Overcoming Distractions-Thriving with Adult ADHD
David A Greenwood
Overcoming Distractions: Thriving with Adult ADHD is a podcast for busy professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners, and leaders navigating the challenges of adult ADHD.
Hosted by David Greenwood, entrepreneur, former corporate executive, author, and fellow adult with ADHD, the show explores how to succeed at work, build a business, lead people, and enjoy a more fulfilling life while working with an ADHD brain.
If you're an adult with ADHD who struggles with time management, energy, executive functioning, procrastination, prioritization, focus, organization, or burnout, you'll find practical strategies and honest conversations to help you work through those challenges.
Each week, David brings together ADHD experts, successful entrepreneurs, business owners, executives, and other professionals to discuss the real-world challenges of ADHD in business and the workplace.
Topics covered on Overcoming Distractions include:
• ADHD at Work: Managing workloads, deadlines, distractions, interruptions, and competing priorities.
• ADHD Executive Functioning: Improving time management, organization, planning, task initiation, and follow-through.
• ADHD and Entrepreneurship: Building systems, managing finances, delegating, making decisions, and running a business with ADHD.
• ADHD Leadership: Leading teams, leveraging strengths, improving communication, and navigating executive responsibilities.
• ADHD and Burnout: Managing stress, emotional regulation, overcommitment, and the demands of a busy professional life.
• Thriving with Adult ADHD: Building self-awareness, confidence, better habits, and a professional and personal life that works with your brain.
David draws on decades of entrepreneurial and executive experience, along with his own experience navigating life and business with ADHD.
This isn't about becoming someone you're not or trying to force your brain to work like everyone else's. It's about understanding your ADHD, building practical systems, leveraging your strengths, and finding ways to work with less stress and more fulfillment.
Whether you're an entrepreneur, business owner, executive, manager, or busy professional with adult ADHD, Overcoming Distractions offers practical advice and real-world perspectives to help you thrive.
Hosted by David Greenwood, entrepreneur, former corporate executive, author, and fellow adult with ADHD, the show explores how to succeed at work, build a business, lead people, and enjoy a more fulfilling life while working with an ADHD brain.
If you're an adult with ADHD who struggles with time management, energy, executive functioning, procrastination, prioritization, focus, organization, or burnout, you'll find practical strategies and honest conversations to help you work through those challenges.
Each week, David brings together ADHD experts, successful entrepreneurs, business owners, executives, and other professionals to discuss the real-world challenges of ADHD in business and the workplace.
Topics covered on Overcoming Distractions include:
• ADHD at Work: Managing workloads, deadlines, distractions, interruptions, and competing priorities.
• ADHD Executive Functioning: Improving time management, organization, planning, task initiation, and follow-through.
• ADHD and Entrepreneurship: Building systems, managing finances, delegating, making decisions, and running a business with ADHD.
• ADHD Leadership: Leading teams, leveraging strengths, improving communication, and navigating executive responsibilities.
• ADHD and Burnout: Managing stress, emotional regulation, overcommitment, and the demands of a busy professional life.
• Thriving with Adult ADHD: Building self-awareness, confidence, better habits, and a professional and personal life that works with your brain.
David draws on decades of entrepreneurial and executive experience, along with his own experience navigating life and business with ADHD.
This isn't about becoming someone you're not or trying to force your brain to work like everyone else's. It's about understanding your ADHD, building practical systems, leveraging your strengths, and finding ways to work with less stress and more fulfillment.
Whether you're an entrepreneur, business owner, executive, manager, or busy professional with adult ADHD, Overcoming Distractions offers practical advice and real-world perspectives to help you thrive.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 9, 2023 • 18min
Please don't forget to eat if you have ADHD
If you are an adult with ADHD and you have been skipping meals, you will want to listen to what Dave has to say about why eating needs to be part of your ADHD management. Dave talks about how missing meals during the day can drastically affect your ADHD, focus, mood and overall attempt at thriving with adult ADHD. He discusses what nutrition experts say about food intake including energy levels, managing executive functions and why being hungry is another distraction. Dave lays out a few simple ways that he and others implement to make shopping and meal planning easier for those of us with ADHD. Disclaimer: Dave is not giving any nutritional or medical advice. This episode is meant to give you ideas as to how to ensure you have regular eating habits throughout the day. **Do you want to work with Dave one-on-one? Go to www.overcomingdistractions.com and book an introductory Zoom chat. Or go directly to Dave's calendar; https://calendly.com/davidgreenwood1/15min
Sep 6, 2023 • 18min
How to make email less stressful for adults with ADHD
Many adults with ADHD struggle when it comes to managing email. It's a common theme for busy professionals. Depending on the type of job you have or business you are running, email can absorb a lot of time. If we don't have some type of system for managing and organizing email, it can be distracting, stressful and contribute to disorganization. It can also be part of the problem when missing deadlines or important milestones. Dave has a number of suggestions in this podcast about how to manage email more effectively. Keep in mind, no system is perfect when it comes to challenges such as email but this podcast should get you thinking about how you can make email less daunting in your job or business. **Do you want to work with Dave one-on-one? Go to www.overcomingdistractions.com and book an introductory Zoom chat. Or go directly to Dave's calendar; https://calendly.com/davidgreenwood1/15min
Aug 26, 2023 • 25min
Major factors in ADHD burnout and how to start recovering
Explore the factors contributing to ADHD burnout, including executive functioning challenges and chronic stress. Learn about the importance of sleep and setting goals for recovery. Discover strategies for overcoming burnout, such as developing a mindset of control and seeking support from someone who understands ADHD.
Aug 23, 2023 • 17min
Why is sleep mission critical for adults with ADHD?
Learn about the challenges adults with ADHD face when it comes to sleep and the benefits of proper sleep for attention and focus regulation. Find out how sleep impacts emotional regulation and executive functions. Explore the relationship between sleep and medication for adults with ADHD and the importance of sleep hygiene. Discover why having a consistent sleep routine is crucial and get tips for creating a sleep window and seeking professional help if needed.
Aug 19, 2023 • 36min
These are the must haves for thriving in the workplace with adult ADHD
Overcoming Distractions focuses a lot of attention and resources on helping busy professionals like you thrive in the workplace with adult ADHD. This week we have a general discussion about how to navigate the workplace and thrive, grow and feel less stressed. Dave has a discussion with Jess Meredith, founder of Differing Minds based in the UK. Differing Minds consults with organizations of all types to give them a better understanding of nerodiversity and gives leadership the tools to help their workforce. Jess and Dave talk about some of the basic reasons why some of us adults with ADHD have challenges navigating the workplace and how those spill into our home and personal life. We have challenges with our workload, systems, routines creating effective to-do lists as well as scheduling projects and tasks appropriately. That tax is our executive functions, and it can make us tired at the end of the day. Jess talks about some of the common challenges that many adults with ADHD have in the workplace and how to begin the process of advocating for yourself without disclosing your ADHD. Jess says that advocating for yourself requires us to understand our ADHD, work with a coach or mentor as well as do your own research to understand ADHD better. She said it is also very helpful to document and journal our challenges with ADHD as well as strategies that work in our favor. Dave and Jess talk about the must-haves for thriving in the workplace. She says understanding your sensory profile and sensory processing can help you understand your needs. For many with ADHD movement helps us manage our ADHD. Working for a short period of time and then getting up and walking around for a minute. She also says that noise-cancelling headphones can tremendously help maintain focus and minimize distractions. And finding an accountability buddy that can help you stay on track can be very beneficial to thriving in the workplace. Learn more about Differing Minds here: https://www.differingminds.co.uk/ **Do you want to work with Dave one-on-one? Go to www.overcomingdistractions.com and book an introductory Zoom chat. Or go directly to Dave's calendar; https://calendly.com/davidgreenwood1/15min
Aug 12, 2023 • 38min
How emotional intelligence helps us thrive with adult ADHD
Understanding the overall concept of emotional intelligence and how it affects our lives with ADHD is critically important when it comes to navigating professional and personal life and thriving with adult ADHD. This week on Overcoming Distractions, Dave has a discussion with Dr. David Sitt, the author of ADHD Refocused-Bringing Clarity to the Chaos. Dr. Sitt first discusses his book and explains why the word "clarity" is in the subtitle. It is one of the keywords that drives how we thrive with adult ADHD. He explains that for many of us with ADHD, we wake up with the lights off and we must regain clarity on a regular basis. Dr. Sitt defines emotional intelligence and how it relates to adults with ADHD. He discusses self-awareness, self-management including how to regulate, problem-solving, social awareness, relationship management as well as dealing with conflict. Dr. Sitt And Dave discuss how "reading the room" is incredibly important, specifically in the workplace. Dr. Sitt also discusses how many adults with ADHD have a low frustration tolerance and talks about how rejection is part of emotional intelligence. Dr. Sitt discusses many steps to get started on the process of evaluating your emotional intelligence. He says self-awareness is a great first step and a great way to achieve that is through mindfulness and meditation. He also talks about the power of journaling about your social world and how that can improve your emotional intelligence. He offers many other powerful tips to get started on the process of improving emotional intelligence. Learn more about Dr. Sitt and grab his book on his website. https://drsitt.com/ **Do you want to work with Dave one-on-one? Go to www.overcomingdistractions.com and book an introductory Zoom chat. Or go directly to Dave's calendar; https://calendly.com/davidgreenwood1/15min
33 snips
Aug 5, 2023 • 33min
The basics of reducing clutter for adults with ADHD
Clutter can be especially tricky for adults with ADHD, from figuring out where things belong to building routines that stick. A professional organizer explores planning separately from doing, making tidying less overwhelming, and using body doubling to get started. They also discuss visual clutter, digital disorganization, and ways to make organizing feel more enjoyable.
Jul 22, 2023 • 25min
Minimizing these distractions now… will help you manage your adult ADHD
Distractions are one of the hallmarks of adult ADHD. If you are an adult with ADHD there are countless types of distractions that you need to manage daily. Many of those distractions revolve the workplace, our career and our busy professional lives. In this episode, Dave discusses 4 types of distractions and how you can mitigate those distractions in your busy professional life. Are there more distractions? Absolutely but these are four types of distractions that can really affect how we work in our professional careers. Want to work with Dave? Go to www.overcomingdistractions.com. A direct link to Dave's calendar; https://calendly.com/davidgreenwood1/15min
Jul 15, 2023 • 21min
How The Four Agreements Can Guide Your Adult ADHD
Dave talks about how you can take the book, the Four Agreements to help manage and thrive with adult ADHD. The premise of the book is to make four agreements with yourself to live a better life. The book is not written for adults with ADHD but there is some solid advice if you can implement it in your life and your career. Dave goes through the four agreements and puts an ADHD twist on each one and offers examples of how to implement these to guide you on your ADHD journey. Do you need a coach or a mentor for your adult ADHD journey? Contact Dave at www.overcomingdistractions.com and book an introductory Zoom meeting to find out more about his one-on-one coaching and mentorship. There is also a direct link to Dave's calendar here. https://calendly.com/davidgreenwood1/15min
Jul 8, 2023 • 22min
Why adults with ADHD need to take time off and use it properly
After a quick break, Dave is back to talk about why it is so important for adults with ADHD to take time off. That can include taking paid time off from your job, long weekends, planning a vacation and how to make the most of a staycation. Many adults with ADHD are not good at taking time off when they need it. If you are one of these people, check out what Dave has to say about being proactive in getting the time off that you need. Want to learn more about Dave's coaching and mentorship programs? Go to www.overcomingdistractions.com. Or, book a quick introductory call directly here. https://calendly.com/davidgreenwood1/15min
