Overcoming Distractions-Thriving with ADHD, ADD

Are you an adult with ADHD that needs more clarity on the types of activities that energize you as well as the activities in your life that drain your energy? In this shorter version of Overcoming Distractions Dave talks about the importance of making two critical lists to help you thrive with your adult ADHD. Adults with ADHD need to recognize the types of activities that give us energy, provide us with good dopamine and excite us about getting up in the morning. When we understand what gives us energy, We can thrive with our adult ADHD However, we also need to understand the activities in our life that drain our energy. And we need to try hard to eliminate energy-sucking activities. Dave talks about how to go about making these two important lists that will help you in your career, and your personal life. Want to work with Dave? Go to www.overcomingdistractions.com

In this engaging podcast, Sarah Reiff-Hekking discusses the challenges of setting and achieving goals for adults with ADHD. She emphasizes reframing goals as targets or visions, using visual reminders, and prioritizing personal over career goals. Sarah stresses the importance of authentic, intrinsic goals, and suggests approaching goal setting in a non-judgmental way. The podcast also teases upcoming productivity workshops and future episodes on social media-related topics.

One of the many challenges adults with ADHD face is managing large and ongoing projects. Most times, these projects revolve around work or our career. And because there are so many aspects of managing and working on large projects for our job, many adults with ADHD find it a struggle. Does this sound familiar to you? Dave talks about what it takes for those of us with ADHD to stay on track with large and ongoing projects. As an entrepreneur, Dave has been involved in many ongoing initiatives with his clients over the years that require planning, meeting deadlines and milestones as well as the ability to work with others for a common goal. If your job requires you to work on projects, or you feel like doing a home remodeling project around the house, spend the next 20 minutes with Dave and grab a pen and notepad. Want to work with Dave? Go to www.overcomingdistractions.com

This is a quick checkup if you're feeling a little cooked lately. Grab a notebook and a pen! Some people feel refreshed at the new year, but it can also give us more pressure and stress about goals and other achievements. Dave talks about why this added pressure can actually contribute to feeling burned out. Many people with ADHD can experience burnout quicker than others due to our challenges that we already face. Those include our struggles with productivity, time management, and the emotional aspect of having ADHD. Dave talks about the common ways we feel burned out and other feelings you may not have considered. He also talks about how the combination of these things can be clear indicators of burnout or heading towards burnout. Dave gives you a checklist of ways to begin navigating your way out of burnout. You can find a link to Dave's recent book Overcoming Burnout at www.overcomingdistractions.com.

Conventional wisdom would have adults with ADHD believing that we need to follow a specific path to manage and thrive with adult ADHD. But as you may have uncovered by now, following conventional wisdom and accepted and unquestioned principles, is often not the best path to thriving with adult ADHD. Jeff Copper from DIG Coaching is back to discuss the concept of conventional wisdom and ADHD and how we can challenge certain thinking. Jeff talks about the book “Breaking the Rules” which can describe the theme of this discussion on the podcast. Oftentimes adults with ADHD need to break the rules and one great example is understanding that we cannot always fix our weaknesses. Accepting this concept can provide an opportunity for growth in our ADHD journey. Jeff and Dave discussed the importance of placing ourselves in roles that are a great fit. one example is choosing a career or a job that allows us to utilize our strengths. Jeff also indicates that the more clarity we have in our lives and and our daily habits, the more motivation we can experience. Managing our ADHD can be challenging at certain times in our lives but Jeff and Dave cautioned everyone not to fall into what Jeff calls a sea of strategies. We must stop drowning in the latest greatest strategy or technique to manage our adult ADHD. Do you want to learn more about challenging conventional wisdom and ADHD? This is a great discussion with Jeff and Dave. Find Jeff and Attention Talk Radio on his website. www.digcoaching.com If you want to work with Dave for coaching and mentorship, go to www.overcomingdistractions.com

Adults with ADHD seem to have a love/hate relationship regarding scheduling and using calendars. Are you one of these people? Sure, it sounds like a simple concept but for many of us with adult ADHD, we tend to struggle to engage more effectively with schedules and calendars. Back on Overcoming Distractions is Eric Tivers of ADHD reWired. Eric and Dave discussed the following and a lot more. ·         Why a schedule and using a calendar can be challenging for adults with ADHD. ·         Understanding that without a workable schedule, getting through the week and getting “stuff” done can also be challenging. ·         Eric discusses how scheduling, distractions, prioritization and time management are all connected and the calendar can help us. ·         Eric also takes time to discuss time tracking which he feels is one of the most important ways to understand how long tasks and projects take us. ·         Dave and Eric discuss time blocking but making sure that we are using that concept effectively. And Eric gives tips for getting started and getting more comfortable using a calendar to manage our work and personal lives. Those include understanding this is going to be a process, you'll need to try different methods, making sure you relax and be patient, the importance of engaging with your calendar and understanding in many cases, there is a setup and a cleanup which you'll hear his thoughts on the podcast. Find ADHD reWired here and all Eric's offerings including group sessions and the popular podcast. https://www.adhdrewired.com/ Do you want to work with Dave one-on-one? Go to www.overcomingdistractions.com 

As individuals with ADHD, by the time we are adults, we have experienced and internalized hundreds of thousands of negative inputs about who we are and how we are.  This can create defensiveness, people-pleasing, perfectionism, social anxiety, oppositional behavior, and other defense mechanisms. But one thing we need to recognize and talk about openly is shame.  Our guest Diann Wingert, therapist turned coach, says it is the elephant in the room for adults with ADHD. Diann gives us a general definition of shame and explains the difference between guilt and shame. She also gives people a few basic examples of shame then you may be able to relate to. Diann also explains why she has called shame and ADHD, the elephant in the room. She discusses why for people with ADHD, making mistakes can equal shame and the habits we can build to get ourselves out of this pattern. And Diann gives us a road map for tackling shame in our lives, including understanding self-awareness, forgiveness, understanding that shame is a spectrum, and understanding how to take an honest look at situations in our lives that we can avoid. Diann Wingert is a Business Strategist, Coach & Mentor and Host of The Driven Woman Podcast. Connect with Diann on her website: www.diannwingertcoaching.com

If you are an adult with ADHD and find yourself in a leadership position, you'll want to pay attention to what our guest Brendan Mahan says this week. Brendan from ADHD essentials is back on overcoming distractions and we talk about the essential elements of being a leader, while being an adult with ADHD. Maybe you find yourself as a shift supervisor in the hospitality industry, leading a major project at your company or wanting to learn more about how to parent through leadership, Brendan has some awesome advice. Brendan and Dave discussed the following. The difference between being a leader and being a boss. What the general role of someone in leadership should be? What would we, as adults with ADHD expect from our leaders? The challenges of being an adult with ADHD and assuming a leadership position. Tips for navigating a leadership role while having adult ADHD. Those include delegating diplomatically, understanding that you are supporting character as a leader, and taking time to own your ADHD and manage it properly. Find Brandan Mahan and his offerings on his website; www.adhdessential.com Want to work with Dave? www.OvercomingDistractions.com

Exploring the feeling of being too busy with ADHD, finding ways to minimize it in professional and personal life, prioritizing tasks, understanding capacity and boundaries, saying no to commitments, and seeking help from coaches or mentors for better time management and work-life balance.

How does a creative digital nomad manage her ADHD on the road? On Overcoming Distractions this time is Nikki May, owner of Nikki D May Art and Design. Nikki sold her house, purchased a bus and now runs her art and design business on the road. In her business she does everything from drawing, designing accessories and apparel as well as web design. As a newly diagnosed adult with ADHD, she has had to build the skills necessary to run a business on the road including carving time out for work, meeting deadlines and getting it all done. Nikki admits that her brain doesn't always switch into working mode so it's important for her to have implemented several ways to be productive. Those include: Time blocking Planning Hiring and delegating Having a business manager Using contractors. She hired somebody to set up systems for her And one big thing, not saying yes to everything. Find Nikki D. May Art and Design here: https://www.nikkimay.com/ Want to work with Dave for coaching and mentoring? www.OvercomingDistractions.com