Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast

Explore various task management systems like Getting Things Done, Eisenhower Matrix, Kanban, Scrum, and Agile Results. Learn how to manage time effectively without feeling overwhelmed by tasks. Discover practical insights on adapting systems to individual needs for improved productivity.

You can't do what you want to do. You never finish what you start. You aren't able to focus. Sure, we say this stuff to ourselves when our ADHD is getting the best of us. But how often is that really true? This week on the show, we examine what lives between all and nothing and try to tackle the beast that is all-or-nothing thinking with some tools you can employ right away. (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast! (02:18) - Sponsor: TextExpander asks you: What can you do with more time each month? (04:26) - ADHD Member Update! (06:01) - What Lies Between ALL and NOTHING? 🎓 College Coaching for ADHD Students is Now Enrolling!Starting college with ADHD? Don’t go it alone. At Take Control ADHD, we offer two personalized coaching options to help students thrive both academically and emotionally. The Roadmap Planning Package includes two pre-semester strategy sessions to build custom calendars, break down big assignments, and create ADHD-friendly systems for success. For ongoing support, our Weekly Coaching Package offers one-on-one accountability throughout the semester to stay focused, flexible, and in control.Learn more and find the right fit at https://takecontroladhd.com/college. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Kim To is CEO and Founder of Flair, a new platform designed to help you access a range of healthcare services to manage your life with ADHD. She's also Asian living with ADHD, and has spent much of her effort since her diagnosis exploring what it means to experience ADHD in a culture she describes as unaccustomed to the ADHD experience. She joins us today to talk about her ADHD coaching practice, what it means to share the responsibility of exploring ADHD in her community, and building a practice around inclusivity and understanding.Links & NotesOwn Your FlairConnect with Kim To on LinkedIn (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast (02:29) - Support the show — Become a Patron! (03:11) - Upcoming TextExpander Workshop (05:53) - Introducing Kim To (08:32) - ADHD Diagnosis and Culture Shock (18:55) - Perfectionism (22:02) - The Responsibility of Teaching a Culture about Trauma and ADHD (25:42) - About Flair 🎓 College Coaching for ADHD Students is Now Enrolling!Starting college with ADHD? Don’t go it alone. At Take Control ADHD, we offer two personalized coaching options to help students thrive both academically and emotionally. The Roadmap Planning Package includes two pre-semester strategy sessions to build custom calendars, break down big assignments, and create ADHD-friendly systems for success. For ongoing support, our Weekly Coaching Package offers one-on-one accountability throughout the semester to stay focused, flexible, and in control.Learn more and find the right fit at https://takecontroladhd.com/college. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

We'd never heard of the phrase stinking thinking until Sharon Saline used it with us on the show this week. But we knew what it meant immediately. We live with it. It's the thinking we use about ourselves when we're compromised or when our reserves of resiliency have been tapped, and when what we need more than anything else is just a little bit of self-compassion. But as ADHDers, finding self-compassion isn't always natural. We have to make a practice of it, integrating the language and behaviors of compassion into our days and hours such that when we need it, it's not so hard to find. Dr. Sharon Saline specializes in an integrative approach to managing ADHD, anxiety, executive functioning skills, learning differences & mental health in neurodiverse children, teens, adults & families and she joins us again today to talk all about living with ADHD and still managing to find a dose of self-compassion under the weight of it all.About Sharon Saline, Psy.D.Sharon Saline, Psy.D. has focused her work on ADHD, anxiety, learning differences, and mental health challenges and their impact on school and family dynamics for over 30 years. Her unique perspective, a sibling of a child who wrestled with untreated ADHD, combined with decades of academic excellence and clinical experience, assists her in guiding families as they navigate from the confusing maze of diagnoses and conflict to successful interventions and connections. Dr. Saline funnels this expertise into her book, What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life. Heralded as an invaluable resource, her book is the recipient of two awards: Best Book Awards winner by American Book Fest and the Gold Medal from Moms' Choice Awards. She recently published The ADHD Solution Deck: 50 Strategies to Help Kids Learn, Reduce Stress & Improve Family Connections.Find Sharon on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedInAnd, in case you're wondering, here's a little background on Alternate Nostril Breathing (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast (03:03) - Support The ADHD Podcast • Become a Partron! (04:49) - Introducing Sharon Saline (05:40) - Why Self-Compassion? (08:28) - Why now? (13:16) - When we don't feel "met" — What is self-compassion? (19:03) - The reduced capacity for resilience (22:17) - Climbing out of the negative shame spiral (28:30) - The self-compassion practice (39:03) - Alternate Nostril Breathing 🎓 College Coaching for ADHD Students is Now Enrolling!Starting college with ADHD? Don’t go it alone. At Take Control ADHD, we offer two personalized coaching options to help students thrive both academically and emotionally. The Roadmap Planning Package includes two pre-semester strategy sessions to build custom calendars, break down big assignments, and create ADHD-friendly systems for success. For ongoing support, our Weekly Coaching Package offers one-on-one accountability throughout the semester to stay focused, flexible, and in control.Learn more and find the right fit at https://takecontroladhd.com/college. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Erik “Doc” Anderson is an ADHD coach who specializes in helping people become the hero of their own stories. Erik is an ADHDer and also has Cerebral Palsy. Humans are wired for stories. Our lives, our desires, our hopes, and dreams, they’re all fueled by the metaphors that define who we are. Doc learned early that negative, limiting stories can be as damaging as positive stories are motivating. Today, we’re talking about how we can rewrite our own stories from someone who’s spent a lifetime rewriting his own, and in doing so made the choice to live in a much larger world. About Erik “Doc” AndersonErik Anderson has been a long-time advocate for system change. In addition to serving on state boards and commissions, he coordinated state government efforts in Iowa to fight employment discrimination against women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. Later, he moved on to work as an advocate with a federal technical assistance program under I.D.E.A. to help parents of children with disabilities get services in public schools. Now he works independently in the field of self-advocacy as an ADHD coach.Links & NotesCoaching for Creative Brains (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast (06:57) - The Challenge of Introducing Erik "Doc" Anderson (15:21) - Becoming a Coach (20:39) - The Hero Engine (31:59) - Fact, Truth, and the ADHD Negativity Bias (34:29) - Acceptance & Responsibility (36:52) - Making Self-Advocacy a Practice 🎓 College Coaching for ADHD Students is Now Enrolling!Starting college with ADHD? Don’t go it alone. At Take Control ADHD, we offer two personalized coaching options to help students thrive both academically and emotionally. The Roadmap Planning Package includes two pre-semester strategy sessions to build custom calendars, break down big assignments, and create ADHD-friendly systems for success. For ongoing support, our Weekly Coaching Package offers one-on-one accountability throughout the semester to stay focused, flexible, and in control.Learn more and find the right fit at https://takecontroladhd.com/college. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

It’s 2022! And we’re kicking off the new year and new season with change. Specifically, we’re going to look at how the language we use influences the way we think about and approach the world around us.As an anchor for the conversation, Nikki gives us a review of I Get To: How using the Right Words Can Radically Transform Your life, Relationships & Business by Alicia Dunams, a book that has helped us to refine the way we think about the language we use and how it influences our own mood as we approach hard things. We communicate through our words, tone of voice, and non-verbal cues such as body language. As Dunams says, “crafting our daily language with effective words and tone is a true art.”Along the way, we lean on two other resources. The first is the work of Karen Reivich, author of The Resilience Factor: 7 Keys to Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming Life's Hurdles. She gives us a framework to reframe negative thinking in a positive light.And Emily Campbell gives us insight into how our natural spirit of curiosity — not judgment — is the secret to healthy emotional well-being in her piece, “Six Surprising Benefits of Curiosity” published in Greater Good Magazine by UC Berkeley.This week’s episode is sponsored by TextExpander from Smile Software. TextExpander is central to our daily productivity and with a little curiosity and exploration, it might just be for you, too. Listeners of the show can save 20% on their first year by visiting textexpander.com/podcast. Links & NotesI Get To: How using the Right Words Can Radically Transform Your life, Relationships & Business by Alicia DunamsThe Resilience Factor: 7 Keys to Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming Life's Hurdles by Karen Reivich“Six Surprising Benefits of Curiosity” by Emily CampbellSponsor: TextExpander from Smile SoftwareWhat Is TextExpander? (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast (03:47) - Sponsor: TextExpander (07:08) - Support the Show: Become a Patron (08:38) - Change Your Language: "I Get To: How Using the Right Words can Radically Transform Your Life" (15:04) - How Rewards Impact Language (17:03) - A Brief Aside on The QUIT Center... (19:26) - What do you THINK you can do? (23:16) - Facing the Impossible Situation (24:06) - Why not? What if? (31:41) - The Power of the Pause (40:15) - Pete's Dad's Words to Live By... 🎓 College Coaching for ADHD Students is Now Enrolling!Starting college with ADHD? Don’t go it alone. At Take Control ADHD, we offer two personalized coaching options to help students thrive both academically and emotionally. The Roadmap Planning Package includes two pre-semester strategy sessions to build custom calendars, break down big assignments, and create ADHD-friendly systems for success. For ongoing support, our Weekly Coaching Package offers one-on-one accountability throughout the semester to stay focused, flexible, and in control.Learn more and find the right fit at https://takecontroladhd.com/college. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

This week, we’re wrapping up our trio of treatment episodes with a conversation on coaching, and how the coaching process can help you integrate your life with your ADHD. Whether or not you have decided to pursue the perfect prescription, or trace a treatment through therapy, a relationship with an ADHD coach can help you turn your awareness, acceptance, and new strategies into action. This week on the show we talk about what an ADHD coach will do for you. We help identify the key differences between therapy and coaching. And we discuss the gray areas that might call for either a therapist or a coach. Most important, we talk about what it means to be ready for change and to know if managing your ADHD with the help of a trained and certified coach is right for you.Learn more about ADHD CoachingADHD Coaching with Nikki (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast (03:14) - Support the Show • Become a Patron! (08:57) - Coaching (11:00) - What is ADHD Coaching? (20:40) - Taking Action and Readiness for Change (39:27) - The Group Experience 🎓 College Coaching for ADHD Students is Now Enrolling!Starting college with ADHD? Don’t go it alone. At Take Control ADHD, we offer two personalized coaching options to help students thrive both academically and emotionally. The Roadmap Planning Package includes two pre-semester strategy sessions to build custom calendars, break down big assignments, and create ADHD-friendly systems for success. For ongoing support, our Weekly Coaching Package offers one-on-one accountability throughout the semester to stay focused, flexible, and in control.Learn more and find the right fit at https://takecontroladhd.com/college. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Have you ever tried talk therapy? It can be intimidating, learning to open yourself up to a stranger, but with the right therapist, it doesn’t have to be uncomfortable for long. We’re continuing our series on ADHD interventions with Dr. Sharon Saline, psychologist and ADHD specialist. She joins to talk to you, the therapy novice, about what you can expect from therapy, what you should expect from your relationship with your therapist, and how you can make the therapy relationship thrive in support of your ADHD. New in ’22Join The Purge — Organizing Challenge January ’22Register now for Winter 2022 GPSAbout Sharon Saline, Psy.D.Sharon Saline, Psy.D. has focused her work on ADHD, anxiety, learning differences, and mental health challenges and their impact on school and family dynamics for over 30 years. Her unique perspective, a sibling of a child who wrestled with untreated ADHD, combined with decades of academic excellence and clinical experience, assists her in guiding families as they navigate from the confusing maze of diagnoses and conflict to successful interventions and connections. Dr. Saline funnels this expertise into her book, What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life. Heralded as an invaluable resource, her book is the recipient of two awards: Best Book Awards winner by American Book Fest and the Gold Medal from Moms' Choice Awards. She recently published The ADHD Solution Deck: 50 Strategies to Help Kids Learn, Reduce Stress & Improve Family Connections.Find Sharon on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast (01:59) - Pete's Nanowrimo Update (05:46) - Support the Show • Become a Patron! (08:49) - New for '22! (21:01) - Introducing Sharon Saline (24:18) - Getting Started in Therapy (26:08) - Finding the Readiness for Change (29:43) - What can a new client expect? (32:16) - A little about CBT (33:54) - What to look for in your therapist (35:36) - A Case of Grief (39:52) - Therapy, Medication, & Coaching (49:51) - The Self-Compassion Dance (52:23) - Is there an end to therapy? (54:57) - Can't find a therapist? What do you do to help yourself? 🎓 College Coaching for ADHD Students is Now Enrolling!Starting college with ADHD? Don’t go it alone. At Take Control ADHD, we offer two personalized coaching options to help students thrive both academically and emotionally. The Roadmap Planning Package includes two pre-semester strategy sessions to build custom calendars, break down big assignments, and create ADHD-friendly systems for success. For ongoing support, our Weekly Coaching Package offers one-on-one accountability throughout the semester to stay focused, flexible, and in control.Learn more and find the right fit at https://takecontroladhd.com/college. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What do you know about your ADHD medications? We didn’t know much, so we brought in the expert, Dr. William Dodson, a Board-Certified adult psychiatrist and one of the first clinicians who specialized in adults with ADHD decades ago. Because here’s the thing: we don’t deal much with ADHD meds. As a coach, Nikki refers folks to their physicians. And apart from being a patient himself, Pete’s experience dealing with medications is far from diverse. And yet, the field of questions we get from folks in our community relating to medications is vast. Today, we start the process of getting those questions answered. Not Debunking Myths, Clarifying UnderstandingAs Dr. Dodson says, no one ultimately is going to care about your specific decision around medication other than you. But it’s important that you have the data you need to get your questions answered before you make that decision yourself. We can say this for sure: Dr. Dodson is a professional in the field with qualified experience in practice and a respected and verified source. We hope you find something you can take away from this discussion that helps you in your decision-making. About William W. Dodson, M.D., LF-APADr. Bill Dodson is a Board-Certified adult psychiatrist was one of the first clinicians who specialized in adults with ADHD 25 years ago. He has been on the faculties of Georgetown University and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He was named a Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association in recognition of his clinical contributions to the field of ADHD (2012).He was the recipient of the national Maxwell Schleifer Award for Distinguished Service to Persons with Disabilities (2006). He has written more than 120 articles and book chapters designed to help a lay audience better understand ADHD and its treatment.Dr. Dodson is now semi-retired and devotes most of his professional time to working with homeless adolescents on the streets of Denver and writing a book about the optimal treatment of ADHD in both children and adults. (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast (03:41) - Support the Show • Become a Patron (05:17) - Introducing Dr. Bill Dodson (06:19) - Standards and practices for Medication (15:35) - The Acid Warning! (17:35) - Sleep and Meds (20:37) - Controlled versus Non-Controlled Substances (25:40) - Pregnancy and ADHD Meds (27:51) - Addiction • "The White Male Phenomenon" (34:23) - The Tolerance Myth (40:27) - Medication and Heart Conditions (44:37) - The Risks of Non-Treatment (46:23) - Find your Finely-Tuned Sweet Spot (49:12) - Risks for Exercising with Stimulant Medications (49:50) - Decline in Affect after Long-term use (52:47) - Long-acting versus short-acting stimulants (54:52) - Dr. Dodson's RSD Research Request (57:11) - Find Bill 🎓 College Coaching for ADHD Students is Now Enrolling!Starting college with ADHD? Don’t go it alone. At Take Control ADHD, we offer two personalized coaching options to help students thrive both academically and emotionally. The Roadmap Planning Package includes two pre-semester strategy sessions to build custom calendars, break down big assignments, and create ADHD-friendly systems for success. For ongoing support, our Weekly Coaching Package offers one-on-one accountability throughout the semester to stay focused, flexible, and in control.Learn more and find the right fit at https://takecontroladhd.com/college. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

There isn’t any magic to any one specific episode. But, wow, you all, if you had asked us in 2010 if we had any idea that we’d still be doing this show twelve years and 500 episodes later, well, suffice it to say we’d be as gobsmacked then as we are now for having made it that far. And we made it so far because of all of you, listeners, study hall attenders, coachees, brain players, and ADHDers who have been riding this podcast train with us, no matter how long you’ve been on board. This episode is just a bit self-indulgent. We talk through a bit of history, we share a clip or two from the early days, but mostly we celebrate with you, thanks to your numerous submissions sharing what The ADHD Podcast means to you. Thank you. We love you. We love this show, and we love doing it for you. Pete & Nikki (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast (05:10) - How did the show start? (12:07) - The Office Closet (25:19) - From Organizing to ADHD (34:37) - The Shocktato Incident (48:17) - The First Guest Interview (01:05:16) - The Music 🎓 College Coaching for ADHD Students is Now Enrolling!Starting college with ADHD? Don’t go it alone. At Take Control ADHD, we offer two personalized coaching options to help students thrive both academically and emotionally. The Roadmap Planning Package includes two pre-semester strategy sessions to build custom calendars, break down big assignments, and create ADHD-friendly systems for success. For ongoing support, our Weekly Coaching Package offers one-on-one accountability throughout the semester to stay focused, flexible, and in control.Learn more and find the right fit at https://takecontroladhd.com/college. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★