you all in our last series that we’re keeping the party going! This week, and for the next few episodes, we’re sharing your submissions for unique AHD strategies that work ... MOST of the time. We all know that not every strategy works forever, but if we can learn a few from one another to get us over the next challenge, so much the better!
This week, listener submissions to help you get started on projects and tackle task management!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:34) - Support the show • Become a Patron!
- (03:53) - Unique ADHD Strategies!
Even after talking about these issues for more than a decade, we’re still incredibly moved by stories of our community members adapting to the world around them with ADHD in tow. This series is dedicated to them — and all of you — as we explore each unique journey for lessons that might inform our own.
Our series continues with Kathleen’s story and her effort to build Getting Things Done® and the ever-evolving catalog of life goals and objectives into her digital tool of choice: Todoist. But it’s not just a story about Todoist, it’s a morality play about going all-in on a tool before you abandon it. Great lessons from a terrific listener this week!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:24) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (05:48) - Kathleen
Even after talking about these issues for more than a decade, we’re still incredibly moved by stories of our community members adapting to the world around them with ADHD in tow. This series is dedicated to them — and all of you — as we explore each unique journey for lessons that might inform our own.
Our series continues with stories from two adult students and a coach who is taking joy to new levels!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:27) - Suppor the Show: Become a Patron!
- (03:51) - Ellie
- (19:32) - Caryn
- (35:27) - Leslie
Even after talking about these issues for more than a decade, we’re still incredibly moved by stories of our community members adapting to the world around them with ADHD in tow. This series is dedicated to them — and all of you — as we explore each unique journey for lessons that might inform our own.
Our series continues with stories from parents, writers, and engineers, each living and learning through their experience with ADHD.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (05:18) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (06:38) - Melissa
- (13:32) - Marcos
- (31:04) - Jason
- (37:27) - Jay
We’re kicking off a series on the show we’re calling “Living with ADHD,” a set of episodes in which we talk to people about their journey ー careers, challenges, surprises, and terrific a-ha moments — and try to learn a bit about our own experiences as we look to the experiences of others. Today on the show, a valued community member shares her own story, waking up to ADHD and becoming an advocate from her position in her medical clinic.
Dr. Kalaki Clarke joins us to talk about her journey with ADHD to becoming a physician, her work as an advocate for ADHDers everywher, and her side gig as an award-winning in-car singer!
Links & Notes
- Watch “Here to Say” — 2018 winner of the ADHD Viewers Choice Award promoting ADHD Awareness
- Life After Plans
- Follow @this_md_kalaki on Instagram
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:07) - Support the show • Become a Patron!
- (05:13) - Introducing Dr. Kalaki Clarke
- (06:14) - 2018 ADHD Viewer's Choice Award
- (17:22) - Changing Post-Diagnosis in the Hospital
- (24:30) - Skipping Judgment
- (27:38) - ADHD Advocacy
- (31:50) - The ADHD/Athsma Parallel
- (41:18) - Physicians with ADHD
- (46:14) - Wrapping up
ADHD is part of us. You’ll hear a lot of people talking about how they can help you “fix” your ADHD but they always seem to forget that first part. We’ve learned over the last few weeks about the nature of acceptance, of embracing the parts of us that are hard and approaching them with curiosity and courage. What happens when you fully integrate all of ADHD — challenges and blessings — into your identity? What can you learn about yourself and the way you face the challenges ahead?
This week on the show, a meditation on fault, blame, and what it really means to fix ADHD.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:43) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (05:55) - You do not need to be fixed.
- (09:20) - The ADHD House of Cards
- (14:29) - The Experts on Acceptance
You might have heard of the stages of denial. But have you heard of the stages of acceptance? Dr. Dodge is back with us this week to share the similarities and differences between the two models and illuminate just how powerful it can be when discussing our relationship to ADHD.
Links & Notes
- Subscribe to The Change Paradox with Dodge Rea
- The Four Stages of Acceptance — Marty Cooper, MFT
- Listen to Nikki Kinzer and The ADHD Paradox on The Change Paradox with Dodge Rea
- Listen to Ted Klontz and Facing our Hardest Change Softly on The Change Paradox with Dodge Rea
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:00) - Support the ADHD Podcast on Patreon
- (03:14) - Introducing Dr. Dodge Rea
- (04:18) - Acceptance
- (07:04) - A bit about the paradox of change
- (15:07) - Stage 1: Denial
- (17:18) - Stage 2: Recognition
- (29:02) - Stage 3: Resignation
- (38:42) - Stage 4: Acceptance
Divorce is one of the greatest challenges we face. Even the best of divorces brings an emotional cost. Living with ADHD, the costs that come from disorganization and distraction can be so much higher.
Beyond the stress of disolving your relationship, embarking on a journey into the legal system brings with it a raft of uncertainty and doubt — a system that cares very little about your ADHD. This week on the show, Tampa-based divorce attorney Seth Nelson joins us to help us understand where our ADHD will be most pressured, and where a great law firm can help you pull your weight.
About Seth Nelson
At Nelson Koster, the motto is “Helping good people through difficult times.” This is Mr. Nelson’s aim in every case, though how he works to achieve it varies greatly with each family’s unique situation.
From an early age, he has always wanted to help people. After law school he found that he could do the greatest good by helping people through one of the most difficult times of their lives. Being a divorcee himself, as well as a father, he understands what you’re going through.
Mr. Nelson focuses on Florida divorce law, Florida family law, and Florida family law mediation. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida’s College of Law. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable John C. Godbold, Senior Circuit Judge for the United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Returning home to Tampa, he then worked for other Florida law firms before establishing his own practice in South Tampa. Since 2008, he has been the sole shareholder of Nelson Koster.
Links & Notes
- Nelson Koster Family Law and Mediation
- How to Split a Toaster: A divorce podcast about saving your relationships
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:18) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (03:48) - Introducing Seth Nelson
- (08:59) - Conscious Uncoupling?
- (12:41) - Where does the legal process challenge ADHD?
- (15:04) - How does the attorney keep track of detail?
- (18:00) - What happens if you're behind on your taxes when you divorce?
- (20:46) - The costs of a divorce
- (23:17) - The trial experience
- (25:58) - Nikki's Pop Quiz
- (33:26) - Divorce in an abusive relationship
- (40:03) - How do you know if you're hiring a good lawyer?
- (46:22) - The bounds of family law
Today, we take a stroll down anxiety lane to talk about how it relates to ADHD and how you might find calm after an anxiety storm.
The relationship between ADHD and anxiety is, in a word, tight. If you’re living with ADHD there is a significant chance you’re living with anxiety, too, even if you’re not genetically predisposed to the later. The research shows that what you need to do to address each condition depends on that very special pairing of your unique circumstances.
Today, we review how the two conditions impact one another, how we live with anxiety in our own lives, and how we can step back, take stock, and find calm.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:50) - Support the show • Become a Patron!
- (07:52) - GPS: Guided Planning Sessions
- (09:42) - Our old friend, Anxiety
"Move on,” you say to yourself. And yet, you perseverate. You left work incomplete, you let someone down, you missed a deadline… you’re feeling the burden of those losses and yet, the world continues to spin. How do you maintain composure enough to be able to say with confidence that it’s time to move on, move forward, tackle a new challenge tomorrow and free your mind from the losses of today?
Today we’re talking about perseveration: "repetitive and continuous behavior, speech or thought that occurs due to changes in cognitive skills such as memory, attention, and mental flexibility.” While perseveration is often connected to brain injury, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, or aphasia, it has a common connection to, you guessed it, attention.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:33) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (04:33) - Move On.
New season, new questions! It’s been too long since we took on your fantastic submissions so we’re clearing the deck this New Year with discussion on ADHD paradoxes, health, ableism, and so much more.
Along the way, head over to The Theme System to see what Myke Hurley and CGP Grey have cooked up with the release of their second edition Theme Journal!
- Can margin exist with hyperfocus?
- Can you be kind to yourself AND challenge yourself to be better?
- Are you keeping resolutions this year, or clearing out any tolerations? (The 2021 Purge!)
- How do you explain executive functioning to someone with no experience with it?
- What do you look for in an accountability partner?
- Hey Pete... how you feeling?
Thank you to everyone who submitted questions — keep ‘em coming!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:31) - Support the show • Become a Patron!
- (05:12) - Margin vs Hyperfocus?
- (11:00) - Can you be kind AND challenge yourself at the same time?
- (17:10) - Do you have any resolutions or tolerations to take care of in 2021?
- (25:25) - Ableism?
- (32:35) - Eplaining Executive Functioning
- (41:29) - What to look for in an accountability partner?
- (48:04) - How are you feeling, Pete?
This week, we’re taking a bit of time to reflect. No, 2020 hasn’t been the best year in recent memory. But does that mean we didn’t learn, grow, and change? Of course we did! Today, we talk about it.
We’re sharing insights from clients and community members, guests on the show and more. Plus we have a list of tools that might just come in handy which we’ve adopted this year and have led to a little change in their own right.
Links & Notes
- YouNeedABudget
- Mission Forward
- The Change Paradox
- How to Split a Toaster
- What's That Smell Season 5(!)
- Obsidian
- Roam Research
- GoodLinks
- Affinity Design Tools from Serif
- Coda.io
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:04) - Support the Show • Become A Patron!
- (02:24) - 2021 Livestream Recording Time Change
- (04:30) - The 2020 Reflection
We’re not always the friendliest narrators of our own lives. Sure, everyone makes mistakes. Everyone is late to a meeting or call from time to time. Everyone has rough days. But if you’re living with ADHD, there’s a good chance you’ve taken the practice of celebrating your perceived failures to an art form.
This week on the show, thanks to the inspiration of the work of Susan David and her writing in and around emotional agility, we’re talking all about ADHD and self-compassion. If we’re adept at speaking to ourselves with bile, how will we learn, change, and grow? It turns out, there are steps we can take… and we’re going to try and take a few of them today.
Links & Notes
- ‘The Gift and Power of Emotional Courage’ – TEDTalk by Dr. Susan David
- SusanDavid.com
- Give Me That Panic Attack with Pete Wright — Pete’s guest spot on Systematic with Brett Trpstra
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:28) - Pete's Guest Bit on Systematic
- (02:10) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (05:43) - ADHD and Self-Compassion Inspired by Susan David
You know what it takes to break down tasks… we talk about that all the time. But what happens when you investigate the underlying ADHD challenge associated with it? You become an ADHD super-sleuth!
To do it, you have to be crafty. You have to sneak up on the symptoms of your ADHD experience and recognize them for what they are. Then you have to test, and test again, changing your behavior bit by bit until you recognize that somewhere buried in your frustration and your personal sense of weakness… there is actually strength!
Plus, Pete gets the chance to talk about Underpants Gnomes. How can you miss that?
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:50) - Check out Nikki on The Change Paradox
- (03:18) - Skunkface
- (07:49) - Listener Question: Striking out as an Entrepreneur?
- (14:58) - Breaking Down an ADHD Challenge
- (23:08) - Underpants Gnomes
- (28:06) - Discerning the "Why"
Dr. Sharon Saline has focused her work on ADHD, anxiety, learning differences and mental health challenges and their impact on school and family dynamics for over 30 years. She’s channeled this experience and expertise into her book, What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life. She recently published The ADHD Solution Deck: 50 Strategies to Help Kids Learn, Reduce Stress & Improve Family Connections.
As we move into the winter months, the wake of the pandemic always just ahead of us, Dr. Saline is here to talk about ADHD Parenting under stress, particularly when COVID comes home.
Links & Notes
- Dr. Sharon Saline
- What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life by Dr. Sharon Saline and Dr. Laura Markham
- The ADHD Solution Deck: 50 Strategies to Help Kids Learn, Reduce Stress & Improve Family Connections by Dr. Sharon Saline
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:00) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (01:53) - Introducing Dr. Sharon Saline
- (07:50) - Distracted Adaptation
- (17:32) - The Anxiety Whack-a-Mole
- (29:48) - The 50 Solutions
We all let things slide. But procrastination with ADHD can lead to a set of behaviors that are tough to reset. This week on the show, ADHD coach Lynne Edris joins us to talk about her work with clients to do just that.
Lynne is a productivity and ADHD coach and co-host of the award-winning ADHD Support Talk podcast. Lynne specializes in helping professionals struggling to reach their potential due to challenges with disorganization, procrastination, poor time-management, weak follow-through, and having too much on their plates. She’s a fantastic resource and we’re thrilled she’s joined us this week to help!
Links & Notes
- CoachingADDvantages.com
- Subscribe to ADHD Support Talk Podcast
- Follow Lynne on Facebook
- Connect with Lynne on Twitter
- Connect with Lynne on LinkedIn
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:37) - Support The ADHD Podcast • Become a Patron!
- (02:50) - Introducing Lynne Edris
- (04:55) - Procrastination, burnout, and rest
- (08:02) - Procrastination at work
- (16:08) - Last-Minute Propulsion
- (25:34) - Our hero myths are lies
We’re back from The 2020 Virtual International Conference on ADHD and this year, we’re not just back as attendees, but as presenters. The big message of the conference was about taking care of your bod, so we’ve got some takeaways that you can use to get inspired to get moving and not feeling overwhelmed in the process.
The research is in, and has been for some time: moving your body moves the chemicals in your brain and serves as a key anchor in your overall ADHD intervention. This, plus a healthy relationship with sleep and diet, form the foundation to treatment and can impact the way your body reacts to stimulation, medication, and so much more. Conference keynote speaker Dr. John Ratey’s book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain offers some exceptional detail for those interested.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:48) - Support the Show • Become a Supporting Member
- (03:02) - The Conference Online
- (11:46) - Conference Lessons
We’re on the edge around these parts, pressured by the environment, the overwhelming weight of politics in the US, and all the associated symptoms that come with it.
Pete’s been pretty open about his brand of COVD experience. He thought it was over only to discover last week that there are new, surprise issues cropping up and what the medical team is asking of him has sparked some inescapable ADHD behaviors leading to one of the darker weekends of recovery. What happens when your ADHD symptoms run into your healthcare requirements and spark panic? That’s this week on The ADHD Podcast with a personal story from Pete.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★It's not easy being missed, especially when you know you're not quite relating to the world the same way your peers are. For Tara Koch, like so many in our community, the ADHD diagnosis came decades later, childhood long gone. What came with her diagnosis was an open door to learning about herself, her kids, and even set her course for a new career.
This week, ADHD coach Tara Koch joins us to talk about her experience growing up missing the ADHD diagnosis, and how ADHD has impacted her life since.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:48) - Support the Show – Become a Patron!
- (01:55) - Introducing Tara Koch
- (17:23) - The ADHD Mom Perspective
- (28:29) - The Diagnosis
- (30:59) - Coaching
Dr. Michelle Frank is a clinical psychologist specializing in providing diagnostic and treatment services to individuals with ADHD. She joins us today to talk about inattentive ADHD and the struggles that come along by way of misdiagnosis.
Nikki shares the story of her own family’s struggle with getting an inattentive diagnosis and Michelle walks us through the difference between inattentive and predominately hyperactive types to give us a sense of how and why inattentive ADHD gets missed. In addition to coming away with a clearer picture of why the inattentive type is missed so often, Michelle offers us a set of questions to ask of ourselves, our children, and their teachers and caregivers that will help us uncover the hidden signals of inattentive ADHD.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Follow Michelle on Instagram
- A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD: Embrace Neurodiversity, Live Boldly, and Break Through Barriers by Michelle Frank and Sari Solden — Amazon.com
- About Dr. Michelle Frank
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:53) - Support the show • Become a Patron!
- (03:06) - Introducing Dr. Michelle Frank
- (11:04) - What is inattentive ADHD?
- (17:06) - Questions for your child
- (22:57) - What if it's ADHD and not actually anxiety?
- (26:14) - What is it about Middle School??
- (29:30) - How important is a formal diagnosis?
- (31:28) - Coasting on old skills
Dr. Marilyn Paul is a coach and organizational change consultant. She joins us today to talk about how to break the addiction to productivity without shame, free to own our ADHD brains, and get things done our way.
Her mission is to support people to learn from and find value in their difficult experiences. She’s been through her own challenges with ADHD over the years, translating them in the best-selling book, It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys. Her second book, An Oasis in Time: How a Day of Rest Can Save Your Life, offers us fodder for a conversation on the how the ADHD brain can escape the inescapable: the cycle of shame that comes from trying to live up to impossible productivity standards, while not feeling able to get anything done.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:52) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (01:54) - Introducing Dr. Marilyn Paul
We’re stressed! Clients are stressed. Kids are stressed. We’re all stressed. Why? Because when you’re living with ADHD, you’re getting more negative messages thrown at you like so many darts than those without. And because we set such high expectations for ourselves, those negative messages leave us feeling so much more deflated!
This week on the show, we’re talking all about the expectations we set for ourselves that cause us nothing but stress, and how we can work toward emotional freedom in spite of our ADHD symptoms!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:41) - Support the Show • Become a Member!
- (08:16) - Why ADHDers Set High Expectations
- (12:25) - The Salve for Ill Intentions
- (18:18) - Contaigion
- (20:46) - Setting Realistic Expectations
Dr. Russell Barkley has been something of a firebrand in the ADHD community for over four decades. With twenty-five books — 43 separate editions — and his name behind numerous assessment scales and journal articles, he has established a career of education and advocacy in the field second to none. Today, Dr. Barkley joins us on the ADHD podcast.
He’s here, ostensibly, to tell us all about his new book — 12 Principles for Raising a Child with ADHD — but the conversation quickly turns toward advocacy, the tangible dangers of ADHD as a disorder, and the lives lost because too many dismiss it. We talk about the role of genetics and parenting and the role of each in ADHD. We hope you join us today; it’s an incredible honor for us to have Dr. Barkley on the show and are grateful to be able to share it with you all.
Bonus! His team was kind enough to offer us a 25% discount on the new book! Click here to get it now!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:48) - Support the show: Become a Patron
- (02:02) - Introducing Dr. Russell Barkley
- (06:26) - The First Principle: Self-Regulation Deficit Disorder
- (09:46) - Seven things at risk with ADHD
- (14:05) - How do you talk to kids about a new diagnosis?
- (22:52) - A Legacy of ADHD Advocacy
- (27:32) - Signals and Myths of ADHD
- (37:20) - The things we can control
- (40:41) - The ADHD Pandemic and Parenthood
- (47:08) - ADHD Across the Lifespan
- (53:58) - Get the Book!
They may have pivoted to parents, but Diane Dempster and Elaine Taylor-Klaus still bring every bit of their Impact! Today they join us to talk about parenting complex kids in a complex era along with Elaine’s new book, The Essential Guide to Raising Complex Kids with ADHD, Anxiety, and More.
Along the way, they share incredible insights on the parent-child relationship. Ensuring that you’re on your kiddo’s team, consequences and punishments, owning and transferring ownership of responsibilities, growing up ... it’s all on the table this week with Diane and Elaine, plus they share the story behind their pivot from ImpactADHD to ImpactParents!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:21) - Support the show — Become a Patron!
- (02:40) - Follow-up
- (09:12) - Welcome Elaine and Diane!
- (11:01) - Rebranding for Complex Kids
- (16:40) - Shifting Life's Responsibilities
- (24:49) - About the Book
- (27:23) - Executive Age and Releasing Control
- (33:51) - Consequences vs. Punishment
- (39:47) - Collaboration
If you’re a well-practiced student, you probably have your own system and set of practices for doing that job. Taking notes, studying, preparing projects, taking exams ... you know what works for you, right?
It turns out, it’s pretty easy to develop a false sense of security in our own systems to the point that they might not actually be helping you do the real work of being a student. This week on the show, we offer the timeline for effective study habits — originated at the University of Arkansas — a simple, straight-forward process to help you learn to study effectively and deliver the results you want.
Links & Notes
Notetaking
I know, these are both iPad Pro focused, but I encourage you to watch them for process, not technology, if you’re thinking about how to engage in material.
- 🎥 Samuel Suresh: “How I Take Notes with My iPad Pro in Lectures”
- 🎥 Ali Abdaal: “How I take notes on my iPad Pro in medical school”
Zettlecasten
If you’re not on the market for a new note-taking system, do not click on these links. There be monsters! If you’re embarking on any sort of research — and you have fun with this kind of stuff — you might just find Zettlekasten and some of the software tools that enable it really exciting.
- 🎥 Shu Omi: “Zettlekasten Note-taking Method: Simply Explained”
- 🎥 Shu Omi: “How to take Smart Notes in Roam Research”
- 🎥 Curtis McHale: “Getting Started with a Zettlecasten System”
- 🎥 Curtis McHale: “What Makes a Good Zettlekasten Note”
- 👨💻 Roam Research
- 👨💻 Obsidian
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:49) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (03:36) - The Timeline for Effective Study Habits
- (05:28) - Before Class
- (08:52) - During Class
- (11:25) - One Note-taking Strategy: Zettlekasten
- (16:10) - During Class... some more
- (19:58) - After Class
- (22:58) - The Exam
You’re heading back to school. You’ve got your books. You’ve got your syllabus. You’ve got your pencils and notebooks. And you’re even feeling great about your class schedule. You’ve got this. Only one question remains. When are you going to do the work?
Turns out, that’s a pretty big question and one you are perfectly capable of answering! This week on the show we’re talking all about time and tasks; how do you organize not only the due dates of your assignments and test schedule, but how do you manage the time you have to put in to do the actual work, writing, and studying of being a successful student?
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:42) - Support the Show: Become a Patron!
- (03:22) - Organizing Time and Tasks as a Student
- (08:43) - Check your Email
- (09:50) - Planning Tools
- (10:38) - Calendars
- (12:40) - Beware errors in repeating events!
- (13:32) - Managing due dates AND work time!
- (17:28) - Task Management
- (20:00) - Break it down until it's easy
- (21:48) - The Ideal Weekly Calendar
- (24:16) - Tasks AND Subtasks
Make no bones about it: there is nothing normal about our back-to-school experience this year. Whether you’re heading to college on campus or distance, you and your ADHD are no doubt impacted.
We have four strategies for you this week, ranging from organization to time management, and even a little hint of wellness from the avoid-news-of-the-world-on-fire camp. Whatever your situation, however you’re tackling your studies, we want to make sure you have the tools and the strength to move your degree forward. This week, we’re talking all about going back to school online.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:25) - Support the Show: Become a Member
- (05:39) - Back to School
You’ve tried email bankruptcy. You know all about filing. But sometimes you have to ask yourself: How did you fall back into email overload... again?
First things first: It’s not just you. It’s common to live with some sort of anxiety around email and email overload. Where we’re going to focus today is not on some magical list of things you’re supposedly doing wrong, rather we’re gong to ask some questions about the relationship you want to have with your inbox, about how you might be able to focus on simplicity instead of strict organization, and how a few quick keyboard shortcuts and a learning mindset might make all the difference in your approach to electronic mail.
Melissa is our community manager in The ADHD Group. If you’d like to get to know more about her, become a supporter over on Patreon and you’ll have access to her annual members-only series on email management and the Discord ADHD Community!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:36) - Support the show: Become a Patron!
- (03:15) - Group Coaching Update
- (05:36) - Study Halls with Nikki!
- (07:03) - Reclaiming Email
- (17:09) - Reclaiming Email: How did you get here?
- (22:07) - Thinking about what you want your inbox to do for you
- (23:40) - Workflow Simplicity
- (27:55) - Learning new skills to support your email relationship
- (39:02) - A brief aside on filters and automation
- (40:45) - Hey.com
- (45:18) - Search
- (50:16) - Archive, Delete, Folders, Lables, All Mail
- (57:52) - Special Folder: Gmail Trash
- (58:52) - Does "Archiving" email compress your email?
Waking up. Going to sleep. Eating. Email. Meetings. Games. Family time. Illness.
That list goes on, and on, and on. What do those things have in common? They all involve requiring the brain to transition from one state to another. And the ADHD brain in particular — thanks to the unique powers of attention that come with it — may have a harder time making transitions from one activity to the next. This week on the show, we’re talking all about transitions and how to set yourself up for success by framing your transitions in a new light. Plus, Pete’s back after a longer-than-expected break thanks to his transition around COVID.
Links & Notes
- Group Coaching for the Fall is now available for registration. Or join Thursday Study Halls with Nikki
- Episode 183— Lessons Learned from Big Transitions in the Home. Nikki discusses her son’s difficulty transitioning to middle school
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:07) - Support the show — Become a Patron!
- (02:52) - Group Coaching is Back!
- (08:46) - Pete's COVID Report
- (17:17) - Dealing with Transitions
We’re almost at the end of our July hiatus and gearing up for our regular podcast schedule this August. For now, how about a recent rebroadcast to remind us all about the little things we can do to feel good today!
This is not an episode about COVID-19. Not really.
But it is about what has happened to us all at home because of our contexts right now. And one of the things we know is that putting into place some basic organizing tools can help you spruce up your home or workspace, get your co-habitants working together, and make you feel great. So this week on the show we're going back to basics as Nikki Kinzer reminds us all to do what we know, treat ourselves well, and give ourselves permission to be great no matter how the house looks!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:57) - Support the show: Become a Patron!
- (02:18) - Quick Organizing Tasks!
We're at the end of our mini-series on ADHD and money and, just like with our finances, we have to be ready to PIVOT! When a guest has a last minute conflict, we're ready to talk about budgets, and bills, and more with your questions!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:22) - The True Story on TruStory FM
- (02:52) - PIVOT!
- (04:06) - Support the Show — Become a Member!
- (04:53) - You Need a YNAB
- (15:59) - Impulse Buying
- (21:27) - Cutting the Book Budget
- (25:57) - Paying Bills
- (28:48) - Managing Accounts
- (30:28) - Document Management
- (33:54) - Medication as a Fixed Expense
- (34:45) - Relationship Financial Stresses
- (40:25) - The ADHD Instructor
- (47:18) - Focus Question! Hyperfocus and word acquisition
Do you get the feeling that ADHD is in the way of your relationship with money? While it may feel like you're struggling alone, money is a struggle for many people, with and without ADHD. This week on the show, SmartMoneyMamas.com's Chelsea Brennan sits down with us to talk about foundational skills for budgeting and getting out of debt that will go a long way toward living a healthy life with money AND our ADHD!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:14) - Introducing Chelsea Brennan from SmartMoneyMamas.com
- (02:58) - Petes & Nikki's Financial Knowledge
- (05:13) - Chelsea's Road to SmartMoneyMamas.com
- (07:47) - How to Start – Memories of Money
- (11:28) - Chelsea's Earliest Money Memories
- (14:00) - Goal Planning Beyond Debt
- (18:50) - Managing Negative Feelings About Spending When Budgeting
- (20:05) - Managing a Budget During COVID
- (21:58) - Good Debt Versus Bad Debt
- (25:02) - Steps and Strategies to Budget
- (27:56) - Handling Credit Card Debt
- (34:33) - Car Loan Management
- (37:31) - Next Steps With Your Budget
- (40:49) - Habits
- (45:50) - Planning for Foreseen & Unforeseen Expenses
- (49:25) - Credit Cards for Emergencies
- (51:35) - Getting Some Wiggle Room
- (55:53) - Retirement Planning
- (01:00:50) - Wrapping Up
Symptoms of ADHD have a tendency to impact how we deal with our finances. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer lays out the facts as we embark on a series of conversations dedicated to ADHD and money. While our upcoming guests will help us through budgeting and getting out of debt, this week we focus on finding the money mindset as we set ourselves on a path to live in a more healthy relationship with our finances!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:00) - Support The ADHD Podcast: Become a Patron at https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (02:24) - ADHD and Money
- (06:20) - Laying out some of the facts
- (18:08) - Working Memory and Money Management
- (19:56) - Self-regulation
- (30:13) - The Desire Statement
- (36:16) - Coming up...
We've been piling on episodes the last 8 weeks so it's time to take a break to do a little listener email! This round we’re taking on routines, planning for adaptation and change, home exercise, separating work from personal time at home, taking breaks, clogging tasks, and more! Thanks to all who have written in — please keep 'em coming: questions@takecontroladhd.com.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:48) - Support the Show — Become a Member at Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (05:26) - A little shouting from the mountain tops...
- (08:34) - Non-COVID routine adjustments
- (10:49) - Planning for a return to "Normal"?
- (17:53) - Learning flexibility
- (20:48) - Exercise at Home
- (27:08) - Strategies for separating work from personal time
- (31:23) - Structure for taking breaks during the day
- (33:35) - Embarrassment Tasks
- (38:04) - Creating focus space at home
- (42:46) - Planning
- (47:40) - How do you figure out what's most important when faced with a big project?
- (50:50) - Putting in extra time at work because we're always feeling behind
Lisa Woodruff is a home organization expert, productivity specialist, and speaker. She has two books, The Mindset of Organization and How ADHD Affects Home Organization, which are Amazon best sellers in their categories, and as we continue our journey through ADHD and organizing, Lisa is the perfect guest to help us with a system to start the week right: The Sunday Basket.
Just what is The Sunday Basket? It's a weekly appointment with your future self. It's the promise you make to manage your home and support your responsibilities. Oh, and it's a bucket... the most powerful bucket you'll own.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:19) - Support the Show: Become a Patron at Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (02:43) - Introducing Lisa Woodruff and Organizing365
- (07:54) - The Sunday Basket
- (21:57) - Paper
- (23:32) - Forming the Sunday Basket Habit
- (26:59) - The Digital Sunday Basket?
- (34:00) - GTD
- (41:42) - Finding Lisa
This is not an episode about COVID-19. Not really.
But it is about what has happened to us all at home because of our contexts right now. And one of the things we know is that putting into place some basic organizing tools can help you spruce up your home or workspace, get your co-habitants working together, and make you feel great. So this week on the show we're going back to basics as Nikki Kinzer reminds us all to do what we know, treat ourselves well, and give ourselves permission to be great no matter how the house looks!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:57) - Support the show: Become a Patron!
- (02:18) - Quick Organizing Tasks!
Dr. Michelle Frank is a clinical psychologist specializing in providing diagnostic and treatment services to individuals with ADHD. Her work with clients is all about finding strengths-based approaches to learning how to live with ADHD. Last time she was here, she helped us work through shame and how it impacts relationships. As it turns out, there's more guilt, shame, and relativism in ADHD than we thought. So, she's back to help us take our understanding to the next level! She works with college students, adults, and families and the book she co-authored with Sari Solden — A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD: Embrace Neurodiversity, Live Boldly, and Break Through Barriers — was released last summer.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Follow Michelle on Instagram
- A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD: Embrace Neurodiversity, Live Boldly, and Break Through Barriers by Michelle Frank and Sari Solden — Amazon.com
- About Dr. Michelle Frank
The ADHD Podcast Masks!
- The Squirrel Squirrel Squirrel Squirrel Podcast
- The ADHD Podcast Logo Mask
- The ADHD Podcast Badge Mask
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:11) - Support the Show • Get your Masks Now!
- (04:04) - Introducing Dr. Michelle Frank
- (11:31) - The Lego "Zone of Tolerance"
- (14:09) - Comparisons & Aspirations
- (22:48) - Creating a "Trust Response"
- (27:46) - What is this "Naval Gazing" of which you speak?
- (30:18) - Untangling Shame
- (35:42) - We are interdependent beings
We've been talking a lot about planning on the show and how to approach routines, breaking negative patterns, and so on over the last handful of weeks. We've heard the struggles and believe it when we tell you: We're struggling too!
This week we have some thought on the hard stuff: leaning into not planning. While we likely don't have the answers to all your questions, we do have some thoughts on short term and long term planning that should go a long way toward freeing yourself from the stress and anxiety that comes with uncertainty. Forgive yourself, adjust your expectations, and face the hard stuff as it comes.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:15) - Support the Show — Become a Patron!
- (03:43) - Planning Through Uncertainty
- (07:10) - Riding Bikes versus Jumping Rope
- (10:40) - Short Term versus Long Term Planning
- (18:56) - Self-Care
Parents are faced with an extraordinary set of new responsibilities under at-home directives around the country. Being able to work at home, if possible, and take on the additional roles of schedule-keepers, quarantine teachers, and more can be an incredible strain on the parent-child relationship.
This week on the show, Dr. Marcy Caldwell joins Nikki and Pete to talk about the pillars of successful parenting, and how to maintain your reserves when you're feeling tested. She introduces us to the STOPP model, which is a comforting acronym for your own emotional regulation (S: Separate, T: Take a Breath, O: Observe yourself first, then observe what just happened, P: Perspective, P: Proceed).
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:10) - Support the show • Become a Patron!
- (02:36) - Introducing Marcy Caldwell
- (17:25) - Emotional Regulation
- (22:01) - Habits and Routines
- (27:50) - The self-care boost: STOPP Method
- (34:38) - Quarantine Schooling
We're all living day-to-day, week-to-week now. The distant future is out of our control. We know things are changing around us, the world is moving forward fluidly, and we know transition is always on the horizon... we just don't know when.
What do you do when the routines you trusted are thrown into chaos? It's all about bookends and anchors. Now isn't the time to be the most productive you've ever been in your life. It's time to build new and resilient routines and patterns into your days to keep you moving, and moving forward. This week on the show, Nikki and Pete walk through the tools you need to build momentum into your life in times of chaos and feel confident that even in uncertainty, you can continue to contribute.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:26) - Support The ADHD Podcast: Become a Patron!
- (03:41) - Routines
- (08:18) - Being better equipped for changes in routine
- (14:28) - What are you shipping?
- (16:22) - Accountability
- (19:46) - Big Rocks, Little Rocks
- (20:23) - Rituals
- (24:27) - Not every day is perfect
We posted a question on our Facebook page asking you how you were adjusting, what you were facing in terms of your own challenges, as we move into whatever comes next for us on this planet. Starting with what we all know: this is hard. We're hurting. We're confused. But there is a silver lining: We're all doing those things together. This week on the show, we're going to share some of those challenges faced by so many of you who responded and, more importantly, a collection of the incredible responses you offered one another in support.
Links & Notes
- "Why You Should Ignore All That Coronovirus-Inspired Productivity Productivity Pressure" — Aisha S. Ahmad, The Chronicle of Higher Education
- Sawbones Episode 316: The Coronavirus Part 2
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:08) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (03:35) - Facing our Challenges
- (05:40) - Fear of Germs
- (14:13) - Isolation
- (20:06) - Online School
- (25:54) - Routines, productivity, and motivation
Environmental stress can make you feel like you're in a never-ending loop. The anxiety that comes with the rapidly changing world around us and the barrage of negative news can amplify negative patterns in our thoughts and behaviors. What we need is a pattern interrupt, a set of tools that can help us to step out of the cycle and regain a sense of calm or peace.
Today on the show, Dr. Dodge Rea gives us some tools to interrupt those negative patterns. He introduces a valuable resource in the work of Les Fehmi on alpha and beta brainwaves, and leads us through a meditation on open focus that can serve as your start in a practice to calm your mind and body.
Links & Notes
- The Open-Focused Brain: Harnessing the Power of Attention to Heal Mind and Body by Les Fehmi and Jim Robbins
- About Dodge Rea
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:58) - Support the Show — Become a Member at Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (02:29) - Introducing Dr. Dodge Rea
- (02:53) - Pattern Interrupt
- (05:36) - Les Fehmi's brain patterns
- (13:12) - The Energetic Hammer and the Dance
- (18:00) - Exercises for Open Focus
- (22:55) - An Open Focued Meditation
- (29:58) - Revive
- (32:40) - Some thoughts on Transcendental Meditation
- (39:47) - The GRACE Sequence
Continuing our conversation about the massive shift we're facing as we wade through the global shutdown, today we're talking about technology. What are you doing to make the shift? How are you communication? How are you staying productive? How are you keeping your wits about you?
This week on the show, Bob "Dr. Mac" Levitus is back with us to share what he's learned over the last few weeks in working remotely. From protocol for conducting a great video conference to just how hard he leans on his simple, analog tools to keep productive, Bob's got some great tools and recommendations for whatever level of home work you're trying to accomplish!
Links & Notes
- Digital and Analog Tips for Life Cooped Up at Home — Bob LeVitus at houstonchronicle.com
- WorkingSmarterForMacUsers.com/free — Download Bob's Daily Productivity Checklist
- Zonebox for Pomodoro (macOS)
- Working Smarter for Mac Users 5-Hour Online Course — use code TakeControlADHD at checkout to save 90%!
- Blue Yeti Nano
- ATR2100x USB Microphone
- Libby — Access your library's digital books
- Kanopy — Stream your library's digital movies
- ExpressVPN
- TunnelBear
- Zoom for Telemedicine (HIPPA)
- Doxy.Me
- VSee
- Eero — Improve your WiFi at home
- Netgear Orbi — Better WiFi Everywhere (Amazon)
- HIPPA Covered Entities and Business Associates — HHS.gov
- HIPPA Fast Facts for Covered Entities
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:50) - Support the show — Become a patron!
- (02:28) - Welcome back Bob Dr. Mac Levitus
- (04:18) - Even the tech columnist uses the simplest solutions!
- (07:30) - Bob's Worksheet
- (14:52) - Bob's solution for staying motivated
- (19:00) - How are we doing with this working from home thing?
- (33:08) - VPNs
- (36:43) - HIPPA
- (43:34) - Is the Internet going to break?
- (46:21) - Slow wifi? Upgrade your router tech
- (49:00) - Bob's new online course — Discount for ADHD Community Members
With our own emotions taxed during this time of pandemic, it's easy to misunderstand how our children are living through this same experience. These emotions of fear and uncertainty are amplified for them, and figuring out how to talk about both the disease and the isolation as unique events is becoming more critical in helping them to understand why we are living the way we are right now.
This week on the show, coach and author Caroline Maguire is back to help us through these thorny issues. Her book, Why Will No One Play With Me? has already helped so many in our own community addressing social challenges for our kids. Today, we're turning the tools she outlines in the book toward living through the pandemic together.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Why Will No One Play With Me?: The Play Better Plan to Help Children of All Ages Make Friends and Thrive by Caroline Maguire
- "5 Ways to Maintain Your Child's Social Skills Right Now" by Caroline Maguire
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:40) - Support the Show • Become a Patron!
- (02:20) - Introducing Caroline Maguire
- (03:08) - How do we talk to kids about COVID-19?
- (07:33) - Splitting the Fear
- (21:32) - Tackling School Alternatives
- (25:34) - Addressing College Stress The ADHD Way
- (33:23) - Swap Stations
- (36:07) - Transitions
- (41:06) - Getting the book
We're living through a time of crisis. The pandemic is of course the global medical crisis. But inside each of us, we're living through our own, individual crises. If you're living with ADHD, you're likely keeping an eye on the horizion ... the ADHD Storm of the Century is on us.
That's why we're so lucky to have our friend James Ochoa back on the show this week. Author of Focused Forward, James joins us to talk about the emotional distress onslaught that comes with the fear and uncertainty we're living with today. We take on trauma and grief as we navigate losses behind us, and ahead, and he provides a fantastic framework for connecting meaning to our individual experiences as a form of mindful grounding through this experience.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:59) - James Ochoa is back!
- (04:54) - Finding Neurological Balance in Crisis
- (09:50) - Focus Under Pressure
- (12:04) - Waves of Anxiety, Paradigms Shifting
- (13:50) - Resistance and Finding Meaning
- (18:34) - Isolation and RSD
- (20:44) - FOSO?
- (25:40) - Gratitude in the Face of Loss
- (31:52) - Grief and Trauma
- (40:16) - Building a Relationship With Yourself
- (43:14) - That one part James' wife didn't know we were podcasting...
Telephone anxiety is its own special breed of Social Phobia. As such, it brings a raft of psychological and behavioral baggage that is not specifically part of the ADHD catalog. Throw ADHD into the mix and you have a new concoction, one that celebrates the fear of navigating the phone with the distraction and rejection sensitivity that we’ve all come to know and love.
This week on the show, Nikki and Pete are kicking off a series on communication and starting with a tool that frustrates many: the phone. From addressing social phobia to building and overcoming the fear hierarchy, we’re all about building a new relationship with the phone today… and maybe even conquering your voicemail!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- The Exposure Hierarchy
- How to Know If You Have a Phone Phobia
- Psychologists Explain Your Phone Anxiety (and How to Get Over It)
- ADD and Phone Anxiety
- Best Visual Voicemail Apps of 2020
- (01:22) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:16) - Nikki's mentalist recap
- (06:36) - Phone Anxiety
- (12:22) - The Phone Race
- (16:38) - Catastrophic Thinking
- (20:12) - ADHD Exacerbates Anxiety
- (25:10) - The Fear Hierarchy
- (31:12) - A few strategies
- (36:36) - The Guilt Factor
If you live with ADHD you know the precarious line that you can walk between fact and fiction. Whether you’re tempted to lie to yourself about what you’re capable of in a given time period or lie to your boss about what you’ve accomplished this week, the instinct to make those around you feel better by smoothing the edges of reality is strong.
This week, we’re thrilled to have Ari Tuckman back on the show to talk about ADHD and lies, the situations that are most likely to cause you to push that button, and how to reframe your behavior and make amends if you’ve found yourself in uncomfortable, lie-inducing situations.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Ari Tuckman, PsyD, MBA
- ADHD After Dark: Better Sex Life, Better Relationship by Ari Tuckman
- Tell Me No Lies: How to stop lying to your partner — and yourself — in the four stages of marriage by Ellyn Bader and Peter Pearson
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:35) - Support the Show: Patreon.com/TheADHDPodcast
- (01:38) - A message from the future with Nikki! Group Coaching is OPEN!
- (03:49) - Introducing Ari Tuckman
- (05:11) - Thinking about "people who lie"
- (09:07) - The ADHD-lie-pile-on
- (10:40) - What happens when you're lying?
- (11:47) - Cultures of mistruth
- (14:36) - Lying as a social contract
- (18:20) - Lies at work
- (21:48) - Rehabilitation
- (26:04) - Little white lies
- (27:58) - Radical Candor
- (29:28) - Developing an integrity practice
- (32:29) - Lies and fight or flight?
- (33:35) - Trust-inducing behavior
- (36:55) - Recommendations
In part 2 of our special podcast on pandemic anxiety and ADHD we’re talking about the more practical fears that crop up around this unprecedented transition: how do you work from home?
That makes it sound far more simple than it is… take it from us! As two people who have been working from home for more than a decade, we know just how complicated it can be to juggle the distractions and demands of work and home when the two worlds collide. But we’re here to tell you: it can be done, and you might even find a few things to appreciate about the experience.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:37) - Taking your ADHD home
- (03:24) - Maintain your Schedule!
- (06:42) - Stay active
- (07:02) - Don't forget your meds
- (07:19) - Finding your workplace
- (09:29) - Accountability
- (11:59) - Staying Connected
- (12:47) - Eliminate predictable distractions
- (13:54) - Keep moving
- (14:36) - Beware of perfection
- (15:59) - Pete does a regrettable dance break
- (16:52) - Silver Lining Time Reclaimation
- (21:04) - The Tom Hanks Fact Check
We interrupt our regularly-scheduled podcast to inject a couple of ideas in your path today. In this first episode, Dr. Doug Herr is back to talk about the anxiety and stress that comes with living with the unknown.
This week, Dr. Doug joins Nikki and Pete to talk about our emotions, but not by belittling them or running from them or even moving through them. He approaches our emotional response to living in the world of uncertainty that comes with the pandemic by helping us understand what our emotions are, why they exist, and how we can better come to terms with our reactions this way.
Dr. Doug is planning a webinar in which he teaches these techniques more deeply for next week. We encourage you to sign up to be notified — it’s free and should be incredibly helpful.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:26) - Dr. Doug is back
- (05:54) - The Ideavirus
- (14:19) - Entitlement frustration and fear
- (17:24) - Finding fulfillment
- (22:18) - Trusting information
- (24:29) - Doug's Webinar: ChangeTimeIsNow.com/corona
- (26:07) - Taking care of yourself is taking care of others
- (32:14) - Stopping runaway thoughts
Do you think you’re a terrible artist? You probably do, and that’s a limiting belief so stop saying that about yourself. That’s an episode for another day. Today we’re going to help you see yourself as something different… maybe not an artist, but certainly someone capable of having more fun taking notes, engaging in information, and learning.
We’re thrilled to have Mike Rohde on the show today, the originator of the Sketchnote. New to sketchnoting? No worries! Mike walks us through what a sketchnote is, how to develop a practice and how to use sketchnoting to embrace and engage information with pen and paper and get it into your head.
For Patrons, Mike will be delivering this month’s workshop live on Wednesday, March 11, at 6pm US pacific time.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Mike Rohde’s Sketchnote Mini Workshop
- Presto Sketching with Ben Crothers
- Peachpit Press Sketchnote Video Podcast YouTube Playlist
- International Sketchnote Camp 2020
- The Sketchnote Typeface
- Sketchnotes Flickr Collection
- Sketchnote Army Slack Channel
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:25) - Support the Show: Join The ADHD Community
- (02:33) - An Interruption...
- (04:32) - Introducing Mike Rohde
- (07:00) - What is Sketchnoting?
- (16:48) - Can you engage the Mental Cache with ADHD?
- (27:04) - Practice
- (35:18) - The Sketchnote Ideabook Kickstarter
- (37:23) - The Sketchnote Toolset
- (44:38) - More resources
- (49:21) - The Sketchnote Army
Linda Walker is an ADHD Coach with a special niche: she works with entrepreneurs. If you’ve been listening to our ADHD at Work series wondering when we were going to get to the good stuff, to the budding titans of industry? Today’s your day.
We talk about finding focus, figuring out what to do and when to do it, how to figure out what projects to work on and avoid burnout or disinterest along the way. It’s an incredibly broad conversation, just as the world of building independent businesses is, too. And if you’ve ever found todo lists aren’t your thing, you aren’t going to want to miss Linda’s take on the practice of list-making!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- CoachLindaWalker.com
- With Time to Spare: The Ultimate Guide to Peak Performance for Entrepreneurs, Adults with ADHD and other Creative Geniuses by Linda Walker
- (00:58) - Support the Show on Patreon: patreon.com/TheADHDPodcast
- (02:05) - Introducing Linda Walker
- (09:10) - The Roadmap
- (14:16) - Choice & Burnout
- (15:58) - Focus and Finding your Energy Zones
- (23:16) - Planning: "Todo lists don't work"
- (34:13) - Figuring out what to do... and when
- (38:53) - Finding balance between work and home
- (41:51) - Metering ADHD "Enthusiasm" with WOOP
- (46:30) - Finding Inspiration and Imposter Syndrome
- (51:20) - Transitioning from Full-time to Your Own Business
We’ve had so many great questions come in over our workplace ADHD series that we’re dedicating this week’s show to digging into them. We’re talking about building great systems, and why that might not be the right goal! We’re talking about relationships with your supervisor and your peers. We’re talking about rejection sensitivity and how you can move through it at work. Finally, we’re talking through what we’ve learned in our out journey transitioning out of the workplace and working from home.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:10) - Support the Show! Patreon.com/TheADHDPodcast
- (03:27) - DiscordMom's Corner
- (06:56) - Finding the "perfect" system before you start a new job?
- (10:20) - How do you set up your relationship with a new supervisor for success?
- (12:18) - How do you get over early-job awkwardness?
- (15:40) - Anything else?
- (17:54) - First impressions?
- (23:20) - Working from home
Can you take on a management or leadership position with ADHD? Absolutely! Not only that, the structure of management in many organizations can be the perfect fit for the way your ADHD brain works. But, it comes with a few caveats.
This week on the show, Nikki and Pete are talking about some of the considerations that go into moving into a new role. Do you tell your team? What’s it like working with an assistant? How do you build in the structures that feed your brain and inspire you creatively without creating angst in the people who report to you? Join us this week and get ready for your next big promotion!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:28) - Support the Show
- (04:54) - ADHD Leadership
- (07:11) - Can ADHDers be Leaders?
- (12:05) - Working with an assistant?
- (16:12) - Do you tell your team? Reputation and ADHD
- (23:20) - Talking to your team about your ADHD
- (29:44) - Building structures into your team to leverage your strengths
- (32:58) - Creating a culture of invention and honesty
- (34:15) - Celebrate simple solutions!
- (34:48) - Cycles of Feedback
- (35:45) - RSD and respect as a leader
Getting the accommodations you need for your ADHD at work can be a tricky process. When it comes to navigating these waters, you’re your own best advocate. So, it’s important to learn the resources you have working for you, and the forces that can complicate your experience on the job. This week on the show, we’re talking about the Americans with Disabilities Act and what you need to know to make use of it, plus strategies for making the best of your work experience with ADHD using the resources you have at your disposal already!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (02:09) - Support The Show!
- (03:59) - Hearts for ADHD
- (06:10) - Women's ADHD Palooza is coming!
- (07:16) - Accommodations at Work: The ADA
- (12:42) - Who decides if your ADHD is a disability?
- (19:10) - Do you tell or not?
We’ve already talked about how you’re going about managing the emotions that come with the job hunt in the last two episodes with Dr. Doug. This week, we’re moving into the direct experience of the job hunt. You may not know this, but our own Nikki Kinzer has an extensive background in human resources and has interviewed more people than she can remember. So this week on the show, she’s going to be sharing some of the strategies she wishes more interviewees would have followed, and how your ADHD can impact you along the way!
Here are some sample questions you might ask during your own interview (for reference from this episode):
- What do you think are the most important skills for someone to have in this position? (does it match?)
- What does a typical day look like for this position? (does that sound good?)
- How might the day vary from day to day?
- How many people would I be working with and how do I work with them?
- Who do I report to you? What are they like? (if applicable)
- What does the workload look like over the course of the year? Are there some seasons that are busier than others? Why, and how does the company adjust when work is heavy/light?
- Why is this position open?
- How would you explain the work culture here?
- Why do you like working here?
- What are the next steps, will I hear back and when?
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:02) - Support the Show
- (02:18) - Happy Birthday @DiscordMom!
- (02:45) - Women's ADHD Palooza is Coming!
- (03:27) - Planner Shame
- (07:00) - Interviewing
- (12:18) - Researching for the Interview
- (13:53) - Practice Interviewing
- (20:18) - First Impressions
- (24:05) - In the Interview
- (26:44) - When ADHD makes your mouth a motorboat
- (30:29) - Asking your own questions
- (36:21) - Follow-up
- (39:09) - Bonus Tip #1: Interviewing Online
- (42:06) - The Resume
- (43:40) - Network Relationships
We started the conversation last week with our guest, Dr. Doug Herr, with the assumption that you’re not working by some level of choice. But what if you’ve been fired, or your contract hasn’t been renewed, or you’re feeling trapped by evaluations that seem to be targeting your ADHD?
This week, Dr. Doug is back to talk about managing the emotional blocks of the job hunt when the circumstances aren’t so rosy.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:26) - Support the show! Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (02:39) - The darker side of the job hunt
- (05:59) - Medication
- (07:59) - Anyone can get fired.
- (12:05) - The reason you're not working is more complex than you think
- (14:43) - Welcome to the club of ADHD — No one is perfect
- (17:12) - Finding the right role models
- (19:54) - Acceptance
- (23:54) - Attitude
- (27:08) - Energy Regulation
- (30:32) - Is there a mourning period in the job hunt?
- (35:01) - Interviewing future employers
We’re kicking off our series on ADHD at work with an exploration of the emotional side of ADHD as you embark on the job hunt. If you’re in the middle of a search yourself, you know those feelings — rejection sensitivity rears its head and suddenly you lose track of who you are, the diversity of your experiences, and what you have to offer.
Dr. Doug Herr joins us today to shepherd us through this conversation. His unique approach to coaching individuals toward a more satisfactory career horizon, plus his experience as a psychotherapist living with ADHD, makes him the perfect guest this week. We hope you’ll enjoy getting to know Dr. Doug this week and next as we embark on the emotional side of the job hunt!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:20) - Support the Show — Patreon.com/TheADHDPodcast
- (02:37) - Dr. Doug's Career
- (12:04) - Finding a job in alignment with who you are — The Job Survival Machine
- (16:04) - The Stockdale Paradox
- (18:40) - Change is no longer an assumed negative
- (21:34) - Habituating positive language
- (24:46) - The value of a coach
- (27:47) - The internal malpractice of negative future talk — being willing to not know
- (33:07) - Embracing the unknown toward new career fields
- (37:58) - Getting the most out of a therapist or coach relationship
We’re not big fans of “resolutions” around these parts. Living with ADHD, the stereotypical resolution is a recipe for frustration that doesn’t address the heart of the New Year energy: driving a change in your behavior over the long term to change something meaningful in your life.
This week on the show we’re talking all about building realistic and attainable goals for the new year. After a quick review of SMART goal setting, we dive in deep on crafting goals that lead to sustainable change, rewarding transformation rather than one-off success. Join us… and bring a pencil: It’s time to create some change in your life!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:34) - Learning to take a vacation
- (02:43) - Introducing the Workplace Series
- (04:18) - Support the Show, Join the Community
- (06:03) - Setting Goals: This is not a discussion about "resolutions"
- (09:04) - A brief side-story about the economics of today's gyms — Smoothie Goals
- (11:43) - Reviewing SMART Goals
- (13:58) - Attainability — Habits versus Goals
It’s been an amazing year around these parts. Our community is growing and we’re all the better for it. This week on the show, we’re looking back a bit with some reflections on highlights from the last year, and taking a set of questions submitted by YOU that you said you’d like to hear more about. From RSD to the ADHD job hunt to the best fidgets, we’ve got it all this week!
This is the last show of 2019 as we take a little time off over the holidays and do our planning for 2020. We’ll be kicking off the January session with a series on ADHD in the workplace so, for those of you who submitted work-related questions for this Q&A episode, don’t worry! We got you… we’ll see you in January.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Register for ADHD Accountability Group Coaching
- The ADHD Podcast Merchandise!
- Happy Hands Toys
- Spikey Magnetic Balls
- Therapy Shoppe
- Pick Apart Cork
- Freshly
- (00:00) - This is The ADHD Podcast
- (01:10) - New Year Schedule Housekeeping
- (02:53) - Support the Show! Join the community at Patreon.com/TheADHDPodcast
- (03:42) - ADHD Group Coaching!
- (05:27) - 2019 Reflections
- (12:58) - Q1: How do I handle criticisms of my ADHD symptoms?
- (18:44) - Q2: How do you mealplan for 1?
- (26:18) - Q3: Do you recommend any job strategies that are ADHD-friendly?
- (34:53) - Q4: Follow-up on RSD?
- (40:09) - Q5: Let's talk about fidgeting
Looking for a little game night fun for friends and family? You've come to the right place. This week on the show, we're talking all about games that may — or may not — improve the ADHD (research is thin!). But they're a lot of fun and might just help you build some new connections for the cold winter nights ahead!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Lumosity
- Lumosity to Pay $2 Million to Settle FTC Deceptive Advertising Charges for Its “Brain Training” Program
- BrainHQ
- Peak - Brain Training
- An online investigation of the relationship between the frequency of word puzzle use and cognitive function in a large sample of older adults from the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
- Efficacy of chess training for the treatment of ADHD: A prospective open label study in Revista de Psiquiatría y Salud Mental
- New York Times Crossword Gift Subscription
- Pandemic
- Flashpoint Fire Rescue
- Zombicide
- Stop Thief
- MentalBlocks
- ShadowBlocks
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (00:43) - Nikki's Big Day
- (11:20) - Join the ADHD Community!
- (13:01) - Listener Question: How do you find your hobbies?
- (19:34) - Let's talk about games...
Nikki’s back from the Annual 31st International Conference on ADHD and she has lessons to share! This week on the show we’re talking about motivation and ADHD, lessons from the author of The Explosive Child, and ADHD and girls and women, each of which served to enlighten and shape the way we do our work here at Take Control ADHD and The ADHD Podcast.
Links & Notes
- Join 2020 Accountability Coaching — Enrollment Open Now!
- Check out some ADHD Podcast Merch!
- Annual 31st International Conference on ADHD
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (00:58) - Support The Show!
- (06:40) - Big Acronyms Mean Big Lessons! (BAMBL)
- (11:26) - ADHD and Motivation
- (24:10) - Dr. Ross Green — The Explosive Child
- (32:33) - ADHD Girls & Women
- (34:42) - #RAF (Resting Attention Face)
Caroline Maguire is back! Caroline is an ADHD coach, author, teacher, and speaker with a special focus in social skills supporting kids — and parents of kids — with ADHD. Her book is OUT NOW, Why Will No One Play with Me?: The Play Better Plan to Help Children of All Ages Make Friends and Thrive and we’re thrilled she’s back to talk to us about social success today… Caroline Maguire welcome back to The ADHD Podcast!!
And make sure to check out the new merch in our TeePublic store including the Squirrel-Squirrel-Squirrel-Squirrel Podcast gear!!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Why Will No One Play with Me?: The Play Better Plan to Help Children of All Ages Make Friends and Thrive by Caroline Maguire
- Learn more about Caroline Maguire
- Caroline Maguire on Facebook
- (00:26) - The Squirrel-Squirrel-Squirrel-Squirrel Podcast Merch!
- (01:11) - Support The ADHD Podcast
- (02:31) - Caroline Maguire is Back!
- (06:12) - A quick review of the book
- (08:16) - A review of the seven things
- (12:38) - Knowing what to do versus doing what you know
- (19:23) - Becoming a "social spy"
- (22:06) - Emotional Regulation
- (25:10) - Anxiety and social cues
- (25:51) - What is a "Social Problem"?
- (38:19) - Find "Why Will No One Play With Me?"
Back in the late 1970s, two researchers developed a model for evaluating those suffering through addiction in their journey toward health. The Transtheoretical Model, or more colloquially, Prochaska’s Stages of Change, went on to help social workers and therapists treat those suffering with transformational diagnoses for decades. As it turns out, the Stages of Change model works pretty well for us, too, as we think about our relationship to ADHD.
This week on the show, Nikki introduces the Stages of Change with an eye on ADHD, and how you can use it to train yourself to better adapt to the world around you.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:20) - Support the Show - Become a Patron!
- (04:27) - The Steps to Change
- (10:15) - The Five Stages
- (10:46) - Stage 1: Precontemplation
- (12:26) - Stage 2: Contemplation
- (16:01) - Stage 3: Preparation
- (19:47) - Stage 4: Action
- (23:41) - Relapse
- (27:11) - Pay Yourself First
- (33:11) - Stage 5: Maintenance
It’s been an emotional month here at The ADHD Podcast. With guests and topics all targeted at the emotional centers of our ADHD, you can be sure our fantastic community has come to us with feedback and questions. So, this week we embrace and extend the November theme of Emotion and ADHD and take on your thoughts about rejection sensitivity, emotional storms, sex, plus a bonus dose of seasonal affective disorder, to boot!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (04:14) - Support the show, join The ADHD Community
- (05:45) - It's SAD Season
- (17:15) - Pushing past RSD
- (22:18) - The Ochoa Audible Storm
- (25:38) - After Dark with Ari Tuckman
- (28:10) - Two ADHD Partners and healthy sex questions
- (29:42) - Cascading challenges spreading through different areas of life
- (35:11) - Unable to let arguments go
- (42:02) - The ADHD Unified Singularity Formula
We are gearing up for November here at The ADHD Podcast. November marks the start of national novel writing month, 30 days of fiendish exploration of words happening at keyboards around the world. But what happens if your brand of ADHD throws a wrench in your desire to create your masterpiece?
This week on the show, illustrator and designer Dani Donovan joins us to talk about her creative process. Dani is the pen behind many fantastic ADHD comics floating around your social media feeds. She tells us how she got started, leading to her emerging identity as a vocal leader of the #NeuroDiverseSquad online. She’s a wonderful talent, and we hope you find her work and process inspirational as you seek to shape your own creative process.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- ADHDDD.com
- Support Dani on Patreon
- Follow @DaniDonovan on Twitter
- Follow DaniDonovan on Instagram
- Follow DaniDonovanArt on Facebook
- Connect with DaniDonovan on LinkedIn
About Dani Donovan
Dani Donovan is a purpose-driven designer and illustrator who creates ADHD comics. Her first infographic, “Storytelling Flowchart,” went viral within hours, amassed over 100 million views, and has been reposted by celebrities such as Mindy Kaling. In a few short months, Dani’s relatable comics and her #NeurodiverseSquad hashtag helped her quickly become a prominent voice in the online mental health community, with her content reaching millions of viewers each month. Her graphics, jokes, and Twitter threads aim to help those with ADHD understand themselves, feel a sense of belonging, and better explain their invisible struggle to loved ones. Her influence has helped hundreds of people to seek diagnosis and treatment. Dani uses her outgoing nature to reach out and cultivate friendships between women content creators on Twitter, including Jessica McCabe (How to ADHD), Erynn Brook (writing), ADHD Alien (comics), and more. She currently works as a full-time designer at Gallup and lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband and two cats.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:47) - Support The ADHD Podcast
- (03:11) - Introducing Dani Donovan
- (13:36) - Practical process of creating
- (24:19) - Managing the emotion of creation
- (29:44) - Constraints in creation
- (40:04) - Find Dani
- (42:08) - #NeuroDiverseSquad
This week we’re hosting a frank conversation about sex and ADHD.
Our guest is Dr. Ari Tuckman, a psychologist and certified sex therapist, not to mention one of our favorite expert sources who somehow we’ve never had on the show. Today, Ari is here to talk to us about the impact of ADHD on a couple and how the sexual relationship — and our relationship to sexuality — functions in light of ADHD. The book is the result of years of research and survey responses thousands strong of those living with ADHD reporting their candid experience, and it’s documented in ADHD After Dark: Better Sex Life, Better Relationship.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (01:36) - Support The ADHD Podcast
- (02:53) - Ari Tuckman 'After Dark'
- (05:30) - Survey Background
- (08:27) - Relationship Satisfaction and Sexual Satisfaction
- (09:45) - Positive and negative attending
- (12:42) - Sex and RSD
- (15:08) - Teamwork
- (19:39) - ADHD and the sexual encounter
- (23:55) - Any sex surprises? Stimulants and more
- (25:24) - What are 'happy couples' doing?
- (32:56) - Pornography and sex addiction
- (39:22) - Sex and self esteem
- (45:06) - ADHD and same-sex, trans respondents?
- (47:14) - 2 ADHD partners?
Straight from the Life Empowerment Center, James Ochoa is back today to share a story of his own emotional storm and the strategies he employed to move through it.
This is one of those important episodes. Important, not just because of the lessons and strategies we share for moving through your own emotional ADHD storms, but for the example that James puts on display. He is, after all, a leading voice in healthy living with ADHD, and he’s suffering publicly through a career-defining storm of his own. If it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone. There is no shame in the battles we engage with our ADHD.
Thanks to James for sharing his story (which you can read in full in the links below).
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - This Is The ADHD Podcast
- (02:33) - Join The ADHD Community
- (03:42) - James Ochoa is back!
- (05:12) - The Emotional Distress Syndrome: A Primer
- (06:36) - What are Emotional Storms?
- (08:44) - The Ochoa-Audible Emotional Storm
- (19:03) - Focus Strategies
- (21:45) - What's next for James: Mindfulness, ETT, and beyond
- (29:40) - Get 'Focused Forward' on Audible for free
- (30:52) - Share your "Storm Story" with James
There aren’t many practitioners writing about today’s topic. Unless, that is, you look up the collected works of Dr. Bill Dodson. Dr. Dodson is an award-winning board-certified psychiatrist and specialist in adult ADHD and his contributions to the study of Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria bring him to the show today. According to Dr. Dodson, nearly all those living with ADHD live with some level of rejection sensitivity, and thanks to the poor training on the ADHD connections to the condition, patients are going misdiagnosed and mistreated as a result.
Today on the show, Dr. Dodson joins Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright to discuss Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria and provide new language to frame a state those living with ADHD know all too well.
About Dr. William Dodson
Dr. Bill Dodson is a award-winning board-certified psychiatrist and specialist in adult ADHD. While Dr. Dodson has been on the faculties of Georgetown University and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center he is primarily a clinical practitioner who tries to combine evidence-based practice techniques with practice-based evidence. In addition to being named a Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and recipient of the national Maxwell J. Schleifer Award for Distinguished Service to Persons with Disabilities, Dr. Dodson is one of two experts from the US to the World Anti-Doping program for the development of guidelines for the use of ADHD stimulant medications in the world’s athletes.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:38) - Become a Member of The ADHD Community
- (03:40) - Introducing Dr. William Dodson
- (05:06) - What is Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria?
- (10:12) - Defining Characteristics of RSD?
- (12:50) - Mental health trends
- (16:36) - RSD and Imposter Syndrome
- (19:28) - RSD and Gender
- (24:58) - Treatment paths for RSD
- (33:27) - RSD and ADHD Coaching
- (42:57) - Finding Dr. Dodson
Living with ADHD can be exhausting. But even at the end of a long day, responsibilities pile up. How do you recharge to stay focused... when your focus has lost its focus?
This week’s show is anchored around a recent article by friend-of-the-show Casey Dixon. Her ideas were inspirational for us and spurred our conversation today. Plus, thanks to a listener question, we get to wax dreamily about our ideal ADHD home!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:31) - Follow-up: Job Lock-in
- (06:08) - Listener Question: The ADHD Dream Home?
- (10:37) - Pete is all-in on 3m Command Strips
- (13:04) - Pinterest
- (16:12) - Support the Show
- (17:20) - Energy After Hours with ADHD
The connection between work satisfaction and ADHD is pretty clear if you’re living through the frustration. There are all kinds of reasons to leave a job, but taking the actual step of resigning is one best approached with a clear head. This week on the show, Nikki and Pete share a set of questions that can help you frame your own perspective at work and help find clarity in your desire to leave, or stick it out and work for change.
Nikki’s list of probing questions:
- What’s causing you to even think about this question?
- How much do you complain about your job? What do you complain most about?
- How would you describe your relationship with your boss?
- What about co-workers?
- If you were still doing this job 2 years from now, would be happy or mad?
- Are you holding on to your current job because you are afraid of change?
- Are there more things you like about your job than not like?
- Can you live with what you don’t like?
- Is it possible to change some of the things you don’t like?
- Do you feel supported at your job, do you see opportunities for growth?
- How does your job affect your physical and mental health?
- Can you afford to quit your job before finding a new one?
- Do you feel like you have a good work and life balance?
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:02) - Support the Show
- (02:48) - Listener Question: Bringing up ADHD with people who don't know they have it
- (09:00) - Is it time to look for a new job?
There are signs in certain kinds of organizations that document the last time staff their experienced an incident. Any sort of incident that leads to work stopping counts, and as soon as it happens, the sign gets reset and everyone starts over at Day Zero. “This facility has worked [0] Days without incident,” the sign says.
If there’s anything in our lives that can cause work to stop unpredictably, uncontrollably, sometimes even unconsciously, it’s ADHD. What do we do so that we can reset our own sign to Day Zero? This week on the show, Pete and Nikki take an incident response approach to ADHD with a focus on mindfully controlling what you can control, not lying to yourself, and moving forward. Every bad day has a day zero right around the corner.
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:16) - Sponsor: You. The ADHD Patrons
- (05:55) - Day Zero.
The idea that individual ADHD symptoms exacerbate one another isn’t new to those of us living with the diagnosis. But what happens when symptoms collude to create cycles of behavior and responses? The results can be vastly more damaging than any individual symptom on its own.
That’s the question that comes from a listener today: how do you navigate the procrastination-anxiety loop that emerges when hyperfocus and disinterest collide head on? This week on the show, Nikki shares background on the conditions that allow this sort of hyperfocus and procrastination to occur, and tools to shape a response before it happens again.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Understanding ADHD Hyperfocus — ADDitude Magazine
- ADHD, Anxiety, and Depression: The Diagnosis Puzzle of Related Conditions — ADDitude Magazine
- Decoding the ADHD Mind — ADDitude Magazine
- #
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:19) - Sponsor: YOU!
- (03:05) - The Procrastination-Anxiety Loop
Brett Terpstra is a software developer, author, and podcaster and his work has been the subject of Pete’s technology fever dreams for years now. Brett is also unusually candid about his experience living with ADHD and bipolar disorder and after years of processing in public, he’s managed to figure some things out… others, a mystery.
This week on the show, Brett joins us to talk about his experience living and working with ADHD. He shares his experience in learning how to live with his shadow, and how to forgive when the shadow takes control. This is a show about the voices that we listen to, and those that we learn to avoid as we wake up and get moving with ADHD.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:10) - Listener Question Time! What did I do this weekend...?
- (04:57) - What are our favorite books?
- (08:25) - Sponsor: Audible
- (09:13) - Introducing Brett Terpstra
- (15:42) - The Diagnosis
- (18:59) - The ADHD Circle of Grief
- (21:00) - Listening to the Voices
- (23:42) - Candor and the life of a D-List Celebrity
- (26:20) - Life partner, communication, and "the blurts"
- (28:06) - Physical health, drug addiction, and ADHD
- (35:32) - Brett's Work
- (36:54) - Brett lives Markdown **hard**
- (39:23) - nvUltra — Coming Soon
- (42:08) - Finding Brett Terpstra
It’s one of the most important routines you can manage. Getting it right means you’re impacting every area of your life in some way. You’ll feel better, you’ll think more clearly, you might even be better looking. OK, we can’t guarantee that last one, but you’ll feel better looking!
What is this magic routine? It’s meal planning. Figuring out how to best strategize the food you bring into your home and creating smart habits around eating it is both challenging, and deceptively simple at once. But it turns out that if you’re working to build good living systems for your ADHD, you likely already have the skills you need to make meal-planning successful for yourself and your family!
Links & Notes
- Paprika Recipe App for iOS, macOS, Android, Windows
- InstantPot on Amazon
- Nom Nom Paleo
- Soylent
- Blue Apron
- (00:00) - The ADHD Podcast — Meal-Planning
- (01:30) - Sponsored by YOU at Patreon.com/TheADHDPodcast
- (02:57) - Meal-planning and ADHD
- (04:54) - Soylent... when you've given up on food all together
- (06:46) - The Routine of Meal-Planning
- (09:14) - Pete's Family Whiteboard
- (11:43) - Nom Nom Paleo
- (13:52) - Nikki's Routine
- (14:39) - Paprika the App
- (19:44) - Family Planning and Simplicity
- (26:12) - Delivery Services
- (32:42) - Pre-prep
- (33:46) - Instant Pot
Sure, we’re in the middle of our back-to-school series. But whether you’re heading back to school or just getting ready for the seasons to change, there’s never a better time to review your routines. From daily hygiene to writing that next report, this week on the show Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright take on the components of a great routine, and the mindset you’ll need to cultivate to make it stick.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:26) - Sponsor: Audible
- (03:28) - Setting Up New Routines
- (07:36) - Begin with the end in mind
- (19:36) - Consistency
- (24:02) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon
If you’ve ever tried to engage in a discussion of your ADHD with a busy professor and run into frustration, you’re not alone. This week, we asked a group of instructors what they would like to hear when working with ADHD students and the results were puzzling, frustrating, dare we say disappointing? But there’s room for hope thanks to some enterprising student services folks and a general spirit of educators that really do want the best for their students. This is an episode about confronting lack of experience in a slow-moving educational system and an effort to get what you need out of your educational career.
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to the ADHD Podcast
- (01:43) - Find the Show
- (02:02) - Opening Question: How do you handle online courses with ADHD
- (08:20) - Sponsor: You! At Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- (09:47) - The Faculty Perspective
- (14:42) - Three Lessons
- (18:54) - A dose of optimism
- (21:33) - The Research
- (25:06) - Recommendations from Student Services: How you can help yourself
- (30:41) - Painful reality: the social and communication skills paradox
- (34:13) - On notes
- (36:20) - Universal Course Design
Asking for help is hard, sure. But have you ever stopped to ask why it’s hard for you? See, asking others for support is hard for each of us in a different way. Maybe we live with the anxiety that others will judge us for not being competent in some are or another. Maybe we believe they’ll think we’re not as smart as they are, or as they thought we were. Maybe we struggle with the logistics of asking for — and taking advantage of — help from another.
Until you figure that out, you’re going to have a tough time marching into your office of disability services to ask for the support you deserve as you make your way through school with ADHD. This week on the show, Nikki and Pete take on the myths and misunderstandings about ADHD accommodations in college, starting with the old saw, “accommodations make for an unfair advantage.” But that’s not all! You’ll end with a guide to the sort of language you can use to reach out to your instructors and professors to explain your needs, advocate for yourself, and set yourself up for success.
- (00:00) - The ADHD Podcast for 2019-08-13
- (04:42) - The Stigma Around Asking for Help
- (22:50) - Your First Day of School
- (26:43) - Expect the 5-Year Plan
Grace Friedman was diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at twelve years old, wrote her first book about it at 15, and now she’s an advocate for young people with ADHD and founder of the ADDYTeen.com community. Dr. Sarah Cheyette is a pediatric neurologist and expert in working with kids with ADHD. Together, they have written Winning with ADHD: A Playbook for Teens and Young Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and they’re here to talk with us about their journey on the show this week.
Links & Notes
- ADDYTeen.com
- SarahCheyette.com
- Winning With ADHD: A Playbook for Teens and Young Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder — Amazon.com
It's the last episode of our trip through time and what better way to wrap up our July break than with a message from social skills expert Caroline Maguire in her first appearance on the show: never forget the art of the "Polite Pretend" people... it'll save your bacon!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
Do social situations exhaust you? Do you feel like your brain is working in overdrive to keep up with your environment? According to our guest this week, that’s a common refrain for those living with ADHD. Caroline Maguire is a coach, author, teacher, and speaker with a special focus in social skills supporting kids and parents of kids with ADHD. She’s here today to talk with us all about reading between the lines and the challenges that ADHDers face when it comes to understanding the unspoken complexities of social interaction. It’s time to master the “Polite Pretend!”
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Dr. Doug has been on our list to get back on the show seemingly since he first joined us. We're thrilled to say he's on the way! But that won't be until a little later in the fall. Until then, take a trip back in time to his last appearance and hear what he has to say on ADHD Inattentive Type!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Doug Herr is back with us all the way from Nashville to talk about ADHD Inattentive Type. ADHD inattentive represents one of our most frequent subjects for questions and one we haven’t covered specifically. Dr. Doug takes on questions on treatment, motivation, talking with schools and special ed teams, writing, reward systems and so much more.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Every day is a great day to check in on your relationship with your partner, and with ADHD, sometimes you can use a pretty clear reminder to do so. That's why today is ALSO a great day to check back in on this episode with our relationship guru Melissa Orlov from 2017!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
In this year’s Take Control ADHD survey, we received questions on managing your love life while managing ADHD by the bucket. Whether you’re in a new relationship, dating, or in a well-seasoned marriage, there is always room to improve that emotional connection and no matter your ADHD status, if you want it, you should have a thriving love life too!
This week on the show we’re deeply honored to welcome the fantastic Melissa Orlov. She’s a marriage consultant and leading expert in how ADHD affects relationships. On top of that, she’s an award-winning author of books including, The ADHD Effect on Marriage, and The Couple's Guide to Thriving with ADHD. She’s founder of ADHD & Marriage where she writes regularly alongside a cast of incredible contributors and hosts a large community of adults learning about ADHD in their relationships.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★James Ochoa has been on the show four times in the last few years, but all his appearances point back to this episode from 2017 in which he outlined his "Emotional Distress Syndrome" for ADHD. It was transformational for us in how we approach conversations of ADHD and we hope this refresher is equally useful for you this fine July!
When we first read his book, Focused Forward: Navigating the Storms of Adult ADHD, we became fast fans of James Ochoa. He writes candidly about his experience living with ADHD, struggling with ADHD, overcoming the hurdles of ADHD. But beyond that, he’s a counselor himself, working with the complex tapestries that are adults with ADHD. Today, we’re thrilled to be able to welcome James to the show to share a little bit about his own journey and to introduce us to one of the central themes in his work: the ADHD Emotional Distress Syndrome. We’re sure you’ll want to find out more about James and encourage you to pick up his book — easy and truly eye-opening reading!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We're starting our July break, is that a reason to skip the podcast? Of course not! Jane gave us some great tools to deal with the stories we tell ourselves and we thought this would be the perfect way to time travel through podcast history while we're away!
Does the internal chatter of ADHD really sound all that different than that of those who don’t live with it? Our guest today has been working among other leaders in the field to help find those Gremlins in our heads and quiet them down, making room for the benefits that come with the positive voices and stories we write about our own contributions to the world around us.
Jane Massengill has been coaching adults with ADHD for the past 20 years, helping them learn to put the brakes on their internal chatter long enough so that they can begin to experience their bright spots instead of focusing on their dark spots. She is the Director of The Gremlin-Taming Institute, and speaks to audiences of all kinds on the benefits of learning how to listen to yourself.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- https://www.janemassengill.com
- The Gremlin-Taming Institute
- Taming Your Gremlin: A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way — by Rick Carlson
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:53) - Introducing Jane Massengill of the Gremlin-Taming Institute
- (07:02) - Why do some people struggle when others don't?
- (14:26) - About the Book and Jane's History
- (18:20) - The ADHD Internal Dialog
- (22:48) - Word-Watching
- (30:38) - Word-Watching Exercise
It’s our last episode before the annual July break, and what a wonderful person we have to introduce you to this week to talk about shame, our relationships, and the daily practice of getting back up on the horse with ADHD. Dr. Michelle Frank is a clinical psychologist specializing in providing diagnostic and treatment services to individuals with ADHD. We love her work because of her focus on strengths-based approaches in helping clients learn how to live successfully with ADHD. She has extensive experience working with college students, adults, and families and she has a book hitting shelves July 1, 2019 which she co-authored with Sari Solden — A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD: Embrace Neurodiversity, Live Boldly, and Break Through Barriers — and she’ll tell you all about it today.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Follow Michelle on Instagram
- “A Radical Guide For Women with ADHD” — The ADHD Blog for Women
- A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD: Embrace Neurodiversity, Live Boldly, and Break Through Barriers by Michelle Frank and Sari Solden — Amazon.com
- About Dr. Michelle Frank
- (00:00) - The ADHD Podcast — 2019-06-25
- (01:32) - Enrollment for Summer Group Coaching Closes July 1!
- (02:16) - Changes to The ADHD Newsletter
- (04:42) - Introducing Dr. Michelle Frank
- (37:05) - About the Book
Are you a runner? Or are you a person who runs?
Are you a gardener? Or are you a person who mows the lawn?
Figuring out the difference between what we do and who we are is tricky business for all of us as we move through life. With ADHD, the idea of presenting a cogent identity to the world flies out the window. It’s dependent on so many factors — context, focus, weather, anything that can set off our attentional sails in new directions — that all to often the person we see in the mirror is less a function of who we see staring back at us than it is what that person happens to be doing or thinking about at that moment.
This week on the show, we take on this question of identity and offer a way to frame how you want to be seen in the world thanks to the writing of a billionaire. Plus, we take on a question from the community about how to approach online education with ADHD.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Read the transcript for this episode
- Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds by Brandon Sanderson
- Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:11) - Summer Group Coaching Enrolling Now!
- (02:36) - Question: Online cohort education with ADHD?
- (14:17) - Become an ADHD Patron!
- (15:37) - The ADHD Identity Crisis
Do you ever find yourself stuck in research mode? Are you overwhelmed with options? Do you resent regret? If you’ve ever found yourself living in fear of making decisions, you’re not alone. It can be a debilitating cycle knowing that you’re facing the same questions over and over again either because you can’t make a decision, or you can’t live with the decisions you’ve made. This week on the show, Nikki puts on the coaching hat to walk us through some of the questions that can help you walk out of decision paralysis and conquer your fear!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - The ADHD Podcast
- (00:30) - Announcements: July Break, Summer Coaching, and more!
- (02:30) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (05:28) - Overcoming the Fear of Making Decisions
The ADHD diagnosis can be as confusing as it is illuminating, unlocking doors in yourself you never knew to be closed. Just as it is a journey for you as you learn to live with these new words that suddenly describe you, it is as much a journey for those who love you. Parents, siblings, and others who care about you will experience a range of emotions as they, too, learn about your diagnosis.
This week on the show, inspired by a listener request, Nikki and Pete are taking on how to talk to your loved ones after you receive your ADHD diagnosis and give you some tools you can use to frame the conversation to work toward shared understanding and growth.
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - The ADHD Podcast
- (01:44) - Listener Letter!
- (05:12) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon
- (06:36) - Talking to loved ones after diagnosis
- (11:55) - The nature of 'fault'
- (13:28) - Truth and Fact, Education
ADHD Coach Caroline Maguire is back! She’s a coach, author, teacher, and speaker with a special focus in social skills supporting kids — and parents of kids — with ADHD. She’s just about to celebrate the release of her new book, Why Will No One Play with Me?: The Play Better Plan to Help Children of All Ages Make Friends and Thrive and we’re thrilled she came back to share the story of the book, and why social skills are so critical for kids and adults alike in healthy development.
Her book is scheduled for launch in September, but follow the links below to be notified of availability or pre-order now.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Episode Transcript
- Why Will No One Play with Me?: The Play Better Plan to Help Children of All Ages Make Friends and Thrive by Caroline Maguire Pre-order Now
- Learn more about Caroline Maguire
- Caroline Maguire on Facebook
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:22) - Support The ADHD Podcast
- (02:59) - Introducing Caroline Maguire
- (04:48) - "Why will no one play with me?"
- (08:37) - Teaching parents how to coach their kids
- (20:20) - Making friends as an adult
- (27:36) - What about the meds?
- (31:07) - College
- (37:26) - Writing with ADHD
- (42:17) - Get on the list
Adult diagnosis of ADHD is, by all our evidence on this show, an enormously liberating thing. We learn so much about ourselves, put a clear and cogent frame around our experience, that we can truly change the way we relate to the world around us. There's baggage that comes to this experience late in life, however: many of us live in a culture that puts outsized value on achievement and success in the young. There's a brewing conversation on the value of late bloomers, particularly but not exclusively in the US, and it's time to talk about the values that come along with blooming late — and what other late bloomers can learn from those who've been blooming late with ADHD all along.
Welcome to the club, late bloomers. Glad to have you.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Rich Karlgaard on WAMC
- Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement by Rich Karlgaard
- Why Late Bloomers are Undervalued — TEDxFargo
- Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:15) - A Note of Congratulations to Listener Dave
- (05:22) - Late Blooming, also Pete Uses "Jam" Too Much
- (09:28) - 'Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement' by Rich Karlgaard
- (13:08) - Filtering for Stand-Out Achievers
- (19:12) - Brains bake longer than we thought
- (23:18) - The 6 Core Values of the Late Bloomer... and ADHD Pals
- (27:29) - Repotting
- (31:56) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon
For many of us, our relationship with Dr. Edward Hallowell, M.D., Ed.D., started with his best-selling 1994 book, Driven to Distraction. He's the author of 20 books on various psychological topics and is a highly recognized international speaker on ADHD, focus, productivity, and beyond. He’s the founder of The Hallowell Centers, and has been featured as a guest expert across the media landscape, not to mention he’s a terrific host of his own podcast, DISTRACTION, which focuses on, you guessed it, the struggles and distractions of this amped up world.
Dr. Hallowell joins us today to talk about self-esteem. It’s a subject that creeps in and out of our community regularly with questions that angle on our perception of self, our sometimes flagging love and appreciation of ourselves, and who better to help us assess self-esteem and the ADHD role in our self-perception than one of the premier leaders in our field and the ADHD experience.
Links & Notes
- Because I Came from a Crazy Family: The Making of a Psychiatrist by Ned Hallowell
- Driven to Distraction by Ned Hallowell
- DrHallowell.com
- Subscribe to Distraction Podcast with Dr. Ned Hallowell
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:34) - Introducing Dr. Ned Hallowell
- (04:53) - How does self-esteem impact ADHD? Ferrari Brain, Bicycle Brakes
- (09:57) - Climbing Mount Shame to see more clearly
- (14:56) - How can you get beyond shame to ask for help?
- (21:46) - Is social media a solution for connection?
- (26:32) - Listener Questions
This week on the show, Nikki takes to the mic to interview Pete and Tommy Metz III about their podcast, ‘What’s That Smell?’ Over the last three seasons of WTS, Pete and Tommy have learned a lot about sharing their anxieties with the world through the podcast, and about helping others to laugh in the face of their own fears. Today on the show, we’re going to hear what that journey has done for them in dealing with their own anxieties, and how Pete’s ADHD journey parallels his anxieties on the way.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (00:32) - Become a Patron Supporter!
- (01:06) - A Very Special Podcast Podcast: What's That Smell?
- (36:52) - What's That Smell?
Optimism is about more than just parading around happily all the time. It’s a worldview that has direct and powerful connections to your social group, your productivity, and your very own health! This week on the show, we’re talking all about optimism. You’ll understand the kind of language you might be using that becomes the pessimism trap, you’ll learn about recent research connecting your worldview to your cardiovascular health, and you’ll discover how you can incorporate a daily optimism practice into your routine with ease!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast: The Choice to be Optimistic!
- (01:32) - Support the ADHD Podcast on Patreon
- (02:58) - Optimism
By the age of 12, children with ADHD hear 20,000 more negative messages than their peers. Those messages are teaching lessons about self-esteem, courage, confidence, initiative, and decision-making that become deeply rooted in their identity. That's kids, but what happens to those kids as they grow up? 20,000 negative messages grows exponentially as we move into college, or our first jobs, our careers. And what about those of us diagnosed later in life? Those of us who heard all those same negative messages, but had nothing to attribute them to?
This week on the show we’re talking all about resilience, that state of being that allows us to rebound from short-term setbacks, and adapt to long-term change, without letting our ADHD get in the way.
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:40) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon
- (07:12) - Resilience
- (17:21) - Assessments of Friction
Language is an important factor in how we integrate ourselves with the world around us. It determines our worldview and can go a long way toward determining how well we succeed in what we’re trying to accomplish toward our goals but simply giving us the intrinsic motivation to keep moving forward. To set yourself up for success, you might want to explore whether you’ve adopted a growth mindset, or if you’ve adopted the inner language of fixed resistance.
This week on the show, we’re exploring the Growth Mindset. Thanks to some innovative work in how we approach our challenges, we have all the tools we need to improve our confidence and avoid getting mired in the resistance.
Sponsor: Our research for today’s show is anchored in the work of Dr. Carol Dweck and her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. If you’re interested in the book, you can get it today for free by visiting audibletrial.com/theadhdpodcast and signing up for a new account. Browse the catalog, search for Mindset, and download it today. If you love it, keep the account and get new audiobooks every single month! If you don’t, no problem… cancel your account but the book is yours for keeps!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:08) - Submit your questions! questions@takecontroladhd.com
- (02:11) - The Growth Mindset
- (05:01) - Sponsor: AudibleTrial.com/TheADHDPodcast and get 'Mindset' Free
- (06:22) - MindsetWorks.com
- (07:06) - The Fixed Mindset
- (13:34) - The Growth Mindset
- (19:49) - How do you shift to Growth?
A mind map can be a truly transformational personal tool for integrating new information into your system — and your memory! With a little exploration and practice, you can learn how to develop a mind map that presents information the way your brain actually interprets it, through concepts, images and ideas. What is it that makes mind maps such a unique tool, and what do you need to learn to make mind maps that allow you to capture quickly without overwhelm? Join us this week to find out!
Links & Notes
- (00:02) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:54) - Question: Advice on the PRAXIS for Teachers?
- (06:52) - Question: SQ3R?
- (09:34) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon
- (11:28) - Mind Mapping
That little voice in your head? The one telling you that you have no business doing what you're doing? That's the resistance. And you can tell it to shove off.
This week on the show, Nikki and Pete review some of the reasons you might be feeling the resistance. Sure, you might be accustomed to calling it procrastination, but is there more to it than that? Have you reflected on the underlying conditions that might be getting in the way of accomplishing your goals, from planning thoroughly, from trying something new? It's up to you do do some healthy resistance house cleaning... and we're starting now!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:15) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon — Join the Community!
- (02:00) - Can we talk about resistance?
Our community is full of learners — students of all stripes. But the act of learning is different for those living with ADHD. It puts new pressures on different parts of the brain. Sitting and digesting new information is a challenge over long periods, and building a map to structure your own learning path in an environment of uncertainty can cause deep anxiety.
Whether you're pursuing a degree or testing for a new certification, this week we offer tools and strategies to help you be a smarter and more effective student with your ADHD!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:51) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon — Join the Community!
- (03:32) - Strategies for Students with ADHD!
You're busy enough as it is. But what happens when you're offered a new project, grand opportunity, great chance to show off? How do you know if you can afford to say... yes?
Today on the show, Nikki breaks down the process you can use to shed the stress of saying yes, and build strong and confident boundaries that help you decline with love. From crafting smart priorities so you better understand the time you have available, to determining if you’re ready to make the emotional commitment to a new project. Jump in!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:13) - Spring ADHD Coaching is now open for registration!
- (02:15) - Become a Patron — Join The ADHD Podcast Community
- (03:39) - How do I know when to start new things?
Living with ADHD is a mystery. Sometimes, we’re completely present and aware of our symptoms, sure. But most of the time, we aren’t completely aware of what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, or the impact our symptoms are having on others… until we’re thrown in a laboratory.
Today on the show, Pete shares his experience in just such an environment. A perfectly benign social engagement offers the opportunity to see just how ADHD symptoms are triggered and resolved over minutes thanks to some clever puzzles… and the urge to escape.
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:24) - Spring ADHD Coaching is now open for registration!
- (02:31) - The Complex is back! (kind of...)
- (06:27) - Become a Patron — Join The ADHD Podcast Community
- (07:51) - The ADHD Escape (Room)
It’s paper day! Dealing with your paper piles requires a unique approach that is more of a cousin to the four steps we’ve been practicing thus far. First thing to note: paper organizing has no end! Once you wrap your head around that, we can get started in building a system to efficiently categorize and stay up-to-date on the paper without becoming overrun by piles!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Take Control ADHD Course: The Paper Solution
- Luke Barnett’s Author Life chat with Pete
- Tools They Use Podcast from Keep Productive chat with Pete
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (03:00) - The Opening Question: Letting Someone Down
- (09:34) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon
- (11:58) - Oranizing Paper
You’ve done the hard work. You’ve purged and sorted, and you’ve found a way to effectively assign spaces to your things, things to your spaces. But how do you keep those spaces and systems functioning? You turn to maintenance.
Maintenance does not mean that you’re in a constant state of organizing. That would be exhausting! This week on the show, we’re talking about what maintenance is and how to set up smart systems to support your new organized self. Plus, we answer a bonus listener question about managing passwords in the age of epic breaches.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:42) - Follow-up: Have I Been Pwnd?
- (07:41) - Support The ADHD Podcast
- (09:34) - Organizing Step 4: Maintenance
We’ve made it! For those who have been listening to our organizing series and wondering where all the organizing is, this week is all for you! But remember, each step in the organizing process is critical — especially for those living with ADHD! — so just as you’re taking the organizing step seriously, that can only come thanks to your efforts in sorting and purging before it. This week, we’re talking about effective use of your space, how you think about space, and how you approach turning your space into a home for your things!
We are proud to be guests in Linda Roggli’s 4th Annual ADHD Women’s Palooza! For a whole week, 30 top ADHD experts gather online to present about ADHD as it specifically relates to women. Registration is open now, presentations begin on February 25th! Oh, and did we mention it’s free to attend? That’s right, as long as you can make time to watch the sessions during the Palooza, it’s free. But you can get all kinds of great bonuses with a paid ticket so check it out!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (01:11) - 2019 ADHD Women's Palooza!
- (03:16) - The Opening Question! How do I make decisions with less emotion?
- (09:12) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon
- (10:57) - Organizing!
In part 2 of our organizing series we're taking on sorting and purging. How do you handle making the tough decisions that will ultimately lead you to reclaiming your space? You build some new muscles... starting today!
First, we’ve got a listener question that takes us deep into the avoidance spiral hole, and a reminder that if you haven’t invested in a password vault to keep your usernames and passwords secure, 2.2 billion reasons just hit the open network.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- “Security firm identifies hacker behind Collection 1 leak, as Collection 2-5 become public” by Catalin Cimpanu
- Download 1Password
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:08) - Safety Update: Make sure you have a password vault!
- (03:16) - HaveIBeenPwned.com
- (04:32) - Opening Question: How do I break the Avoidance Spiral Hole!
- (11:24) - Support the Show
- (12:54) - Follow-up: Kondo and ADHD
- (15:04) - Organizing Step 2: Sorting and Purging
- (40:40) - Homework!
If you haven’t noticed, there is a lot of energy around getting organized in the air right now. Spurred on by the new Marie Kondo show on Netflix, we’re getting more and more questions about the so-called magic of tidying up and, most importantly, is this an ADHD-friendly way to handle your stuff? As you can imagine, we have opinions!
This week on the show we’re digging into our roots to talk about organizing with ADHD, kick-starting a five-week mini-series on the organizing process, and how to get organized in a way that is kind to your ADHD.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (02:00) - Question: Is Marie Kondo ADHD-Friendly?
- (10:47) - Support The ADHD Podcast!
- (12:55) - Orgainzing with ADHD
- (18:22) - The Four Steps of Organizing Your Space
- (19:33) - Step One: Planning, and the Definition of Organization
- (25:16) - Is tidying up really a special event for ADHDers?
- (29:26) - Estimating Time to Organize, rewards, and sprints
- (33:36) - Chosing the Starting Point
- (35:12) - Is your zone causing you stress?
- (37:28) - The Zig-Zag and the Yo-Yo
- (43:04) - Coming attractions
Some call hyperfocus the hidden superpower of ADHD. It’s characterized as this amazing reserve of focus that you can turn on to accomplish great things, health and wellness be damned! If you’re living with ADHD, you know what a misunderstanding this can be. Sure, hyperfocus can be a massive reserve of energy, akin to firing a glass cannon into the open ocean — it’s a reserve that too often destroys itself with no ultimate reward.
Today we’re talking about what goes into hyperfocus with an eye on creating a more productive, targeted experience for ADHD that the experts have dubbed flow. Is it possible to build a model of understanding our hyperfocus states such that we can train our brains to get better at it? Join us and share your experience, too!
Along the way, we wrapped up four questions you can ask of yourself to determine whether you're likely to find a state of flow in a project. Consider:
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (02:00) - Listener Question
- (14:24) - Sponsor: Support The ADHD Podcast at Patreon.com/TheADHDPodcast
- (15:08) - Finding Flow with ADHD
- (20:34) - What is a Flow State?
- (24:44) - Marie Kondo Dance Break
- (25:10) - Meanwhile, the Paradox of ADHD
- (30:08) - The conditions of Flow
- (32:26) - The Flow Matrix
- (42:30) - A note on medication
- (43:15) - Happy Tuesday!
Does the internal chatter of ADHD really sound all that different than that of those who don’t live with it? Our guest today has been working among other leaders in the field to help find those Gremlins in our heads and quiet them down, making room for the benefits that come with the positive voices and stories we write about our own contributions to the world around us.
Jane Massengill has been coaching adults with ADHD for the past 20 years, helping them learn to put the brakes on their internal chatter long enough so that they can begin to experience their bright spots instead of focusing on their dark spots. She is the Director of The Gremlin-Taming Institute, and speaks to audiences of all kinds on the benefits of learning how to listen to yourself.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- https://www.janemassengill.com
- The Gremlin-Taming Institute
- Taming Your Gremlin: A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way — by Rick Carlson
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:53) - Introducing Jane Massengill of the Gremlin-Taming Institute
- (07:02) - Why do some people struggle when others don't?
- (14:26) - About the Book and Jane's History
- (18:20) - The ADHD Internal Dialog
- (22:48) - Word-Watching
- (30:38) - Word-Watching Exercise
Happy New Year! We love the turnover of the calendar around these parts because it gives us a time to slow down and reflect. We're not so much resolution people, but we do use the time to think more deeply than usual about how we motivate ourselves to change, the challenges we put in our own way, and how we can use our own efforts to fuel us to stick to the change we want to see in our lives.
This week on the show, we're ringing in the new year with a conversation about making life design choices that focus on the good you do for yourself and your communities in the new year.
- (00:00) - Happy New Year from The ADHD Podcast!
- (02:20) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon
- (04:00) - No More Voicemail
- (04:59) - Listener Question: Coping with Constant Change
- (08:38) - Designing Your Life
- (24:42) - Focus Feedback from Facebook
We called for questions and you delivered! Thank you to everyone who wrote in — We hope we did your questions justice! Here’s the list, and if you use a podcast app that supports them, you’ll find you can jump around to the chapter markers in the episode to hear just the questions you’re looking for.
We wish you a happy holiday season and we'll be back in 2019!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - The ADHD Podcast Annual Q&A Extravaganza!
- (01:52) - Group Coaching Reminder — Registration Open Now!
- (03:56) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon — Thank You!
- (06:20) - Have there been any studies on marijuana use and teens with ADHD?
- (13:20) - I struggle with weight... I need strategies to get out of the vicious cycle of loss of motivation.
- (20:36) - Does boredom lead to depression in ADHD?
- (24:45) - I have a significant commute. Do you have strategies for coping?
- (29:56) - Is an official ADHD diagnosis important as an adult?
- (34:32) - How can I balance my obsession with organizational tools with doing the work?
- (38:30) - Welcome Monica!
- (40:04) - For Monica: How do you like working for ADHD Nation?
- (40:44) - For Monica: Do you have personal experience with ADHD?
- (42:44) - For Monica: Is working with Nikki a ray of sunshine and positivity?
- (44:55) - Was "time & attention" intentional?
- (45:56) - How has your process for capturing content changed at conferences?
- (48:30) - Have you ever recorded a podcast and then decided not to air it?
- (50:42) - Any advice for our past selves?
- (55:55) - Where's the blooper reel?
- (57:39) - In closing...
We received an email from just about the best boss in the world. Why? Because she asked a question that everyone living quietly with ADHD would like to hear their boss asking. In short: How can I help?
Of course, working with — and supervising — someone with ADHD is more complicated after you ask that question. Today on the show, we have tools and strategies for helping to orient your staff, your team, and maybe even your organization to working with ADHD in the office.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control!
- (01:54) - Pete on the Day One Podcast
- (03:22) - About Show Notes
- (07:31) - Support the show on Patreon!
- (09:45) - ADHD Group Accountability Coaching — Registration is Open Now!
- (11:04) - Working with ADHDers in the Workplace
- (30:33) - Thank you... and don't forget!...
Do social situations exhaust you? Do you feel like your brain is working in overdrive to keep up with your environment? According to our guest this week, that’s a common refrain for those living with ADHD. Caroline Maguire is a coach, author, teacher, and speaker with a special focus in social skills supporting kids and parents of kids with ADHD. She’s here today to talk with us all about reading between the lines and the challenges that ADHDers face when it comes to understanding the unspoken complexities of social interaction. It’s time to master the “Polite Pretend!”
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Ever wondered what happens at a national ADHD conference? OK… that’s a leading question. This week on the show, Nikki has returned from CHADD/ADDA/ACO in St. Louis and she’s got lessons to share! If you’ve ever struggled with cementing a growth mindset for yourself, shame, existing with ADHD at work, or you just want to know who’s hot right now in ADHD (that sounds weirder than it was intended), then you should listen in!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★What is the brain dump? Generally, when we’re talking about a brain dump, we’re referring to the big discharge of all the things on your mind that are keeping you from being able to move forward. We know that there is a limit to what we as human organisms can keep in our working memory so we get it all out on paper and can then start doing the work, right?
Probably not. This week on the show, Pete and Nikki are talking about the perils of the one-off brain dump and how you can work a regular brain purge into your own system reliably!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★There is no shame in starting small. That’s the truth, but that’s not often the message we tell ourselves. We’re naturally focused on the sadness that comes from not accomplishing more, from not achieving some sort of greatness that comes when we complete our massive lists. When we tell ourselves that it’s OK to do one thing well, we close the door on any appreciation of modesty and let the shame in, that we’re not doing enough, fast enough, to fit in.
This week on the show we’re talking all about letting go: letting go of the fear of starting small, letting go of the lists that plague us getting in the way of what we need to do today, letting go of a mistaken appreciation of quantity in favor of quality.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★That first rush of relief that you feel when you’re handed the diagnoses of ADHD is exhilarating. You finally have words to describe what you’ve been feeling and experiencing, and a brand new way to relate to the world around you! And that feeling lasts for about three-and-a-half seconds, right up to the moment you ask yourself, what now?
Accepting your ADHD diagnosis might be your first experience of an ADHD storm, a term coined by our guest today. He’s the author of Focused Forward: Navigating the storms of Adult ADHD, he’s host of The Complex: Shiny Shorts podcast, and he’s released a new video education series ADHD — From Answers to Action. We’re thrilled to have our friend James Ochoa back on the show to help us unravel the complexities of accepting your ADHD diagnosis.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★You’ve sat through all the seminars. You’ve read all the books. You’ve watched all the videos. Your brain is a cup overflowing with new goodies to try… and now you’re overwhelmed, discouraged, and disappointed that you’re not able to just get to it.
You’re not alone. And if you’re living with ADHD, you’ve likely squirreled away worksheets and notebooks and PDFs galore that will supposedly support you in changing your life for the better. Today on the show we’re talking all about the practice that comes with making change, and how you can turn that library of notes and resources into something you can manage — one new skill at a time.
Download the ADHD Strategy Worksheet on the website!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★This week’s show comes thanks to a listener with a time challenge. School, work, family … they all compound the challenges that come with a life with ADHD. How do you approach the world when you feel like you’re too acclimated to timers and alarms? You can’t trust your own calendar? You feel like you’ve run out of ideas to cope and you’re awash in hopelessness? You try something new. And maybe… just maybe… that new thing is seeking help from your friendly neighborhood ADHD podcast.
This week on the show, we start with the premise that ADHD time is different that time for many people… and that’s perfectly OK by us!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We spend a lot of time building gates and systems to protect ourselves from distraction of ADHD. But, what might we be losing at the expense of saying No? This week on the show, Pete talks about control and ADHD. Spinning off of the concept of Margin as discussed by Shawn Blanc and Richard Swenson before him, what does it mean for ADHD when our systems and processes that we use to protect ourselves and our focus cause us to run out of margin in our lives and run headlong into a broader world that doesn’t understand us?
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- Giving up Control at Work — Shawn Blanc
- Margin from The Focus Course — Shawn Blanc
- Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives_ by Richard Swenson
We had so many fantastic submissions for our "What do you want the world to know about ADHD" poll that we had to do TWO episodes! From judgment to raising kids with ADHD, this week you brought even more incredible insights to share with the rest of us. This is one of our very favorite pairs of episodes and is highlighted by your collective vulnerability and generosity. Thank you.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★There are so many signals coming at us; judgments, criticisms, guidance, and support. But so often, these messages come from those with limited experience with ADHD. This week on the show, asked you a simple question: What is it that you want the world to know about your life with ADHD?
You told us how you experience relationships. You told us how your memory impacts your day. You shared your challenges with intimacy. You talked about how hard it is to respond to well-meaning strangers who know a thing or two about gluten. You came at us with glorious gusto.
So please join us today for part one of what has become a two-parter and hear how your peers would like to share their ADHD experience with the world. Thank you for listening, and even greater thanks for sharing!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
- The Pre- & Post-Diagnosis Journey with ADD Crusher Alan Brown — The ADHD Podcast Episode 270
- Lessons in Love & ADHD with Melissa Orlov — The ADHD Podcast Episode 311
- Ear Hustle — Ear Hustle brings you the stories of life inside prison, shared and produced by those living it.
One of the greatest muscles you can develop to help you relate to the world around you while living with ADHD is to become a better listener. Author Rebecca Shafir brings her communication skills — and her book on the subject — to help us out this week!
Rebecca a speech/language pathologist, an ADHD coach for over 25 years, a colleague of Dr. Ned Hallowell and the author of The Zen of Listening: Mindful Communication in the Age of Distraction. With over 30 years experience working with students and professionals to improve well-being, personal productivity and communication, she’s in the perfect position to teach us all to move on from active listening and become a truly mindful listener!
And, her book is now available on Audible! Support Rebecca and this show by starting your free Audible account today at audibletrial.com/theadhdpodcast. Start your trial then search for the book and start listening today! Our great thanks to Audible for their sponsorship of this podcast.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Receiving a diagnosis of ADHD can be hard enough. But what do you do when your partner, friends, or family don't work to understand and support you?
This week on the show, Nikki and Pete take on this thorny issue. Yes, in fact, there are two sides, and approaching those closest to us with news that something is not as they’ve always understood it in your relationship can be jarring. Normalizing around this big new thing is the first step, then you can move on to the business of figuring out the rhythm of your relationship going forward. But what if you run into an ideological brick wall? That’s another story.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★It’s hard out there. Why do we make it harder by subconsciously practicing language that devalues us, our contributions, and our abilities? Inspired by recent conversations in our coaching groups, Nikki brings a strategy that can help you build the muscles and triggers you’ll need to both notice when you’re falling into the trap of limiting beliefs, but to correct the pattern with replacement language.
Discord fan? Our general chat is open to all in Discord and we’d love to have you there! Sign up and join the fun! If you’re a Discord user and you’re already supporting us on Patreon, make sure to connect your account to get access to all the supporter-level channels available to you!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Yes, you know what ADHD does to your attention. But did you know that part of your distractibility might just be because you're ... human? New research out of Princeton says distraction was an evolutionary benefit and our ability to cycle the spotlight of attention actually serves to keep us safe. Today on the show, we’re talking about the research, and Pete brings three tools that purport to rewire your brain through sound!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- Here’s Scientific Proof your Brain was Designed to be Distracted
- Brain.fm
- Behind the Brain: Theory & Algorithms — White Paper
- Focus@Will
- Noiz.io
Building and maintaining strong friendships is critical to emotional well-being. When we announced that we were doing a show on friendships and ADHD, you spoke up. This week on the show, we’re walking through a collection of questions from you, from setting better boundaries to navigating unbalanced relationships and so much more!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Building and maintaining strong friendships is critical to emotional well-being. But ADHD characteristics can put a damper on social convention. How to cope? It starts with developing a keen understanding of how your brain and your own relationship with ADHD impacts how you relate to people important to you. This week on the show, we’re talking about the skills and traits you’ll need to develop to grow stronger and healthier human connections!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Memory is a fickle beast. With ADHD, you’re saddled with the unpredictability of having a terrific and accurate memory one day to a devastatingly terrible memory the next. This intermittent reinforcement makes the ADHD memory unreliable, sure, but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. From executive functioning to working memory and prospective memory, understanding where your memory is impacted is key to determining the strategies that will work best for you, to help you remember what you need, when you need it.
We're talking about memory this week, the functions of memory that may be impaired with ADHD, and strategies for improving your memory that come from some unlikely sources.
Links & Notes
- More Attention, Less Defecit by Ari Tuckman
- The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci by Jonathan Spence
- Hannibal by Thomas Harris — This is where Pete was first inspired to explore memory palaces.
The thing about routines is that they’re as easy to break as they are to start, no matter how well they were working for you. With ADHD, it’s so simple to move to another task blindly that without developing a real muscle around task switching awareness, it’ll only take a few missed steps to forget you had a routine in place at all.
This week on the show we’re talking about routines… those we’ve started, those we’ve broken, and how we can work to change our definition of success in our routines so we’re not so deeply tied to the perils of consistency.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We’ve been working hard over the last few weeks to talk about how we define success. The lesson, from your own contributions, is largely that we as a group need to get better at it. We’re stuck in a place where success, to us, means defiant win. But the space between our big wins can feel like a chasm. And the isolation and judgment that comes with ADHD can make that chasm unusually dark.
That’s why the success stories today are so important. Because in each, no matter how dark they begin, they reveal an effort to celebrate the act of movement, of taking action, of trying something new. We applaud everyone who wrote in, called in, or even thought about reachout out to us to share a success, and encourage you all to keep pushing through, to leap the chasm and find your own success.
We’re off for the month of July. See you right back here in August!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Acknowledging our successes is not an easy thing to do for many of us — and it's even harder when wading through the judgment of ADHD. So how do you celebrate your successes and pat yourself on the back? This week on the show, we’re talking about how we go about defining and cataloging success, how we frame our own pride in our accomplishments and set the stage for a whole episode devoted to your success stories next week!
Email your successes to info@takecontroladhd.com before Wednesday, June 20th!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★How can you tell the difference between a legitimate reason you’re not able to do something and an excuse that you’ve started telling to get yourself out of it? Strange as it may sound, we’ve gone to the Oxford English Dictionary for help and — spoiler — that just made things worse! Nuances of language, culture, and context aside, we push through today to offer a framework for approaching excuses through logic, building the muscles that allow us to see when we’re not being honest with ourselves, and learning to live by fact and truth — as hard as that is for us to do sometimes.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Do you have FOLI? Never heard of it? Don’t worry, we hadn’t either. But if you’re living with ADHD, once we tell you about “Fear of Losing Interest,” we’re pretty sure you’ll be able to relate. Credit to one of our fantastic listeners for coining the acronym, we’re thrilled to be able to talk more about it today and spread the word!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- Sign up for Summer Accountability Coaching!
- Check out Pete’s Podcast: What’s That Smell? — and binge season 1!
If you're living with ADHD, you know what it's like to feel misunderstood. That isolation can lead you to a place where advice like, "you should just get out more," is tough to take seriously. Today on the show, we're talking all about loneliness.
But first, an important safety tip: 1Password 7 for Mac was released this week which offers direct access to a new tool that you need to know about — whether you use 1Password or not. That tool is HaveIBeenPwnd.com and it’s going to help you stay on top of data breaches hacks — and keep your user accounts safe.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- Have I Been Pwnd?
- 1Password
- Dr. Robert Brooks
- Mortality: Insights into Meaningful Living by Robert Brooks
We’ve seen a flood of comments about expectations over the last few weeks and they all seem to zero in to the same general area: the to-do list is out of hand. But it’s more complicated than just having too many things on your list. In fact, your overflowing to-do list likely has more to do with your lack of practice in estimating time for individual tasks, and lack of a system to visually connect your work to the time you have available to do it. Today, we’re talking all about that, plus a plug that can help you free yourself from the self-judgment and shame that comes with feeling like you’ve failed when you can’t check everything off your list each day!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★What motivates you? That’s the principal question around rewards, and it’s harder to answer for folks who are living with ADHD. The complications of reward systems are many; are you taking care of yourself? Do you remember to reward yourself? Do you question whether you “deserve” a reward? Does the reward actually keep you motivated to continue to move forward on your projects? This week on the show, we’re talking about reward systems and ADHD and have some terrific suggestions from our brilliant listeners that you can try to keep yourself motivated and happy!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★James and Jules Ochoa are back! The OTHER dynamic duo in ADHD podcasting have just wrapped their first season of The Complex, a podcast that approaches ADHD through the lens of a fictional apartment complex and it’s many ADHDer residents. They’re here today to share a bit about their experience and lessons learned in approaching the ADHD community through a podcast platform.
For more background on the show head back to our show, episode 331.
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We’re going back to our roots this week with a trip down organizing lane! That’s right, it’s our ANNUAL SPRING ORGANIZING episode! Trouble getting started? Trouble finishing? Trouble narrowing down how to start? All that and more as Nikki and Pete revisit their tolerations and share strategies for overcoming the practical and emotional hurdles of tackling spring organizing with ADHD!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We’re getting colorful this week on the show! After a quick review of some cool emoji tools to take your charm AND organizational skills to a new level, we dig into chromotherapy and how you can use color to help sooth some of the challenges of ADHD – plus the colors to avoid if you’re launching a redecorating sprint like Pete!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- Learn to use the Emoji Picker on Windows 10
- Get Rocket for Mac
- The Psychology of Color by Carey Jolliffe
We’re going through the motions. Get up. Go to work. Come home. Go to bed. Sure, there might be more to it than just that, but how much, really? Are you stuck in the trap of routine? Are you feeling stuck? Bored? Confused?
Gretchen Rubin has contributed so much to this very discussion through her book, The Happiness Project. Today on the show, we’re talking about the book, and about the things that you can do — the concrete actions you can take — to help you find your center, and rediscover your happiness.
Sponsor: This week's show is brought to you by Audible! Get a free audiobook to spice up your commute and learn and love through reading. Sign up for your free book at AudibleTrial.com/theadhdpodcast. From there, search for our recommended book for the week: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We’re inspired today. Hot on the heels of a fantastic conversation with a client, Nikki has a message of hope and opportunity for change that we can each use to help us focus on the positive, the bright, the empowered. It all begins with a simple choice: Today, I have the opportunity to do something different ...
A listener emailed this week with a five point mantra that fits the bill, too. It’s such a perfect pairing with our conversation today that we wanted to share it here in writing. When you’re feeling compromised, try reading it aloud to yourself. What does your voice sound like as it carries across the air? How can you make it stronger, more confident? How can you take ownership of this message, craft it into something uniquely you?
Thanks again to everyone who commented, wrote, and contributed to the message this week!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’re taking on anxiety this week. Specifically, that feeling of paralysis that comes from ADHD overwhelm and panic. Your todo list is too long. You don’t know what to do first. You feel like you’re letting people down because of your paralysis. All these feelings are real and if you’re in the middle of them, it can feel impossible to break free. That’s why we’re going to talk about preventative strategies that you can practice to make sure you don’t fall into the frozen trap in the first place!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Doug Herr is back with us all the way from Nashville to talk about ADHD Inattentive Type. ADHD inattentive represents one of our most frequent subjects for questions and one we haven’t covered specifically. Dr. Doug takes on questions on treatment, motivation, talking with schools and special ed teams, writing, reward systems and so much more.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We’re backing up on questions again! This week we’re taking a raft of your questions and have some tools, tips, products, and solutions you might try for all of them. From re-tuning your brain from overstimulation and hyperfocus to marriage buckets, noise canceling headphones and so much more! If we didn’t get to your question, please know that we just ran out of time this week but we’ll get to it in a coming episode. Thank you for sharing and keep ‘em coming!
Links & Notes
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
- Focused Forward: Navigating the Storms of Adult ADHD by James Ochoa
- Bose Noise canceling Headphones
- Sony Noise canceling Headphones
- The Adventure Zone Podcast
- Trello
- Habit Bull
- (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
- (01:24) - Is there such a thing as pro-ADHD bias?
- (05:08) - Do you have suggestions for noise canceling headphones?
- (08:34) - How do you find an ADHD coach in a place where there are no coaches?
- (11:20) - Do you have any strategies for coming down from overstimulation?
- (16:44) - Shoutout for Trello and Habit Bull
- (17:52) - How do you navigate ADHD in the marriage?
- (23:24) - How can you remind yourself of reminders you haven't set yet?
- (26:04) - Is there a way to stop hyperfocus?
You have a terrific list of tasks. But how do you decide what to work on first? After a run of conversations about task managers, it's time to take on sorting, sifting, filtering, and making the tough decisions that help you determine just how to put one foot confidently in front of the other: setting priorities!
Plus: Listen through to the end for a preview of Pete's new podcast!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
The trick with procrastination is that it’s easy. It’s the easiest thing in the world to succumb to inaction in place of action, especially when action is challenging. But when you let procrastination rule, shame is sure to follow, and the ADHD brain doesn’t work well in those conditions.
This week on the show we’re talking all about procrastination, avoidance, and the shame that stands between you and the feeling of productive accomplishment that truly is right in your reach. We’re going to help you re-attach motivation to your the actions in your way and hopefully find a path to the other side of inaction.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Inspired by an email from a time-starved OT, we’re taking on efficiency today, looking some of the ways that you can shave precious minutes off of tasks that force you to struggle. “Why can’t I do this task the same pace as the person next to me?” you ask. The secret is buried in the question. You’re a different person… perhaps it’s time to approach the task a different way!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★This week on the show we’re taking on questions on ToDo systems. Pete has been living out of a bunch of the major players in todo apps and comes ready to share thoughts on Things 3, Todoist, OmniFocus, and more. Which system is right for you? How do you go about testing? What should you be looking for in managing work for ADHD digitally? All that and more on today’s show.
BONUS: We’re making the whole livestream available to all this week! (Click here!) We want you to be able to see what we were talking about during the show as Pete walks through all the apps on deck. And remember, all members of our Patreon community have access to the video livestream every single week through our members-only Facebook group (technology willing)! We hope you’ll consider joining!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (04:56) - Background to The To-Do Showdown
- (06:50) - Things 3
- (15:50) - Just a few thoughts on Trello
- (17:10) - More on Things and task nagging, templates
- (20:36) - OmniFocus
- (23:22) - Todoist
- (38:24) - How do you make a decision?
- (41:58) - Wunderlist, Microsoft
- (42:46) - Apple Reminders
- (43:34) - Meanwhile, back to Nikki's challenge
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
James Ochoa is back and this time he's brought family! You'll hopefully remember James from our conversation with him last year — author of Focused Forward: Navigating the Storms of Adult ADHD, and founder and director of The Life Empowerment Center in Austin, TX. James joins us with his son Jules, recent grad of the fine Clark University and researcher in cognitive neuroscience… and podcaster! The Ochoas are here to introduce their new podcast, The Complex, a fiction show that aims to unravel the complexities of ADHD through a cadre of eclectic tenants of an apartment.
Make sure to stay tuned to the very end of the show for a sneak peak at episode one, then go subscribe to the show yourself in your favorite podcast app!
Links & Notes
- Subscribe to The Complex
- JamesOchoa.com
- Focused Forward: Navigating the Storms of Adult ADHD by James Ochoa
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:54) - Support The ADHD Podcast on Patreon — Thank you!
- (02:04) - Introducing James & Jules Ochoa
- (03:44) - What is The Complex?
- (06:34) - Clip — "People in my complex are driving me insane."
- (10:02) - Approaching The Complex as fiction
- (12:54) - How do you ensure the podcast is appropriately clinical?
- (18:38) - On Authenticity
- (21:16) - Clip — Genius Boy
- (23:58) - The Fallen Tree Story
- (25:59) - Writing & Producing The Complex
- (28:28) - Launch Plan
- (30:02) - Learn More
- (31:43) - The Complex — Episode 1
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We get lost with ADHD. Lost in feelings of struggle, lost in time of hyperfocus, lost in loneliness. It doesn’t take long before we build habits around the experience of negativity. But what if you were to change those behaviors and learn to celebrate the positive outcomes of even your smallest achievements?
Our guest is Jennifer Kampfe, a certified ADHD coach with Fantastically Focused. Jennifer works with children, teens, college students, parents and adults with ADHD and she’s here today to talk about her program, Hearts for ADHD. She’s helping parents and coaches celebrate the strengths and achievements of kids with ADHD, and teaching them to celebrate the same in themselves!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Linda Roggli is an award-winning author and founder of the ADDiva Network supporting women who are 40-and-better. As one of the founders of the ADHD Women’s Palooza she’s created an online conversation with the world’s top experts in ADHD and women. After a fantastic conversation last week on the latest research on issues that affect women with ADHD, she’s agreed to stick around this week and take on your questions on parenting, work, tech, and so much more!
Links & Notes
- Register for the 2018 ADHD Women’s Palooza!
- Confessions of an ADDiva — Midlife in the Non-Linear Lane by Linda Roggli
- The Distracted Couple: The Impact of ADHD on Relationships contributor Linda Roggli
- Let’s Fix It: A Magic Kit for ADHD Adults by Linda Roggli
- The ADDiva Network
- ADDiva Retreats
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Linda Roggli is an award-winning author and founder of the ADDiva Network supporting women who are 40-and-better. As one of the founders of the ADHD Women’s Palooza she’s created an online conversation with the world’s top experts in ADHD and women. She’s back on the show today to share the latest research about issues that affect women with ADHD in particular, along with some great reasons you should think about attending the ADHD Women’s Palooza yourself!
Links & Notes
- Register for the 2018 ADHD Women’s Palooza!
- Confessions of an ADDiva — Midlife in the Non-Linear Lane by Linda Roggli
- The Distracted Couple: The Impact of ADHD on Relationships contributor Linda Roggli
- Let’s Fix It: A Magic Kit for ADHD Adults by Linda Roggli
- The ADDiva Network
- ADDiva Retreats
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
You’re working hard to learn and grow, to discover new things and be a better person, right? But in that process, how do you catalog and internalize all things you’re learning so that you’ll be able to recall them later and use them when you need them most … even when you don’t know when that will be? This week on the show we’re talking all about organizing our learning — books, classes, podcasts, conferences, and more. Whether you’re a digital or binder person, we’ve got something for you this week!
Links & Notes
- Overcast (iOS)
- Audible (iOS, Android, Windows Phone)
- Amazon Kindle (iOS, Android, Mac, PC)
- Evernote
- Things
- Todoist
- Google Keep
- Goodnotes (iOS)
- BulletJournal
- Take Control ADHD on Pinterest
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
If you’re on the market for ADHD-friendly tools and resources, you know the search can be a challenging one. That’s because often the people creating the tools for you — even tools that are specifically for ADHDers — don’t actually understand ADHD themselves! Creating supporting tools for the ADHD brain is hard work, and has to be crafted for a special kind of learner. Today, Nikki has some suggestions to help you sort the good from the bad when it comes to building your ADHD support tool chest!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★How do you go about setting goals? If you’re like us, you’ve experienced the light-headedness that comes with New Year’s Eve resolution-setting. You’re pumped with endorphins and hanging with your friends — you’re on top of the world! But what happens the next morning? Resolution hangover. This week, we’re wrapping up the year talking about goals, goal-setting, and tackling changes you won’t regret!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Links & Notes
- Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast in Spotify!
- I Contain Multitudes by Ed Young
- New Group Coaching for January
- New Accountability Coaching!
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!
- (01:32) - I Contain Multitudes — By Ed Young
- (02:08) - Show Goodies
- (02:39) - The ADHD Podcast in Spotify!
- (03:38) - Patreon Update: Facebook Group is Live!
- (06:08) - Follow-Up: ADHD & Sales
- (08:50) - Follow-up: I'm a planner addict!
- (14:44) - Goal-setting for the New Year!
- (31:03) - New Group Coaching for January
- (31:54) - New Accountability Groups!
- (34:34) - Holiday Plans!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Billions of us send hundreds of billions of email messages every single day. Email is bigger than any other social platform around the world and thanks to the explosion in mobile Internet, we’re doing more and more emailing every day in the palms of our hands. Is this how you want to live? Is your ADHD brain adopting to the always-open door to your life that is electronic mail? This week on the show, we’re talking about changes in lifestyle, behavior, and technology you can make to impact your relationship with email for the better!
Links & Notes
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (00:34) - Follow-up: ADDA Webinar Thanks! — Celebrating Mistakes
- (03:37) - Thanks for your support on Patreon!
- (07:04) - Follow-up: Where does the diagnosis start?
- (10:12) - Follow-up: Learning to love yourself
- (13:44) - Let's talk about Email and the ADHD Brain
- (17:52) - Challenging Email Behavior and Lifestyle
- (25:16) - Stop filing. Just stop it. Please, stop it.
- (27:58) - Workbox versus Inbox
- (36:12) - Switching Costs of Changing Behavior
- (39:23) - Revisiting "Inbox Zero" and ADHD
- (44:22) - Apps that make email better
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We ended up with a number of backlog questions, and more than a few on writing long projects with ADHD, so this week we’re catching up! What kinds of jobs are well-suited for ADHD, particularly inattentive type? How do you keep yourself free from digital distractions? How do you keep plot, character, timeline all organized in your head when writing a novel with ADHD? All that and more on deck this week on The ADHD Podcast!
Links & Notes
- Writing Music: Apple Music Pure Focus Playlist
- Writing Music: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
- AeonTimeline
- (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
- (03:28) - The Attention Black Hole that is PowerPoint
- (08:04) - Question: What types of jobs are compatible with my ADHD?
- (15:26) - Question: Resource for healthy digital habits and ADHD
- (16:16) - Question: More about ADHD and novel-writing please!
- (27:32) - Writing Music: Apple Music Pure Focus Playlist
- (28:04) - Writing Music: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
- (28:42) - The perils of editing-in-place
- (31:26) - Fear
- (34:08) - The Cover
- (34:44) - Empowerment
- (38:30) - Accountability
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We may start our days with the best intentions. We have our lists and routines, our goals and objectives that we think we’re ready to accomplish. But what happens when you’re thrown off track? What happens when that unexpected phone call delivers some bad news, or the kids get sick, or the car breaks down?
If you don’t have some accommodations in place to account for these surprises, you won’t be able to bounce back! You’ll be unconsciously sabotaging your own day. On the show this week, we’re talking about the things you can do today — and every day — to build your resilience so that you can make more of your days terrific and fulfilling!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
This week on the show, Nikki’s back from CHADD/ADDA in Atlanta and brings some of her key lessons learned and takeaways from this fantastic conference. If you’ve ever wondered what goes into the continuing evolution of ADHD understanding, you’ll want to listen to this episode. Plus, we’ve got follow-up on binary language, inspiration, and how to tackle writing your novel with questions from listeners like you!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★If you’re a regular listener of the show, you know we’re big fans of the accountability partner. Recruiting someone you trust to help you accomplish something new, build a new habit, conquer a pesky behavior can be critical to your success. This week on The ADHD Podcast, Nikki breaks down Levels of Accountability and shares a model for how you can apply an accountability partner depending on the change you want to experience in your life!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Words are important. Since our conversation with James Ochoa and our efforts to change our language around the words manage versus navigate, we’ve heard from many listeners who are trying to change their language, too. This week, we’re taking on so-called “binary language,” conditions we set for ourselves in which there are only two conditions; good or bad, sick or healthy, smart or dumb, organized or not. When you shine a light on this kind of language, it sounds ridiculous, but how often do we let these terms creep into our lives subconsciously?
Links & Notes
- The Power of Language by Cat Thompson
- The Power of Language: How to Shape Your Reality With Your Words by Mark England
- Pure Focus Playlist on Apple Music
- The ADHD Podcast Episode 314: Dissecting the Emotional Distress Syndrome of ADHD with James Ochoa
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’re wrapping up ADHD Awareness Month with a Digital episode this week, taking a look at one of our long-standing requests: what do you need to look for to silence the notifications on your devices and help you take control of the things that have access to your attention.
But once you’ve silenced the notifications, what are you going to do with all that reclaimed headspace? Put it to good use with some introspective journaling! We talk about Pete’s favorite tools and prompts for journaling, and invite you to check out our friend Michelle Chalfant’s 30-Day Journaling Challenge for the month of November!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
It’s only too easy to get sucked into the negative spiral of doubt when confronted with your own unique ADHD challenges. This week on the show, we want to spin that inner dialog and focus on your inner ADHD strengths before you let the doubts determine your direction. We have our friends Gabriel and Heather back with us to give their insights on guiding our inner voices, developing our ideal day and week, and becoming the people we see in our own minds!
Gabriel Villarreal and Heather Clifft are the hosts of Informed Consent, a podcast designed to support and nurture incoming mental health clinicians who are in the trenches. Heather is a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in anxiety, trauma, family transitions, and counselor supervision. Gabriel is a Resident in Counseling and soon to be Licensed Practicing Counselor, providing therapy at his practice ADHD Counseling, he’s also a coach at his gym, LostBoys Strength and Conditioning. Both join us from Roanoke, Virginia.
Links & Notes
- The Informed Consent Podcast
- The Informed Conesnt Podcast — Apple Podcasts
- About Heather Clifft
- Connect with Heather on LinkedIn
- Learn more about Lost Boys Gym
- Learn more about Gabriel Villarreal
- Follow Gabriel on Instagram
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
A diagnosis of ADHD can open doors to clarity in your life. But it doesn’t take long to feel like those open doors are really just more pieces to a puzzle you have to put together before you can feel like you’re making any progress at all. Our guest today is Laurie Dupar, one of our favorite experts and resources, who joins us to talk through this puzzle of ADHD treatment. From medication to coaching to therapy and nutrition and self-care, we’ve got answers to help you navigate your ADHD diagnosis with confidence!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
If you’ve just found out you have ADHD, you’re likely swimming with questions. What do you need to know? How will your life change? How much research is too much research? If you’re overwhelmed and you don’t yet know how to talk about your new relationship with ADHD, listen to the show today.
Our guest today is Michael Cimino. He is an entrepreneur and sales and marketing professional who has been supporting organizations as ADDA and CHADD in their work. But he’s also a member with his own story of his ADHD journey and he’s here to share today. In addition, Michael is going to share some news about the 2017 International Conference on ADHD, November 9-12, 2017 in Atlanta, where you can learn and connect with leaders in ADHD research, treatment, and coaching (like Nikki!).
Links & Notes
- Learn more about the 2017 International Conference on ADHD
- Connect with Michael on LinkedIn
- Follow Michael on Twitter
- Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA)
- Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
When we first read his book, Focused Forward: Navigating the Storms of Adult ADHD, we became fast fans of James Ochoa. He writes candidly about his experience living with ADHD, struggling with ADHD, overcoming the hurdles of ADHD. But beyond that, he’s a counselor himself, working with the complex tapestries that are adults with ADHD. Today, we’re thrilled to be able to welcome James to the show to share a little bit about his own journey and to introduce us to one of the central themes in his work: the ADHD Emotional Distress Syndrome. We’re sure you’ll want to find out more about James and encourage you to pick up his book — easy and truly eye-opening reading!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Talking with others about our ADHD can be a tricky subject. If you’re not completely comfortable with your ADHD and how it affects your work and life, talking about it can be surrounded in self-judgment, even if that judgment isn’t reflected in reality. This week on the show, we have two guests and fellow podcasters to help us navigate this conversation and give you some great advice and a sound reality check on talking to others about your ADHD!
Gabriel Villarreal and Heather Clifft are the hosts of Informed Consent, a podcast designed to support and nurture incoming mental health clinicians who are in the trenches. Heather is a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in anxiety, trauma, family transitions, and counselor supervision. Gabriel is a Resident in Counseling and soon to be Licensed Practicing Counselor, providing therapy at his practice ADHD Counseling, he’s also a coach at his gym, LostBoys Strength and Conditioning. Both join us from Roanoke, Virginia.
Links & Notes
- The Informed Consent Podcast
- The Informed Consent Podcast — Apple Podcasts
- About Heather Clifft
- Connect with Heather on LinkedIn
- Learn more about Lost Boys Gym
- Learn more about Gabriel Villarreal
- Follow Gabriel on Instagram
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
This week on the show, we’re picking up where we left off in our conversation with Melissa Orlov last week with key strategies on managing chores in an ADHD/Non-ADHD relationship. How do you maintain peace through the roadblocks of relationship challenges in keeping your home operating smoothly? We review Melissa’s five-step approach and share our ideas that help cement your efforts to even the field in the home.
Plus, new this week we’re launching our very own Patreon! We count on support from listeners to continue to grow this podcast. If you've ever found the show a support to you in building the living systems you need to live with ADHD, we appreciate that you consider a regular donation through Patreon. Thank you!
We’re celebrating ADHD Awareness Month! Nikki will be presenting in the online ADHD Awareness Expo — a free virtual conference of ADHD Experts taking place October 1-7. Register now and learn more about organizing, time management, productivity, mindfulness and more, all in the context of ADHD!
Plus, October 3rd and October 17th, Nikki will be hosting two _mystery_ADHD webinars at 3 pm (Pacific). If you want to register, you do need to do so online, please sign up for the newsletter to make sure you don’t miss them.
Every Friday starting September 22nd through the end of October, Nikki will be jumping on Facebook Live at 3 pm! She has different topics for each Friday and a chance for you to ask any questions you may have and get answers live!
For the month of October, we’re holding a promotion on coaching services and online products — you won’t want to miss it — be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get all of the details!
Links & Notes
- Join Nikki at the ADHD Expo!
- Three-Legged Approach to ADHD Treatment — Free Ebook
- ADHD & Marriage
- The ADHD Effect on Marriage by Melissa Orlov
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
In this year’s Take Control ADHD survey, we received questions on managing your love life while managing ADHD by the bucket. Whether you’re in a new relationship, dating, or in a well-seasoned marriage, there is always room to improve that emotional connection and no matter your ADHD status, if you want it, you should have a thriving love life too!
This week on the show we’re deeply honored to welcome the fantastic Melissa Orlov. She’s a marriage consultant and leading expert in how ADHD affects relationships. On top of that, she’s an award-winning author of books including, The ADHD Effect on Marriage, and The Couple's Guide to Thriving with ADHD. She’s founder of ADHD & Marriage where she writes regularly alongside a cast of incredible contributors and hosts a large community of adults learning about ADHD in their relationships.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
This week’s show is inspired by a listener struggling with burnout. On the job or at home, burnout impacts us all at some point in our lives. When you’re struggling with ADHD and facing burnout, the challenge comes when all your trusted accommodations and routines fly out the window. How do you find an anchor to stay grounded and focused on the positive? That’s the conversation today, with some terrific resources to boot. Plus, speed reading recommendations from a listener that will help you stay focused and engaged!
Links & Notes
- Register now for Small Group Coaching!
- Spritzlet Speed Reading!
- Job Burnout: How to Spot it and Take Action
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
If you’ve been listening to the show for awhile, you know we love our routines. In the ADHD biz, routines are the gold standard for making change in your life. Running late? Better come up with a new routine! Lost your keys again? Better routine! But here’s the trick: just because routines are simple does not mean they are easy. So this week on the show we’re talking about the two things you need to know about any routine to dramatically increase your odds of successfully implementing them in your life.
Links & Notes
- Sign up for Newsletter
- Sign up for group coaching
- Organizing Time with ADHD Online Course
- All or Nothing Thinking podcast
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus is a well-known authority on all things Macintosh, OS X, and Apple devices. He’s been one of the Apple community’s most trusted advisors for almost thirty years, helping regular folks confidently wade the complex waters of their gear. He's written more than 80 books and, for the past 20 years, he's written the Dr. Mac column for the Houston Chronicle and The Mac Observer for almost as long.
With his latest book, “Working Smarter for Mac Users,” Bob let’s us in on a new part of his life — that he was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, and that diagnosis fundamentally changed the way he approaches productivity at the computer.
It’s a pretty wide-ranging interview, moving from productivity hacks to specific apps, to the hardware that Bob uses to write his books and courses every day!
Links & Notes
- Working Smarter for Mac Users by Bob Dr. Mac LeVitus
- Read the Introduction!
- KeyboardMaestro
- TextExpander
- Ulysses
- Download Dr. Mac’s SuperPlan Worksheet and More!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
As some parts of the country are just cresting back-to-school season, most of us are languishing in the final days of a hot summer. If you’ve been industrious at all, the projects you really want to have taken on are likely done. But what about the last few undesirables? You know those projects that take the extra push because you don’t want to do them, the environment isn’t conducive to doing them, and you’re exhausted from all the other great stuff you’ve been doing — and living with ADHD makes tackling those projects so much harder!
This week on the show, we’ve got some ideas for getting out of the rut to get one last project wrapped before the summer ends.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Thanks to a listener email inspired by a recent book recommendation on Nikki’s newsletter, we’re revisiting a book that has been inspirational in our search for joy when confronted with hopelessness. We’re talking about Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy and using Sandberg’s journey through grief at the loss of her husband as a jumping off point for a conversation around finding hope, peace, and grace.
Links & Notes
- Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy - by Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant
- The Rock Clock — Android • iOS
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’re back after our July break and talking all about transitions today. Wading through change can be tough on anyone, but when you’re living with ADHD, integrating new behaviors can be much more difficult.
And while we might normally think of “transitions” as the big seasonal changes that come at us a few times a year, don’t forget the smaller “state changes” we adjust to daily; waking up in the morning and adjusting to the day, or going to bed at night to ensure healthy sleep are just as challenging for some ADHD brains. What do you do to make it through your daily, weekly, and even less frequent transitions?
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’re wrapping up spring with a few stories of your ADHD success! We asked, and you contributed with your thoughts on apps, processes, products, and strategies for keeping your life straight with ADHD. From new jobs, new ways to track time, alternated modes for taking notes, and living in peace, this is your episode for great suggestions and thoughts from other listeners.
As a reminder, we’re taking the month of July off to regroup so when you don’t hear from us for a while, just know we’re gearing up for the next year of shows and will be back on August 1!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Zdravko Cvijetic — “Z” to his friends — wrote the most viral post in the history of the platform medium.com when he posted 13 Things You Should Give Up If You Want To Be Successful. And it went viral for good reason. In his short post, he managed to condense a series of points that lead to success and contentment, a feat, to be sure.
This week on the show, we’re talking briefly about just two of the 13 things, two that relate not just to overall well-being, but to our relationship with ADHD and the things we do to reduce stress and anxiety we carry through our limiting beliefs. Take a listen, read the original, and share your thoughts!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’re diving head-first into our problems this week thanks to some inspiration from the Godfather of Help himself, Tony Robbins. Our journey is ultimately one of celebrating the lessons we learn from our challenges and adversity in our lives, collecting those experiences, and using them to make us stronger. If you've ever found yourself wandering through your own pain a bit too listlessly, maybe it’s time to sit up, reframe, and face the world anew.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We fall back on the old saw, “I’m just not a morning person.” But, is that really the case? Or could it be that there are things you could begin doing right now that change the way you greet each day? This week on the show, we’re talking all about mornings, our routines, habits, and tools that help us get up and get going on the right foot. More importantly, we share the tools and techniques you can employ right now in your evenings and throughout each day that can begin to chip away at sleeping trouble to make your mornings great.
Links & Notes
- 7 Ways to Maximize Misery — CGP Grey
- How to be Miserable: 40 Strategies you Already Use by Randy J. Paterson
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
The 300-episode milestone is a big one! We’ve got 10 giant questions in store, from thoughts on finding a new job to moving and accepting help in the process, to note-taking technology, managing emotions and yes… even cookies! Thanks to everyone who wrote in and thanks even more for downloading and listening to this show. For everyone who’s been on the road with us as we’ve grown with this podcast, we couldn’t have done it without you. As always, thank you for your time and attention!
Links & Notes
- Speechnotes.co
- Dragon Anywhere
- Dragon — Recorder Anywhere
- SpeechPad.com
- Livescribe
- Amazing Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
When you’re feeling compromised, finding a source of motivation can be a major stress. Responsibilities don’t usually wait for you to be 100% ready for them, after all. This week on the show, we’re taking on a question from a listener wondering how to replenish that source of motivation when things get ugly, and it starts with understanding the relationship between motivation and momentum of our successes and challenges. We’ve got some great suggestions you can try right now!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’re all about time today, and with good reason! Today’s the day we launch Organizing Time with ADHD, Nikki’s latest online course! We walk through the intention of the course today, and just a few of the ins and outs of what you can expect. Then we offer 10 time hacks you can implement right now that will help you get a handle on your time while living with ADHD!
Links & Notes
- Organizing Time With ADHD — The New Course from Take Control ADHD!
- The Pomodoro Technique — Wikipedia
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Today, we’re talking all about boundaries. These are boundaries around your time, and the things you’re probably doing (and probably doing them unintentionally) that end up being destructive to your time and your ability to thrive long-term. To get around them, you have to come to a better understanding the controls that you have available, and the actions you can take RIGHT NOW to change your relationship with time and the work you have before you!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
You start things, and then you don’t finish them. It’s the nature of being human to fall off the productivity bandwagon from time to time, but when you’re living with ADHD, what comes with unfinished tasks and projects is a feeling of overwhelm, avoidance, shame, and guilt that can cause you to drift into the shame spiral. Don’t fall for it! The ADHD Shame Spiral is a lie! This week on the show, we’re talking about the shame spiral, and how to break up your work in such a way that you’re finishing as much as you start, and you can celebrate every single accomplishment!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Unstructured time can feel like a long walk in the desert… or maybe off a short pier? Whatever your metaphor for struggle with ADHD and time, when it’s unstructured, things can get challenging. Fast. Or not. Either way, it’s a struggle! Why? Because when you fall into the ADHD time zone, you’re prone to either get nothing done at all and live with the guilt and shame that comes with inactivity, or you’re liable to dive into hyperfocus and get a lot done on one thing at the expense of other responsibilities that may be more important and, that’s right, live with the guilt and shame that comes with hyperactivity. This week on the show, we’re talking all about the ADHD time zone, unstructured time, and offer some strategies that can help you tame your time and take control of your schedule!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’re picking up right where we left off last week today as we dig even deeper into systems! What is it that makes a great system and how do you really craft a system that is repeatable, retraceable, and resilient to the challenges of the ADHD brain? From laundry challenges to checklists to alarms, we’re teaching how to build systems that can’t be beat!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Living with ADHD, we’re faced with the double-edged sword of systems. When we build great systems, we’re empowered, confident, strong, and reliable. But when they fail, those cuts are extra deep. This week on the show, systems expert Marina Darlow joins us to talk about creating great systems — systems that are simple, resilient, powerful, and even fun!
Links & Notes
- Vision Framework
- Vision Framework — Facebook
- Vision Framework — Twitter
- Make a system work for the ADHD-gifted brain: 5 simple rules
- Which system to tackle FIRST? — Marina’s free e-course!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
It’s organizing week on The ADHD Podcast! Yes, you know we love to get our act together every once in awhile, and this week, we’re doing just that with our ten favorite insights around organizing with ADHD that we’ve learned or refined in the last year. From the importance of the purge, to buying supplies, to managing your time effectively in the organizing process, you can take these strategies and apply them to your organizing efforts right now, today! So listen in and grab your bins because it’s time for Spring Organizing!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
If you’re living with ADHD you’ve probably done it — trapped yourself into all-or-nothing negotiations with the voices in your head. Not enough time to do it? Better not do it at all. Can’t be perfect the first time? Better not even try. Planning your day didn’t work for you? Better not plan anymore… too unreliable.
This sort of thinking can invade your worldview and before long, you can get stuck there. Today on the show, we talk all about the trouble of all-or-nothing thinking, and give you five strategies for overcoming it and becoming more aware at the same time!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Inspiration comes from the most unlikely of places this week, yet sets the stage for an important conversation. Whether you’re living with ADHD or not, how often do you ask yourself how you show up in your life? Do you have a clear internal understanding for what it means that you are present? Do you stop to think about what you’re leaving behind? It’s these questions that build the foundation for our conversation today, but certainly not where it ends!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
When living with ADHD, assigning value to things that we believe are important to us can be challenging. It’s easy to underestimate the emotional weight we’re giving to something we want, which can lead to clutter, disorganization, and expense, and of course this can lead to shame and stagnation. So it’s important to get a handle on our ability to rationally think through the value you ascribe to our efforts before it gets out of hand! This week on the show, we’re talking about invented value, the value we ascribe to things that is ultimately made up, but that defines our emotional approach to them all the same!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’re wrapping up our series on limiting beliefs this week with a conversation on the shame that comes with ADHD challenges, and the relief that comes when you arrive on the other side of it and can stop pretending you don’t have ADHD. Our guest is Eric Tivers, therapist, coach, podcaster, productivity specialist, and all-around fantastic part of the ADHD community and his insights into shame and the connection to our beliefs that hold us back are bound to change the way you think about your ADHD.
Even better? It’s a cross-over episode! Want to hear more? Jump over the ADHD ReWired and hear Eric interview us! If you missed the Facebook Live broadcast from a few weeks back, you should be able to find us on episode 157 of Eric’s terrific show.
About Eric Tivers
Eric Tivers is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, coach, podcaster, speaker, entrepreneur, and productivity specialist. He is best known as the host of the incredibly popular ADHD ReWired podcast. Eric is also considered a leader in online, video-based group coaching. He's a dad, a musician, he plays frisbee golf and calls himself a perfectionist in recovery.
Links & Notes
- ADHDReWired Podcast
- Follow Eric on Twitter
- Like ADHDReWired on Facebook
- Subscribe to ADHDReWired on YouTube
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Today was supposed to be a Digital episode full of a discussion on the whims of our individual value systems around our processes. It was going to be great, trust us. But then we got all this great feedback from listeners and it all sort of stacked up on us. Before we knew it we were talking about a doctoral thesis in the UK, helping a partner better understand ADHD, the perils of working with the school system on a child’s diagnosis, learning to say “I don’t know,” and overcoming limiting beliefs that lead to more road trips and conquering bridge driving! These are great questions so we ended up devoting our entire conversation to it! Thanks to everyone for writing in, and look for that epic value episode coming soon!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Limiting beliefs can sneak in when we least expect them. And when they do, they can send us down frustrating and debilitating paths of distraction and angry self-talk. But understanding where those voices come from can help us accept them, even embrace them, and move on with our lives.
Our guest today is Michelle Chalfant. Michelle is a speaker, therapist, author, and educator and she has crafted a model for approaching the way we interact with the world that that can help you fight those voices, the limiting beliefs, and the blocks in the middle of your road. She’s also a podcaster, host of The Adult Chair with Pete elsewhere on RashPixel.FM so, yes, worlds collide today in all the best ways!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Today, we’re talking about the stories we tell ourselves to justify our feelings. Sometimes, they help us to rationalize our own place in the world. But most often, these stories cement in us the belief that the reason we can’t change — finish a project, move ahead at work, create fulfilling relationships — is somehow based in fact.
Surprise! It’s not based in fact at all. And today, we’re going to share a way of understanding our relationship with limiting beliefs … and move beyond them!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
This week on the show, a story of technology failure. No, it’s not the story of some tool that doesn’t work for us. It’s not the story of some new digital planner that has a bug. It’s the story of the emotional and psychological challenge that comes when one of our trusted tools breaks, and our back-up support is not available.
First, it’s a story of technology. Second, it’s a story of ADHD and the continuous surprise it offers. Finally, it’s a story of irony. If this kind of failure can happen to us, it can happen to anyone!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
According to our guests today, over five million women go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, yet live with ADHD. While the patterns and outcomes of a life with ADHD between men and women are similar — particularly as they age — the underlying reasons and conditions for diagnosis for women are unique.
This week on the show, founders of ADHD Women’s Palooza, Terry Matlen and Linda Roggli, join us to share their experience working with adult women with ADHD. The Women’s Palooza pulls women together from around the world to serve as resources for one another; therapists, coaches, educators, and physicians. The event occurs online from February 6-11, 2017, registration available now!
Links & Notes
Terry’s Links
- The Queen of Distraction by Terry Matlen
- Survival Tips for Women with ADHD by Terry Matlen
- ADDConsults.com
- Queens of Distraction — Online Coaching Program
- Women with ADD/ADHD Facebook Group
- Terry on Facebook — ADDConsults
- Terry on Twitter — @ADDConsults
Linda’s Links
- Confessions of an ADDiva — Midlife in the Non-Linear Lane by Linda Roggli
- The Distracted Couple: The Impact of ADHD on Relationships contributor Linda Roggli
- Let’s Fix It: A Magic Kit for ADHD Adults by Linda Roggli
- The ADDiva Network
- ADDiva Retreats
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
This week on the show, we take on a listener question from Liz. Her challenge: Overcoming the anxiety and fear that comes with getting married and becoming a new parent, and how to navigate these experiences in the face of living with ADHD. Changes in medication, hormones, not to mention the practical realities of learning to live with a spouse all contribute to this very natural fear. Today we offer strategies to move into this fear head-on, to face it, and to seek out the support you need to beat it with confidence.
Links & Notes
- 80,000 Rock Salt Lamps Recalled Due To Electric Shock And Fire Hazard — Thanks listener Johanna!
- Episode 204 Update: Daily Routine App is no longer developed. Friendly reminder: Pay for the apps you use, folks! — Thanks listener Larry!
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Happy New Year! Now’s the time to sit up! Stop hiding! Get moving! The turn to the new year is a marker that brings with it a wonderful sense of momentum. If you’ve been thinking about making some change, but you haven’t been able to actually turn that change into long-term habit, this new year momentum might be just what you need to move you into clear-headed opportunity to showcase a new you. This week on the show, we’re talking about the five mistakes we make when we try to make change, and the give you suggestions to overcome them so that this time you make it stick and achieve your goals with gusto!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Happy New Year everyone! As we prepare to roll the calendar over to 2017, we’ve opened the floor to audience questions. We received a bunch and are thrilled to offer our answers this week. From scheduling while living with personal health challenges to updates on our latest technology episode, ADHD diagnoses to paperless, we’ve got you covered. Thanks to everyone who shared their questions this week!
Links & Notes
- Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results by Stephen Guise
- OttLights
- Himalayan Salt Lamps
- Pete's Video Walkthrough of Task-to-Calendar Planning
- (00:00) - Q&A with Nikki & Pete
- (01:00) - How do you drag tasks from todo app into calendar as appointments?
- (05:10) - How do you ensure you get your tasks done? Time Blocking/Gating?
- (11:40) - How do you establish consistency?
- (17:21) - How do you build in time to deal with chronic health issues?
- (23:08) - How do I take care of myself in a negative work environment?
- (26:37) - How do you form positive sleep patterns for ADHD women?
- (33:33) - How do I optimize my small living space for ADHD?
- (37:51) - How do you start moving to a paperless workflow?
- (42:07) - Am I a hypochondriac or is this really ADHD?
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
It’s not too late! Even as this show hits your ears, there is still time to get out there and pick up that last minute gift. Whether you’re living with ADHD and you’re looking for ideas, or you’re seeking the perfect gift to engage the ADHD brain of someone you love, we’ve come up with a dozen ideas that aim to inspire!
Links & Notes
- Cooperative Gaming: Pandemic
- Tile
- LEGO
- Assorted Fidget Toys
- The Mysterious Package Company
- Height Adjustable Sit-Stand Desk
- Sensory Furniture
- Aqua Notes
- MasterClass
- HUE Lights 3rd Generation Starter Kit — White & Color Ambiance
- LiveScribe SmartPen
- White Noise Machine
- Thunderspace — iOS
- Real Rain Sounds — Android
- GoodNotes Bullet Journal Templates for iPad
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
The holidays are officially here. And if you’re struggling with ADHD, you know that the usual stress and anxiety can be magnified in any number of ways as you navigate practical and emotional hurdles. To help us, our friend and ADHD coach Casey Dixon of MindfullyADD.com is back to remind us of the value of mindfulness, and share the tools, techniques, and strategies that can help us stay present as we run the holiday gauntlet!
Links & Notes
- Organizing the Holidays Checklist
- Vacation Planning Checklist
- MindfullyADD.com
- Dixon Life Coaching
- @DixonLifeCoach on Twitter
- Find Casey on Facebook
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Paper. If just reading that word causes you to pause, shudder, maybe get a little squeamish, you should read on.
Today, we’re talking about paper clutter. For you, it may manifest in small piles of mail stacked on a few too many tables. It’s not so bad, you tell yourself, and you could surely catch up in no time. But if you’re living with ADHD, those few piles may never be touched again. Mail, magazines, bills, notices, they grow with inattention and the physical clutter they create leads to mental clutter, stress, and anxiety.
Not only are we talking about the issues that come with paper clutter today, we’re providing a plan and it comes in the form of a new online course: The Paper Solution. It’s an ADHD-friendly organizing system and an approach to paper designed to help you clear both the physical and mental clutter that comes from out of control paper in your life.
Thanks for joining us today. Click through to learn more about The Paper Solution below. If you have a paper problem, we just might have a… well, you get it…
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
In the category of ADHD and work, we’ve been talking a lot about behavior. But what about efficiency? When thinking about the actual work that we do every day, it’s likely that you work with words in some way. From email to filling in forms to reports and more, even if you don’t consider yourself a writer, you likely work with more words than you would ever count. This week, we’re talking about how you can make yourself more efficient with the words you sling, and more consistent and accurate in spite of your ADHD, too.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Do you ever feel like you’re forgetting something? You’re not alone. In fact, if you’re struggling with ADHD and executive functioning challenges, you’ve probably conditioned yourself to live in a constant state of anxiety around forgetfulness.
But you can get on the road to repair, and it’s likely easier than you imagine. With quick and easy tools to help you catalog the things you need to remember, you can build a trusted system that supports you day to day, year to year. This isn’t about fixing your memory. It’s about fixing the systems to support your work so you can embrace the memory you have!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Today’s show is all about priorities at work. It’s a question we see often in coaching and it’s made immeasurably more challenging thanks to the complex human organism that is “the office!” But you can tackle this challenge and make your life better in the process by developing three muscles: The Priority Muscle, The Focus Muscle, and The Distractions Muscle. And mastering these three muscle groups at work calls on different skills and practices than at home, but it is possible, and the results can help you deliver on your obligations and build a positive reputation with your co-workers in the process!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
ADHD and work don’t always mix. That’s why it’s important for you to know your own strengths, and how to best leverage them on the job. On today’s show, we talk about how to uncover your strengths, and how to talk about them in a way that helps you get your best work done. We share strategies for finding the right job that allows you to shine. And we’ve got a question from a listener that fits right in — it’s all about embracing your quirkiness projecting kindness as you seek understanding from others. All that, plus a brief Evernote update on the value of tags after all!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’ve spent the last few weeks touching on the challenges of ADHD in the workplace. Today, inspired by your calls and emails, we’re talking specifically about what it means to tell your employer about your ADHD. It’s not a simple equation and while being open about your ADHD-related challenges at work may seem like a great idea, but there are considerations that may impact just how public you want to be. This week on the show, Nikki and Pete talk about the experience of ADHD at work, the role of accommodations and your rights, and offer some guidance for determining who to trust and how to move forward and reduce stress.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’re doing double duty on the show this week! Still celebrating ADHD Awareness Month AND celebrating the wonderful blog post that Evernote did with us, we decided that now is as good a time as any to review how we use Evernote as an organizing tool today, and how our use has changed over the years. The big take-away? TEMPLATES! We’ve included a few links from the Evernote blog below to demonstrate how to use pre-filled templates to help you get your work done. Our hope is that these links and our conversation inspire you to create your own templates to support your processes. Plus, Take Control ADHD templates for Evernote are coming soon!
Links & Notes
- Evernote Blog
- Evernote Calendar Templates — 2016
- Evernote Creative Writing Templates
- Evernote Cornell Notetaking Template
- Evernote Social Media Tracking Templates
- Impulsivity & ADHD
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Let’s say it right out loud: you need to hear the story of our guest today. Alan Brown is the force behind ADD Crusher™ and Crusher™TV, helping people around the world in their journey with ADHD through his proven Brain Hack strategies and inspirational interviews. But his personal journey to understanding ADHD is a moving story and a model for coming to terms with pre-diagnosis, and making the transition to a new world post-diagnosis in our conversation today.
Links & Notes
- 5 Things You Are Doing Everyday That Make Your ADHD Worse
- ADDCrusher.com
- Crusher™TV
- Undiagnosed and At Risk
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
If you suffer from Imposter Syndrome, you’re a high achiever in some area, though you feel as if your achievements are not the result of training, skill, and intelligence, rather your success is the result of an accident of fate, and you are constantly on the cusp of being discovered as a fraud. This is, of course, something that we all live with at some point or another, but if you’re also living with ADHD, the judgment that you put upon yourself amplifies the negative signals in and around your experience of achievement. Today on the show, guest Dr. Doug Herr, psychologist and faculty member at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, joins us to talk about Imposter Syndrome, its effects and offers key resources to help move through it to rediscover the authenticity and truth behind our own achievements.
Links & Notes
- Kristin Neff, Self-Compassion.org
- Kristin Neff on YouTube
- Brené Brown
- Q-EEG Neurofeedback
- Edward Hallowell on Amazon
- Search Inside Yourself by Chade-Meng Tan
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’ve all been there, stuck between the rock that is our own responsibilities, and the hard place of the world that goes on when we’re not there to experience it. The grass is always greener, we say, and we find ourselves living in FoMO: the Fear of Missing Out. FoMO is magnified for some who live with ADHD, whether struggling with leaving a party at a reasonable hour, aware of an early morning deadline, or balancing whether to stay at home and do laundry, or go to a movie with friends. Online, FoMO is even worse, amplified by the constant signals of social media reminding you of the people you follow and all of the fun they’re having without you. But you can break the cycle! Today on the show, tips to address your FoMO and remind you of all the good right within your reach.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
If you browse the ADHD circles on social media, it won’t take long to find an inspirational meme describing how one of the many superpowers of those with ADHD is that they are generally more creative than those without. The problem is, according to research, there’s no established connection between those who live with ADHD and higher than average creative impulses. It’s just not there. That’s because, as a spectrum disorder, ADHD impacts people differently depending on their individual characteristics. You might be more creative. You might not be creative at all.
But that’s not to say that exploring the tools of the arts won’t help to inspire you, relax you, or even stimulate you, even if you don’t find you have much natural talent! This week, we’re talking all about Pete’s favorite digital tools to make art, music, and video that anyone can do on the cheap (in most cases), and just might help you uncover your next great gift!
Links & Notes
- Microsoft Outlook — iOS, Android, Windows & Mac
- Pigment — iOS with Apple Pencil
- Colorfy — Android
- Paper by 53 — iOS
- Bamboo Paper — Android, iOS
- Procreate — iOS
- Sketchbook — Android, iOS
- Zen Brush 2 — iOS
- Calligraphy Art — iOS
- Garageband — iOS
- Stagelight — Android
- DJay 2 — iOS, Android
- Hyperlapse — iOS
- LapseIt — Android
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Impulsivity is a part of the ADHD experience that offers few upsides. It represents the source of distraction, social disruption, and lack of focus that can plague so many of us. We received an email this week from a listener working through email impulsivity at work and his story — and we hope our conversation around it — proves supportive for anyone listening who is living with impulsive behavior challenges.
Plus, follow up from another listener around the act of building habits, and giving ourselves permission to fail, recover, and move forward:
“Getting organized (or establishing new habits) is like following your breath when learning to meditate. We are taught that, when you notice your mind wandering off and straying from the intention of following the breath, you simply notice having done so, without judgment, and return to following your breath. What if we could apply the same technique to habits, following routines and using strategies? What if the habit was not the new desired behavior, but the habit was returning to the desired behavior without judgment? If you solidify the habit of return, you will worry less about leaving the path. You will always have a way back.”
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
It starts with a goal, an objective that you’d like to accomplish something over a specific period of time. It ends with the goal accomplished. Somewhere in between, you’re going to have to build the system that will help you get it all done. This week on the show, we’re sharing three big mistakes that can prevent you from meeting your goals, plus some terrific feedback in praise of the Bullet Journal, along with some great guidance on thinking in terms of long-term behavior rather than finish lines when targeting change in your life!
Links & Notes
- Using Bullet Journal to Support Mental Health — Buzzfeed.com
- Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life by Gretchen Rubin
- Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
- So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Want to get better at scheduling? Do it every day. Want to finish more things more frequently? Make a plan to work on one of them every day. Want to get fit? You guessed it … start just one thing you can do for your health, and do it every day. Such is the power of small habits in our health and productivity, and that’s what we’re talking about today. Whether you have your habits and goals right on track, or you slip frequently and struggle with the shame of the habit-stall, this week’s conversation is for you!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’ve got a couple of terrific listener recommendations for habit tracking apps to kick us off this week, with emails that inspired a habit follow-up conversation that centers on this big question: do you understand the factors that are causing you to fail to build new habits in your life? This week, we’re talking about the words in your head, persistence, and support, three things critical to your success in integrating new behaviors into your life every day.
Links & Notes
- What’s Stopping Your New Routine from Becoming a Habit? — Take Control ADHD
- Using Bullet Journal to Support Mental Health — Buzzfeed.com
- Habitica.com
- Coach.me
- Todoist
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Learning is tricky. As much as we know about the brain, getting new stuff to stick in it is still mysterious. But new research gives us insight into the relationship between learning and our physiological health that can help us not only learn more, more quickly, but understand more clearly what is not functioning when we’re compromised. From sleep to diet to supplements, this week we’re talking all about tools that can help you live clear-headed, and keep on learning!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Unbelievably, it’s back to school season. If it hasn’t hit your community yet, it’s coming, and that means it’s time to evaluate your strategies as a parent in helping your kids manage their ADHD in the classroom and beyond. To help us through this conversation, special guest Elaine Taylor-Klaus with ImpactADHD joins us to share strategies for approaching your kids in this transition period about scheduling, responsibility, self-advocacy, and technology!
Elaine Taylor-Klaus is co-founder for ImpactADHD and is coach behind tools and resources dedicated to parents of kids with ADHD. She is parent to a child with ADHD, but like so many of us she was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult herself, and she’s an educator! So she brings with her the perfect perspective on life and living with ADHD that is critical to any discussion that targets practical tools to help parents help kids with ADHD while helping themselves to stay cool in the process.
Links & Notes
- ImpactADHD.com
- Back to School Survival!
- ImpactADHD on Facebook
- ImpactADHD on LinkedIn
- ImpactADHD on Pinterest
- ImpactADHD on Twitter
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Morning—if yours are a blessed cloud of peace, goodwill, and light, you can probably skip this episode. That’s right, today’s show is for those of you who have trouble, who live for the snooze, and who can’t quite get enough of the multi-tasking in the mornings. Not sure how to train your brain and condition your spirit to get ready for the day? Do you need a new alarm strategy to get you out of bed and out the door on time? Maybe you need to give yourself permission to think about your mornings in a new way, to shake things up and approach your schedule with a fresh start! If you’re looking for help in mastering your morning routine, join us and share your experience today!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We’re back! After a brief summer vacation, we’re back to take on a subject that impacts us all: how to adapt to changing schedules, and the things to think about when considering a major addition to your commitments when it comes to your ADHD. Not only do you have to have an intimate understanding of your current schedule, but you need to approach new commitments with open eyes when it comes to the time baggage they bring with them! Plus, we’ve got a great listener question on when to consider medication for your kids. Thanks to everyone who has written in — it’s great to be back in the saddle!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★It’s SUMMERTIME! We’re officially gearing up for our own vacations here on The ADHD Podcast so we thought we’d take some time today to talk about more than just vacations. It’s about managing kids, and accomplishing goals, and making the best use of your time that you possibly can.
We’re taking some time off ourselves this summer. This week’s episode is our last until August! So make sure you’re subscribed to the mailing list so we can let you know when we’re back in the saddle!
Thanks, everybody! Have a great summer! Best friends forever!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We got a question some time ago asking about the merits of the Bullet Journal system for ADHD organizing. We’re of two minds on the subject so we thought it might be a good time to review the state of planners, planner systems, and organizing tools that span the range from shorthand scheduling to full-on works of personal art.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★This week we offer a follow-up to our conversation on making decisions with a twist: what about all those decisions that are even more challenging to face, with consequences beyond our daily organizing challenges? How do we condition ourselves to move through them and discover what lies on the other side? This week is dedicated to processing, researching, and making the decision to act, and discovering the tools you need to employ to condition yourself to take action!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Do you find yourself sitting at your computer waiting for that next call? How about standing in line waiting for the next teller? Wherever you are, if you have five minutes and one of your devices, you can work on your digital organization. This week on the show, a sampler of activities and resources for you to use in those small windows and tiny breaks to keep your digital life straight.
Plus, follow up and a listener question from our organizing show with another take on decision-making.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★It’s Q & A day! From hyperfocus to distraction, information clutter to productivity at work, we power through your queries with our thoughts, strategies, and recommendations. Thanks to everyone who wrote in with your organizing ADHD questions. This week we’re taking on:
- What's the best body double strategy?
- How do you decide where and how to house things?
- I don't have enough time to devote hours to organizing!
- How do I set up routines that endure in the long term?
- How do I nurture myself without going too far into hyperfocus?
- I stay home while the family is at work/school all day. How do I not resent their messes when they leave?
- Overwhelmed at work: how do I manage account management demands?
- Information overload! Should I stress about disorganized journals and digital clutter?
- How do I help my high school son remember and submit homework on time without organizing on his behalf?
- How do I help my preteen with organizing fundamentals and managing/estimating time?
Links & Notes
- Personal Kanban: Mapping Work | Navigating Life by Jim Benson & Tonianne DeMaria Barry
- Trello
- (00:00) - Welcome!
- (04:00) - How do you decide where and how to house things?
- (05:29) - I don't have enough time to devote hours to organizing!
- (07:32) - How do I set up routines that endure in the long term?
- (09:46) - How do I nurture myself without going too far into hyperfocus?
- (02:42) - What's the best body double strategy?
- (27:20) - How do I help my high school son remember and submit homework on time without organizing on his behalf?
- (12:16) - I stay home while the family is at work/school all day. How do I not resent their messes when they leave?
- (16:22) - Overwhelmed at work: how do I manage account management demands?
- (23:27) - Information overload! Should I stress about disorganized journals and digital clutter?
- (36:17) - How do I help my preteen with organizing fundamentals and managing/estimating time?
If you share space with another person, then organizing is a team sport. From defining the purpose of shared spaces to keeping one another accountable, you can’t build new habits if you don’t have the support of those who spend their time in your proximity. This week on the show, we’re talking all about how to engage your family in supporting organizing efforts.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We all go into our organizing projects with the best of intentions. Did you just open your closet to a pile of junk falling on your head? Did you turn on the light to your attic and finally register the disaster of boxes? Did you fall into the stacks of mail and bills on the floor of your living room? Wherever you are in your home, making the connection that you have a space to be organized, and then taking action to organize it, is a noble effort!
But taking that first step without thinking through the consequences could make the organizing job worse for you. This week on the show, we’re talking about the three reasons your organizing efforts may be losing focus and offering you a way to think about your projects before you start that may just save you time and frustration in the long run!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★It’s true, if you’re struggling with getting organized and you’re living with ADHD, there’s likely a key challenge holding you back. It lurks there, in the back of your mind, an invisible standard to which you will never live up. We’re taking on this subconscious demon on the show today, kicking off a series on ADHD organizing principles that will help you get on track, stay on track, and recover when you fall down.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We all have repetition in our lives. But until you stop and think about all the things that repeat around you, you may not know what you’re missing. So, it’s through the lens of task lists that we’re going to talk about some of the options for using technology — the simple and the advanced — to build our checklists quickly and efficiently and ensure we’re not missing a single step in the otherwise invisible processes we take on each day.
Links & Notes
- The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
- Text — The TXT format on Wikipedia
- TaskPaper from Hog Bay Software
- Markdown: “Markdown is a text-to-HTML conversion tool for web writers. Markdown allows you to write using an easy-to-read, easy-to-write plain text format, then convert it to structurally valid XHTML (or HTML).” Markdown is practically a prereq for TaskPaper only because the philosophy of using certain indicators in a text file and allowing a client application to act on those characters in a specified fashion is the same in both. Markdown is stupendously useful in my work. If you write a lot, it’s worth taking a look. Hit me up with Markdown questions and we might do an episode on it soon!
- 2Do
- Workflow: Powerful automation made simple.
- Background and download for CGPGrey’s sample Workflow Template for 2Do
- Automation in OmniFocus 2.14 (now in TestFlight)
We’ve had some great questions and feedback on our last few episodes around ideal schedules. This week, we’re taking this concept a bit further. How do you take a new strategy and implement it to turn it into a lifestyle? How do you handle less desirable tasks — gating and focusing even on the stuff you really don’t want to do? How do you decide what to work on first? These are deceptively simple questions with answers that we often make more complicated than we need. We’ll do our best to untangle them on the show this week!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Today on the show we’re digging into just one aspect of the book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg Mckeown: Priority. This is the act that puts constraints around our ADHD, allowing us to see the forest for the trees, but to exercise our focus on a tree, too. We talk about the power of focus and clarity, how living in accordance with a clear priority strategy can lead to greater productivity and balance, and how developing your ideal weekly schedule can help you truly visualize the hidden opportunities that exist in your own personal sea of time.
Links & Notes
- Essentialism: The Disciplines Pursuit of Less by Greg Mckeown
As it turns out, productivity and procrastination are two sides of the same coin. Depending on the day, your toss might yield unparalleled output, focus, and attention. Then again, it could yield a rousing binge session of Top Chef.
Because of the inherent unpredictability of this productivity/procrastination calculation, it becomes so important that you build in the systems and gates that allow you to focus when you really need to focus, and the freedom to let go and relax your brain when you’re finished.
This week on The ADHD Podcast, we’re talking about the systems and processes that might help you beat procrastination, from focus sprints to setting a real, rational priority for your time. Join us!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★If you’re a regular listener of this show, you know we’re a big fan of habits. Habits help the ADHD world go ‘round! This week on the show we’re going to dig into the underlying engine that supports building and sustaining new habits: Reminders! Without a reminder system you can trust, building habits will be nothing more than an exercise in frustration. So settle in and get ready — we’re talking about visual cues, technology, buzzers and bings this week, in addition to a few great book recommendations and follow-up!
Links & Notes
- Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results By Stephen Guise
- Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
- The ADHD Podcast 242: Building Mini Habits for Self-care
This week on the show, we’re talking all about positive energy. Energy is contagious. Whether you’re inheriting the mood of your partner or children when they wake up sour in the morning or catching the waves of joy from a colleague celebrating a grand accomplishment, if left unchecked, we are at the mercy of the moods and intentions of those around us. But we have a choice! We can take an active role in cultivating positive energy around us to deal with difficult situations with confidence and strength.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Today’s show is all about fun! We’ve talked about engaging the brain before. We’ve talked about ways to manage distraction and hyper-focus. But today, we’re going all in on play as an alternative to medication for your ADHD. To help us, we’ve brought in the expert: Dr. Kirsten Milliken of PlayDHD.com. Kirsten shares the playfulness mindset, and offers tools and strategies for engaging the playful part inside all of us to help us deliver in coordination with our ADHD, and not in competition with it!
Links & Notes
- PlayDHD.com
- ADHDExecutiveCoach.com
- PLAYDHD: Permission to Play … A Prescription for Adults with ADHD by Dr. Kirsten Milliken (Amazon Pre-order)
About Dr. Kirsten Milliken
Dr. Kirsten Milliken is a dynamic and unique clinical psychologist who lives and works in the Portland Maine area. Yes, she has ADHD! Kirsten has used her insight and knowledge of ADHD to develop her playful style as well as her companies, ADHD Executive coaching and PlayDHD. Kirsten espouses that Play is the best non medication intervention for people with ADHD. While Kirsten works with all age ranges, she focuses on working primarily with adults in her practice. Kirsten earned her degrees and training from SUNY Stony Brook, Alliant University, and ADDCA. She is an ICF certified Coach and is trained as an ADHD Career Services Specialty Coach.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We’ve talked about the connection between nutrition and ADHD before, but this week, we’ve got an expert to help us bring the lesson home. Our guest today is Tonya Harris. She’s on a mission to help parents learn how both diet and common toxins in the home can affect their child’s health and lessen the symptoms of behavior and attention issues through simple dietary and lifestyle changes. We talk about everything from the insidiousness of MSG and sugar to food coloring and supplements, and how each can help or hinder your ADHD. Join us!
Links & Notes
- Gone Holistic Nutrition for Optimal Brain Health Handout (PDF)
- Find Tonya on Facebook
- Find Tonya on Twitter
- Find Tonya on Instagram
- Healthy Home Healthy Kids
We’re talking about building habits for self-care today! One of the most important things you can do for yourself, to take care of your self is to figure out the mechanics that help you best cement new behaviors. In that light, we’re introducing a terrific concept by way of a wonderfully approachable book. The concept, Tiny Habits. The book: Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Big Results, by Stephen Guise. Learn to build big new habits into your life through the tiniest of daily actions!
Links & Notes
- Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results — Stephen Guise
- Forget big change, start with a tiny habit: BJ Fogg at TEDxFremont
The essence of great self-care is rooted in building habits. And building habits, when you’re struggling with ADHD, requires help. This week on the show we present some of the digital tools that can support you in your efforts to build new self-care routines in four key areas: Sleep, Exercise, Food, and Mindfulness.
As usual, when we do a digital episode, there’s no way we can cover every app, every option, every platform. But these apps should serve as a launchpad for your own research to meet the unique needs of your hardware and lifestyle.
Links & Notes
- Productive
- Coach.Me Habit Tracker
- Listener Pick: Swiftime
- Listener Pick: Watchminder
- Withings Aura
- Runtastic
- Runkeeper
- Zombies Run!
- MyFitnessPal
- LoseIt!
- Withings Smart Body Analyzer
- The Mindfulness Bell
- Day One 2
Casey Dixon is an ADHD Coach who has worked with wide range of individuals living with ADHD over the course of her career. Most recently, she founded MindfullyADD.com, a website that is dedicated to the mindfulness approach to ADHD through simple daily practices to help you with everything from focus, to movement and settling, not to mention a rich library of feature to help you learn more about your ADHD. This week on The ADHD Podcast, Casey joins us to help us better understand the role of mindfulness in self-care with ADHD with simple, judgment-free strategies to get started!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Up to 50% of children with ADHD — and an astonishing 80% of adults — have problems with sleep. From getting to sleep to staying asleep to getting up rested the next morning, more of us are struggling than sleeping restfully. This week on The ADHD Podcast, we’re taking on sleep with a modest suggestion of a single strategy, and what you need to do to implement this strategy toward becoming a better sleeper.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We’re continuing our series on ADHD and Self-care this week. Today, we’re digging into the sometimes thorny question of medication, and we have a fantastic guest to help us do just that. Laurie Dupar is a senior certified ADHD coach and psychiatric nurse practitioner, and joins us to lend her expertise as a specialist in the rope medication serves in managing ADHD.
Our questions this week come from you, our listeners and clients of Nikki’s group and coaching work. As always, thanks for your participation, and we hope this conversation answers your most pressing medication questions!
Links & Notes
- Daily Medication Log
- Twitter: @LaurieDupar
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoachingforADHD/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriedupar
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/coachingforadhd/
We’ve talked about the importance of exercise before. The connection between moving your body and psychological and emotional health is no great secret. But if that’s the case, why is it so difficult to make the transition from a sedentary life, to an active one, and how do you build these new behaviors into your day, every day?
This week on the show, we offer the 10 steps you’ll need to add supporting movement into your day, from finding the time to leaping over the shame of inactivity, right into action. This conversation is all about letting go of your feelings about not getting out for a walk yesterday, and moving forward, little by little, today. The good news: with as little as 30 minutes of walking 4-5 times a week, you may begin to notice changes in your brain in only a few days! Join us, and let’s get moving!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Living with ADHD is inextricably connected to living well in your own skin. From cultivating the ability to find your emotional peace, to building a strong heart through physical exercise, your own human system defines how well you are taking care of your ADHD. If you’re looking for better focus, reduced stress and anxiety, improved organization, and more control in your life, you need to make yourself a priority. Take care of yourself, take care of your AHDH. This week on the show we’re kicking off a series on self-care — from health and nutrition to sleep to medication to organization, we’re going to dig into it. So listen in today — if you’ve ever found yourself forgetting what feeling good feels like, you need to join us for this series and kick off 2016 with a celebration of you!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Heather from Pennsylvania called us with a question so good we had to do a whole episode dedicated to it! Over the last few weeks, we’ve been talking about motivation and building your vision for your future self. But we’re busy — some of us VERY busy — and when challenged with our ADHD, it can seem impossible to schedule the time and intention to actually implement the change we want to see in our lives. This week on the show, we have some tips and suggestions to help you do just that!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Today, a metaphor. You’re at the top of a hill. There’s a giant ball in front of you, held up by a rock. If you kick that rock, the ball will start rolling down the hill, picking up speed and racing on its way. But you’re struggling with your ADHD. So you look at the ball, you stare at it, and try as you might, you just don’t see the rock that you need to kick.
That’s what we’re talking about today — we’re going to take on the executive functioning fog that can set it and prevent you from getting started and doing the things that are most important.
Links & Notes
- More Attention, Less Deficit: Success Strategies for Adults with ADHD — by Dr. Ari Tuchman
- Understand Your Brain, Get More Done — By Dr. Ari Tuckman
If you’re a regular listener of this show, you know we have a shared view of personal improvement and growth: leverage the momentum of the community! As we move into “resolutions season,” it’s time to start thinking about the change you’d like to see in your own life and begin to formulate the promises you’re ready to make to yourself to see that change happen. This week on the show, Nikki and Pete talk about creating a vision for yourself, sculpting your loose goals into refined projects that you’re excited to make a reality. The race to January 1 begins — get ready to celebrate the change in your life!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★It's Thanksgiving here in the United States and while there is certainly some nod to history here around the founding of this special time in our country, it has come to mean something more than its historical context. It is a time of gratitude. It's a time for us to remember where we came from, to be grateful for the gifts we've been given, and to be gracious in giving our gifts to others. It's not a time of material excess, it's a time of introspection and sharing. This week on the show, Nikki and Pete talk about the practice of gratitude, and what it means to live in the present as we go into this holiday week.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Tis the season to start thinking about the gifts that you can give your ADHD friends and family that can help relieve their stress. This week on the show, we have a digital episode that goes beyond — a list of tools, services, and toys that should ring all the right bells for your friendly ADHD compadre! Dig in, and visit theadhdpodcast.com/podcast/231 for direct links to all the gifts mentioned in this episode!
Links & Notes
- 23 and Me
- Hoberman Sphere
- Graffiti Kit: Idea Paint
- BaliYo Butterfly Pen
- Day One In Depth — The Sweet Setup
- 1Password
- Trello
- The Everyday Messenger Bag
This week we continue our discussion on ADHD and the holidays, with a conversation around anxiety, and the things that happen to us over big holidays that drive that anxiety and stress to their peak! From money to gifts, to family, practicing boundaries and setting them clearly can make or break your holiday plans, and this year, we want you to plan for fun and stress-free!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★'Tis the season! Now that we’ve crested Halloween, the roller coaster of the holiday season is ramping up to full speed. It’s easy to let the overwhelm of the season get the better of us, but if you’re struggling with ADHD, that overwhelm can lead to stagnation of a much more serious sort. This week on the show, we talk about the tools you’ll need to make sense of the season, free yourself from stress, and create the boundaries you’ll need to shape your own time and demonstrate to others how you’d appreciate being treated this holiday season!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★It’s a digital episode! This month we’re continuing our conversation on providing structure and defeating overwhelm using process and tech tools. From coming to terms with the time you have available to work, to understanding the scope of work you have to do, and finally using mind mapping and shared lists to keep your work in line, we have recommendations for tools and tech that can help. This week on the show, we’re talking about overwhelm, and the mindset and technology you’ll need to do less, but do it really well, and feel better about it!
Links & Notes
- About Mind Mapping — Wikipedia
- Curt Siffert — Decision Modeling with Flying Logic
- Flying Logic
- M8! Mind Map
- MindNode
- FreePlane
- Any.Do
- Wunderlist
- Buddhify (iOS/Android)
- The Ultimate Guide to Time Management: Add Structure to your Day
It can happen when you least expect it. You come into your house after a long day at work and are hit by a sudden weight. You look at your calendar on a Monday morning at work and see the meetings stacked one after another. You find yourself suddenly acutely aware of the tasks that are piling up on your next big project.
Any of these events might just be the trigger for your overwhelm. It’s that sense of pressure, stress, and fatigue that can cause you to stall, and might even be a precursor to a much more serious condition!
This week on the show, we’re talking all about overwhelm, and offer five solutions to help you regain focus, rediscover your calm, and get back to living.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★A series of terrific listener questions drive our conversation this week, all around the sacrifices that come around time, attention, and focus. When we focus on one thing, the rest of our work suffers as we lose track of the time we spend doing it. Our listener asks, “any tips to find this desired balance of focus, energy, and time?” Yes! This week on the show we drill into awareness, perseverance, and intention in the work we do, and share some terrific followup for listeners around tech tools and timers to help you better structure interval work!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Studying is a skill. For many of us, we come to studying without training, and as a result, we end up staring at texts and notes and hoping that with time and repetition, we’ll absorb something important. No, studying is something that takes practice, and with time and attention, you can improve. This week on the show, we relive our own college years and share some of the mistakes we made in our study habits, then share five key strategies for helping you find the focus and attention you’ll need to muster to succeed in your higher education!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Tools in the classroom have come a long way. When I was a student, we were just coming round to the idea that we could drop a tape recorder in our classes to record our lectures, then take notes on them later. Now, we have the opportunity to be more efficient and much more industrious. On this week’s digital episode, we walk through smart technology — from digital pens to dictation and beyond — that can help you stay on top of your game as a college student!
Links & Notes
- Sony MDRZX100 over the ear headphones
- OK Google Commands
- Siri Commands
- Dictate+
- Adonit Jot Touch
- The Pencil
- Bamboo Stylus
- Surface Pro 3
- Livescribe 3 Smartpen
- Wacom Bamboo Spark
- ScanBot
- Logitech K480 Multi-device Keyboard
- Logitech K760 Solar Keyboard
- Logitech Keys to Go keyboard
- Logitech Type+
- Microsoft Universal Mobile Keyboard for Windows, Android, iPhone and iPad
- MindNode
- Coggle.it
Anxiety and ADHD are like peanut butter and jelly — they simply go together. Some studies say as many as 40% of those struggling with ADHD are also living with some level of generalized anxiety disorder. For the new student, the change in schedule and environment not only proves a challenge for ADHD, but can offer ripe conditions for increased stress and anxiety.
This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright share their own journeys with anxiety and offer strategies for moving through attacks and back to calm.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Whether you’re hitting higher ed as a traditional student just out of high school, or you’re going back as an older adult, if you’re going in with ADHD on your caseload, you have to be ready to be flexible. From finding new ways and places to study to negotiating with your instructors, ADHD can dramatically impact the landscape of your higher ed future. This week on the show, we’re kicking off a month-long series dedicated to those heading back to school with tools, tips, and technologies that can make your transition to college a breeze!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★On this month’s digital episode, Pete and Nikki walk through some of the tools and processes that help to simplify and streamline personal money management. We’ll dig into tools around managing and scanning paper for systems that enable immediate and frictionless action. We’ll talk about transaction micromanagement, and the perils it brings, along with tools that allow for automatic reporting where it counts. And we’ll talk about the importance of a spending diary, if you’re having trouble with focus, and give you some ideas for tools that can help you build up your awareness for your own behavior around money!
Links & Notes
- Scanbot (iOS)
- CamScanner (iOS/Android/Windows Phone)
- Google Drive (Android)
- Scannable (iOS/Evernote)
- FileThis
- Mint
- Personal Capital
- Dave Ramsay’s Envelope Method Explained
- DayOne (iOS)
- DayJournal (Android)
You’ve been working hard to get your day-to-day habits under control, but what about your long-term strategy for your money? Are you thinking about your budget? Your savings? Retirement? This can be the most challenging to get started, but it doesn’t have to be painful — and it can even be fun! This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about setting up a financial plan, the tools and resources you’ll need to start budgeting and offer a variation on a debt reduction plan to get you saving smartly today!
Links & Notes
- 10 Reasons Why Financial Plans Aren’t Just For the 1% by Forbes
- Dave’s Budgeting Forms
- Mint.Com
- The Total Money Makeover - By Dave Ramsey
- Secrets of the Millionaire Mind - T.Harv Eker
- The Millionaire Next Door - By Thomas Stanley and William Danko
- Dave Ramsey’s Snowball Debt Reduction Plan
Now is the time! If you've thought about joining a coaching group for support as you learn about your ADHD, today is your day. It's open enrollment in small group coaching with Nikki in ADHD Moms or ADHD Professionals groups, and thanks to great feedback from current members, we've made some changes that we're excited to share with you today. This is a brief special episode to get you up to speed — if you've been thinking about joining a group, now's the time to make it happen. Sign up today!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★You know that giant stack of bills, statements, and un-opened envelopes sitting in piles around your house? It’s time to get those under control! This week on the show, we walk through a process for getting your financial paperwork under control. From purging what you don’t need, to building a system for maintaining the paper you do need, we’ve got you covered with tools, checklists, and resources to get your finance paper in order!
Links & Notes
- Download the Important Documents Checklist
- Scanbot — Scan with your iPhone or iPad
- Getting Things Done® Podcasts
- Download The Paper Solution
You know how sometimes when you’re really focused on one thing, other things might fall out of focus? Like, for example, your spending? This week on the show, we talk about impulse buying that comes to many struggling with ADHD. We’ve got three strategies for regaining control over the spending bug, and considerations for making sure you don’t get slapped down the road!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★If you’re struggling with ADHD, the data suggests you likely have trouble with money. Not only are you likely to make less money, you’re more likely to be spending it and tracking it less responsibly than your peers who aren’t faced with ADHD. It’s a harsh reality. This week on the show, we’re talking all about money, the importance of your personal financial belief systems and how to begin to find clarity in your approach to money and take back control of your saving!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We’ve asked the question before, but this week we answer it in detail. What does it mean to get organized just enough? It means getting organized for you, and not for any organizing system.
This week on the show, we take on a question from a listener that bundles such important concepts as balance, organizational aspiration, and shame around ADHD and living the organized lifestyle. It’s a big show, a big question, and hopefully offers you a big and inspired summer organizing season!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★It’s summer, and we’re gearing up for our own vacations, so we thought we’d use the opportunity to reflect on the importance of downtime to our emotional and physical health — particularly when fighting the busy signals of ADHD. We’ve got research and resources and terrific tips from listeners that should help you build a vacation plan you can count on to keep your stress low and your energy up!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thanks to our fantastic listeners, we have received some great questions, comments, and resources to share after our focus and online shopping shows from the last few weeks. This week, we’re talking about notifications, focus, the perils of the return policy in online shopping, and how to exercise your balance muscles while struggling with hyperfocus!
Thanks to all who wrote in to share, and keep those comments coming!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★It’s summertime! And for many of us, summer means travel. If you’re struggling with ADHD but have a tendency toward the digital, we have four areas for you to think about in this week’s podcast to keep you organized and informed.
First, are you using the tools your travel partner has created to their greatest? Second, did you check for your travel destination’s app? Third: TripIt! And finally, we have a tool to help you craft the perfect road trip! All that, and a discussion of Pete and Nikki’s aversion to camping this week on The ADHD Podcast!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We have a wonderful organizing community! We asked for your very best organizing tips, and you came through! From stickies to timers to hooks and color codes, your tips make for wonderful organizing systems. This week on the show we’re sharing a bunch, but want to hear more of your ADHD organizing successes — so keep them coming… and thank you!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★It’s not easy to get started on your organizing journey. There are bumps in the road around every turn — you have to find the motivation, the time, the childcare. And if you’re struggling with ADHD, you know how important it is to be able to find a space free of distraction and chaos if you’re going to take on any important task. That’s why it’s critical you steer clear of these five organizing missteps that can set you back on your journey to living the organized lifestyle. This week on the show, we take on the five organizing mistakes that can set your organizing back, rather than keep you moving forward into a space of control and confidence!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★If you’re struggling with ADHD, you know this feeling. Go ahead and do a slow turn around your room or office. Look at all the surfaces — tables, chairs, floor — how’s your clutter? The ADHD mind has the powerful ability to tune it out, to make it invisible, until the subconscious pressure of the clutter around you becomes too much to handle. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about clearing the clutter in your home in a hurry with a few quick daily strategies that can help you get out of the clutter rut!
And don’t forget to download the latest batch of free forms and templates to get the new “15 Minute Organizing Tips” we talk about on the show!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We’ve been talking about focus this month and this week’s digital episode continues the theme. We’re talking about fighting focus failure with four prime strategies to keep you working free of distraction. From using wifi toggling to save yourself from the lure of the Internet to selective notifications, to full-screen apps, and our favorite tip on application complexity, there’s something in here for everyone whose fingers tickle the keyboard day-by-day!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★You’re in a job interview. Things are going well! You’re telling stories of your heroism and courage in facing down your greatest foes, growing businesses, the works. Then they ask the question: “Please describe your greatest strengths and weaknesses…"
You freeze! That’s because we, as humans, are terrible at realistically assessing our own strengths and weaknesses. It’s backed by research: we invariably rate our self-assessment either more optimistic or pessimistic compared to others’ observations of us. That’s why it’s so important to have a reliable feedback mechanism for determining and validating our strengths as we develop and mature our skills.
This week on the show, Nikki and Pete talk about the challenges of self-assessment and offer a pair of terrific suggestions that you can use to discover your strengths right now.
Links & Notes
- Flawed Self-Assessment: Implications for Health, Education, and the Workplace
- VIA Character Strengths Finder
- The Definition of Hell for Each Myers-Briggs Personality Type
When you sit down to shop online, do you have the same intention and agenda that you have when you shop in brick and mortar stores? Sure, from time to time we might go shopping for fun, but most of the time, when we hit the bricks, it’s to run errands, pick up specific things, and get back to the business of the day. If you’re struggling with ADHD, my bet is that you have more trouble shopping online and keeping your focus on your goal than you make like to admit!
This week on the show, we have five tips for managing your time and attention while shopping online — save money while relieving stress and getting things done!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We all know repetition can get boring. It stinks to feel like we’re stuck in a rut of humdrum rinse and repeat! Still, if you have any commitments that you have to repeat each day, week, month… you’d better have a system in place to manage them and make sure you don’t miss a beat.
This week on the show, we’re talking all about routines — those strings of tasks that you have to complete in order to accomplish a goal. And because it’s a digital episode, Pete Wright walks through three systems for managing your sets of routines, plus a bonus app for managing your kids’ chores, too!
Links & Notes
- Omnifocus
- Evernote
- HomeRoutines
- DailyRoutine — Update: No longer in active development.
- Bonus: iAllowance
We got some great questions after last week’s episode on prioritizing and it turns out we may feel alone, but we’re in good company! As it turns out, many of you are also struggling with this of overload, which leads to our collective inability to follow through on our projects, tasks, and goals. This week, we help identify the potential cause of your follow through problem, and give you four solutions to move you through the mire and find the light of accomplishment!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★It’s a big show! First, some follow-up from last week on tolerations. We answer a great question from a listener around how to address another sort of tolerations, and how to fight the overwhelm that comes from over-commitment. How do you get from a place of overwhelm toward a place of feeling more in control and progressing forward? This week on the show, we offer strategies for dealing with the stress of over-commitment that brings liberation and hope, too!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★It’s been nearly 100 episodes since we last talked tolerations, and we have (ahem) a lot to report. This week, we’re taking a step back to look at the impact of ADHD noise on our tolerations. We look at the positive emotional and creative impacts of building a lifestyle in which we acknowledge, cultivate, and complete our tolerations.
Links & Notes
- Our first tolerations episode
- The Original Tolerations Worksheet
- Nikki’s Tolerations
- Pete’s Tolerations
Understanding ADHD means you’re coming to an understanding of the unique characteristics of ADHD and you. That can mean waking up to a whole world that all of the sudden doesn’t work the way you always thought it did! Today on the show, Pete Wright shares a few key systems and technologies that can help you get back on track by evaluating how you write, and how you read. Thanks to a few old techniques and new tools, you can begin to build living systems that fit your unique ADHD challenges!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We’re turning the corner on vulnerability this week, talking about transition stories. What is it like to make the leap from chaos, no idea that there is a definition for your experience, to understanding, learning about your ADHD and building systems that allow you to reach for peace? This week on the show, Pete Wright and Nikki Kinzer talk about the vulnerability required to make that leap forward in your life, and how important it is to reframe confusion as a positive, a doorway to learning.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★As a parent, we walk a careful balance between nurturing, protecting, and disciplining our children. But the complications that come with parenting a child with ADHD make this balance fuzzy. As our kids are experimenting, pushing boundaries, learning to live in their skin, we have to work extra hard to keep our composure, as acting out can mean so many more things. This week on the show, Nikki and Pete share tools and techniques for parenting children learning to live with their ADHD, with a focus on validation, support, and love.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★For so many struggling with ADHD, traits of focus and attention, and the stigma of the set of behaviors that comes with it can cause us to visit the shame spiral. This week on the show, we talk about Brené Brown’s pioneering research and inspirational presentations on shame and vulnerability, and how reframing our approach to shame can lead to a powerful awakening of strength and confidence.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★If you’re a regular listener of this show, you know how highly we hold human connectedness toward our emotional health. We are tribal creatures, and more often than not, we are closer to reaching the best “us” we can be, when we’re involved and invested in a community.
This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about the importance of community and our human connections. From the perspective of being a mom with ADHD, the power of admission and awareness can go far toward releasing some of the frustration that comes with mental noise. Join us for some great resources!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★On this week's digital show, we're talking all about using your technology to play. It's all about figuring out how to use the tech tools at your disposal to re-engage your kids, get up and move your body, and have fun without the guilt that comes with keeping your head in your phone. This week on the show, Pete Wright and Nikki Kinzer introduce three games and tools, and walk through how getting outside with tech can become a fun — and intentional — gift of time friends and family!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★On the heels of Nikki’s imploding computer comes a conversation about facing up to — and then facing down — those negative situations that crop up in our lives. From finding the awareness to accept the reality of the situation to mustering the confidence to let it go when it’s time to move on, we share tips and strategies for finding meaningful support in our lives when we need it.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★You know the feeling. You may not be a writer, but you certainly know writer’s block. You may not be a psychic, but you know when stars are misaligned. You know the feeling.
It’s that feeling you get when life feels hard. When the things you know are supposed to be falling into place in your life are falling out all over the road. You’re walking uphill through quicksand. Every move feels like a disaster waiting to happen … on your head.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can train yourself to fight the friction, dissolve the stickiness, and get yourself moving forward again. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright share techniques for doing just that, and feeling even stronger as a result.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★So much of how we feel in life is determined by how we feel in our skin. That means we have to take the time to evaluate how well we’re treating ourselves — are we eating right? Are we eating the right amounts? Are we exercising? Are we sleeping enough? It’s all too easy to let the world — work, kids, family — eat into our lives to the point that we’re just not healthy anymore.
This week, Pete Wright and Nikki Kinzer share digital tools for monitoring and managing our fitness and diet. From wearables that track your movement to the apps and services that help you define and achieve your health and fitness goals, listen in this week for the tools you’ll need to get started!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Problems! We all have them. They crop up when we least expect them, and they have the potential to truly derail us. But what if we train ourselves to disconnect from the negativity of our problems? To shift our perspective slightly, and turn our problems into challenges empty of emotional baggage, less intimidating? Less frightening?
This week on The ADHD Podcast, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about problems, and the work it takes to reframe them into possibilities full of hope, energy, and power!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★After a series of on-air panic attacks suffered while reading the news in front of millions of TV viewers, Dan Harris was forced to rethink his approach to the world. In his book, 10% Happier, Harris chronicles his journey toward mindfulness and meditation and makes a compelling case that his practice offers emotional and physical benefits he had never before imagined.
This week on Navigating Change, we discuss 10% Happier as a source for inspiration in our own evolving meditation practices. Even more, we offer strategies for approaching a mindfulness practice in a forgiving and patient manner, no matter your level of meditation experience.
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Happy New Year! Now that we’re well into January, it’s time to leverage the collective energy around new beginnings and make some positive change. Careful, though, not to fall into the perennial trap: January resolutions that lead to February slips.
This year, we’re making our January one of reflection. This week on the show, we share our strategy for building reflective and concrete structures around our new year, and how we’re turning our resolutions into plans that will support us all year long. Join us!
Links & Notes
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★When we think about managing our money with technology, it’s pretty easy to fall into the “tools trap,” that if you could just find that one great tool to manage your finances, you’ll suddenly be smarter, more in control, and better looking. The reality is, no one tool can do it all if you don’t establish the money management mindset.
We’re taking on both sides of this particular coin this week, creating the right money management processes to help you stay on top of your spending, and finding the right technical tools that support you along the way.
Links & Notes
- Quicken
- Quickbooks
- iBank
- Chronicle
- Mint.com (Owned by Intuit)
- Personal Capital
This is not a naturally easy time of year if you’re struggling with ADHD. From hyper focus to anxiety and stress, we’re dealing with a new influx of stimuli that can hit is right where it hurts if we’re not careful: the bank account! Don’t let your natural untempered generosity get the better of your finances! This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright share tips and strategies for managing finances without hitting the bottom line so hard!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Groups are transformative. With the guidance and support of a great coach, and like-minded peers, a group coaching environment can clear new pathways to learning and development in a space free of judgment and pressure. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright dive into the power of group coaching and introduce the new service as a core offering. If you’ve ever considered getting support along your ADHD journey, now is the perfect time to join a group and take control of your ADHD!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★We’re gearing up for the holiday season — just a little over a week from Thanksgiving here in the US — and as if we needed any more of a reminder, our favorite stores seem to be accelerating things by kicking off their holiday extravaganza even earlier than years past! It is the season of the holiday show, the show that takes place outside, and the show that kicks off in our own homes. This week The ADHD Podcast, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright share strategies for reducing stress as you navigate your own holiday adventure this year.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Today, we offer three sentences. They are three simple sentences that may just change the way you talk to your children. And once you see how your relationship with your children changes, you may find yourself wondering how these three sentences will change the way you talk to your partner, your spouse, your team at work. You may find that these relationships grow stronger, and that you grow a bit, too.
Or, you may find you’ve discovered a great new TV show, but you’re going to try different sentences all the same.
Either way, you should listen to the show this week. Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright share three sentences that have inspired them in the way they talk to their own families. And sometimes, listening to others get inspired is an inspiring enough journey all by itself.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★This week, we’re talking about transitions. It’s a story about a transition in the family, in fact, and the challenges that come as a result of watching those closest to us struggle in spite of our own experience. Nikki Kinzer shares the story of her son’s transition to middle school, and the work they have done as a family to understand both the social and emotional struggles that come with executive function issues at home and school.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★How are you with daily habits? Are you prone to forgetting your keys? How about leaving the house with the garage door wide open? If you’re prone to tiny bouts of forgetfulness, maybe it’s time to consider a technological solution! This week on Taking Control, Pete Wright and Nikki Kinzer walk through a variety of home automation solutions. From keyless home entry to complete home automation through your phone, any combination of these systems will give you just a hint at life in the future!
Links of note
- On CVS and Rite Aid Rejecting Apple Pay — Steven Aquino
- August Door Lock
- Goji
- Kevo Lock
- Withings.com
- Smart Garage Doors
- Nest
- Belkin WeMo
- ATT Digital Life
- SmartThings
Goals are great. Last week we talked at some length about goals, in fact, and the importance of building the right intention into our goals with “would,” “should,” and “have to.” But anyone can set goals. What sets those who set goals apart from those who achieve them is all about awareness. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright discuss the three critical questions to define your level of awareness of your own goals, and help build a framework for understanding the things that are truly important in your life!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Words have power. Nowhere is that more clear than in the language we use to describe ourselves. From empowerment to confidence to productivity and our very own care and appearance, the words we use to define ourselves have a direct and inextricable connection to the way we move through the world. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about the power of three very important words, and how we can use those words to build confidence and motivation toward meeting our goals.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★It’s ADHD Awareness Month and we’re ringing in the season with a terrific list of books, sites, groups and other resources to help you wrap your head around this pesky condition. Whether you’re new to ADHD and wrestling with your own diagnosis or that of a loved one, or been dealing with ADHD for many years, we have some great tools and texts to support your journey. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright share their favorite ADHD resources to help support and spread awareness!
Notes & Links
- You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid, or Crazy?
- More Attention, Less Deficit — Ari Tuckerman
- Understand Your Brain, Get More Done — Ari Tuckerman
- CHADD
- ADDA
- ADDitudemag
- Take Control ADHD
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’ve spent the last month talking about the impacts of ADHD on the job hunt, career search, interviews, and lives at work. In this month’s episode of Digital, we’re talking about some of the electronic tools and related systems that can help you get the most out of your work day. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright discuss the electronics that can help to free you from stress and overwhelm, and keep your workday on course!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’re continuing our series on ADHD in the workplace and this week, you’ve picked the right career, nailed your interview, and you’re finally ready to get to work. How do you make sure you’re making the most of your time and leveraging your strengths effectively? This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright take on time management in the face of overwhelm and distraction, and the boundaries you can set to make each day shine!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Whether you’re starting a new job or breathing new life into the job you have, creating and maintaining an organized workspace is critical to success and the ADHD brain. Time management, productivity, efficiency all improve when you’re free of disorganization and helps you feel stronger and more confident in the work you do every day. This week on Taking Control, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright help you create an organized workspace and get your workday in control!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
It’s time to dig into the nuts and bolts of getting your next — or first! — great job: the interview. Whether you feel you’re a seasoned vet or a complete novice, the act of pitching yourself to a potential manager can be stressful. The environment is even less hospitable if you’re struggling with attention or focus issues related to ADHD. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright offer key strategies for making your very best impression so that you can focus on the work, and contribution you want to make!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
It’s back to school season here in the US and what better time to kick off a series dedicated to getting back to work! This week on the show, we introduce our next series with the challenges and opportunities that come with guiding your own career and picking your next job. Nikki’s background in human resources and recruiting put her in the hotseat working to help people find the right job where they can contribute their best strengths. This week on the show, Nikki and Pete Wright share tools and strategies to help refine your search and end up in the best role for you!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
We’re taking on tech tools for school in this week’s digital episode of The ADHD Podcast, from considerations around speed of data collection and retrieval to discovering the tools and processes that will help you best focus your attention and achieve classroom success. In this episode we ask three fundamental questions: What is the fastest tool for you to collect information? What is the fastest tool for you to retrieve information you need later? And how comfortable are you with specific technology hardware solutions? This week on the show, Pete Wright and Nikki Kinzer will help you wrap your head around great options for managing the technology you’re going to need before you hit the books!
Links & Resources Apps for Students
- iStudiez pro for iOS, Mac, Windows
- If your school is online, make sure you get the app for the platform in your program. Likely either Blackboard or Moodle. Both of these apps stink, frankly, but they’re good to keep around to be able to check in with your courses on the go.
Tools and Training - Notetaking is a skill. Get better at it! — Assorted YouTube tutorials
- Lynda.com for all your Technology Training
- Mind Mapping with Von Glitschka on Lynda.com
- Tony Buzan on Mind Mapping — This is a goofy commercial video, but I include it here because Tony Buzan owns the trademark as the “inventor” of mind mapping. This will help you get to know Tony a bit better and once you get over the terrible announcer, there’s some good information in here.
- Evernote Moleskine Notebooks
- Final Cut Pro
Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
So, you’ve made the transition to school on the right foot. How do you make sure each day is as successful as you can make it? Establish a morning routine that supports your natural behavior and your current demands! This week on The ADHD Podcast, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright share strategies for establishing your morning routine supporting your schedule and your health!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Integrating into the college environment is exciting and frightening. Young or old, you’re diving into a new universe of demands, expectations, and deadlines, all of which challenge the ADHD in complex ways. Continuing our series on ADHD and the college student, this week Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about how to start the new year with confidence from living in a new space, to finding the right planning systems, to integrating into classes with the right foot forward!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
The demands of higher education on adults with ADHD can be significant. High pressure, frequent deadlines, myriad distractions, and multiple simultaneous areas of study all contribute to an environment ripe for stress and frustration. These challenges make coaching and accountability even more critical when working toward achieving your degree. Nikki Kinzer is formalizing a specialized coaching service for degree seekers of all sorts with ADHD Coaching for the College Student. This week on the show, Nikki and Pete Wright talk about this service and why higher education is such a unique experience for those with ADHD. From organizing to time management, to personal care, this episode sets the stage for our series on students and ADHD this month!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
If you’re struggling with ADHD, you know about hyperfocus. But this trait is commonly misunderstood — both its function in the disorder and its impact on day-to-day life. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about the biological underpinnings of hyperfocus and share tips for breaking free when you need to.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thanks to a listener, we have a digital option for dealing with piles and piles of kid’s productivity! "I have a hard time figuring out what to do with all my children's art projects and how to organize, store and save them. Throwing them away is so hard that I find myself keeping piles and piles of projects and I don't know what to do with them. However, I know I can't continue to keep all of them unless I want to devote an entire room in my house!” This week on the show, Pete Wright and Nikki Kinzer share one strategy for helping to cope with copious kid work — this one uses our favorite tool, Evernote, but you can adapt and expand the workflow to suit your needs. Listen in and start to cull the clutter!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Summer is supposed to be our chance to recharge, regroup, plan for the future. Sure, there’s work to be done, but when that work overwhelms your schedule to the point that you’re more stressed than ever, it’s time to take a step back, breathe deep, and figure out how to take back control. If you’re struggling with ADHD, this can be a huge challenge as you’re at once overwhelmed by demands, and you struggle to clearly forecast the time it takes you to meet your objectives. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright take on summer overwhelm and offer tips and strategies for meeting demands while soaking in some summer rays!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Do you get stuck in the vortex of negativity? You know the drill — someone cuts you off on the highway or you’re charged a fee for not paying a bill on time — and suddenly, that one, tiny, innocuous bump in your road becomes a sheer cliff of frustration. That frustration can head straight to rageville, and suddenly you risk contaminating everyone you come into contact with. When you get stuck in the vortex, it’s tough to see clearly how to climb out. Today on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright share tips and techniques for fighting negativity, even when all you want to do is hold onto it. From understanding your own anxiety to grabbing on to positive language, you can create a spirit of mindfulness and duck the vortex — it just takes a little practice!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Boredom. For you, maybe it manifests in restlessness, foot-tapping in a long line, checking your texts or email … again. If you’re struggling with ADHD, boredom can take on a whole new — and sometimes painful — reality. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright offer ADHD-friendly tools and tips to beat boredom and stay engaged!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
It’s summer! The season for vacation. But if you struggle distilling signal from noise, you may also have trouble putting details together to create the perfect trip. Planning is key, but what if you missed the opportunity to plan and now the trip is upon you? This week, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about fake planning, and give you the tools you need to create a great trip and feel confident you have all the details covered with just a little support.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
Sometimes, the slow march of evolution leads to a pivot in the timeline. Such is the case this week with Taking Control, as we look at who we've become over the last four years, and think more clearly about the years to come. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about the show, embracing the transition to a more cogent ADHD focus moving forward.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★