Rhythms of Focus

This week I'm thrilled to be joined by Dr. Megan Anna Neff, an AuDHD clinical psychologist and the writer behind Neurodivergent Insights. So many of us carry a quiet doubt about our own minds. Did I really turn off the oven? Could they actually enjoy my company? Underneath it, often, is something older: the slow wearing-down of self-trust that can come from growing up neurodivergent in a world not...

You are in for a treat this week as I am joined by guest David Sparks. You may know him from one of his many projects, including his podcast, Intentional AI, which he cohosts with Chris Bailey. As I am still experimenting, playing, and sometimes arguing with AI, I was curious to get his feedback on how he sees things where they are now and where they might be going. It was a fascinating conversati...

Too often we're given the well intentioned advice to "just trust yourself." For some, it seems like such a simple thing to do, a forgone conclusion. For those of us with ADHD and wandering minds, we've likely burned ourselves several times over, diving in too quickly, assigning unrealistic expectations, and unknowingly setting trust traps we have no other option but to step in. Trust is something...

ADHD medications can be extremely helpful, but it's important to understand it isn't a catch-all that fixes everything. While it can have positive benefits when it comes to keeping our attention on the task at hand, it can similarly keep our attention on activities that are less productive. This isn't to say the medication isn't working — it is working, we have just given our attention to somethin...

Far too often we operate under the assumption that "pushing" ourselves and "forcing" ourselves to do something are the same thing. Both can definitely be difficult, but the end results are vastly different. When we put effort into something, we have chosen to do it, we have agency over the decision. When we force ourselves, however, we lose our agency and are usually left with a combination of gui...

Comparison can not only be the thief of joy, it can also be the bearer of guilt, shame, and inadequacy. For those of us with wandering minds, ADHD, and the like, it's easy to feel like running away from things our minds aren't instant experts at. But, much like someone using weights for the first time needs to start small and build up towards heavier pursuits, a wandering mind doesn't need to carr...

For those of us with ADHD, wandering minds, and the like, coming up against the feelings of guilt, shame, and frustration at being unable to get our work done can feel like torture. This can lead to anxiety and the urge to run away entirely. Instead, if we sit with these hard feelings to examine where they may be coming from, we give ourselves the opportunity to name it, and give it a tangible pre...

I came across a social media post recently that made me laugh. "I'm so sorry," it said, "I can't do the laundry, I just don't have the dopamine." I laughed because it rang so true. And while it's funny, things also need to get done, so we don't laugh ourselves into tears. In today’s episode, we look at what “not having the dopamine” really points to, and how we might begin anyway. Not by forcing a...

One might say the road to hell is paved with well-intentioned lists. Wandering minds tend to collect a stockpile of the latest apps, notebooks, and sticky notes in an effort to keep tasks top of mind. Unfortunately, when these lists and apps accumulate, it's because they aren't working. It can be difficult to know what tool will meet us in the moment we need it, versus when it's inconvenient and h...

Using AI to help with productivity and multitasking is not for the faint of heart when you've got ADHD or a wandering mind. We may feel as though we are being more productive while bouncing from one open thread to the next. But we almost always end up with an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion. In today’s episode, we discuss the quiet cost our brains pay for all that switching. But if we stop to r...

This week we discuss the very real fear of disclosing our wandering minds with bosses and managers. Will they think less of us? Will they support the perhaps unique conditions of how our brains are capable of being used best? It's a complicated scenario, and of course can depend very much on the work and people involved. It's not something to take lightly, but it's important to recognize, at its c...

As someone who loves tools and figuring out the best ways to use them, I've been intrigued with the potentials of AI, particularly using it as someone with a wandering mind. This week I delve into my recent experiments existential dilemmas, and adventures with the so-called artificial intelligence I am feeding my own intelligence into. So is it helpful, more efficient, how can I use it without giv...

The anxiety of a task taking too long, a project starting too late, or the loud silence of an undone to-do list can be incredibly overwhelming. This is particularly true for those of us with ADHD, wandering minds, and the like. But what if the clock on the wall isn't the only conductor we should be setting our rhythms to? This week, we explore listening to the three foundational rhythms living wit...

As someone with ADHD or a wandering mind, you may have been told to keep a scratchpad on you at all times. It's a great way of capturing our thoughts in the moment so they don't flutter away as our minds are want to do. But, a scratchpad on its own doesn't always spur us into action. And in some cases, it can turn into the thing we avoid at all costs, serving as a reminder of many things that have...

This week I am joined by storyteller Neal Foard to discuss the act and emotion of care. Those of us with ADHD and wandering minds can often get overwhelmed by the negativity taking over our social feeds, looking at the news, or even just talking to those around us. Neal reminds us that while compassion fatigue is real, it's also not all doom and gloom. Our algorithms are created for engagement, do...

When the universe puts something fun or interesting in front of us, it can become a welcome distraction from what we are "supposed" to be doing. This can be especially true for those of us with ADHD and wandering minds. We can easily be swept away, like a boat at sea, riding the current of thoughts and emotions taking us further and further away from our plotted destination. Instead of going again...

This week I welcome creative mind and graphic designer extraordinaire, Matt Strieby of New Leaf Design. I was first lucky enough to work with Matt in 2005, when he captured the vision for the art gracing the CD for my album, Ontogeny. We've been collaborating ever since. We discuss the creative process for those of us with wandering minds and neurodivergent/ADHD traits, the importance of play bala...

Frustration is an emotion that can be elusive in its origins while being capable of putting a halt to almost anything we're trying to accomplish. We feel frustration doing something like putting together IKEA furniture. Sometimes it really is about the furniture. Other times we may have something entirely different lingering in the back of our mind making it difficult to use the hex key, thus dera...

This week we explore how ADHD-related working-memory limits create a bottleneck. While a scratchpad can help, it often fails without a mindfulness-based technique called “anchoring.” Anchoring uses pen and paper with three “unlocks”: 1) Shift your mindset from thinking of what is written as tasks and to-dos, to thinking of them as options. This reduces wrestling with the “I really should” thoughts...

This episode I am joined by Waves of Focus community member and fellow wandering mind, Brett. As a software developer, he is no stranger to technology, and as a creative mind with many ideas, he is also no stranger to getting lost in the mounting pile of notes and files that continue to accumulate. Some of his latest experiments in organization have led him to exploring ways that AI can help as a...

In this podcast episode, I reflect on boredom. Boredom is a restless, sometimes frightening emotion that can feel like an indictment of a life being wasted. This leads some of us to run toward distractions, productivity tools, or urgency. The problem as I see it, isn’t boredom, but the avoidance of it. Shaming ourselves with “shoulds” and infinite task lists amplifies the dread. Instead, how about...

This episode explores how those of us with ADHD and wandering minds often link our “scatter” to creativity. Of course, turning creative ideas into finished work requires managing motivation, energy, time, and life rhythms. And when scatter turns into "error", we can become completely derailed. It may seem counterintuitive, but I would argue that "error" is a vital part of creativity. That being sa...

This week I have a discussion with Michael, a Waves of Focus group member, about living with ADHD and a wandering mind and how he refines tools and routines to manage distractibility, interruption sensitivity, and RSD. Diagnosed as an adult six years ago after years of being mischaracterized with learning issues, Michael gained clarity through ADHD community resources (including How to ADHD and Wa...

Summary This episode explores how ADHD and wandering minds can make “I don’t wanna” feelings so strong that even writing a dreaded obligation down feels difficult because, in doing so, we are admitting it exists. To get over this hurdle, I introduce a foundational skill from the WAVES method called anchoring. This technique allows us to pause and write down what is happening and the pathhs availab...

This episode focuses on the struggle of the blank page. How it can seem like a hack to use pre-existing content to spring us forward to a starting point that isn't "nothing." But it can also build limitations to create something new and exciting when boxing ourselves in with the ideas of our previous work, past notes, or even AI. What seems like a great way to jump ahead can turn into a confusing...