Take a moment to think about your relationship with your phone. If you’re like 73% of American adults, you might feel that your phone has a negative effect on your mental health. 

And while 76% of us believe we spend too much time on our phones, 74% of us have tried and failed to reduce our screen time.

This is very clearly a big problem. People are losing their ability to sleep, focus, and be present in the moment because of their phones. 

For those of us with ADHD, excessive screen time can make our symptoms worse. Problems like inattention, hyperactivity, emotional regulation, and comorbidities like anxiety and depression can get worse. 

If you’ve spent any time living out from under a rock, you’ll notice there’s a growing trend of doing less - working less, going out less, spending less, and, in general, putting less pressure on yourself. It’s a reclaiming of self-care in lieu of Hustle Culture. Folks are calling it living a “soft life.”

And as a whole, I think it’s great! It’s important to prioritize your mental health over what society has long deemed valuable: working excessive hours, self-sacrifice, and placing your worth in how much money you make and spend.

However, there has also been a shift from using discipline in a healthy way. It feels like in embracing a “soft life”, we’ve turned away from pushing ourselves to do more - even when it comes to the things we want to do; the things that are important to us. 

Shortly after his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order that ended DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs. This will impact ADHD workers, and it’s important to know your own needs at work.

I have ADHD, and I have a million hobbies. I’m not unique in this. If you search for “ADHD hobbies” on most social media platforms, you’ll find a bunch of videos where neurodivergent folks share all of their started (and abandoned) creative pursuits. What sets me apart is that I stick with my hobbies. I’ve diligently kept a diary since the fifth grade. Starting in 2016, I’ve relied on the bullet journal system to keep myself organized. I’ve had at least one active knitting project going at all times since my freshman year of college. I regularly cross books off my reading list. I have mastered the art of how to stick with a hobby when you have ADHD. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through my process.

In my last post, I introduced the concept of a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. We covered why a growth mindset is vital for improving your health, habits, and happiness. Now, we’re going to work on changing a fixed mindset.

Have you ever decided to change a habit or set a goal for yourself, only to have it fall through after a few days?

Yeah. We’ve all been there. Looking back at that goal you set for yourself, where did you go wrong?

Did you forget? Was it too hard? Did you find excuses for why you couldn’t do it?

Regardless of your reason, I have a solution for you: SMART goals.

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. It’s a research-backed method for setting and achieving goals. Keep reading to learn how to go about your SMART goal setting, and to grab a free SMART Goal template.

Setting and achieving goals is HARD. It’s February, and you might find your new year’s resolution slipping through your fingers. In fact, Forbes reported that in 2020, over half of resolutioners threw in the towel after less than a year. If your goal is teetering on the edge, I have a proposition for you:

What if you re-work that personal goal and make it stick this time?

Imagine you’re sitting at your desk trying to get work done, and you just can’t get yourself to start your tasks. You feel like your to-do list is endless, and you have no motivation. You feel frustrated at yourself because you can’t focus.

You might think you need to focus in order to get started. But, what you really need is direction.

“I have no good ideas right now.”

Oh, have I been there.

Creative work is hard. You can’t always rely on creative ideas forming by themselves. Sometimes, it takes deliberate work. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to help yourself get unstuck when you have no creative ideas.

While preparing to make a change to your life - exercising more, eating better, stressing less - you decide to pick a specific day to get started. You say:

“I’ll get started next week.”

Here’s the problem with that:

It lowers your odds of success.

There’s an app for everything. It’s no surprise that habit trackers are one of them. I tested a handful of habit-tracking apps and narrowed them down to ones that I believe are valuable.

It’s the end of your workday: you’re packing up and about to sign off. Then, it hits you: you only accomplished about half of the items on your to-do list.

Where did all the time go?

If this feels familiar, I’m with you. It took me years to figure out how to manage my time and accomplish all my tasks for the day. With some trial and error, I’ve built a lot of systems and strategies to help myself be productive.

For most of my life, I had no idea that I had ADHD. I was only just diagnosed in my late 20s.

However, I’ve had ADHD the whole time. I thrived in reading and writing classes, but I would daydream in math class. I read books way beyond my grade level, but I struggled with fractions. My parents assumed that because I was gifted with language, it meant I would simply not be skilled in math. Of course, this wasn’t true - I just wasn’t interested in math. My lack of focus was responsible for my missing skills.

It’s the “new year, new me” time again!

People are setting intentions for who they want to become. If you’re setting a resolution for the new year, I’d wager it’s not your first time around the block. You might have tried to reach this goal a few times before and fallen short. This time will be different, though, and I’ll show you how to make it so.

Gut health is a hot topic in the health and wellness world, and for a good reason: our gut health is so important to our wellbeing. It’s great news that this topic is gaining popularity! If you’re just diving into the concept, I’ve broken it down for you with help from Health Coach Celina Semente.

Losing weight is hard.

If you’ve been trying to lose weight for any period of time, you don’t need me to tell you. You’ve experienced all kinds of challenges you never saw coming. You may be about ready to throw in the towel.

If you’re feeling discouraged about your weight loss progress or you’re just getting started: this is for you.

I can’t sit still for longer than thirty seconds. I need to keep my hands busy during meetings, or I’ll end up on my phone. If I listen to an audiobook, I need to actively tell myself to listen every five minutes.

I am also the most efficient worker I know.
Here’s how I stay focused on work.