One of the most popular productivity tips bandied about the internet, self-help books, and seminars is: Do the hardest thing you have to do right away in the morning. Doing that big gruesome thing is supposed to help you be more productive throughout the day. This is great advice……for neurotypicals. However, the ADHD brain does not work the same way as neurotypicals. The ADHD brain needs to do things in a way that supports their brain and does not fight against it. So, for those of you with ADHD brains I give you this productivity tip: DO THE FUN THING FIRST!

How often do you say you're sorry? It is important to apologize when we have wronged someone, but sometimes, we can over-apologize. That places others’ needs ahead of your own. If we continuously sacrifice our needs for the desires of others, we do ourselves a huge disservice. Here are a few things for which you definitely should not apologize.

I do not write comedy. I don’t ever sit down to write a funny story or a stand up comedy routine. However, I am funny. I did improv in college, and I have been known to make funny comments in conversation. Yet, I cannot write comedy. I have found that, when I try to be funny, the humor is ruined. I am more funny when I let myself be in the moment, when I’m not trying to think of something clever to say.

What should I do with my life? In what hobbies should I engage? How will I live my life?

The above questions are important questions that everyone needs to ask themselves. If you want to live a happy, fulfilling life, find the gifts God gave you and use them to the best of your ability.

We ADHDers tend to have a history of messing up. When you have not yet learned how your brain works best, you mess up a lot. This can lead to a lack of confidence, even in areas where we are naturally gifted. Unfortunately, we become prone to experiencing a great deal of fear, anxiety, and nervousness. However, that does not mean we have to be slaves to this fear. Instead, we can escape its deadly grasp and take back control of our life. This is something I learned through my experience in the theater.

I went to the 2018 International Conference on ADHD, and I feel it is my duty to encourage you all to attend this year’s conference. Trust me. You won’t regret going.

The struggles an ADHDer faces on a daily basis can take a toll on their mental health. When you mess up as much as an ADHDer does, you start to believe the negative messages you hear both from internal and external sources. This is especially relevant if the ADHD diagnosis does not happen early in childhood. The longer one goes without an ADHD diagnosis, the more one wonders, “What is wrong with me? I must lazy and/or dumb.”

Recently, I was talking about ADHD to a group of college students, and I said, “Basically, if humans do it, ADHD affects it. I had ten minutes to explain all of ADHD to these students (NOT ENOUGH TIME!), so I did not take the time to expand on that. However, I will here!

One day, during my Freshman year of high school, one of my teachers pointed out in front of the class that I had a weird sense of humor. “Yeah, but I’m not the only one,” I responded.

He doubled down. “Yeah, but yours is way out there.” At that moment, the conversation went from playful to isolating. I acknowledged that I had a bizarre sense of humor, but he went further and made me feel different. And, this teacher was a family friend! My sense of humor started to become a source of shame. I tried to hide the more bizarre side of my sense of humor, only sharing the humorous side that I knew others would appreciate.

Our culture places individual achievement on a high pedestal. Those one-man armies are revered for their accomplishments, but oftentimes, what you do not hear about is all of those who have helped those people get where they are. The phrase “no man is an island” is old but still very much true.

Curious about coaching? What sort of questions do you have about coaching? Do any of the following questions match the questions you have?

When should a person seek out a coach? What types of people get a coach? Why should you get a coach?

To answer some of these questions, I have complied a list of reasons to get a coach.

The challenges ADHD causes are not because you are broken. They are the result of a world that is not wired for brains that are wired differently. ADHD is a different brain wiring; it is not a defective brain wiring. You have a good brain. You are not broken.

In the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is stuck reliving the same day over and over again. This movie is hilarious, and I highly recommend it. However, it might cause some uneasy comparisons for some of us with ADHD. Sometimes, we can get stuck in a negative cycle of the same patterns or behaviors that do not serve us.

One of my favorite movies is Good Will Hunting. It is a movie I first watched during a difficult time in my life, and it is one I return to in times of great trial or transition. I feel there are many life lessons that can be learned from this movie, and I especially feel that ADHDers can learn from this film. If you have not seen it, I recommend you watch it because it is a good movie and this blog post will make more sense if you have seen it.

One reason parents are often resistant to getting their child tested for ADHD is the fear that their child will be given a label. This is tragic. The ADHD label is not something to be feared. It is not a negative. Yes, there are struggles that come with ADHD, but the label itself does not doom an individual. On the contrary, seeking an ADHD diagnosis can be beneficial.