If you can look past the silliness of the title, you’ll see this post is about daily schedules. I know that I have posted daily schedules before. But, sometimes it can be a pain in the neck to find older posts. So, I try to post these once in a while for people to be able to use as a current resource.  I made this schedule the afternoon/evening of 3 It was a client-free friday, but it was my wife’s day off and I wanted to let her sleep. It was shower morning for the kids, which always adds a degree of difficulty. I had to get Delia to school in Quincy Then I had to get Elliot to my parent’s house in Newton with him being prepared to spend the day with my Dad. Then I had to drive back to Mattapan to drop of our car for exhaust work. I had to work in a workout. And, it would be nice to actually see my wife on her day off for a least a bit. So, my “day off” wasn’t so much a day off. There was much to accomplish.  I will admit that it didn’t go exactly to plan, but basically everything got done in a non-stressful way. There is no way I would have been that efficient without the schedule… and I probably wouldn’t have slept well the night before being anxious about how to fit it all in to that one day. Key: On the left side where the times are, if there is just a time, that is a time that something happens that doesn’t really have a duration. Most of the times are preceded by an arrow. In my scheduling shorthand that means that the item to the right of that arrow then time…

I am loathe to give my clients homework. I generally feel that working on the things we are talking about is enough. However, one of the few things I often suggest to my clients is to keep a medication journal. The harsh reality of the world is that ADHD meds are all about trial and error. There is no way to know what drugs you will respond to until you try them.  Combine that with the fact that we are often not so present in the moment, may be forgetful, and sometimes lack self monitoring skills… and it is really easy to forget, or not even be aware of how a change in medication or dosage is affecting us. This is particularly the case when we are first trying meds and our attention is not great.  In my experience it can be invaluable to: When you started a new medication, What other meds you were taking at the time, What time of day you took it, If you were consistent with taking it, Was it name brand or generic (even what generic producer,) When you may have changed dosages, How your attention and/or mood were affected, Any feedback you may get from other people in your life. Trying to remember what you took three years ago and how if made you feel can be really tough. It is a great resource to have an actual log of the details. And, it doesn’t have to be too extensive. Just note the change dates and check in with yourself two or three times a week about how you feel. 

I find that it can be very hard for us to build momentum with things that are new. Working out is no exception. Actually, it may be one of the hardest areas in which to build a routine if it doesn’t feel great at first. Even for me, as an athlete who loves to be active, it has been very difficult to restart exercise routines after periods of inactivity in my life. You will have to “suffer” through a period of time during which you probably can’t push yourself hard enough or long enough to get the physiological benefits that will eventually be there. I’ve found that keeping a visual log on a calendar is a great way to build momentum, confidence, and a sense of success during the beginning stages. I still log my workouts. I have a separate calendar on my Google Calendar that at is gold and I put abbreviations for all my workouts to track what I did and when. I still draw a tremendous amount of self empowerment when I look at my month or my week and see how much I’ve worked out. I suggest using a month view calendar and simply putting a big red X on any day you worked out. At first don’t worry if it’s a 20 minute quickie or an intense 45 minutes. The momentum is build by doing it, period. Then at the end of the week or the month you will have a record of what you did. Check out the example I posted. You will see that it incorporates previous tips by using the weekend and not missing two days in a row. (Except where I X’d the wrong days on the second week…) To me, that looks great. In reality it is only 4 workouts…

Because I’m a little bit vain and really proud of myself I’ll post what my workout calendar would look like so far this month if I still did it on a paper calendar. As a side note, I’m currently battling some depression and some really stressful circumstances. So, I’m really doubling down on self care like exercising, meditation, eating well (if not a reasonable amount,) not drinking, getting enough sleep etc. If only I could not “stress eat” the exercise might do even more good. Under normal circumstances I don’t regularly to do two-a-days. I should probably do a post on the self-care double down… Standard Disclaimer:  In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much… if at all. Please and typos, mistakes, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content down. An imperfect post completed is better than a perfect post that goes unposted.

One might think that as an ADHDer I would agree with Tom Petty that “Waiting is the hardest part.” I certainly won’t make the argument that waiting is easy. It is probably in the top five hardest parts. But I would argue that the planning is actually the hardest part. Planning requires extensive executive function. It requires attention, follow through, initiation, and is particularly heavy on working memory. Bottom line: it’s really hard for us. So, mostly we try to avoid it. We might… Try to pack at the last minute without a packing list, Write a long paper without making any sort of outline, Go to the grocery store without a shopping list, Start a home improvement project without figuring out time, materials, and tools, Or promise an outcome without thinking about how we’ll achieve it. But, even though it is hard for us to do the planning, it can be done. And it usually results in better results and lower stress. I suggest taking a deep breath and sitting down and making a detailed written plan well enough in advance that there isn’t substantial pressure. Identify action steps. Estimate how long they will take. Plan when and how those steps will be achieved to build toward the desired result. As one example in my life, I’ve built a huge suburban garden over the past 4 years that consists of 13 raised bed of various sized, a fence row of sunflowers, 12 fruit and nut trees, 4 window boxes, grape trellises, and several herb planters. Sounds overwhelming, right. At times it was. But every time I got overwhelmed, I’d (take an ativan, work out, or meditate, and…) make a plan! I don’t have any big building or improvement projects for the garden this year. But, I’ve got to get…

I was and am a punk rock kid at heart. Well, really a 3rd Wave Ska-Punk kid. (But that’s probably a bit esoteric for most folks.) I am also a bundle contradictions. More about that in another post tentatively titled “owning it.” But my style has always been a blend of establishment hipster and anti-establishment punk. At one point, I had my ear, tongue, eyebrow, and labret pierced. Not to mention the orange hair twisted up in spikes with old-school flat top wax. Needless to say, I’ve always wanted a tattoo. But, I also know my own limitations. So I instituted a rule. If I loved something enough to put on my body, I had to wait five years. If I still loved it that much after five years I would get it. But through my twenties everything seemed fleeting. I didn’t want to end up with a sports logo, or a band, or an ultimate frisbee related tattoo that I would outgrow. Which was a good idea because I’ve more or less outgrown most of those things. But I had an idea when my son was born in 2009. I loved him. I would alway love him. So I set to thinking about what I wanted the tattoo to be… and took five years doing it. By the time he turned five I had the idea nailed down. I wanted: His name in a cursive script that reminded my of my grandmother, who he was partly named after, In the form of a punk rock patch (that looks like real stitching) that is an ode my my punk rock ethos and esthetic In blue and white that also reminds me of my grandmothers wedgewood china On my left forearm, where I’ve always wanted it so it can be my…

Check out this flyer:

Check out the attached flyer. Kids 6-12. Great opportunity.

If you’re going to take my advice and not skip two days in a row. That means working out on weekends. But, beyond the idea that you’ll need to workout on the weekend once. You should workout on weekends. Why? Most of us have pretty busy lives. There just isn’t a ton of time during the work week. I’m lucky. I work from home and can be pretty creative with my workout scheduling. And it can still be tough. For most folks weekdays are… getting the kids ready in the morning, getting ourselves ready, commuting, working, working more, trying to get home in horrible Greater Boston traffic or on trains that break down, making dinner, eating dinner, squeezing in family time, getting the kids to bed and/or helping with homework, etc. Not exactly a lot of free time. More power to you if you have the energy and discipline to get your exercise on after all that. More likely you are squeezing it in at “lunch” or going super early in the morning. I’m certainly not saying that it’s impossible to fit in workouts during the week. Either way, we have to do that. But it usually leaves us with limited options. My wife gets up and rides the spin bike most mornings. That’s the only time during the week she can do it. But it was not an easy habit to cultivate… and she’s neurotypical. Of course our weekends are busy too. But, if you plan ahead and think about when you’ll have an hour or so, you can probably find time on Saturday and Sunday to get in a decent work out. In fact, it may actually be easier because you may find you can relax and enjoy the activity more. And, you may have more options than…

I just read an article from ADDitude’s Research Digest: Teens less likely to recognize positive effects of ADHD medication. It relates the results of a small study of teens. They were given different amounts of medication, including placebo and asked to rate their effectiveness everyday. Even though their efficacy was clearly influenced by the medication, they reported not feeling a difference. The conclusion was that teens have difficulty telling if the medication works.  The first question that came to my mind was, “compared to whom?” I would argue that teens, kids, and adults all vary widely in their ability to be able to tell if the meds are working. As a coach, my impression is that self awareness is one key to treatment. Some of us are born with more of it than others. But it is important to cultivate self awareness in regards to any treatment plan. I’m just not sure it it is an age related thing.  I’ve know eight-year olds who can clearly articulate that the medication helps. I know that I could feel its effects very clearly at age 10 or 11 when I first started. In fact my doctor trusted me enough to allow me to decide how much I needed for a given activity at a very young age. School, baseball, and homework were 20 mg Ritalin tasks. Playing with friends or going to a birthday party might be 10 or 15 mg Ritalin activities. I knew what I needed.  On the flip side, I also have adult clients who have no idea that the meds are working. I had one client who started over the weekend and we talked on Monday. He said that he couldn’t tell if it was working. I asked him what his weekend was like. He told me that…

When I turned 10 (I think) it was the last time that my parents invited everyone in my class to a birthday party at my house. It ended up being 30 or so kids running around and going crazy. Apparently it was too much for me to handle and I went outside and hid in my dad’s car. And I don’t mean hiding in the sense that no one knew where I was. I mean that I was hiding from the chaos. As my Dad loves to tell this story, I have had a chance to reflect on its meaning many times over the years. I used to think of it as an anomaly. I never thought of myself as an introvert and am very much a social person. I spent my first career in commercial kitchens, which are, at best, controlled chaos. And, I thrived in that environment. So why the freak out at the birthday party all those years ago? Well, I’ve realized recently that as much as I am a people person, I can also be over stimulated by my environment. Don’t love going food shopping in the middle of the day on Saturday at Wegmans. I never liked taking our son to the children’s museum on a Saturday unless it was members only hours. Generally speaking, I don’t love crowds. I guess my point is that I’m a guy who handles busy situations pretty well and can thrive in them, but only if I have a way to make order out of the chaos. That was the case in the kitchens I working in. But, I can’t create structure in a supermarket on the Saturday before Christmas. So that I do find over stimulating. There are many ADHDers who are even more susceptible to being overwhelmed…

This one is short and to the point. If you are trying to develop a routine it is super important to be consistent. So yes, any working out is better than none. However, a workout routine that is more consistent is more likely to become a lasting habit. It has been my experience that once you miss two days in a row for any reason, it makes it really easy to not go on that third day… next thing you know you haven’t worked out for a week and your developing habit is disappearing before your eyes. That’s why I recommend getting exercise at least 4 days a week. And, don’t assume that this has to be during the week. I think it can be easier to handle the demand of the work week if you make the commitment to exercise on the weekends and then you only have to go 2-3 times during the week. It’s my feeling that going regularly is far more important that what you do or for how long. I think you are better off going 5x a week for 20 minutes than going than going twice a week for an hour each. It’s a better way to build good habits and probably better for your body and ADHD management. You can alway work up to longer workouts. Start with consistency. 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. An imperfect post completed is better than a perfect post that goes unposted.