Podcasts Archive - Marla Cummins Marla Cummins, ADHD Coach and Productivity Consultant

Tending to and upgrading, if necessary, these 9 environments can help you manage your ADHD and reach your goals more easily

Description:







If you are not leading the way you want, it may be you have not yet addressed key ADHD challenges. Ready to see how you can turn that around?







Key Takeaways:









* Your ADHD can get in the way of leading the way you want.







* You can change that by identifying the challenges.







* Decide what is essential.







* Do enough upfront thinking.







* Be consistent in expectations.







* Help people you manage solve their own problems.







* Delegate work.









Resources:







Articles:









* ADHD Adults Guide to the Weekly Review







* How to Stop Fixing Your ADHD and Start Using Your Strengths









Books:









* Getting Things Done by David Allen







* Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown







* The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More, and Change The Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier









Transcript:







 (00:01):







You probably have strengths related to your ADHD symptoms that help you in your leadership role of managing people, like being an out-of-the-box thinker and perhaps great in a crisis. It’s important that you make sure you’re leaning into these in other strengths, not losing them. As well as managing your challenges, including those related to your ADHD.







You’ve tuned into Scattered, Focused, Done-  Reimagining Productivity with ADHD, a podcast for ADHD adults, like you who want to learn how to adopt the best strategies, tools, and skills to get your essential work done in a way that works with the way your brain is wired. I’m Marla Cummins and I’m glad you’re joining me today on this journey to reimagining productivity with ADHD. So you can get what is important to you done without trying to do it like everyone else.







(01:04):







One of the keys to being an effective leader and managing people well is, as I said in the beginning, leaning into your strengths, no doubt. And you can check out How to Stop Fixing Your ADHD and Start Using Your Strengths, if you’re interested in learning more about how to do this. I’ve included a link to the post with the podcast on my website.







At the same time, if you’re not the kind of leader you want to be, it may be some of your ADHD related challenges are getting in your way. The good news is just as you can build on your strengths once you identify them, you can also address your challenges,

Impostor Syndrome is common for ADHD adults. And, if you don't address it, it may be holding you back. Ready to change that?

DESCRIPTION:







Making changes to work better with your ADHD can be hard. But it could be easier if you use these 6 strategies.







KEY TAKEAWAYS:









* To create the change you want you will need clarity about what it will look like when you reach it.







* Too much planning can get in the way of creating the change you want.







* You are not your goal.







* While you can’t have all the information you need when you start, you can learn along the way to reach your goal.







* A change you envision may look simple to reach at the onset. But it is likely not easy to execute.







* Be willing to change course or even stop pursuing a goal when it no longer makes sense.









RESOURCES:







ARTICLE:







Are You Persisting in These Four Areas When It’s Better to Quit?







TRANSCRIPT:







00:01:







Making changes to work better with your ADHD can be hard. But it could be easier if you use these strategies.







You’ve tuned into Scattered, Focused, Done –  Reimagining Productivity with ADHD, a podcast for ADHD adults like you who want to learn how to adopt the best strategies, tools, and skills to get your essential work done in a way that works with the way your brain is wired. I’m Marla Cummins. And I’m glad you’re joining me today on this journey to reimagining productivity with ADHD. So you can get what is important to you done without trying to do it like everyone else.







00:49:







Considering a change, starting to make that change and going through the messy metal, so to speak, as you work toward the change you envision can be difficult, as I said. And your executive function challenges related to your ADHD may make this more difficult at times. But that doesn’t mean you can’t create the change you want. It does however mean you may encounter roadblocks along the way related to your ADHD. So it’ll be definitely helpful to know what these might be. And, as much as possible, be proactive by using strategies that can help you address these challenges as you are working towards your goal, the change you envision.







One of the challenges for ADHD adults, as you know, is planning and sequencing the steps needed to reach a goal, create that change. And, if this is true for you, it’s possible that sometimes you may not be crystal clear about your ultimate goal.







01:53:







Obviously, this is problematic. Because, as Yogi Bara said, If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere else. Right.







Let’s look at this hypothetical example of Darius who thinks he should look for a new job because his current position is just too stressful. Of course, just taking another job won’t assure Darius that he will be in an environment with less stress. But, if he has his sights set on just getting out of dodge and getting a new job as his primary goal, he might end up jumping from the proverbial frying pan to the fire. To minimize the chances of this happening he needs to first identify all of the elements that may be contributing to his stress in his current job. And then create a plan for addressing these elements, which might include looking for another job. But in my experience with clients, adults with adhd, changing jobs is not necessarily the first step to address this stress.







03:02:

DESCRIPTION:







Are you avoiding doing what’s important to you because you’re uncomfortable? Ready to get unstuck? When you use these 5 tips to address your discomfort you can get past it and start moving toward your goals.















KEY TAKEAWAYS:









* Discomfort with a task can keep you stuck.







* Your ADHD challenges may contribute to your discomfort and subsequent task avoidance.







* The 1st step to address this is to know how to notice your discomfort and be self-compassionate.







* The 2nd  step is to identify the source of your discomfort.







* The 3rd step is to remember the reason you want to change this avoidance habit.







* The 4th  step is to be able to go toward the discomfort to get to the other side.







* The 5th step is to know when you need help.

















RESOURCES:







ARTICLE:







How To Become Shame Resilient When You Have ADHD







BOOK:







The Tools: 5 Tools to Help You Find Courage, Creativity, and Willpower–and Inspire You to Live Life in Forward Motion by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels















TRANSCRIPT:







00:03:







Of course you don’t want to be uncomfortable. Who would? I know I don’t. But learning how to be with some discomfort can also help you persist in doing what’s important to you instead of giving up or acting impulsively. Sound like something you’d like to be able to do?







You’ve tuned into Scattered, Focused, Done – Reimagining Productivity with ADHD, a podcast for ADHD adults like you who want to learn how to adopt the best strategies, tools, and skills to get your essential work done in a way that works with the way your brain is wired. I’m Marla Cummins, and I’m glad you’re joining me today on this journey to reimagining productivity with ADHD. So you can get what is important to you done without trying to do it like everyone else.







01:03:







Discomfort is, well, yucky. Yes, that’s a clinical term. And rest assured I’m not going to suggest you learn how to walk on hot coals to build your character and learn how to be with discomfort. Because learning how to be with discomfort is not the end goal.







Rather, because you already know life is full of uncomfortable experiences, my objective is for you to learn how to not let your discomfort get in the way of doing what’s important to you. That is, I want you to be able to persist, rather than either avoiding uncomfortable situations or shutting down when faced with one.







Think of a task you’re avoiding right now. Maybe you’ve said to yourself more times than you care to think of regarding this task, “I’ll do it later.” Right later. What you really meant is not now. After all, you haven’t decided when you’re going to do it, have you?







02:08:







In the moment when you decide not to do it you may not even know why you’re avoiding it. You just feel, well, uncomfortable for any number of reasons.

DESCRIPTION:







True following through is often a challenge for ADHD adults. But not knowing when to quit may also be problematic for you. Learn from 4 examples of when it might be better to throw in the towel.







KEY TAKEAWAYS:









* Because of the ADHD challenge of persisting, ADHD adults may not give up when it’s the better option.







* ADHD adults may have challenges in their job because it’s the wrong environment.







* Tools or strategies may not be a good fit because of preferences, skill levels, or lack of interest.







* It’s important the people you are connecting with contribute to your well-being.







* Hobbies or extracurricular activities are one place where you may decide to dabble and not need to persist over the long haul.









RESOURCES:







Articles:









* How to Find the Ideal Job for ADHD Adults







* Are You Choosing the Right Tools to Work With Your ADHD?







* Are You an Adult With ADHD and Feeling Isolated?









Books:









* Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make–and Keep–Friends by Marisa G. Franco PhD







* Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg Mckeown









TRANSCRIPT:







00:03:







One of the challenges for ADHD adults no doubt is persisting and following through, closing the loop. So how do you know when it’s time to give up and not persist? You’ve tuned into Scattered Focused, Done – Reimagining Productivity with ADHD, a podcast for ADHD adults like you who want to learn how to adopt the best strategies, tools, and skills to get your essential work done in a way that works with the way your brain is wired. I’m Marla Cummins and I’m glad you’re joining me today on this journey to reimagining productivity with ADHD. So you can get what is important to you done without trying to do it like everyone else.







00:52:







You might start a hobby, a friendship or relationship, accept a job, adopt a new tool to help you manage your adhd, maybe renovate a room in your house, et cetera. Inevitably though, there are going to be times when for various reasons, it just doesn’t make sense to persist with your original decision. Sure, if you tend to be impulsive because of your adhd, your decisions occasionally might not be well thought out from the get-go.







But I’m also sure in many cases, with the information you had at the time you made the decision, you made the best decision you could. But, when your gut tells you that there’s something amiss with continuing down the same path, you still may ignore it. While there are many reasons beyond the scope of this podcast and my expertise that you may ignore these feelings, one of them may be related to your feelings about your adhd challenges with persistence, sticking with something and seeing it through.







02:05:







That is, because of your challenge with following through, you may automatically assume when you encounter a challenge, the problem lies with you. While I likely don’t know you,