Household Management

The ADHD Meltdown - Spooky Halloween Edition

This isn't a spooky story. But I definitely had an ADHD Meltdown. It started out with a school holiday and ended with me questioning the direction of my entire life and business. This is the story and what I did to dig my way out of it - with a teensy* bit of ADHD science thrown in. https://amzn.to/2p9i5lK https://the-adhd-enclave.mn.co/feed

Household Management

Several years ago when I was writing more posts about https://healthyadhd.com/whats-the-point-of-homemaking/ someone suggested I produce an ADHD Home Management binder. I laughed. A lot. Because I am absolutely not an expert on managing a home with or without ADHD. But I will say I've come to terms with how ADHD affects my ability to manage my home. And I've developed systems that work FOR ME. I don't claim to know how to help everyone. In this podcast episode I discuss https://healthyadhd.com/simplified-home-management-system/ and https://healthyadhd.com/game-plan-house-cleaning-schedule/  I'll break down five ways to simplify your home management, including: Plan less. Stop making massive to-do lists. Cook less. Simplify your meal planning and cooking. Choose just one planner or calendar. One day per week take a break from household chores. Limit your use of apps on your phone. The more apps you have to check-in with each day, the more time you will spend on said apps.  The second part of the podcast is around cleaning schedules. I have women ask me every day for specific cleaning schedules, tips, hacks etc. I don't do hacks, I can only tell you what works for me. The Bottom Line is this : DO WHAT YOU CAN, WHEN YOU CAN. That's it. Keep it that simple. https://amzn.to/2Buk471 (The book I couldn't remember in the podcast!)  https://clutterbug.me/ - so much fun https://www.aslobcomesclean.com/ - more organizing fun https://the-adhd-enclave.mn.co/feed

The Naked Truth About How ADHD Affects Women in the Home

This is the podcast version of one of my most popular posts.  I talk to a lot of women with ADHD. Some of then work at home, some of them work in the home. No matter what form of, "work" my community members do, they are always working extremely hard. In some respects harder than their neurotypical counterparts. Listen as I break down the four most common complaints I hear from ADHD women at home: Organizational difficulties. Either we don't know how to start or we get hyperfocused and burn ourselves out before the job is done. Working memory issues. It's hard to get anything done when you cannot remember what you were thinking thirty seconds ago. When your thoughts, ideas, and inspiration are constantly in flux it leads to overwhelm. (And low motivation) Avoidance. Umm we don't like to do boring things. Cleaning, homemaking, and organizing is boring.  Multitasking/lack of awareness. In an attempt to overcompensate, many of us start multitasking. In doing so we miss critical information and interactions with the people in our homes. And we also do annoying things like leaving every cabinet door in the kitchen hanging open. The bottom line: Stop comparing yourself to other people. Accept what is. Sometimes good enough is good enough. And don't forget to laugh.

Parents WITH ADHD

There are millions articles online about parenting ADHD children, but there are very few about Parents With ADHD. I've written about it. ADDitude Magazine has had some coverage of it. But there is not a lot of research available about how having ADHD as an adult impacts our ability to parent. As you can imagine, I got REALLY excited when I noticed Dr. Marcy Caldwell's session on the https://www.theadhdconference.org/home Her session is entitled, Permission Slips, Lunches, Bedtimes and Beyond: Strategies for Surviving Parenthood with ADHD. You know me when I get excited! I fired off an email to Dr. Caldwell asking her to be on the podcast and spilling my guts about this website and my interest in parenting WITH ADHD. After we got our schedules aligned we talked. And the results are this amazing podcast episode. When we have kids our own issues become amplified. In this episode you will hear: Why life management is where we need to start Calming the chaos can actually be very emotional Why you can't just focus on practical strategies without working on the emotional side at the same time The struggle to juggle all the balls as a parent with ADHD Why distracted parenting is a big problem for us How being a parent with ADHD might be an advantage if your child also has ADHD The role of self-care in being the parent you want to be (and treating your ADHD) For more info or to contact Dr. Caldwell: https://drmarcycaldwell.com/ https://rittenhousepsychologicalassessments.com/about/

Meal Planning Made Simple

Meal planning is only hard if you make it that way. There I said it. This is going to be a practical, straight-forward lesson on meal planning for busy women.  I am doing a pop-up at this year's ADHD Conference about meal planning. Because I'm good at it and well...I love it. This is the breakdown: Stock your kitchen - make sure all you/your family's favorite foods are on hand. (This makes your life easier when you don't have an actual plan)  Keep it simple - do not cook every day, do not try fancy recipes that require 25 ingredients Use the magic of the interwebs to find easy recipes, OR Start with a protein, then add side dishes Don't force yourself to meal prep, even though it's trendy Always shop with a grocery list (favorite foods + what you need to make a couple meals) Tools of the trade - crock pots, https://amzn.to/2l5qXHb (affiliate link) and toaster ovens Meal planning services are affordable and NOT a luxury Consider grocery pick-up or delivery because it will save your sanity https://www.theadhdconference.org/home - Come and hang out with me, Dani Donovan, and Jessica McCabe from How to ADHD. https://adoseofhealthydistraction.com/shop/ - Including my Meal Planning ebook https://the-adhd-enclave.mn.co/feed - to hang out with me and my girls