Want to learn how to work smarter and not harder as an adult with ADHD?

Working smarter involves creating a weekly schedule that works with your ADHD and allows you to have meaningful productivity.

Creating a schedule that allows you to have agency and control over your week allows you to have more fulfillment and can lower your stress when you have ADHD.

Spend a few minutes with Dave as he discusses the basic framework for reworking your weekly schedule as a busy adult with ADHD.

**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

Many adults with ADHD struggle with perfectionism. And that's the topic of this week's podcast.

How do we thrive as adults with ADHD without letting perfectionism get in our way?

Let's discuss the dilemma of perfectionism and adult ADHD.

Dr. Tara Cousineau is the guest on this episode of Overcoming Distractions and author of the book The Perfectionist’s Dilemma.  She is also the author of the “Kindness Cure” and has joined us on the podcast several times.

Trained at Harvard Medical School, she’s a part-time staff psychologist at Harvard University’s Counseling and Mental Health Service.

Dr. Cousineau describes herself as a recovering perfectionist, and because of that, she discusses why she decided to write The Perfectionist’s Dilemma.

Dr. Cousineau gives us a basic definition of what she feels perfectionism is.

Dave and Dr. Cousineau discuss how we can find more balance, peace and joy by tackling perfectionism. And how we can cultivate a better relationship with ourselves.

Dr. Cousineau also discusses the following with Dave.

• Where is perfectionism rooted? Is it a fear of judgment, etc…? People pleasing?
• Are we born as perfectionists, or is this learned behavior?
• Perfectionism is more than just work. We also see this in social interactions and in other areas of our life.
• Can perfectionism cause anxiety and stress? Can it even lead to burnout?
• Dr. Cousineau walks listeners through a beginning strategy to help minimize the challenges of perfectionism.

Find out more about the Perfectionist Dilemma including valuable resources here. And don't forget to purchase the book!

https://perfectionistsdilemma.com/

The Peaceful Perfectionist (Substack)

https://taracousphd.substack.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

Happiness is a big topic, right?

But so many of us have to navigate the ups and downs of ADHD. Demanding careers, habits we wish we could adjust, understanding our own ADHD, and, for some, having to go through burnout.

And one thing is clear, there is no template for digging ourselves out of burnout. Everyone's experience with burnout or major stress requires some different strategies.

Our goal? We just want to be happy. And we want fulfillment in our lives so we can thrive as an adult with ADHD.

Today's guest is Cat Duvall.

Cat Duval is the founder of Nine Lives Yoga and Morning Ritual Club, where she’s guided over 25,000 clients across 11 countries. Through her 4 Pillars of Happiness framework—Peace, Purpose, Power, and Play—Cat helps people transform burnout into balanced, joyful living. Her journey with burnout inspired her mission to create accessible, ADHD-friendly routines that prioritize well-being and personal growth.

Cat discusses her four pillars of happiness with Dave. They include.

Peace

Power

Purpose

Play

Cat also gives actionable advice for adults with ADHD who are struggling to navigate the ups and downs of burnout.

Find Cat’s resources here.

https://yes.catduval.co.uk/ to download free Future You meditation

https://www.catduval.co.uk/burnout/ to read action steps to overcome the 12 stages of burnout. 

**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

If you are currently surrounded by Post-Its or sticky notes, you're going to want to hang out through this whole episode because this one is for you.

We are talking about some of the best practices for planning, especially in the workplace and how to select a planner that works with you and for you.

There are many working parts to productivity and one of them is planning.

Some of us are good at planning and then do not execute.

Some of us execute without planning.

If we slow down and plan out several aspects of our career and home life, it's going to make life much easier for us.

And as is common in the ADHD world, what works for you may not work for others. Such as the type of planner you use.

Grace Koelma is the author of the ADHD Focus Friend, the future ADHD digital planner and she is the host of the podcast your ADHD besties.

Grace and Dave start with one of the biggest challenges for adults with ADHD and that is our struggle with planning. That is planning simple tasks or planning more long term projects.

***Other questions that Grace and Dave discuss during the podcast:

Is there some resistance to structure when it comes to effective planners, journals and even task management systems?

Does the interesting thing… take control over the important thing?

Why do we abandon planners and journals? Are we impatient, get frustrated easily? Do many just not work with our brain?

How do we get ourselves to slow down to plan appropriately?

Learn more about Grace's planners, podcast and more at her website. https://futureadhd.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

If you're on a journey and your goal is to thrive as an adult with ADHD, one of the best ways to begin to move things in a positive way is to employ some self-awareness. So today's podcast is about how to ask a series of questions after each work day as you work towards creating fulfilling work days with meaningful productivity.

Dave talks about a few basic questions you can ask yourself every day to understand focus, time and energy, what energizes you what drains you and how you can put a little more thought into how you structure your days with a goal of feeling good as you drive home.

Check out this podcast on adult ADHD, daily self-awareness and making small changes that can equal big results.

**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

On this episode of Overcoming Distractions, we are talking about burnout and what it can do to our body.

When people are truly burned out, in most cases that causes trauma within the body. And that trauma can come in all types of forms. And when burnout is not addressed, it can take a person years in some cases to recover.

Burnout is also becoming far more complex. For example, not all burnout is rooted in the workplace. You may have caregiving responsibilities which are adding to your chronic stress.

So let's get into what burnout does to you as a human.

The guest on this episode is Clinical Psychologist Dr. Claire Plumbly …author of….THE TRAUMA OF BURNOUT: How to Manage Your Nervous System Before It Manages You.

First, Dr. Plumbly talks with Dave to clarify the differences between stress and burnout. The term burnout seems to be thrown around a little too loosely lately. Burnout is chronic stress unaddressed.

Chronic stress leads to burnout. Dr. Plumbly talks about what chronic stress is doing to our bodies and our nervous system.

Dr. Plumbly also discusses with Dave the various modes of burnout including the red mode and the green mode. Why most of us shut down when we are burned out and how to soothe the nervous system into green mode as she explains.

She also explains the polyvagal theory of the nervous system. Understanding this can help us recover from burnout more effectively.

Learn more about Dr. Clair Plumbly here as well as finding her book: https://www.drclaireplumbly.com/

Many busy adults with ADHD, and maybe you are one of them, feel like they can't catch their breath, and they go day-to-day and week-to-week trying to get everything done. This is especially common in the workplace but also happens in our personal lives.

There is one foundational strategy that can help busy adults with ADHD lower stress levels and that is hitting the pause button and slowing down, even if it is for a few minutes.

However, many of us either don't do it or don't know how to hit that internal pause button.

When we practice pausing on a regular basis, those of us with adult ADHD can change the game. We can lower our stress; we can make productivity more fulfilling, and make fewer mistakes.

Join Dave as he talks about one of his favorite things to do. Hitting the pause button!

**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

Dave talks about some of the foundations we should refocus on for the coming year. If you're an adult with ADHD and you have a busy life and career, these are some of the core items you should make sure you have in your life every day.

Thriving with adult ADHD does not have to be complicated and that's why Dave refocuses on some of the basics that we need to remind ourselves of continuously.

Enjoy this episode and let's get back to the basics!

**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

If you are an adult with ADHD, and you are either feeling burned out or have decided that your career is no longer serving you, this is the podcast episode for you. Grab a notebook and a pen because we have one of the most well-known experts in the field of ADHD careers today.

Shell Mendelson is the Author of Unlock Your Career Path. This book is specifically crafted for neurodivergent adults and even teens who need to explore new careers or make a change. Shell also hosts programs to guide those with ADHD to their next career or job.

Shell and Dave discuss some of the major factors that finally cause adults with ADHD to decide they need a new job or even a completely new career.

They also discuss that when a job or career becomes not a good fit, it's not always our fault and we need to understand this. There are many external factors that make a career unmanageable for adults with ADHD.

Some adults may also let a career decision go far too long, for example when someone is feeling burned out and they put off making a tough decision.

Shell talks about strategies to make our existing job and/or career manageable while we do the necessary work to identify and secure a new role. Some of us may not be able to leave our job in the short term and we'll need to make our current situation work.

Shell runs one of the only ADHD specific career workshops and she walks us through what people will take away from joining her workshop.

Find Shell and her book at her websites:

 www.careercoachingwithshell.com 

www.unlockyourcareerpath.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

We are talking about mindsets in this episode of Overcoming Distractions. Some mindsets are useful, and some are not serving you well anymore.

One mindset that might ring a bell to you is that “I work better on deadline.” And we know most of us have ADHD in this community can say this…. However that's a mindset that may not be totally true for most of us.

Dave sits down with Dr. Charryse Johnson, LCMHC, NCC a veteran psychotherapist and mindfulness practitioner whose work focuses on the intersection of trauma, somatic integration, spirituality, and social justice. She is the founder of Jade Integrative Counseling and Wellness, an integrative therapy practice where personal values, the search for meaning, and the power of choice are the central focus. 

Her new book is called- Expired Mindsets: Releasing Patterns That No Longer Serve You Well 

Dr. Johnson explains that an expired mindset is something that may have been useful to you at one time but presently does not serve you. Maybe we continue to tell ourselves something that just doesn't help us move forward any longer.

She also discusses with Dave how a proper mindset allows us to thrive and be fulfilled in life and in our work. And how throughout our life we may be telling ourselves certain things that may not be true to us.

Dr. Johnson also explains the concept of shift versus change when it comes to moving away from expired mindsets.

Dave and Dr. Johnson discuss why self-awareness is so crucial for adults with ADHD and why this is important for us to understand ourselves and how we can thrive using proper mindsets.

Dr. Johnson talks about her role as a psychotherapist and what's involved when she's trying to key in on somebody's mindsets and how that helps them move forward.

She also discusses why it is important to release certain patterns and how to begin that process. And Dave and Dr. Johnson wrapped up by discussing how we can make progress fun moving forward from expired mindsets and negative self-talk.

Learn more about Dr. Charryse Johnson on her website here. https://drcharryse.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

There are several ways that you can get the support you need as an adult with ADHD. There's coaching and mentorships.

There are different types of therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and other modalities geared towards adults with ADHD.

But many feel the best way is when we incorporate more of a holistic approach to managing and thriving with ADHD which involves many types of strategies and support systems.

So today, we're talking about Beyond ADHD coaching, including different types of therapy, fitness and movement, and more.

Today, we have Dr Jessica McCarthy, the founder and clinical director of Elements Psychological Services. Elements offers a wide range of support systems for individuals with ADHD.

Dr. McCarthy introduces us to her practice and discusses the importance of a thorough ADHD assessment, which her practice provides.

Dave and Dr. McCarthy also discuss and distinguish the difference between ADHD coaching, mentorship and clinical support. She discusses what we are trying to uncover in therapy such as why we do certain things and why we do not. For example, missing deadlines, task initiation and the challenges we have.

She also discusses how we can begin to make critical shifts in our lives that may be beyond ADHD coaching. How can an adult with ADHD make progress and see measurable results in their lives?

They also discuss energy management. How can we focus on a strength-based discussion? How can we get more of what we are good at in both our careers and at home? But also realizing there were certain must haves such as paying bills on time, etc…

Dr. McCarthy discusses how important it is for us to manage those internal distractions and emotions so we can thrive as an adult with ADHD, especially in our careers and the workplace.

Dave and Dr. McCarthy discuss fitness and how mission critical it is for busy adults with ADHD. She says having fitness in our lives falls into the deal-breaker category. It must be part of our lives.

https://elementspsych.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