The ADHD Skills Lab

Skye Waterson
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Things are starting to fall through the cracks. Not because you're not trying, but because the systems everyone recommends weren't built for a brain like yours. The ADHD Skills Lab is for business owners with ADHD whose responsibilities have grown past simple solutions. Each week, Skye Waterson and guests share research-backed strategies and real-world systems to help you reduce the chaos, make consistent progress, and stop reinventing the wheel every time life gets complex. No "just use a planner." No productivity hacks that last a week. Just honest, practical support from someone who has spent years researching, testing, and refining what actually works for adult ADHD. Skye is the founder of Unconventional Organisation, a former academic diagnosed with ADHD during her PhD, and the author of over 50 articles read by more than 250,000 people worldwide. She has worked with senior leaders, business owners, academics, and professionals navigating ADHD in high-responsibility roles, and was invited to share her research with both the Australian and New Zealand Government.  🤝 In partnership with Understood.org: https://u.org/4boG8QW 🌐 https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com/ 📲 https://www.instagram.com/theadhdskillslabpodcast/

  1. ADHD & The Only Way To Crush Time Blindness

    13 HR AGO

    ADHD & The Only Way To Crush Time Blindness

    Description: Presented by Understood.org You’re guessing how long things take. That guess feels reasonable. It’s just wrong, over and over again. In the last episode, we broke down why ADHD time blindness happens. This one is about what to do about it. Because the real problem isn’t planning. It’s relying on estimation at all. In this episode, Skye and Robert walk through how to replace your internal clock with systems that actually hold up in real work: why you can’t “get better” at estimating timehow to use past projects instead of guessinghow teams quietly adjust for you (and why that creates tension)why buffers and “extra time” don’t workhow to build timelines that don’t collapse halfway throughIf you’re tired of missing deadlines you genuinely thought were realistic, this will show you what’s actually going wrong, and what works instead. If you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Sorry, I Missed This. Listen here: https://lnk.to/sorryimissedthisPS!theadhdskillslab  P.S. If your ADHD symptoms turn every business day into chaos, with unfinished tasks piling up and revenue stuck, it's not you. It's your operating system. Click here to book an operational strategy session with Skye.

    32 min
  2. Why Your Team Doesn’t Trust Your Deadlines (ADHD Time Blindness Explained)

    2 DAYS AGO

    Why Your Team Doesn’t Trust Your Deadlines (ADHD Time Blindness Explained)

    Presented by Understood.org You think it’ll take two days. Your team knows it’s two weeks. And after a while, they stop saying anything. In this episode, Skye and Robert break down why ADHD founders consistently underestimate time, not because they’re overconfident or disorganized, but because their perception of time is genuinely off. They walk through the research behind time blindness and estimation failure, and how this shows up in real businesses: why your timelines feel right when you set themwhy your team starts padding estimates (without telling you)how this quietly damages trust and reputationwhy this problem gets worse as you scaleIf you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly behind - even when you’re trying to be realistic - this will explain why. If you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Sorry, I Missed This. Listen here: https://lnk.to/sorryimissedthisPS!theadhdskillslab  P.S. If your ADHD symptoms turn every business day into chaos, with unfinished tasks piling up and revenue stuck, it's not you. It's your operating system. Click here to book an operational strategy session with Skye.

    32 min
  3. The Funding You Weren't Told About And ADHD Strategies to Get It (with Kat Weaver)

    4 DAYS AGO

    The Funding You Weren't Told About And ADHD Strategies to Get It (with Kat Weaver)

    Presented by Understood.org You’re funding everything yourself, and it’s quietly slowing your business down. Not because you’re doing anything wrong, but because you’re relying on the most limited resource you have: your own cash and capacity. Kat Weaver has helped founders raise over $70M and won 22 out of 23 pitch competitions herself. But her approach isn’t about chasing investors, it’s about using the right kind of money at the right time. In this episode, she breaks down: Why self-funding creates a ceiling most founders don’t noticeThe funding options that actually make sense for service-based businessesWhy grants are one of the most overlooked (and accessible) starting pointsHow to think about money as leverage, not pressure or validationAnd how to follow through on applications without getting stuck or avoiding themIf you’ve ever felt maxed out, stuck at the same level, or like growth depends entirely on you pushing harder, this will probably hit. If you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Everyone Gets a Juice Box: For Parents of Neurodivergent Kids. Listen here: https://lnk.to/everyonegetsajuiceboxPS!adhdskillslab Connect with Kat: DM the word “GPT” on Instagram to get Kat’s free capital calculator, designed to help founders determine how much to raise and what type of capital is best for their stage: https://www.instagram.com/iamkatweaver/ Apply to work with us: https://powertopitch.com/apply/ Find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katweaver  P.S. If your ADHD symptoms turn every business day into chaos, with unfinished tasks piling up and revenue stuck, it's not you. It's your operating system. Click here to book an operational strategy session with Skye.

    35 min
  4. ADHD and Pain Before Diagnosis: What a 700,000-Child Study Found

    5 DAYS AGO

    ADHD and Pain Before Diagnosis: What a 700,000-Child Study Found

    We usually think of ADHD as behavioral. But what if some of the earliest signals weren’t behavioral at all? In this Research Recap, we break down a large population-based study examining pain-related diagnoses in children before they were diagnosed with ADHD. Researchers looked at over 700,000 medical records to ask a simple question: Were children later diagnosed with ADHD already showing higher rates of pain-related medical visits? The association was clear. The explanation is not. No fear-based framing. No causation claims. No medical advice. Just what the data actually shows — and what it doesn’t. What We Cover The design of the study and why pre-diagnosis data matters14% higher abdominal pain and 35% higher limb pain diagnoses before ADHD diagnosisThe difference between experiencing more pain vs requiring more pain managementTheories around neurodevelopment, neuroinflammation, and altered pain perceptionWhy this raises important questions without changing how ADHD is diagnosed P.S. If your ADHD symptoms turn every business day into chaos, with unfinished tasks piling up and revenue stuck, it's not you. It's your operating system. Click here to book an operational strategy session with Skye.

    11 min
  5. Why Nothing Ever Feels Done With ADHD & How To Fix It

    10 APR

    Why Nothing Ever Feels Done With ADHD & How To Fix It

    Description: Presented by Understood.org You approve the direction. Then change everything at the end. Wednesday’s episode showed why ADHD planning creates late-stage corrections. This episode shows how to stop that pattern. Skye and Robbie break down a system built around checkpoints, prototypes, and early feedback. The goal is not better briefs. The goal is catching problems when they’re still cheap to fix. What We Cover: Why late feedback is built into ADHD planningThe 24–48 hour check-in systemConcept reviews before real execution startsWhy midpoint sign-off reduces last-minute changesHow to stop teams from losing confidenceIf you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Everyone Gets a Juice Box: For Parents of Neurodivergent Kids. Listen here: https://lnk.to/everyonegetsajuiceboxPS!adhdskillslab  P.S. If your ADHD symptoms turn every business day into chaos, with unfinished tasks piling up and revenue stuck, it's not you. It's your operating system. Click here to book an operational strategy session with Skye.

    42 min
  6. Why ADHD Plans Break When Teams Execute

    8 APR

    Why ADHD Plans Break When Teams Execute

    Presented by Understood.org The plan made sense in your head. It falls apart when someone else runs it. This episode looks at research on prospective memory and verbal planning. The findings suggest ADHD impacts how plans are built, not just remembered. Skye and Robbie explain why this creates a gap between intention and execution. And why teams end up producing something that feels “close, but not right.” Friday’s episode will focus on systems that reduce this gap. What We Cover: Why ADHD affects plan formation more than recallHow missing detail changes execution outcomesWhy feedback often comes too lateThe role of multi-step planning in team successIf you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Everyone Gets a Juice Box: For Parents of Neurodivergent Kids. Listen here: https://lnk.to/everyonegetsajuiceboxPS!adhdskillslab  P.S. If your ADHD symptoms turn every business day into chaos, with unfinished tasks piling up and revenue stuck, it's not you. It's your operating system. Click here to book an operational strategy session with Skye.

    48 min
  7. Why You Know What To Do But Still Can’t Start with Eric Zimmer

    6 APR

    Why You Know What To Do But Still Can’t Start with Eric Zimmer

    Presented by Understood.org You already know what needs to get done. It’s not a knowledge problem. It’s not a lack of ideas. But you still don’t start. Instead, you overthink it, wait to feel ready, or tell yourself you’ll do it later, again. Eric Zimmer is the creator of The One You Feed, an award-winning podcast with 50M+ downloads and 800+ conversations on behavior change. He is the go-to voice on sustainable habit change, and his work shows what actually works when willpower doesn’t. In this episode, Eric and Skye break down why that gap between knowing and doing is so common with ADHD, and why trying to “think your way into action” usually makes it worse. They get into: why motivation often shows up after you start, not beforewhat’s actually happening when you feel resistance to simple taskshow to begin when your brain is telling you “not now”and a more realistic way to build momentum without relying on willpowerThis isn’t about forcing yourself or waiting to feel motivated. It’s about understanding why starting feels so hard, and what actually helps you move anyway. If you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Everyone Gets a Juice Box: For Parents of Neurodivergent Kids. Listen here: https://lnk.to/everyonegetsajuiceboxPS!adhdskillslab Connect with Eric: https://www.oneyoufeed.net/ https://www.instagram.com/one_you_feed/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericzimmer/ https://www.youtube.com/@TheOneYouFeedPod How a Little Becomes a Lot (Book Page)  P.S. If your ADHD symptoms turn every business day into chaos, with unfinished tasks piling up and revenue stuck, it's not you. It's your operating system. Click here to book an operational strategy session with Skye.

    37 min
  8. Why You Always End Up Rushing Last Minute And How To Fix It

    3 APR

    Why You Always End Up Rushing Last Minute And How To Fix It

    Presented by Understood.org You keep setting deadlines and somehow everything still ends up happening at the last minute. You plan ahead. You move things around. You even set earlier deadlines. And it still compresses into a final push. This episode explains why that keeps happening and what to change. We build on Wednesday’s breakdown of time blindness and show why most deadline strategies fail over time, especially the fake ones you don’t really believe. Then we walk through how to structure work so urgency shows up earlier, not just at the end. If your projects keep turning into last minute scrambles, this will give you a way to stop repeating that pattern. What We Cover: Why fake deadlines stop working after a whileHow to create real stakes earlier in a projectWhat “no more changes” cutoffs actually doHow meetings and other people make deadlines feel realIf you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Everyone Gets a Juice Box: For Parents of Neurodivergent Kids. Listen here: https://lnk.to/everyonegetsajuiceboxPS!adhdskillslab  P.S. If your ADHD symptoms turn every business day into chaos, with unfinished tasks piling up and revenue stuck, it's not you. It's your operating system. Click here to book an operational strategy session with Skye.

    44 min
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About

Things are starting to fall through the cracks. Not because you're not trying, but because the systems everyone recommends weren't built for a brain like yours. The ADHD Skills Lab is for business owners with ADHD whose responsibilities have grown past simple solutions. Each week, Skye Waterson and guests share research-backed strategies and real-world systems to help you reduce the chaos, make consistent progress, and stop reinventing the wheel every time life gets complex. No "just use a planner." No productivity hacks that last a week. Just honest, practical support from someone who has spent years researching, testing, and refining what actually works for adult ADHD. Skye is the founder of Unconventional Organisation, a former academic diagnosed with ADHD during her PhD, and the author of over 50 articles read by more than 250,000 people worldwide. She has worked with senior leaders, business owners, academics, and professionals navigating ADHD in high-responsibility roles, and was invited to share her research with both the Australian and New Zealand Government.  🤝 In partnership with Understood.org: https://u.org/4boG8QW 🌐 https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com/ 📲 https://www.instagram.com/theadhdskillslabpodcast/

Information

  • Creator
    Skye Waterson
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    152
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The ADHD Skills Lab
  • Show Website
    The ADHD Skills Lab

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