I am going away this weekend. My wife’s friend is getting married in Chicago and we have found fabulous souls to take our children for 4 days, I got a sweet boutique hotel 100% with credit card points, and my wife got the airfare 100% with her credit card points. That’s all good news.  The other (though I won’t call it “bad”) news is how much planing this it taking. Next week I’ll post a redacted copy of the schedule and meds schedule that I wrote for both my kids to confirm all of their movements this weekend. Today I’m going to start really simple. We fly out on Friday at 11:29. I want to get my workout in before that, because sitting still in and Uber, at the airport, on a plane, in an Uber goes much better for me when the exercise happens first. We also need to drop off the kids bags at the houses of the families they are going home with on Friday. Oh… and we need to get the kids to school!  I don’t know about anyone else, but I can’t possibly know if I have time to do all that unless I write it down. So, I did: @5:40: Alarm for pills @6:00: Wife gets up to work out @6:30: I get up and do my morning stuff @7:00: I get kids up and get them showered -> 8:30: the rest of our normal morning routine @8:40: Drop kids off at school -> 9:45: I work out. My wife closes up the house, drops off the kids bags and does any final packing @9:45: She calls the Uber & checks in online @9:55: We depart the homestead 10:20 – 10:30 we arrive at the airport with an hour to get through security for our flight.…

I’ve probably written a similar post in the past, but I’ve recently had a thought that makes me feel it is worth revisiting. Can anyone think of a medical condition that doctors only treat sometimes? Is there anyone with diabetes who only monitors their blood sugar during the work day? Is there anyone who is epileptic who only takes their medication during the school week? Is there anyone with high blood pressure who takes a break from treatment over the summer. Is there anyone who wears glasses or contacts who doesn’t wear them on the weekends? Anyone with depression who stops dealing with that after 5pm? I’m better the answer is NO to all of those questions. So, why is that our societal approach to ADHD? Now, I understand that ADHD meds are complicated and some people can’t take them all the time. But what I see is that many doctors don’t even consider medicating kids and adults in the evening or in the morning before work. And many doctors give up way to easily when side effects get in the way. Again, I’m not saying that there is a 16 hour solution for everyone, but don’t prescribing doctors owe it to their patients to be aggressive in at least trying to find one before giving up? I have ADHD all the time. It has been my experience that other who have it, have it all the time too. We need to get past the notion of medicating for school or work only. I’m raising two kids and can tell you that parenting time and household time is just as demanding, if not more so than my work day. Keeping the house clean, getting dinner ready, staying on top of everyone’s schedules and activities, getting the oil changed, finding the time and…

So I started to write last week about exercise and ended up writing more about patience. Let’s get back to the exercise!  Here’s what I noticed when I had to stop doing any cardio: I wasn’t falling asleep as well or staying asleep as well. I was more on edge and generally cranky. I was far less patient with the kids. I struggled to muster the motivation and attention to do more administrative work. But I realized even more when I was able to work out again. There was a definite point in my slow work back up to my previous exercise when I crossed the 30 minute threshold of sprinting on the spin bike when things changed. It was like the clouds parted and sun began shining. All of the above things got almost instantly better. Though some of those things are somewhat nebulous, my sleep improved in a concrete manner and so did my anxiety. I don’t think I’ve take an ativan during the day more than once or twice in the last three weeks. One other really interesting thing that happened related to my learning the drums. I’m a late bloomer. I started taking lessons last year at 39. I am very much a novice. But I enjoy it and focus on getting a little better every week… which I usually think I do. But there was a time about 6 weeks ago when I actually contemplated quitting. I wasn’t making any progress and felt like I was actually regressing. I was struggling very simple counting exercises and basic rudiments. I realized that my attention was the main culprit. But I didn’t realize that it had to do with exercise.  My lesson 3 weeks ago, right before I hit my “feel good point” in my rehab was…

If you know me or read my blog regularly, you’ll know that I’m a huge proponent of exercise as an important part of the overall treatment plan for ADHD, anxiety, and depression. (All of which I deal with.) And, you would know that since I got myself back on the exercise wagon after a late 20’s/ early 30th that were taken up by illness, injury, and a brutal lifestyle in the restaurant industry, I have worked out pretty much every day for at least three or four years, since my last surgery on my left knee. I rely on that exercise to keep me focused, even, and as mellow as I ever get. About three or four months ago I started having pain in my right heel. To make a long story short, the pain got worse to the point that walking was hard the day after I ran. Then it got so that I couldn’t run without pain. Then I couldn’t ride the spin bike. I’m not a total idiot. I’d been experimenting with short periods of rest in terms of cardio and doing more lifting. I iced, toke ibuprofen. I went to PT. I did my exercises. I even had my PT “dry needle” my heel twice. It was worth a shot… but still the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt in my life and didn’t fix the issue.  Eventually, my PT said that I probably needed a cortisone shot so I got a referral for a foot doctor. I met with him and he gave me the shot on July 12th. It was like a miracle. Sure the shot hurt, but after that I’ve had no pain at all. I guess my first takeaway is that being in pain was affecting my mental state, my attention, and my…

Hey y’all. Here’s a quick, light post for summer. I like to regularly post some of my favorite podcasts. You can find those in the “library.” Here are some more. There are a few podcast “networks” that I tend to like. Wondery is probably my favorite. I know I’ve mentioned some of their ongoing shows in the past, like Business Wars and American Innovations. I’ve also recommended some of their limited run true crime shows like, Hollywood & Crime, Young Charlie, Dirty John, The Wonderland Murders, and Accused. Here are a few more that I’ve recently blown through.  Dr. Death. About a neurosurgeon in TX who seems to have missed part about “first do no harm.” Fascinating study of a system that might be broken. I listened to most of these 7 or so episodes in one day of yard work and garage cleaning. Ironic that a story about insanity helped keep me same doing that boring “life stuff.”  I’m currently rocking “The Shrink Next Door.” Also fascinating so far. I’m only two episodes in, but it got me through my food prep for the week and cleaning the kitchen.  Up next I”m going to check out, Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc. Happy listening… and whatever you can get done while listening!

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I often post my daily schedules as a way of showing how I make them and how helpful they are. I don’t actually make written schedules that often anymore. I’ve internalized the process to a large extent. But there is usually one day or so a month where I don’t have much on the calendar but need to get a ton done, when I do take the time to write out the schedule. I did exactly that on Tuesday. So when I post my schedules I tend to post ones that have gone according to plan. The goal isn’t to toot my own horn, but to demonstrate the power of consistently doing the schedule over time. You can get really, really good at it. But it has occured to me that always posting a schedule where I nail it may seem like an unattainable goal for some. Perhaps it might be equally as helpful to post one where things did not go as planned and talk about how I handled that. Because, yes, I’ve gotten really good at this. But the vast, vast majority of schedules I’ve made in my life have not gone according to plan. Half the battle in terms of progress is accepting that fact, but also recognizing that you’re still more productive with the schedule than you are without it. So, check out my schedule for Tuesday. It was 95’ish degrees and humid that day. And, unfortunately, most of what I wanted to do needed to be done outside. That is one of the main reasons that I made a schedule for Tuesday on Monday night. I new that I had to get outside and get some stuff done before the day got even…

I had a great moment yesterday with a relatively new client. We were talking about his To Do List and scheduling. I pointed something out by using myself as an example. I’m currently writing a book. By “currently” I mean that I’ve written about one third of it during one week in the late winter and haven’t had the time and/or focus to work on it since. I mentioned to the client that I have “work on book” on my To Do List, which is way to vague and that what I need to do is take a look at where I left off and break it down into specific goals on my list. To which he responded that I should put that step on my list. He was 100% correct. That is a change I will make today and maybe even get that thing done because it is now accounted for and actionable.  Standard Disclaimer:  In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much… if at all. Please excuse and typos, mistakes, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content down. In my humble opinion, an imperfect post posted is infinitely better than a perfect post that goes unfinished.

I’ve recently written about how important it is to have the people in your life bring you energy rather than take it from you. By energy I don’t necessarily mean life force, chi, or something mystical. Although that could apply here. I mean the very practical, real life thing that we only have so much of. Let’s be honest, as ADHDers, our resources are finite and not always abundant in terms of energy and attention. Even those of us who have the “H” may have the physical energy but lack the mental energy at times.  If you’re with me in understanding that our resources are limited, we need to be extra careful about how we use those resources. It takes a lot of effort for me to get through the day. I guarantee it takes more than a neurotypical person. So my margin is much smaller. I don’t have the time and energy for people who are bad friends, bad to do business with or who cause me stress and anxiety. And make it a point not to have folks like that in my life.  I suggest you do the same. Of course it’s usually not so black and white. That person my be the father of your child or friend that you’ve had for years, but who’s never really been supportive. You have to weigh the good and the bad. I’ll be the first to acknowledge that nobody is perfect. But have boundaries. Know what lines people are not allowed to cross and hold strong in your conviction if they do. But in those gray areas talk to them. If someone who is important to you says or does something that you don’t care for, let them know in a respectful way. The vast majority of the time they…

If you have worked with me at all you probably know how I’m a fiend for my To Do List. I do it in a very specific way, and teach it in a very specific way that works great for how we ADHDers are wired. Well, there are rare occasions when the general To Do List isn’t enough. Very large and distinct projects may require their own To Do List. But applying the same skill to that projects lowers anxiety and increases efficiency.  Last week I had two-and-a-half days to flip a rental property for new tenants. I needed to paint the whole bathroom, including the ceiling, put in a new medicine cabinet, install a new ikea closet, touch up or paint all the rest of the rooms, and clean some stuff out among other small things. Plus it was 95 degrees that week and the unit isn’t air conditioned. Quite a big project. I knew the priority was the bathroom, so I started there and kept moving. Near the end of the first day I had accomplished a ton, but realized there was far more left to do. This kicked up my anxiety significantly. But, over the years I’ve learned to address and attach that anxiety instead of allowing it to rule me and force me into avoidance behavior. So, I took out a big fat pencil and made a list right on the ikea box. Then I estimated the time it would take to execute all of the steps.  Hopefully you are able to see in the pictures that the original list, not counting what I had already done added up to about seven-and-one-half hours of work left to do. So painting is not a thing I do regularly. Even with the data that I had accumulated from…

Many parents ask me if they should tell their kids about the ADHD diagnosis or any number of other diagnoses. For the most part, I think parents have a lot of fear around telling their kids that there is “something wrong with them.” Frankly, I think this is more of a hangup for the parents. It is my strong belief that you should tell you kids as much as you can as soon as you can. You may need to adjust the level for their age. But it has been my experience almost 100% of the time that kids understand more that most adults give them credit for. Let’s examine why parents don’t (want to) tell their kids the whole truth and why I think they are wrong. They don’t think their child will understand. It is your job as a parent to make them understand. And, like I said, they will understand more than you think. I give basically the same ADHD education talk to 12 year-olds as to do to adults. I just have to explain the vocabulary and some of the concepts a little differently. Analogies are very helpful. Plus, …they really need to understand if you are going to be giving them medication. You need to be able to have a frank and honest ongoing conversation about how the medication is working and how it is making them feel. If they don’t know why they are taking it, they can’t just its efficacy and will only associate it with any negative effects. Eventually, when they are old enough, they will stop taking it and things will get worse. And, …even under the best of circumstances, your child is going to grow and develop. That means their meds will need to be adjusted or maybe even changed…

I take some pretty strong stimulants. My meds are in the Ritalin family, so not as marketable as Adderall, but probably still valuable. There is also Focalin and two different flavors of benzodiazepines in our household. I would prefer if the average neerdowell walking down the street didn’t know what was hiding in my bedside table. So I peel the labels off my old pill bottles and recycle the bottles but crumple up and trash the labels. I also make a point to shred those ridiculous be legally necessary packets that come with the meds every time I fill them. I’m sure my trash guys are great, but a lot of recycling ends up blowing down the street the day after trash day. I rather it not be my prescription bottle or paperwork. Also, especially if you are a newly diagnosed adult and haven’t had to consider the ramifications of where to store you pills at college in the past, it may not occur to you have “valuable” they are. Please consider that when having anyone you don’t know well in your house, especially if you’re not there to supervise. A good general rule is to think about when you would be worried about cash or jewelry. In those situations, I would strongly consider safeguarding your meds the same way you safeguard your other valuables. Standard Disclaimer:  In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much… if at all. Please excuse and typos, mistakes, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content down. In my humble opinion, an imperfect post posted is infinitely better than a perfect post that goes unfinished.

I’ve written a bunch about how I keep my pills organized. You should be able to find those posts with the search feature. But now I’m organizing pills, miralax, supplements, melatonin, and culturelle for my kids. That requires a new level of systemization. Most kids pills end up living in the kitchen. We have very little cabinet space and I didn’t love that they weren’t all in one place and mostly were above the toaster oven. Probably not great considering the heat. So I got pill containers for both of them for breakfast, dinner, and bedtime. And I got a corner shelf (totally free on the side of the road from a neighbor.) And, of course I always have alarms set and extra kids pills along with mine in my key fob. Standard Disclaimer:  In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much… if at all. Please excuse and typos, mistakes, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content down. In my humble opinion, an imperfect post posted is infinitely better than a perfect post that goes unfinished.