Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast

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. 

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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.

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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!

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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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.

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!

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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!

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