There’s a strange and almost electrically-charged state of ADHD I’m currently in where I have a very hard and fast-approaching deadline, and I’m trying my best to chug along through the list of things I need to accomplish. I have some white space in my schedule, but it’s mostly taken up with Summer Mom Mode. But I have a few days where I have to put myself into something like 5th gear, which for this ADHDer looks a bit different than what one might expect.
ADHD Podcast Editor Approved!: Honest Review about Loop Switch Earplugs
Remember when I reviewed the Engage Plus and Experience Plus earplugs from Loop earlier this year? Well, I’m excited to review the new Switch earplugs from Loop today!
And no, I’m not just buying earplugs to test them from time to time (although is that a real job? Because I might be interested). Once I got the Engage and Experience actually got the Loop Switch earplugs after losing one of my beloved Engage earplugs after wearing them out for Halloween trick-or-treating — these are a holiday lifesaver for the sugar-induced screaming and squealing that comes from all that candy consumption!
My Current ADHD Toolbox for Dealing With Burnout
Hello from burnout. I’m about 90% certain I wrote a blog post last year around this time with the exact same opener. It may have even been the title.
I’m currently sitting on my couch completely surrounded by telltale signs of overwhelm. My headphones are on. I’m listening to some binaural beats/nature sounds on full blast to drown out my son’s TV shows that are on in the background. While I’m grateful for the fall weather to come creeping in, my hoodie is less for the cold as it is more because of my need to feel comfort.
Battling Writer's Block with ADHD
First 2 graphs here …I had a few weeks of what can only be described as writer's block/overwhelming anxiety. But if you’ve been following me over on Threads, you may have seen I’ve started challenging myself to weekly writing goals for the book I’m currently writing. (I talked more about it in my most recent newsletter for Creative Independent Podcasters.)
My writer’s block wasn’t necessarily anxiety over writing my book. I was confident enough in my idea to know it was possible. And I like what the book is becoming.
Binge-watching Jury Duty, Traveling Virtually with EarthCam, and Uncovering the Delights of Korean BBQ & Hot Pot
My husband and I are currently on a child-free vacation. But the twist is we’re actually at home!
Our kids are both on separate summer vacations — the youngest is visiting Niagara Falls with my in-laws and the oldest is with her dad. Mark and I have been living it up like we did when we first dated back in college and it’s been so awesome!
ADHD Podcast Editor-Approved!: Honest Review about Loop Experience Plus Earplugs
I recently reviewed the Loop Engage Plus Earplugs and love them as my everyday, go-to earplugs.
I wasn’t sure if I really needed the Loop Experience Plus (Loop official website / Amazon) since the earplugs I had before trying Loop were already great for concerts. But I decided to try them anyway and I’m glad I did!
ADHD Podcast Editor-Approved!: Honest Review about Loop Engage Plus Earplugs
For the last few weeks, I’ve been trying out Loop earplugs. After seeing repeated ads for them and some of my favorite ADHD influencers raving about them, I decided to give them a try.
I had been using earplugs for years to protect my hearing at concerts and I found they worked great to help me focus, as well as keep from getting to overwhelmed with excess sounds. Sometimes I find with my ADHD that noises that might not bother some people bother me a lot — like mouth smacks or tongue clucks. Actually, a lot of the mouth noises I take out as a podcast editor are based on my own personal preferences for what distracts me the most — mouth clicks, loud plosives (popping P’s and B’s), humming and whirring in the background, to name a few.
Handling Opinions (Good and Bad) Without Letting It Affect Your Self-Worth
One night after a recent choir practice, I went out my way to compliment one of the younger members on their solo they had rehearsed that night. They quickly turned away and let out a quick “oh, thanks, shut-up.”
Their mother, who was also in the choir, had overheard said, “that’s not how to respond to a compliment!” Watching “The Princess Diaries” as much as I did growing up, I’ve learned not to take offence if a teenager says, “shut-up” candidly.
Cleaning With ADHD — Finding Step 1
Why is starting a project so hard for people with ADHD? We know what we need to do, we know how it needs to get done, maybe we can even picture the finished product or goal so clearly.
But taking that first step is the part that our brains get stuck on.
For me, getting the energy to start something feels like that long ascension a roller coaster takes to get up to the first big drop. I know once I’m in motion, I’ll be fine, but getting up the motivation to start is just … UGGGGGHHHHHH!
Dealing With My Dad’s Death: A Thank You Letter to My ADHD
Dear ADHD,
When I got the call about my Dad being in the hospital and heard the panic in my stepmom’s usually matter-of-fact voice, I knew this was the call we had all known was going to come sooner or later. And you sprang right into action, as you always do for me in a crisis.
I never take the time to really thank you and maybe that’s why you forget from time to time that even though “Disorder” is part of your name, you’re actually a wonderful asset in times like these.
Seasonal Ailments, Back-to-School Overwhelm, and Introvert Adventures: A Quick Fall Update
Is it possible to be both incredibly overwhelmed, but also enoying the season? I think it is in the fall in the Northeast.
Originally this week, I was supposed to be at She Podcasts Live, but the conference was postponed until June of 2023. But my husband still took the week off so I have a bit more breathing room than I’ve had in a while to hopefully catch up (as I say every week).
Introducing Adenomyosis, ADHD & Other Friends - EOL003
We’ll be getting to know one another over the course of this podcast I hope, and in doing so let me give you a bit of a heads up as to what you can expect. Since this blog and podcast is all about following my own creative whims, I don’t always know what type of blog post or episode I’ll want to write, but I can tell you there will be some recurring themes, topics, and even names mentioned. So before we go further, I’d like to introduce you to a few supporting characters you’ll hear about probably pretty frequently.
Tackling My To-Do List with ADHD - EOL001
This post is written from the perspective of my personal ADHD experience and should not be taken as medical advice. It is for informational and educational purposes only.
Ever since being diagnosed with ADHD at 30, I've spent the last 9 years learning how my brain works. The more I learn about the traits associated with ADHD, such as executive dysfunction and trouble starting overwhelming projects, the more I began finding ways of coping. In the beginning it was medication and I think that gave me a good handle on what my brain was capable of without all the extra noise.
Courage in February
MY WORD OF THE YEAR WAS COURAGE. WHAT TOOK COURAGE THIS MONTH?
Seriously considering going to grad school and opening up to my partner about this little daydream.
It’s been an inkling of a thought ever since graduating college, but I had a hard enough time finally deciding on a major in college that making a commitment to even higher education would mean finding something that I truly, truly wanted to go into tons of debt and give my precious time to.
Even writing that, I am amazed folks do this. I’m pretty sure ADHD is why I was never able to give a consistent answer to the question, “What do you want to do when you grow up?”
For a while, I told myself that I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up because back in the 1980s, no one had ever heard of a podcast. And maybe that’s true. But also, I’ve started questioning if I wanted to be in podcasting for the long haul and what that would look like.
Learning to Curl and Planning for Unpredictable Energy Levels
One-Task-A-Day Decluttering Game
This Month's focus has been decluttering and I'm so excited to see folks who follow me on Instagram getting inspired and motivated by my one-task-a-day approach!
When I decided to tackle decluttering as my February Focus, I knew my house was in need of some cleaning and I didn't want to wait until Spring. February seemed like a great month to get going — we're over the holidays and now just trudging along until Spring. We've been in our house for so long and, I'll be honest, it's been incredibly hard to motivate myself to clean during the pandemic. I'm already so exhausted from working, childcare and the regular maintenance of the house that doing anything more is like pulling teeth for me.
February Focus: Decluttering!
This has been a long-time coming. Two years, really.
I’ll be honest, when we went into the pandemic, I was determined to get rid of excess everything to save my energy. Survival Mode felt temporary at that point and things like decluttering became something that turned from a regular thing to something I would do when everything was over and done with.
As you can imagine, that strategy didn’t work out too well. It’s not two years later and what started as small piles have become near-avalanches. It’s nowhere near what you’d see on shows about Hoarding Disorder, but every time I watch those shows, I can see that if I don’t stop and pay attention, those piles-turned-avalanches will meld together to form walls of just STUFF!
Mid-Month Check-In — January Focus: Cooking at Home Challenge
Oof! I didn’t think cooking 7 meals a week would be as tough as it’s turned out to be, but after two weeks, I can say that this challenge has proven to be the hardest I’ve done for blogging purposes. October’s Rocky Horror Roller Show was a challenge that took a lot of time, but I have to say, I loved every second of it. Same with November’s Writing focus. (December’s focus of Relax and Reflect was, obviously, the easiest 😂)
Cooking, though … I really hate cooking, as it turns out.
Marking the New Year and Picking My 2022 Word — COURAGE
Is it weird that I still carry a tiny glimmer of hope for the new year? For a lot of December 2021, I wasn’t sure I would. I wasn’t feeling the same excitement about a new year, even though I can’t say I was a huge fan of much of 2021.
But nonetheless, I found myself looking forward to the start of a new year. And it is nice to bid farewell to the past year and feel that sense of new beginning
I don’t do resolutions anymore for the new year and I’ll talk more about that in a bit, but I do have a few traditions. The first two are very mundane and tedious if I’m being honest. But they’re still my own traditions that have oddly helped me bring in the coming year with a sense of newness, and you’d be surprised at how satisfying it is when they’re done.
January Focus: Cooking at Home Challenge
Every January, I’m tempted to hop on board the health and wellness marketing train along with others starting their New Year’s Resolutions. I can’t help it. It’s like how after being out of school for 13 years, I still want to buy new pencils and notebooks every September. I’m trying to be more conscious of consumerism and how marketing contributes to these waves of interests, but sometimes I like to get swept up in it.
This January, even though I initially wanted to put some focus on my health and re-evaluate some things, instead I decided to focus on something that actually benefited us as a family. My husband, Mark, and I have been letting the pandemic be our excuse for ordering out and getting drive-thru a lot more in the last two years. But with prices rising and our growing boredom with the usual places around us, I had the idea to challenge both me and Mark to cook at home more.