Practical Advice for Proactive Adults with ADHD
I am not a techie.
In fact I hate getting new gadgets, because then I have to figure out how to use them. The learning curve feels annoying rather than exciting to me.
My friend Phil is the opposite. He loves that stuff.
If ever I run into a tech problem, I have a 2 step process.
Last week’s article was all about lists – how some people love them while others hate them, and the dangers of an ‘everything list.’ You can read it here.
Because lists are such a helpful tool when you are living with ADHD, this article has 6 tips for ADHDers who don’t currently like lists.
Lists by their very nature are linear, which can feel constraining to the creative ADHD brain.
Because one item is written underneath the next, there can be an internal pressure to think your thoughts in order or in categories.
For example, if you are writing a list about moving, you might feel the need to write the ‘to dos’ related to your old home before the ‘to dos’ for your new home.
If your brain doesn’t work in this linear way, it can create a mental log jam. That feels frustrating and leads you to conclude lists don’t work for you.
A great solution for this is to separate the brainstorming from organizing/categorizing. When they are separate steps, it removes mental blocks and you can get all your great ideas onto paper.
Here are two ways to do this. Both are visual and fun to do.
People living with ADHD often have a love-hate relationship with lists. Some people love them, others hate them and another group fluctuates between loving and hating depending on the day.
A list is a number of items written down vertically, one item underneath the previous one. Lists can be on paper or pixel and are often created around a theme. For example, people to invite to a party; items to pack for a trip. [Read more…]
Emails are a great way to keep in touch and communicate with people all over the world. Yet, at times the influx of messages can feel distracting, overwhelming and as if email is taking over your whole life!
Nothing sabotages productivity more than having your inbox open all day. You find yourself checking it when you are bored, during telephone calls or when you should be starting a deep concentration task.
Instead, have set times of the day where you check your email. For example, you could check it at 9.am, 1pm and 4pm.
Some ADHDers are resistant to this structured email checking idea. They argue that due to the nature of their job, closing their inbox would be impossible. In reality there aren’t many jobs where an open inbox is a requirement. [Read more…]
It is challenging being a student with ADHD! Many of the skills and characteristics that are required to be a good student are the very things that ADHDers find difficult.
Here are 10 tips to help you get good grades and enjoy your student days.
Even if your university days were over long ago, some of these tips will still be useful for you in your workplace for example, preparing for a presentation or staying alert in meetings. [Read more…]
A few weeks ago, Jobbio.com asked if I would write a guest blog post 
for them about ADHD in the workplace. Always happy to spread the word about ADHD, I said yes.
The article is called
8 Ways Employers can Make The Workplace More ADHD-Friendly
The article is for bosses and managers who have ADHD employees on their team.
However! Even if you aren’t a manager or boss it is still worth reading as it has some ideas for you too. [Read more…]
The Untapped Brilliance blog has several articles about reading books. 
The idea behind How to Read a Book When You Have ADHD is to eliminate guilt if you read books differently from the traditional linear way.
Another article talks about how reading on a Kindle can be super helpful for ADHDers. The interesting thing is, each time I post an article about reading books, it sparks more questions including,
‘How can I read a novel from to start to finish?’
That is the topic of this article!
Susy felt a shot of dread every time the doorbell rang. Luckily she had 
mastered the technique of opening her front door just enough for the visitor to see her head, but not enough that they could see into her home.
When she said goodbye and closed the front door, Susy always felt a mixture of shame and relief.
Shame because her home was very messy.
Relief because the potential disaster of another human seeing her cluttered home had been avoided.
Do You Keep a Journal?They are great places to record your thoughts, feelings and insights about your daily life. Journaling isn’t just for teenage girls and aspiring writers. It helps with physical and mental health, emotional upheaval, productivity, and happiness.
If you are living with ADHD, it is easy to dismiss the idea of writing in a journal. At first glance, it seems to involve all the things that are hard for you like sitting, writing, focusing and daily discipline.
However, writing in a journal allows you to press the pause button on your life. When you take time out from being busy and spend time alone with just your thoughts and journal, you can actively reflect on the events of the day.
As a result you will …
[Read more…]
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