Even if you’re a careful time-minder, many things — of which you may be unaware — are stealing your time: Time Vampires that suck tons of your time every day. We’ll identify some then slay a few — so you can have more time! We ADHDers never have as much time as we’d like — to finish that project the way we want, to start that new one on time, to craft a really persuasive email to someone, to spend real quality time with our most beloved loved ones. So the last thing we should be doing is wasting it. Yet waste it we do in many obvious ways — too much social media, ADHD-driven distractions, fa ..read more

There is a ready source of motivation: The neurotransmitters in your brain — and there’s a brain hack that can turn those on. Motivation. Why is it that sometimes you’re feeling it, and so much of the time you’re just not? And why does our willpower seem to be so short-lived? You get all fired up to jump into a project, the initial novelty wears off, you’re not that fired up any more…and soon it’s just another annoying entry collecting dust on your to-do list. Of course, we ADHDers are particularly challenged when it comes to motivation. In part due to a low supply of the neurotran ..read more

Know the difference between healthy and unhealthy ADHD hyperfocus, and the difference between hyperfocus and ‘flow.’ Many of us ADHD adults believe that hyperfocus is an ADHD superpower. That’s because we generally define it as “the ability to focus intensely on an interesting project or activity for hours at a time.” In other words, the opposite of distraction. And that’s a good thing, right? Also, some feel hyperfocus is the same as ‘flow’ – that mental state in which, when performing an activity, we’re immersed in energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the very process of it ..read more

How to Avoid and Reduce Intense Negative Emotional Episodes Next time you’re paralyzed by super-intense negative emotion, here’s all you have to do… Delay the time between stimulus (what freaked you out) and response (your emotion) Breathe in to the count of three; then out to the count of six. Replace irrational thoughts with rational ones. I’m kidding. This advice is practically useless. Yet each of these came from very reputable sources. The problem, as I discussed in a previous blog, is that when we’re in the throes of an intense emotional episode – whether debilitating shame, anger, fru ..read more

Intense, sometimes debilitating emotions may be due to Emotional Dysregulation. Learn why this occurs and how to take back control. It’s been coming up a lot in my Group Coaching sessions: Emotional dysregulation. More specifically, issues around debilitating shame, anger, frustration — even grieving (not about lost love ones, but profound feelings of loss around our own constant foibles). Such intense emotions contributed to my own self-medication for many years (a story for another day) and are affecting most of us on a fairly regular basis. In fact, 70% of all ADHD adults say they have prob ..read more

This is a guest post from my former client, and now colleague, Aron Croft. Despite getting into Harvard, 15 years later he was broke, divorced, and earning minimum wage. He then turned his life around (all thanks to me I’m sure!) and now helps others do the same. Read up!  -APB We ADDers get criticized more — it’s a fact. Researchers have actually documented this.  ADDers then live our lives in fear of criticism and, as a result, we: Don’t pursue our dreams Live far below our potential Don’t start our businesses, change our careers, or create our desired relationships But what if y ..read more

This is a guest post from my former client, and now colleague, Aron Croft. Despite getting into Harvard, 15 years later he was broke, divorced, and earning minimum wage. He then turned his life (all thanks to me I’m sure!) and now helps others do the same. Read up! ADDers get criticized more — it’s a fact. Researchers have actually documented this.  We ADDers then live our lives in fear of criticism and, as a result: We don’t pursue our dreams We live far below our potential We don’t start our businesses, change our careers, or create our desired relationships But what if you could chan ..read more

Last one “sold out.” These will fill up fast. Dear Overwhelmed Citizen, Let’s talk again about overwhelm. If you’re reading this page, there’s a good chance that one or more of these statements resonates with you: “I constantly feel overwhelmed with emails, to-do’s and everything on my plate.” “I feel like I’m constantly putting out fires, getting sidetracked, distracted, and can’t stay focused on the task at hand.” “I have trouble enjoying even fun things because the overwhelm is always in the back of my mind. There’s a constant anxiety about what’s not getting done, who’s not being attended ..read more

I’m not just talking about self-medicating ADHD with booze and drugs… I’m talking about self-medicating our ADHD with any of a number of things we’re eating, drinking, smoking, watching — and even thinking — that are giving us a sense of “relief” from our pain and frustration. We ADHDers tend to have low levels of neuro-chemicals that are key in regulating our focus, emotions and moods. And just as prescription ADHD meds can boost our levels of these key brain chemicals, other substances (and activities) can do the same. Which is why we are prone to gravitate toward various forms of “self-medi ..read more

There are Many Reasons to Declutter Your Workspace (and Living Space) There’s a lot of noise going on in our ADHD brains. And that noise is made worse by the visual noise around us. We are our brain’s own worst enemy when we maintain a home and/or office that is full of energy-draining stuff. So if you can declutter your workspace — and your living space — you can create more mental spaciousness. Research shows that any excess items in our surroundings can negatively impact our focus and information processing. Clutter competes for our attention, resulting in decreased performance and increase ..read more