Lifestyle

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Scaling Back on Productivity During Stressful Life Events

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This week has been a very scaled-back week for me in terms of work and productivity. My mom’s health has taken some turns over the past few weeks and there’s a lot of uncertainty about her. The heaviness of all the emotions, plus the general stress of being a parent during a pandemic has really made me aware of how much stress can impact my motivation, energy, and focus.

I’m not a productivity expert (though I did write show notes for The Productive Woman podcast and that may have been one of the best experiences I could have had as someone with ADHD and who also wants to get a lot accomplished in her lifetime. One thing I learned from the host, Laura McClellan, is that different seasons in life require different forms of productivity and planning.

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What a Night of Terrible Roller Skating Taught Me About Growth

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One night a few weeks before the holidays I was exhausted after spending loads of time with our youngest who had announced that morning that he was sick — every parent’s worst nightmare to wake up to.

I was mentally exhausted, but after sitting through the editing of two podcasts that day, I knew I needed to move around. I decided to roller skate for a little while to get some practice in and give myself a bit of a mental break, like skating always does. As I stretched and warmed up by doing my usual yoga routine, I noticed I was feeling a bit wobbly.

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Coaching Myself Through Unexpected Weight Gain

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As someone who’s struggled with my weight my whole life, I have had times when I was a slave to the scale and it’s only been recently when I have been able to answer truthfully that I forget to get on the scale unless something feels off.

When I was doing the podcast Hate to Weight and actively pursuing weight loss as a goal, I was stepping on weekly to update my cohost and our audience with my progress. We made it a very big point on the show that the numbers and the scale didn’t matter — that said, it was something my cohost, John, and I both thought was important to talk about on the show since that was our original goal.

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Navigating Having Both Adenomyosis and ADHD

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Navigating Having Both Adenomyosis and ADHD

NOTE: I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am speaking from my own experience as someone who was diagnosed with Adenomyosis and ADHD. Please see full disclaimer at the bottom of webpage.

Imagine having a tough time with getting things done, and then on top of that, having another condition that actually physically stops you some days.

That’s what it’s like living with ADHD and Adenomyosis. These two conditions aren’t related, as far as I know. But for me, they’re both equally important to consider when it comes to being a mom, running a podcast editing business, and, oh, living in 2021 currently.

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The (Kind of Morbid) Push I Needed to Press Publish

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The (Kind of Morbid) Push I Needed to Press Publish

I published my blog last night. I'm oddly not nervous at all. It's my corner of the internet I created for me and those who may find my story helpful.

I bought the domain emilyoutloud.com and forwarded it to the site for now. And I put the link on my links page for my bio, though I haven’t announced anything formally yet.

Friends Over Followers

When I think about my social media usage over the years, it surprises me that I’m more confused about how to use it than ever. Don’t get me wrong, I consider myself part of the social media pioneer generation. Compared to what Facebook is now, it astonishes me that I was around when you needed a college email to sign up and it still had “The” before its official name. And there was no talk of the Metaverse at all.

But ever since starting a podcast and then a business, I began to use social media for much more than catching up with friends and family. I began to use it to network and promote more.

When It Rains, It Rains: Dealing with Anxiety on Days Full of the Unexpected

Usually, my period is what throws my week for a loop. But since that was last week’s hassle, I started the week with an optimistic outlook. On Tuesday night I finished up my work, made a quick list of things I wanted to get to the next day, and went to bed with this all-too-smug feeling that I was finally on top of my game.

My smugness was short-lived when my 4-year-old woke me up early the next morning announcing every parent’s nightmare — he didn’t feel well. You’d think after three (3!!!) colds in the last six weeks, I’d be used to this, but this one felt like it was going to be the one that made me crack and completely lose it.

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ADHD, The Rocky Horror Roller Show, and Lessons Learned

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If you ever want to literally hear the gears churning in my head, catch me on a day I’ve just had an amazing idea AND can plan it out and brainstorm it to my heart’s content!

With ADHD, this is actually a specialty of mine. I absolutely love that when I get an idea, sometimes it can hit me with such a force that I can pinpoint so many little details and also I’m able to zoom out and see it from a bird’s eye view to know what needs to get done and how. It’s a beautiful thing I credit my ADHD with being able to do.

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Planning for When Adenomyosis Knocks You Down, Especially If You’re A People-Pleaser

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It's Day 3 of my period. Yesterday it was like a truck hit me. The pain and discomfort is hard to describe, especially to people who've never experienced pain in the uterus before. And the fatigue from being in pain and discomfort is actually one of the most frustrating side-effects of Adenomyosis.

During my period, it’s common for me to wake up feeling like I’m hungover. I don’t drink anymore because I have too many days like this per month that the idea of intentionally doing this kind of damage to myself is not something I like to entertain.

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What Adenomyosis Taught Me About Breaking Away From The Hustle Culture

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I'm bed with the heating pad and smoking weed to help with stabby cramps around my uterus that stretch around to my lower back and radiate down my legs and up my spine. After having Adenomyosis for so long, I’m oddly used to dealing with pain the week of my period and ovulation, and anything else during the other two weeks of the month is considered a “flare.”

It's been difficult to concentrate when my brain is at least 40% occupied with "What is happening?! We're in pain down where babies come from?! What danger is this?!"

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November Focus: Write!

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It’s November, and my friends who participate in NaNoWriMo (or NaPodPoMo for podcasters!) every year have finally inspired me and I want to get into writing this month.

November seems like the most idyllic time for writing when I picture it in my mind. Cozy sweaters, candlelight, warmth from a fire, or a heating pad in my case. It’s currently 6:51 a.m. and it’s been the first time in I don’t know how long I’ve woken up before my son, who is the loudest alarm clock on the planet.

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Life Update + October 2021 Roundup

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I took this photo this morning with no makeup, no filter, and with hair that I slept on when it was wet. I’ve been trying to get morning sunlight to keep my mental health on the up-and-up as the days get shorter. I like to make some tea and open the back door to watch the sunrise. It’s actually a nicer habit I find than sitting in front of my HappyLight, which I still love, but gives me a headache some mornings and it’s been hard to remember to use it, honestly.

I’ve been in a weird rut lately.

My son has his second cold this month. Ah, the joys of finally sending him to school, only for his schedule to be even more out of whack with unexpected sick days, on top of living in a pandemic where he has to be cleared by his doctor and multiple COVID tests to be able to return to school. Luckily, his tests came back negative and that’s a relief by itself.

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I Realized I was Omnisexual as I Was Writing About How I Thought I Was Pan! LOL

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I Realized I was Omnisexual as I Was Writing About How I Thought I Was Pan! LOL

What follows is an excerpt from my journal today as I began thinking about Coming Out Day and if I should. I don’t think anyone expected me to, but I also didn’t think many of my friends would care or mind. Thanks, friends! You’re cool 🙂

But I do know they might be curious if and when I do decide to come out. Something got into me tonight and I finally wrote the journey I’ve been going through the past 2 years pretty much since beginning to question if I was bi, then pan, and then finally realizing (through writing, surprise, surprise) that I am in fact Omnisexual!

So, what is Omnisexuality?