Scattered, Focused, Done — Reimagining Productivity with ADHD

Description: You need to finish it. Whatever it is for you. But all you can think about is how long it’s going to take, how hard it’s going to be and that you’re not even sure where to begin. Next thing you know you’re doing something else, telling yourself “I’ll do it later…” Right, later. When you say this what you really mean is, “Not now.” And it gets deferred indefinitely. How are you ever going to start?! Transitions – starting, stopping, switching tasks – are difficult for ADHD adults. In this podcast episode I’ll focus on starting because, of course, you can’t finish what you don’t start. Key Take Aways: * Getting started is often very hard for ADHD adults * Urgency is often a key motivator for adults with ADHD * There are reasons related to your ADHD why starting is hard * Diversifying your motivators can make it easier. * Learn 7 different techniques to make getting started easier and stop relying only on urgency Transcription:  (00:05): You need to finish it, whatever it is for you, but maybe all you can think about is how long it’s going to take, how hard it’s going to be, and maybe you’re not even sure where to begin. Next thing you know you’re doing something else, telling yourself, I’ll do it later. Right later when you say this, what you really mean is not now, and maybe it gets deferred indefinitely. How are you ever going to get started? You’ve tuned into scattered focus, done re-imagining productivity with ADHD, a podcast for ADHD, adults like you want to learn how to adopt the best strategies, tools, and skills to be able to get your essential work done in a way that works with the way your brain is wired. I’m Marla Cummins and I’m glad you decided to join me today on the journey to re-imagining productivity with ADHD so you can get your important work done without trying to do it like everyone else.  (01:06): Transitions, starting, stopping, switching tasks are all difficult for ADHD adults. In this episode, episode three, I’m going to focus on starting because of course you can’t finish what you don’t start, but right now you may be putting off a task you need to get done until the last minute until you’re pushed up against the proverbial wall. There may be no time left. You have to do it now if you still have time. In fact, right now, urgency might be your primary motivator and it might also make sense to you when you procrastinate on tasks you don’t consider important, but how bout when you put off working on those tasks though? Well, maybe not intrinsically interesting, are really important to you because your job relationships or the wellbeing of someone you care about depends on your following through. I bet you’re totally frustrated when you put these off and maybe you wonder how could I possibly have done this again, I need to finish this already.  (02:11): I know you have a lot on your plate. You need to get done and you obviously need to get started in order to close the loop on all of these tasks, but a focus on the need to finish may leave you feeling overwhelmed because it just feels too daunting. So instead, stick with me. Let’s look at how you can focus instead on persistence starting because the more often you start, the greater likelihood you will be able to finish. Make sense? Right? One of the hallmarks of adult ADHD is that your ability to get started is well inconsistent. That is, while you may procrastinate in some areas, you likely find it easy to engage in activities that interests you. You can play guitar work in your woodshop until all hours. You may even hyper-focus on these pursuits. Getting started in these cases is super easy and there’s no friction, but maybe you neglect your other responsibilities,

Description: Feelings of overwhelm are a common companion for ADHD adults. So, knowing these five steps to manage it in the moment is key to working well with your ADHD. Key Take Aways: * Your ADHD can make your overwhelm worse and your overwhelm can also exacerbate your ADHD symptoms. * Overwhelm can lead to procrastination as a way of deferring the discomfort of your overwhelm. * Addressing the source of your overwhelm can help reduce your tendency to procrastinate. * Managing your negative thought patterns is one of the keys to reducing your overwhelm. * Identifying and replacing your overwhelm routine with a more helpful habit is also important. * You will also want to know how to “pause” situations where you are feeling overwhelmed so you can decide what to do next. Resources: * https://marlacummins.com/adhd-habit-overwhelm/ * https://marlacummins.com/adhd-overwhelm/ Transcript:  (00:00) Do you ever feel as though your brain is flooded like it may short circuit at any moment, and in those moments, maybe you can’t even think straight. You may even begin to panic going into fight, flight or freeze mode. You just want to escape from whatever is causing the overwhelm. Sound familiar?  (00:27) You’ve tuned into scattered focus, done re-imagining productivity with ADHD, a podcast for ADHD, adults like you who want to learn how to adopt the best strategies, tools, and skills to be able to get your essential work done in a way that works with the way your brain is wired. I’m Marla Cummins and I’m really glad you decided to join me today on this journey to re-imagining productivity with ADHD so you can get your important work done without trying to do it like everyone else. In this episode, we’ll explore why ADHD adults may be predisposed to becoming overwhelmed and how to manage it so it doesn’t get in your way of doing what is most meaningful to you each day. No doubt (01:18) everyone has challenges in their day to day life leading to overwhelm, but your ADHD challenges may be causing you more overwhelmed than your non ADHD family, friends and colleagues. I know you already know this, I didn’t need to tell you that, but I did and anyway, you’re overwhelmed and turned can exacerbate your ADHD symptoms. So figuring out how to manage it is an important piece of learning how to work with your ADHD. So let’s get on with doing that. And we’re going to start this journey by looking at a hypothetical scenario. Let’s take Carrie. She’s a software engineer and, of course, an adult with ADHD and she’s struggling to complete a report that is due in four days. She’s known about it for a month. Sound familiar? Anyway, she’s already blocked off time to work on the report from three to five. So far so good. She was being intentional with her time.  (02:16) It’s a little before three and she’s just left a meeting with her team. She’s pretty upset after the meeting and thinks to herself. Tony seemed really upset that the product rollout was delayed. He probably thinks it’s my fault. I’ll have to deal with that later. I really need to get down to work now. So Carrie opens the report to get started, but in that moment she starts to realize she may not have enough time to finish the report. Then she thinks to herself, I’m such a screw up and I bet I’m going to get fired. Oh, maybe I should answer that email from Paul that just popped up and I really should return series call too. I’m never going to get this report done in time. I can’t believe Tony is blaming me. Anyway,

Description: In this inaugural episode I’ll clear up some of the misinformation you may have about adult ADHD, as I provide brief answers to a few of the most common questions. Key Take Aways: * ADHD is a neurological condition, meaning you are wired differently. * Symptoms are different among adults and throughout your life time. * Getting an accurate diagnosis is important so you can get the right treatment. * It’s not possible to first get ADHD as an adult. * You can’t outgrow your ADHD. But you can learn how to manage the symptoms to minimize the level of impairment. * As an adult you have agency to decide how to best treat your ADHD. Resources: * https://marlacummins.com/causes-symptoms-diagnoses-of-adhd/ * https://marlacummins.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/ADHDTreatmentGuide.pdf Transcript: (00:10): Have you ever wondered whether adult ADHD is different than ADHD in kids or adolescents? Have you been curious as to whether adults outgrow ADHD? Maybe you’ve even thought of whether you have something else instead of ADHD, and how about treatment? Is it the same for both kids and adults? These and other questions are ones I’m sure you’ve had at a time or two. You’ve tuned into scattered focus, done re-imagining productivity with ADHD, a podcast for ADHD, adults like you who want to learn how to get your essential work done in a way that works with the way your brain is wired. I’m Marla Cummins and I’m glad you decided to join me today on this journey to re-imagining productivity with ADHD. So you can get your important work done without trying to do it like everyone else. This is episode one and this in this inaugural episode, we’ll address the tip of the proverbial iceberg as we look at some of the questions you have about ADHD in adults and also see why it’s so important for ADHD adults to have support that as well. (01:24): Adult centric, you know, grounded in a deep understanding of the needs, strengths, challenges of ADHD, adults. So let’s get on with it. An exploration of some of these questions and others. If you’re listening to this podcast today, then I know that you probably know what ADHD is, but let’s go over it anyway just to be sure. It’s a neurological condition and it’s usually genetically transmitted and it’s characterized by distractibility, impulsivity, and restlessness or hyperactivity. It’s also believed to be caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the various areas of your brain, especially your frontal lobe, which controls your executive function. Here’s the important point, and the reason I wanted to start off with what is ADHD is you’re not crazy lazy, you’re stupid. Your brain is just wired differently. It’s just the cards you are dealt, and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. If you can learn to work with your ADHD in a way that leverages your strengths and minimizes the challenges, those things that get in your way to doing what is essential to you. (02:42): And along the way, the symptoms are going to be different among adults with ADHD and they’re also going to present themselves differently throughout your lifetime. So I don’t know how you decided you have ADHD. You know the symptoms could be indicative of something else like depression, anxiety, OCD, sleep deprivation, et cetera. The main point is if you’ve only relied on a diagnosis just because you think you have ADHD because you’ve, you’ve read something online,