The ADHD Skills Lab

You start an email, remember a purchase, open another tab, and suddenly five tasks are each 20 percent done. For adults with ADHD, working memory problems don't necessarily disappear with age.

Skye Waterson and Robert Waterson unpack a 2013 meta-analysis of 38 studies on working memory in adults with ADHD. The researchers expected older adults to perform better. Instead, the review found adults with ADHD performed moderately worse on both verbal and visual working memory tasks, with age not changing the overall picture.

Then Skye and Robert get practical: how to stop relying on your head to hold everything. They cover one central place for tasks, low-friction capture, redundant reminders, recording tools, and physical cues you can't ignore.

The goal isn't to remember harder. It's to build a system that means you don't have to.

Want Skye's prioritization filter? DM me “prioritize” and she'll send it to you for free.

What We Cover:

• What 38 studies reveal about working memory in adults with ADHD, and why age didn't change the picture
• Why every task needs one central, ranked location instead of scattered notes
• How redundant reminders and physical cues help when working memory fails
• Why a five-minute post-meeting dictation can catch what AI summaries miss

P.S. If you’re a founder who’s tired of the mad scramble of disorganized systems and stressful HR, and you want a business that feels as easy as plugging your headphones into an iPod shuffle, I’ve got something for you.

Want to grow your business? 

My Focused Balanced Growth Program has everything you need to build consistent ADHD-friendly routines and processes to grow. Click here to learn more.

Looking for a coach who's also an operator who'll turn your business into a finely-tuned profit and peace machine designed for your brain? 

I work with one company a month as a fractional consultant and COO, learning about your business and implementing systems that allow both trust & transparency with your team. Click here to book a call and discuss.

Rejection sensitive dysphoria gets talked about constantly in ADHD spaces, but there isn't much research behind it yet.

In this Research Recap, Skye and Will unpack a small study that tried to measure what happens when people with ADHD symptoms experience social exclusion. Using a deliberately unfair ball-tossing game, researchers compared how rejected participants said they felt with changes in their heart rate and blood pressure.

The results didn't line up the way researchers expected. This isn't proof that RSD is or isn't real. It's a look at what one study found, where the results got messy, and why measuring rejection sensitivity is more complicated than it sounds.

Want more of Will's work? Visit HackingYourADHD.com or subscribe on YouTube.

What We Cover:

• How the Cyberball task was used to create social exclusion in a lab setting
• Why participants reported feeling excluded while the physiological data didn't show the expected response
• The unexpected drop in blood pressure and what researchers thought might explain it
• Why self-reported rejection sensitivity didn't line up neatly with ADHD measures
• How the study's small, self-selected sample limits what we can conclude
• Why this paper raises useful questions without settling whether RSD is real

P.S. If you’re a founder who’s tired of the mad scramble of disorganized systems and stressful HR, and you want a business that feels as easy as plugging your headphones into an iPod shuffle, I’ve got something for you.

Want to grow your business? 

My Focused Balanced Growth Program has everything you need to build consistent ADHD-friendly routines and processes to grow. Click here to learn more.

Looking for a coach who's also an operator who'll turn your business into a finely-tuned profit and peace machine designed for your brain? 

I work with one company a month as a fractional consultant and COO, learning about your business and implementing systems that allow both trust & transparency with your team. Click here to book a call and discuss.

You hired help. You still find yourself taking things back on.

Kara Kushnir built A Work of Heart Counseling and Wellness from a part-time practice into a fifteen-provider team. But growing the team meant learning that she couldn't keep doing everything herself.

In this episode, Kara talks about the temptation to say yes to everything, the burnout that follows, and how she learned to delegate, ask for help, and build a team she trusts enough to tell her no.

What We Cover

• Why trying to do everything yourself is a direct route to burnout
• Why Kara still catches herself taking on work she should delegate
• How saying yes to too much led to overwhelm and depletion
• Why asking for help and knowing who to ask are skills you can build
• How transparency about her weaknesses changed the relationship with her team
• Why knowing what you're not good at is part of building a healthier business

Connect with Kara:

• A Work of Heart Counseling
• Instagram: A Work of Art Counseling
• Instagram: Taking Cara

P.S. If you’re a founder who’s tired of the mad scramble of disorganized systems and stressful HR, and you want a business that feels as easy as plugging your headphones into an iPod shuffle, I’ve got something for you.

Want to grow your business? 

My Focused Balanced Growth Program has everything you need to build consistent ADHD-friendly routines and processes to grow. Click here to learn more.

Looking for a coach who's also an operator who'll turn your business into a finely-tuned profit and peace machine designed for your brain? 

I work with one company a month as a fractional consultant and COO, learning about your business and implementing systems that allow both trust & transparency with your team. Click here to book a call and discuss.

ADHD treatment works. But does it keep working the same way eight years later?

In this Research Recap, Skye and Will dig into the MTA study, one of the largest and most influential ADHD treatment studies ever conducted, and what researchers found when they followed the same kids over eight years.

They unpack why the strong early treatment gains had disappeared by year eight, why medication use dropped dramatically over time, and the surprising finding that even the group still taking medication didn't maintain the same early advantage.

They also look at what happens as kids move into middle school, when organizational demands increase and strategies that worked before may no longer be enough.

Importantly, they separate what the research actually tells us from what it still can't explain.

Want more of Will's work? Visit HackingYourADHD.com or subscribe on YouTube.

What We Cover:

• Why the MTA study's early treatment gains had disappeared by year eight
• Why only about a third of participants were still using medication
• What the research does and doesn't tell us about stopping medication
• Why changing life demands can require changing ADHD strategies
• What the middle school research suggests about symptoms at home versus school
• Why "pills don't teach skills" matters when thinking about long-term ADHD management

P.S. If you’re a founder who’s tired of the mad scramble of disorganized systems and stressful HR, and you want a business that feels as easy as plugging your headphones into an iPod shuffle, I’ve got something for you.

Want to grow your business? 

My Focused Balanced Growth Program has everything you need to build consistent ADHD-friendly routines and processes to grow. Click here to learn more.

Looking for a coach who's also an operator who'll turn your business into a finely-tuned profit and peace machine designed for your brain? 

I work with one company a month as a fractional consultant and COO, learning about your business and implementing systems that allow both trust & transparency with your team. Click here to book a call and discuss.

You know what you want in the future. You still can't make yourself do the boring task today.

Skye and Robbie break down the goal setting system Skye actually uses, adapted from Dan Martell's framework. It works backward from a 25-year vision to one specific goal this year, then down to one daily non-negotiable that makes that goal inevitable.

They also get into what happens when you miss a day, why trying to focus on five goals at once backfires, and how immediate rewards can make the thing you keep avoiding easier to actually do.

What We Cover:

• The full process from a 25-year vision to a daily non-negotiable
• Why your yearly goal needs to be specific and measurable
• How to choose the one priority that matters most right now
• Why five new non-negotiables at once can become zero
• How immediate rewards and recovering from missed days keep goals alive

P.S. If you’re a founder who’s tired of the mad scramble of disorganized systems and stressful HR, and you want a business that feels as easy as plugging your headphones into an iPod shuffle, I’ve got something for you.

Want to grow your business? 

My Focused Balanced Growth Program has everything you need to build consistent ADHD-friendly routines and processes to grow. Click here to learn more.

Looking for a coach who's also an operator who'll turn your business into a finely-tuned profit and peace machine designed for your brain? 

I work with one company a month as a fractional consultant and COO, learning about your business and implementing systems that allow both trust & transparency with your team. Click here to book a call and discuss.

You know what needs doing. You have the ideas. So why is actually finishing the thing so hard?

Jason Chatfield has written and drawn the syndicated comic strip Ginger Meggs for sixteen years, writes for The New Yorker, and built a career across cartooning, comedy, and writing. But he learned he cannot rely on his brain to generate ideas and execute them at the same time.

Instead, Jason built physical systems that separate thinking from doing: external deadlines, index cards, a wall calendar, batching, and pairing difficult tasks with things he actually enjoys.

In this episode, Jason breaks down the practical systems he uses to turn ideas into finished work without relying on willpower.

What We Cover:

• Why Jason stopped planning and executing in the same block
• The index card system that makes finished work visible
• How external deadlines give his ADHD brain structure
• Why his wall calendar beats another productivity app
• How he pairs difficult tasks with things he enjoys
• The first-thing, last-thing routine that separates planning from doing
• Why it took three ADHD diagnoses before he believed it

Connect With Jason Chatfield

https://www.jasonchatfield.com/

https://www.instagram.com/newyorkcartoons/

P.S. If you’re a founder who’s tired of the mad scramble of disorganized systems and stressful HR, and you want a business that feels as easy as plugging your headphones into an iPod shuffle, I’ve got something for you.

Want to grow your business? 

My Focused Balanced Growth Program has everything you need to build consistent ADHD-friendly routines and processes to grow. Click here to learn more.

Looking for a coach who's also an operator who'll turn your business into a finely-tuned profit and peace machine designed for your brain? 

I work with one company a month as a fractional consultant and COO, learning about your business and implementing systems that allow both trust & transparency with your team. Click here to book a call and discuss.

You built the business because you were good at the work. Nobody warned you that promoting it might be harder than doing it.

New research on neurodivergent entrepreneurs found that maintaining a social media profile was the most commonly reported self-employment challenge. Ahead of work-life balance, unpredictability, and financial pressures.

In this episode, Skye and Robert unpack why social media has become such a difficult part of running a business, what else neurodivergent entrepreneurs say they struggle with, and the support and habits they find most helpful.

What We Cover:

• Why maintaining a social media profile topped the list of challenges
• How work-life balance, unpredictability, and marketing compared
• Why peer support, professional networks, and mentorship matter
• What entrepreneurs said helped their wellbeing, from movement and sleep to boundaries

P.S. If you’re a founder who’s tired of the mad scramble of disorganized systems and stressful HR, and you want a business that feels as easy as plugging your headphones into an iPod shuffle, I’ve got something for you.

Want to grow your business? 

My Focused Balanced Growth Program has everything you need to build consistent ADHD-friendly routines and processes to grow. Click here to learn more.

Looking for a coach who's also an operator who'll turn your business into a finely-tuned profit and peace machine designed for your brain? 

I work with one company a month as a fractional consultant and COO, learning about your business and implementing systems that allow both trust & transparency with your team. Click here to book a call and discuss.

Carlos Gutierrez spent 25 years rising from sales representative to CEO of Kellogg, then served as U.S. Commerce Secretary. He did it all without knowing he had ADHD.

When he was diagnosed later in life, Carlos began looking back at his career differently. The disorganization, procrastination and impulsivity he had treated as personal flaws finally had a name. So did some of the traits that helped him succeed, including intense hyperfocus, intuition and an ability to connect with people.

In this conversation, Carlos and Skye unpack the role ADHD played at the highest levels of his career, from the projects he could not stop thinking about to the support that helped him perform at his best. They also talk honestly about the cost of that drive, particularly the work that followed him home and the family time he lost along the way.

It is a fascinating look at what ADHD can actually look like at the top, and what Carlos understands about himself now that he wishes he had known earlier.

What We Cover

• Why Carlos saw his ADHD traits as personal flaws for decades
• How hyperfocus became one of his biggest career advantages
• Why the right support and structure changed how he performed
• The impact his intense focus on work had on his family life
• How ADHD shaped his intuition, empathy and leadership style
• What changed when Carlos finally learned he had ADHD

P.S. If you’re a founder who’s tired of the mad scramble of disorganized systems and stressful HR, and you want a business that feels as easy as plugging your headphones into an iPod shuffle, I’ve got something for you.

Want to grow your business? 

My Focused Balanced Growth Program has everything you need to build consistent ADHD-friendly routines and processes to grow. Click here to learn more.

Looking for a coach who's also an operator who'll turn your business into a finely-tuned profit and peace machine designed for your brain? 

I work with one company a month as a fractional consultant and COO, learning about your business and implementing systems that allow both trust & transparency with your team. Click here to book a call and discuss.

Waking up exhausted after eight hours of sleep isn't just bad luck. In this Research Recap, Skye and Will break down a meta-analysis on hay fever and ADHD, including the finding that people with allergies are significantly more likely to also meet the criteria for ADHD. They talk through how swollen sinuses can disrupt sleep, how that can show up as brain fog and forgetfulness, and why the researchers still can't say which condition comes first. Want more of Will's work? Visit HackingYourADHD.com or subscribe on YouTube.

What We Cover:

• The 1.83x risk finding from 18 studies covering 4.2 million people
• Why poor sleep from allergies can look a lot like ADHD symptoms
• The inflammation theory behind the connection
• Why correlation isn't causation, and why the finding still matters
• What researchers still don't know about the ADHD–allergy link

Want more of Will's work? Visit HackingYourADHD.com or subscribe on YouTube.

P.S. If you’re a founder who’s tired of the mad scramble of disorganized systems and stressful HR, and you want a business that feels as easy as plugging your headphones into an iPod shuffle, I’ve got something for you.

Want to grow your business? 

My Focused Balanced Growth Program has everything you need to build consistent ADHD-friendly routines and processes to grow. Click here to learn more.

Looking for a coach who's also an operator who'll turn your business into a finely-tuned profit and peace machine designed for your brain? 

I work with one company a month as a fractional consultant and COO, learning about your business and implementing systems that allow both trust & transparency with your team. Click here to book a call and discuss.

You hit a growth ceiling and your first instinct is to change what you're doing, not fix how you're doing it.

Matt Verlaque has coached founders past a million in revenue and sees the same pattern over and over: something works, the novelty wears off, growth stalls, and suddenly a new marketing channel, AI tool, or strategy looks like the answer.

Matt and Skye unpack the “pivot chaser” trap, how to tell when a strategy is genuinely broken versus when you've simply gotten bored of executing it. They also dig into AI mania, the dopamine hit of learning and building new things, and why constantly chasing the next skill can quietly keep you from scaling.

Because as Matt puts it: “Beginners don't scale companies.”

What We Cover

• How to tell whether you have a strategy problem or an execution problem
• Why ADHD founders abandon the thing that was actually driving their growth
• Why skill acquisition feels productive even when it stalls your company
• The difference between “can I build this?” and “should I build this?”
• Why constantly chasing novelty keeps you a beginner

Connect With Matt Verlaque

https://mattverlaque.com/

Instagram: @mattverlaque

P.S. If you’re a founder who’s tired of the mad scramble of disorganized systems and stressful HR, and you want a business that feels as easy as plugging your headphones into an iPod shuffle, I’ve got something for you.

Want to grow your business? 

My Focused Balanced Growth Program has everything you need to build consistent ADHD-friendly routines and processes to grow. Click here to learn more.

Looking for a coach who's also an operator who'll turn your business into a finely-tuned profit and peace machine designed for your brain? 

I work with one company a month as a fractional consultant and COO, learning about your business and implementing systems that allow both trust & transparency with your team. Click here to book a call and discuss.