Taking Control: The Adhd Podcast

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 ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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! Organizing Your Space Your Way with Nikki Kinzer Tidying Up with Marie Kondo ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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: Do you have the tools required to meet the project expectations? Do you have the skill required to meet the proj

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 ★ Support this po

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. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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. Have there been any studies on marijuana use and teens with ADHD? I struggle with weight... I need strategies to get out of the vicious cycle of loss of motivation. Does boredom lead to depression in ADHD? I have a significant commute. Do you have strategies for coping? Is an official ADHD diagnosis important as an adult? How can I balance my obsession with organizational tools with doing the work? Was "time & attention" intentional? How has your process for capturing content changed at conferences? Have you ever recorded a podcast and then decided not to air it? Any advice for our past selves? Where's the blooper reel? We wish you a happy holiday season and we'll be back in 2019! Thank you for supporting T

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! Group Coaching Winter 2019 Registration Open Now! Listen to Pete on the Day One Podcast ★ Support this 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 Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! Caroline Maguire ★ 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! 2018 Annual International Conference on ADHD ★ 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 ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 CBS Sunday Morning — Hiring Autistic Workers ★ 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

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 suppo

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! I Don’t Believe in ADHD by Rick Green, TotallyADD.com XOXO Festival ★ 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 ★