Blog

Linking Could be Your Answer to Creating Habits

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We’ve all heard the saying that it takes 21 days to create a habit. It’s really a myth but one that perpetuates none the less.   It’s said those of us with ADHD have an even tougher time than the general population with habit creation because of our challenges with self-regulation.  But, if creating habits is so challenging, how does anyone ever succeed in creating them? At a recent Catalyst for Change Meetup we discussed challenges with forming … Read More

You Don’t Need More File Drawers, You Just Need to Keep Less Paper!

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It’s amazing how many people I come in contact with who are overwhelmed by the amount of paper in their lives. Paper is an equal opportunity stressor.  It doesn’t care who you are, how much money you make, where you live or your level of education.  Only those individuals who’ve created a foolproof system for dealing with paper inflow and outflow are winning the war against paper stress.  The rest are waging a daily battle against the … Read More

Essentialism: Some Thoughts on the New York Times Best Seller by Greg McKeown

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I recently finished Greg McKeown‘s book, Essesntialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less  which is essentially about how to live a more purposeful, focused and intentional life.  I’ve been experimenting with minimalism: actively reducing my number of possessions and the number of commitments in my life.  As such, I was intrigued by the idea of essentialism. If you’re curious about what essentialism is, McKeown provides us with this explanation, “the basic value proposition of Essentialism: only once you give yourself … Read More

Overcoming Overwhelm: Free Up Bandwidth by Sharing Ideas

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I was lucky enough to spend some time this past Sunday with my colleague Francis Wade, time-based productivity expert and author of Bill’s Im-Perfect Time Management Adventure and the upcoming book Perfect Time-Based Productivity – A Professional Approach, due out this fall. Francis was visiting Cleveland from Jamaica and as I showed him the sights of my city, we discussed how to best help people make improvements to their time demand management systems. As we talked, I … Read More

Pruning, It’s Not Just for Plants…

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This past Sunday began with my noticing the herbs I grow in my Aerogarden were looking like more of a miniature jungle than a garden I’d actually want to eat something out of. Out came the scissors and the pruning began. The photo to the left represents the results of those efforts – a pile of compost fodder and some now recognizable basil & parsley plants. This impromptu pruning set the tone for the rest of that cool … Read More

Organizing for a Move

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Over the years  I’ve helped plenty of people unpack boxes from moves that had occurred many years in the past, sometimes as many as 7-10 years in the past.  The boxes had sat unopened for so long because the stuff in them often should never have been moved in the first place. The costs incurred in these situations are significant – the financial costs of packing, hauling and storing these boxes and the emotional costs incurred every … Read More

Using Bookends to ADD Structure to Your ADHD Day

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 At a recent Catalyst for Change North Coast Adult ADHD Meetup participants shared what was challenging them most and a common theme emerged – the need to bring more structure to their days. Structure can be elusive to the adult with ADHD.  We understand what it looks like and how it can benefit us in getting things done.  We can readily give examples of when we benefited from it: the structured days we experienced in school, the … Read More

Overcoming the Overwhelm: Dinner Time Angst

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Dinner time in my home has always been challenging, just ask my husband who for many years walked in the door each evening never sure if there would be dinner available or not. My informal surveys of moms, both ADHD & non-ADHD alike, about dinner-time struggles yielded some common challenges.  Many of these challenges can be overcome with a little creativity: Challenge: Meal planning is tough – Difficulty stems from it being considered a thankless job  and/or … Read More

Increase Productivity by Hatching, Nesting & Releasing Ideas

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Many of us with ADHD are virtual idea factories.  My husband can attest to how many of these so-called “great” ideas I come up with in a given week, day or even hour.  In the not too distant past, impulsiveness would often result in me taking actual steps to push forward new ideas within minutes of hatching them.  As you can imagine, or as you might experience yourself, I often overburdened myself with too many hatchlings and … Read More

Curious About Your Values? What are You Grateful For?

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Yesterday was another snow day here along the North Coast.  I say “another” because we’ve had so many in the past two months, I’ve lost count.  I love snow, I really do, but when we’ve had as much snow & cold as we have this year, even I find myself saying, “Enough Already!”  As frustrated as I get with snow though, I am grateful for snow days, because they often bestow upon me one of my most … Read More