Procrastination can really impact your time management and performance at work. I previously made this the topic of my social media to help increase the wider understanding of ADHD, what it is, how it can present, the impact it can have and my own personal experience as an ADHDer. In this article, I wanted to address something that affects the majority of ADHDers, particularly in the workplace - procrastination. Most of you know what procrastination is, but if you don’t, it means delaying or postponing specific tasks, whether essential or not. So why is this such a common symptom of ADHD? WHY DOES PROCASTINATION HAPPEN? - EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING EXPLAINED! ADHD is a cognitive disorder that is closely linked# to our Executive Functions and the way they work. As I mentioned in one of my Instagram posts, executive functions are the brain's maestros. Each function controls different emotions and reactions to specific tasks and situations - see image for a breakdown of the eight executive functions. For someone who is neurotypical - they will all work together to help organise and manage day-to-day tasks, responses and reactions, which isn’t true for ADHDers. This breaks down the eight executive functions that help us move through our day-to-day ADHD is described by Psychologist and ADHD specialist Thomas E. Brown as a developmental impairment of executive functions. This means we often struggle with things like: Organisation & time management Adapting to change Task Initiation & Planning Retaining information Emotional Regulation & Self-Awareness ADHDers don’t procrastinate because we are lazy (if anything, we are the opposite). Many people identify with the feeling of “being driven by a motor” or being disorganised or even stressed out. We procrastinate because we’re unable to regulate our own emotions effectively. SO, HOW CAN WE REGULATE OURSELVES TO KEEP PROCRASTINATION AT BAY? Spend 10 minutes alone in a quiet place in the morning when you have just woken up. Connect to your body and ask it how it’s feeling. Journal for 15 minutes or 3 A4 pages and get rid of all the gunk that is sitting around in your brain, upsetting you, distracting you, and making you ruminate (see my free downloadable one-pager below) Listen to meditation tracks or practice breathwork (remember, I love 4-7-8 breathing) to calm your nervous system and start the day off right. Know what dysregulation feels like - it can be anxiety, agitation, racing thoughts, a pit of the stomach feeling, rushing, or busyness - and recognise this feeling in yourself. Check in with yourself hourly and rate how dysregulated you feel out of 10…. see if there is a pattern or triggers you can identify. Prepare yourself for better regulation - catch yourself before you start getting more dysregulated, and take some time to calm down and regroup before plugging away with your day or work. DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE MORNING ROUTINE JOURNAL ONE-PAGER AND GET STARTED TODAY INCORPORATING TIME MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES INTO YOUR WORKDAY Being more regulated helps to be able to put into place time management strategies and stay on point and on focus with tasks. Here are some ways we can address procrastination and boost our overall productivity, and with patience and time, create habits and routines for ourselves, so here are some things I have done myself to increase my own productivity. Set alarms and times to get specific tasks done. Have multiple ways of managing and recording to-do lists to help keep focused. Plan your day in 10-minute increments or use the Pomodoro Technique. Utilise body doubling or an accountability partner—having someone by your side can improve your productivity and help you stay on track. Make changes to your workspace & environment and have a specific place to get your work head on. Do something you enjoy before and after the task. Give yourself something to look forward to, like a reward for finishing the job. TO SUM IT ALL UP... Beating procrastination can be difficult at first, but it's not impossible. Finding ways to beat procrastination as an ADHDer and increase productivity will initially be trial and error. It’s about finding ways to manage your workload and daily tasks in a way that works for you so that you can use them effectively and speak to your employers, if necessary, about how they can support you while doing so. Neurotypical people benefit massively from trying ADHD regulation strategies, too, so why not give them a go… If you would like some support in creating and implementing a system that works for you, feel free to book a free consultation with me to discuss how we can work together now or in the future. ABOUT CAREER COACH NAT HARRISON OF AYAMA COACHING Career Coach Nat Harrison of Ayama Coaching Hi, I am Nat. I help people become more fulfilled and happy in their working lives by aligning their careers or businesses with their skills, values, and interests and helping them overcome barriers to making the desired change. I am also a trained ADHD coach. I work with neurodivergent people who want to harness their brains for the better and improve their relationships with themselves. If you would benefit from some coaching on your work life, book a FREE consultation below.

Disclaimer: The tools in this post were developed for myself and my career coaching clients to help them be happier, healthier and thrive at work. Be gentle with yourself while reading this - change comes from a place of curiosity, awareness and compassion, not self-blame and shame. Want to know how you can regulate emotions, reduce stress and relax? This is the post for you! At the start of 2024, I decided to focus on my health and wellbeing - not just to help me through the dark and gloomy days but throughout the year; tools, techniques and things that make me feel good when maintaining focus feels like an uphill battle, and everything feels too much, especially as someone with ADHD. Emotional dysregulation can lead to overwhelmed and stress When our nervous system is out of whack, emotional regulation can become increasingly difficult. Tasks begin to feel like chores, especially as your to-do list grows and the weather disappoints. You might find yourself going through the motions, doing so much, but it never feels like enough. This often leads to feeling overwhelmed, stressed and emotionally dysregulated as your body tries to keep up. Not just for people with ADHD but those without too, so regardless of where you are on the spectrum or not, this article will be helpful for you. What is emotional dysregulation? It typically involves difficulty managing and expressing emotions appropriately, and it’s something that can affect both those with ADHD and those without. It often presents as mood swings, impulsive behaviours, agitation, anxiety and feeling on edge or feeling overwhelmed. When in dysregulation, ADHD symptoms can worsen, which heightens distractibility and impulsivity, while for those without, it can disrupt daily functioning, having a huge impact on your overall wellbeing and particularly productivity. Implementing effective strategies to manage yourself, being proactive and seeking support can help manage this. I’ve pulled together a list of five tips, all tried and tested by me, to help you with emotional regulation when things just get too much. Keep reading for the bonus tip! 1. Why identifying your emotional triggers is important Identify your triggers to understand them: It's really helpful to pay attention to what's happening around you that can trigger an emotional response, so you can be better prepared and limit your distractibility when situations come up that leave you dysregulated. Suppose you’re an ADHDer who struggles with focus, attention and the ability to retain information. In that case, this can be tricky, so keeping a journal of your triggers to refer to regularly is a great idea. It takes time to learn and understand triggers, and you may find that new ones pop up here and there. So be sure to pay attention to how they make you feel, note them, and reflect on your reaction and what you can do differently when they come up again. Like any skill, learning to manage and regulate emotions takes consistent effort. A huge part of this is being patient and compassionate with yourself so you can continue to develop strategies that will help you enormously over time. 2. What is a good morning routine? Create a morning routine that works for you. Something I have found to be a blessing and a great tool is having one. A book I’ve read recently, “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod, offers some great ways to break up your routine and incorporate things that feel good. He talks about the struggles we often face first thing, and provides tools to help tackle them. He talks about the S.A.V.E.R.S technique. Silence - sit in silence to give yourself a moment of peace Affirmation - affirm what you want from the day and yourself Visualisation - visualising the day ahead exactly as you want it to be Exercise - move your body to boost oxygen and circulation Reading - to spark the mind and get the creative juices flowing Scribing - journaling your thoughts and ideas or writing a gratitude list I was pleased to find that I already incorporated a lot of this into mine, but it really is a great way to get you ready for the day ahead and keep you regulated throughout the day. Want to find out more about this? Read all about it here! Set yourself up for a successful day by becoming aware of your thoughts, feelings and daily goals each morning! 3. How does exercise play a part in emotional regulation? Get your body moving: I often find, specifically this time of year, I tend to feel a bit more sluggish, which can leave me feeling both overwhelmed and underwhelmed, which is why I believe it isn’t a time to move full speed ahead, but focus on your wellbeing and moving your body is a great way to both keep you physically fit and clear the mind. I took part in Red January this year, a charity-based event aimed at getting you moving every day. Whether it’s a game of football, taking a jog or hike, or dancing in your living room—whatever is easiest for you—get that body moving to release any pent-up energy, both positive and negative. It really is a great way to feed both your body and mind, taking you inward and away from the stresses of everyday life. Head over to the Red January website to learn more, and maybe you can add it to the list for next year. All proceeds go to local mental health charities. It’s a great cause to help yourself and those in need, but it’s also important to remember that moving your body is something you can do anytime you need an emotional release. 4. Why hobbies help to reduce stress and relax you Make time for things that give you release while lighting you up: Something I’ve made sure to do recently is schedule time for things that not only give me release but also light me up. I’ve made sure to carve out time for yoga, movement therapy, and flow dance meditation. This doesn’t have to be something you do specifically. Everyone is different, so it’s all about finding something that gives you both. It could be anything from football to simply going for a walk in nature, whatever works for you. Somatic practices work well, I love the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), and many clients do embodied practices like chakra dancing or EMDR. Another great technique to make time for, especially before a big event or important meeting at work, is the 4-7-8 breathing technique. It’s a fantastic tool to manage anxiety at the moment, regulate your nervous system and reduce stress. All you need to do is: Exhale completely through your mouth, releasing tension in your mind and body. Inhale through your nose, counting to 4, allowing the breath to fill your lungs. Hold your breath and count to 7, giving you a moment of stillness Exhale fully through your mouth and count to 8 as you feel your body soften and mind quiet Repeat for two minutes or until you feel completely calm and ready to tackle what's ahead. The more you practice, the more natural it will become and the more impact it will have. 5. ADHD Coaches focus on emotional regulation Seek professional support: If you feel like it’s not possible to regulate using these tools and strategies, then this is your reminder that it’s okay to seek professional support, whether it’s working with a coach to help you manage your day-to-day or support from a medical professional and therapy. I specifically coach ADHD clients in the workplace, but there are other ADHD coaches out there. Just make sure they are trained in ADHD-specific coaching so you can get the support you need. Whatever that support looks like for you, coaching or otherwise, it is okay to ask for it. It can have a tremendous impact on yourself and your life, so have a look around to see your options. Hate meditation? Here's a meditation hack! Bonus Tip: Alpha waves: Finally, a bonus tip that is severely underrated and something I’ve started to implement regularly is the use of Binaural Beats. If you haven’t heard of them, I encourage you to research and dive into how they work because it is truly fascinating. I’ve started playing Alpha Waves binaural beats for my kids in the morning and noticed a huge shift. They are much calmer (most mornings, at least) and are more likely to spend time doing something more mindful. Alpha waves are designed to help you enter a flow state, which supports emotional regulation and keeps your nervous system in check. This allows you to move and work from a place of alignment. Focus becomes more accessible, and your reactions to situations feel more controlled. All it takes is 12 minutes daily with headphones—here’s a playlist to get you started. I've also written a post diving into the science behind Alpha Waves and the impact binaural beats can have on your brain; check it out here. To summarise it all... All in all, not all coping strategies need to be strict regimes that add to your list of things to do and feel like a chore, and that’s the beauty in being able to trial and find things that work for us as individuals, we get to use tools and techniques that feel good to us, that not only support our emotional regulation, but a wellbeing as a whole, both physical and mental. You don't have to manage your emotions alone. Get in touch If you struggle to regulate yours, then give some of these tips a try, and they can give you the transformation you need to feel good within yourself and take back control of your emotions, relationships and your life. As mentioned above, if you would like support whether it’s for ADHD, managing your workload to limit overwhelm through career and business coaching or finding the mental clarity to move forward then get in touch through the link below. About Nat Harrison, Specialist ADHD Career Coach, Ayama ADHD Career Coach Nat Harrison of Ayama Coaching Hi, I am Nathalina (everyone calls me Nat). I help people become more fulfilled and happy in their working lives by aligning their careers or businesses with their skills, values, and interests, and by helping them overcome barriers to success at work. I am a Certified Specialist ADHD coach, and I work with neurodivergent people who want to harness their brains for the better, improve their relationships with themselves and manage their symptoms. Book a consultation below if you would benefit from some coaching on your ADHD and working life.

Why Alpha Brain Wave Music Improves Your Productivity and the Science Behind It Disclaimer: The tools in this post were developed for myself and my career coaching clients to help them be happier, healthier and thrive at work. Be gentle with yourself while reading this - change comes from a place of curiosity, awareness and compassion, not self-blame and shame. Do you struggle to focus on one task or maintain focus for long periods? I know I do, and something that has helped me over the last six months is listening to Alpha Brain Wave music (also known as Binaural Beats). I use this to get me in the zone and can hack me into a ‘Flow State’. Why is it so hard for us to focus these days? Listening to Binaural Beats (with a headset) can help get you in the zone! According to Northeastern University in Boston, USA, we are less focused than ever before, as “the average time that a person can focus on one thing has dropped from around 2½ minutes to around 45 seconds.” It’s completely understandable in these digital times, isn’t it? There’s so much information being created and shared. More content means more topics competing for our attention at once, making us switch focus more quickly from one to another and reducing our attention span day in and day out. Social media short videos are compounding this, but the feel-good dopamine hit we receive is addictive! This isn't good news when we need to focus on reading or writing something lengthy. I have ADHD coaching many clients who say they're just not as productive as they used to be, and I think we all had a shared 'aha' moment during lockdown when many of us realised just how much more productive we could be working from home without the distractions of a busy office. And if you have ADHD (or any type of Neurodivergence), focus is an experience of extremes, sometimes an elusive concept which is out of your reach, and other times, hyperfocus mode just comes along unexpectedly, where your focus is so intense that you forget to have lunch or even go to the loo! Want a hack to help you focus? Listen to Alpha Brain Wave music in the background whenever you want to focus on one thing. Also known as Binaural beats - you can find hundreds of these playlists on Spotify (or another streaming service) To get the best results, you need two different tones in each ear, so it’s best to use headphones. I personally find them very calming and often put them on a loudspeaker in the morning whilst the kids and I are getting ready - I have noticed mornings run smoother with them. What's the science behind Alpha Brainwaves? Brain waves are essentially the electrical signals in our brains. When a group of neurons speaks to another group of neurons (via a burst of electrical pulses), it creates a wave-like pattern. These waves are measured in speed cycles per second (or frequency), which is measured in Hertz (Hz) The patterns of our brainwaves affect how we show up in our daily lives. Our decisions, our productivity and our moods. They also trigger the release of hormones and chemicals and our physical reactions. I’m sure you’ve all heard of fight or flight - brainwaves are involved in this process too. Brainwaves are associated with different brain activities and can take us from one state of consciousness to another. Some are beneficial; some are not so helpful. Alpha waves, in particular, are typically produced in the frontal and occipital cortex at the back of the head and fall somewhere between a relaxed light sleep state and being awake and alert. “Good, healthy alpha wave production promotes mental resourcefulness, aids in the ability to coordinate mentally, and enhances the overall sense of relaxation and fatigue. In this state, you can move quickly and efficiently to accomplish whatever task is at hand. When Alpha predominates, most people feel at ease and calm.” - Science Direct Our brainwaves affect how we show up in our daily lives Alpha waves induce feelings of calm, increase your creativity and boost your ability to process and retain new information. If you have ADHD, this is a great way to help you keep emotional dysregulation at bay. Alpha wave music / binaural beats are designed to help you enter the Flow State, which puts you in a mental state that allows deep work with less effort. So, what’s the difference between the different brainwaves and states, and what makes alpha waves so special? Brainwaves and the Flow State explained... Without diving too deep into the science behind each brainwave, here are the five core waves that trigger different states of consciousness throughout the day. Delta: This is a deep state of dreamless sleep, characterised by the slowest brainwave frequency. Theta: These brainwaves are produced when you’re sleeping lightly or very relaxed - a sleep state, but not quite there yet. Alpha: These are produced when you’re not entirely focused - you feel calm and relaxed and switch easily between tasks. Beta: These brainwaves hit you faster when you’re wide awake and focused. They’re the waves for decision-making and carrying out activities throughout the day. Gamma: The fastest of the five, these brainwaves support your ability to process information, learning and boost your problem-solving skills. Each brainwave is measured in Hertz (Hz), ranging from 4Hz to 35Hz. Looking at what each wave does, where is the best place to be? Research has shown that Alpha waves play a huge role in reaching the Flow State. This is a state in which our brains become more relaxed, reducing bodily tension and improving processing efficiency. In 2008, John Hopkins neuroscientist Charles Limb found that the part of the brain linked to fear, doubt, and the other negative feelings we enjoy so much - deactivates entirely while in the flow state. Being in a Flow State reduces stress, allows us to focus and complete tasks, and speeds up processing. It can also trigger the release of dopamine, endorphins and serotonin - the feel-good hormones that boost performance, creativity, and motivation and help us maintain a good mood. Let’s look at the full scope of benefits below. The benefits of Alpha Waves and the Flow State The benefits of entering the flow state and listening to alpha-wave music are excellent when considering the bigger picture. While each brain state serves a different purpose, the flow state seems to be the best place for productivity and overall well-being. The flow state helps us to relax and reduce body tension, so we can focus Just for your well-being alone, this state: Helps you relax by reducing stress and anxiety, allowing you to focus on the task with confidence. Gives you mental clarity, allowing you to focus and boost your productivity and efficiency. Stimulates creativity and problem-solving skills, making it easier to complete tasks and switch quickly. Improves your cognitive flexibility and adaptability to situations and changes. Releases the feel-good hormones mentioned previously to support your overall mental health. And let's face it, who doesn't want to reduce stress, increase productivity, and have the ability to switch between tasks easily? If this is anything to go by, it’s clear that Alpha-wave music and binaural beats can improve your mental health and daily life by resetting your nervous system. Working from a place of flow and alignment, rather than anxiety, makes tasks more manageable and focus more accessible, allowing for greater creativity and expression in our work. Why adding Alpha Waves to a morning routine is a great alternative to meditation And how can you add Alpha Waves to your Morning Routine? As I said above, as part of our morning routine, I play Alpha Wave music for my kids. It means they are much calmer (most mornings, at least) and more likely to engage in mindful activities like drawing or colouring. Adding Alpha Wave Music to your morning routine can serve as a substitute for meditation, helping regulate your nervous system by activating specific brain areas. It is hugely beneficial if you struggle with dysregulation in the mornings, if you’re an ADHDer like me, and have days where it’s just really challenging to focus. They’re also great if you’re just not a morning person! Personally, I think they are a great way to kickstart your day before school or work, and I recommend creating a morning routine to help calm your nervous system and prepare you for the day ahead. If you’re unsure where to start, look at my post on ‘The Miracle Morning’ by Hal Elrod and the SAVERS technique here. Set yourself up for a successful day by becoming aware of your thoughts, feelings and daily goals each morning! Read on for my favourite Binaural playlist I previously touched on Alpha waves in my post "Tried and Tested Tips for Emotional Regulation", but I wanted to dive deeper into them for this post, and as someone with a background in physics, understanding the science behind habits helps make them stick. Binaural Beats: Focus Playlist on Spotify NASA recommends listening for at least 12 minutes a day using headphones. As the flow state creates a slower rhythm, 7.5-14Hz is the perfect speed for peak performance. Higher or lower can trigger procrastination or overwhelm, so it’s best to stay within that range when listening. Why not try it and see how it impacts your focus and performance over the next three weeks? Here's a link to a great playlist - I'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments below! About Nat Harrison, Specialist ADHD Career Coach, Ayama ADHD Career Coach Nat Harrison of Ayama Coaching Hi, I am Nathalina (everyone calls me Nat). I help people become more fulfilled and happy in their working lives by aligning their careers or businesses with their skills, values, and interests, and by helping them overcome barriers to success at work. I am a Certified Specialist ADHD coach, and I work with neurodivergent people who want to harness their brains for the better, improve their relationships with themselves and manage their symptoms. Book a consultation below if you would benefit from some coaching on your ADHD and working life.

We live in a world fuelled by stress, and our nervous systems just aren't made for the 21st century! Most of us constantly switch contexts, work on multiple tasks at once, and juggle multiple responsibilities, many of which are outside our comfort zones. We’re seeing more and more people struggle with focus, as the human attention span is in decline, increasing levels of anxiety, which often causes agitation, and lots of us are feeling overwhelmed. The rise in ADHD diagnoses is in part due to ADHD symptoms being worsened by 21st-century life. Decreasing Executive Function (Activation, Memory, Energy Management, and Action) can impact our confidence, lower self-esteem, and ultimately lead to poor mental health. At work, difficulties with executive functioning impact our productivity, often leading to longer hours as we strive to catch up on work we think we should have finished already. If that continues, burnout is just around the corner. I have definitely been down this slippery slope a couple of times in my corporate career. Ultimately, this led to a full burnout that took three months to recover from and catalysed my career change to becoming a Career Coach. If you suffer from poor Executive Function, feel emotionally up and down in the day and struggle to regulate your nervous system, here are my practical tips to help you. You’ve probably heard friends and family who dabble with journaling. It’s a common practice across multiple therapies and coaching for good reason. Consistent journaling pays off. Journaling is not just a sticking plaster that can make you feel better in the moment; it’s a fantastic tool that can help improve your daily productivity and support your long-term goals, including becoming more positive, healthy, or focused. A Journal is a powerful tool to help you process your emotions What is journaling, and how can it benefit you? Journaling is a powerful way to process your emotions by transferring your thoughts and feelings onto paper. It allows you time for reflection, gives you greater clarity, and increases your understanding of your inner self and, importantly, your Needs!. Let's take a look at the benefits of journaling: 1. It brings greater awareness of yourself: Change can only happen from a state of awareness (and ideally self-compassion, but more about that later). Journaling (and reading your journaling) helps you notice patterns you might not otherwise see, so you can make the necessary changes to feel better. 2. It helps you to regulate your emotions: When we keep our emotions inside and try to push them down, they often bubble over, increasing the risk of reactive behaviours or of bottling them up, which can lead to poor health. By journaling, you are taking your thoughts, feelings, and emotions and placing them outside of yourself to gain clarity on situations in a healthier way - read more about emotional regulation here. 3. It reduces stress and improves your mood: Writing is therapeutic, and studies have shown that by writing, you're processing and releasing your emotions, which can make stressful situations and thoughts feel much less... well, stressful. This can ultimately improve your behaviour and keep you regulated throughout the day. 4. It can improve your cognitive processing: Releasing negative feelings and thoughts in this way gives you space for perspective, allowing you to see them for what they are. This can lead to a deeper understanding of yourself and the world around you. 5. It supports you in reaching your goals: Did you know that studies have shown writing down your goals in your journal or goals diary improves your chances of achieving them? We’ll dive into this more in another post. Journaling can do so much more than help you regulate. There are so many benefits. Can journaling rewire your brain? Or is it all a myth? I can already tell you from my journaling experience that it isn’t a myth. There’s a lot of evidence to support the idea that writing can calm your mind when you’re feeling dysregulated and rewire your brain to meet your goals. An article I read recently by Brainz on the same subject explains that writing gives the right side of your brain time to rest. “We access the left brain when we write, which is analytical and rational. Whilst your left brain is busy, your right brain can create, feel, and tune into intuition. When you write with an open mind and no limits, you remove mental blocks and use all of your brain to understand yourself better, others, and the world around you.” Journaling gives us the space to process our emotions, manage them, and reduce stress whilst engaging our executive functions, improving our attention and reducing the effort needed for some tasks. Journaling CAN Help You Process Your Emotions. Journaling HELPS Reset Your Nervous System Journaling is not just a brilliant tool for habit change and focus; it also improves your ability to retain information, frees your creativity, and allows you to tap into your problem-solving skills to tackle anything head-on. I highly recommend journaling if you have ADHD, as it can be a great tool, but I would also suggest to anyone and everyone to make it a part of their morning routine - even if it’s only 10 - 15 minutes. Did you know? Adding journaling to your morning routine can help regulate your nervous system for the whole day. Add journaling to your morning routine before enjoying your breakfast. As part of my morning routine, I have adapted the SAVERS method to create a process that has been a game-changer for my Executive Functioning. I am following through on habit change, am feeling calmer, can focus better, and my memory is definitely improving. First, I sit in silence alone with myself and my thoughts (before the kids wake up), and then I do two types of journaling: my own one-page healthy habits journal and strengths-based writing to help me reframe the challenges I am struggling with. A key part of journaling is mindfulness, getting out of our heads and into our bodies to release whatever tension builds up. Once we do this, we can feel a sense of calm take over, and our thoughts are clearer and slower. You can journal at any time of day. It can be a great way to pause if you start feeling dysregulated at any point. Still, often, we wake up dysregulated - it is caused by stress stored in our subconscious rising to the surface while we sleep and in our dreams, so I highly recommend morning journaling. I talk more about this in my morning routine post (there’s some excellent info about how the subconscious works there, too). 6 different types of journaling: which one is best for you? 1. Bullet Journaling This one is an organisation lover's dream! A bullet journal is essentially a way to organise your whole life in one book, including your to-do list, planner, and diary. They are great for changing habits, achieving new goals, or making life changes. You can write your goals and what you want to achieve, and track your progress in bullet points. Depending on how you approach it, you may use this hourly, daily, or weekly, so if you want to make some big changes, this is for you. Check out Bullet Journaling on WikiHow. It’s a great step-by-step guide if you’re just getting started. 2. Wild Writing Think poetry and self-expression. Wild writing is all about connecting with our emotions and grounding ourselves with nature. The idea is to take a moment to soak everything in, then allow yourself to write freely and let it all flow. It’s a great way to let everything out and to regulate when you’re feeling overwhelmed and out of alignment. You could even throw in the 4-7-8 breathing method before you begin to really ground yourself. 3. The Artist’s Way Similar to wild writing, The Artist’s Way is all about writing through your stream of consciousness - letting your words, thoughts, feelings, and emotions fall onto the pages without overthinking what to say. There is no structure behind it; it’s just allowing yourself to fully express what’s going on without holding anything back. Julia recommends using this technique in the mornings, before you start your day, to gain clarity and release. Read more about Julia Cameron and the Artist's Way. 4. Gratitude Journaling This is one of the most popular forms of journaling recently. All you need to do is write three things you are grateful for each morning and/or at night. It’s designed to help rewire your brain so you can focus more on the good stuff to increase your feelings of happiness, gratitude and joy. Learn how gratitude journaling works here and its relationship with positive psychology. It’s a hugely successful practice, and one I’d recommend when things feel overwhelming and you’re struggling to see the positives in your life. 5. 5 Minute Strengths Journaling For this exercise, the idea is to write for 5 minutes - a pure brain dump, then go back through your writing and find your strengths by underlining the phrases and writing the strength above them. This is great for anyone looking to improve their relationship with themselves. I have used this method for a while now (often when things feel too busy or too much, or when I have strong emotions about something), and you’ll notice that when you look hard, you’ll see where your strengths lie, whether in your honesty, perseverance, or zest. It’s an interesting way to reframe what you’re feeling and helps quell those negative feelings of “not good enough” and any anxieties that take their toll on your self-esteem. If you’re someone who struggles to pinpoint your strengths, take a look at this to get you started. 6. My Self-Regulation & Healthy Habits Journal Finally, here's the journal template I use. I call it my Self-Regulation & Healthy Habits journal. This one-pager is best used first thing in the morning to free your emotions and focus your mind before you begin the day. It's a one-pager to monitor your habits, connect with your thoughts and feelings, set your daily goals, regulate your emotions, and remind you to be kind to yourself - here's how to use it. It’s important to self-regulate after waking up, as we can often wake up all over the place, and quiet reflection in the morning and writing allows us to process our emotions as we write the words, leading to us feeling calmer with more capacity to handle whatever the day ahead throws at us, gracefully. Set yourself up for a successful day by becoming aware of your thoughts, feelings and daily goals each morning! Now you know that journaling improves executive functioning. How can you start journaling today? In this post, I shared information about journaling, the science behind it, how to do it, and all the different ways you can do it. Why not try journaling for yourself and see how you find it? It's a good idea to give yourself three weeks or a month to try it out and see what works for you. Make sure you reflect on any benefits you see after this time, and let me know how you get on in the comments below. Happy writing! Warmest wishes Nat About Nat Harrison, Specialist ADHD Career Coach, Ayama ADHD Career Coach Nat Harrison of Ayama Coaching Hi, I am Nathalina (everyone calls me Nat). I help people become more fulfilled and happy in their working lives by aligning their careers or businesses with their skills, values, and interests, and by helping them overcome barriers to success at work. I am a Certified Specialist ADHD coach, and I work with neurodivergent people who want to harness their brains for the better, improve their relationships with themselves and manage their symptoms. Book a consultation below if you would benefit from some coaching on your ADHD and working life.

If you’ve ever had a panic attack, you already know how overwhelming and scary it can feel. Breathlessness, dizziness and an uncontrollable fear that you might die is a truly awful feeling. If you have been lucky enough not to experience this, stay with me because this post may help you or someone you know who suffers from it in the future. I also speak about how breathwork can help ADHD symptoms and positively affect your mental health. Panic attacks are extremely debilitating. Panic attacks are one of the most debilitating reactions to situations; you are rendered powerless, full of uncertainty about when it will end, and if you have enough confidence, you aren't actually having a heart attack. In my experience, they don't happen out of nowhere - underlying stress, subconscious fears or physical factors usually trigger them. This is why learning how to regulate your nervous system is so important - it can limit the severity of a panic attack and prevent your body from getting into a state where it’s at the edge of coping when things get too much, or you find yourself in a situation that triggers stress in the body. I've written about a number of techniques to help you regulate across multiple posts, giving you the tools you need to remain calm and support yourself in moments of difficulty, starting with an amazing breathwork technique. What happens to your body when you do breathwork? Breathwork allows you to regulate your nervous system and can work wonders for managing ADHD and mental health symptoms (anxiety and stress). It balances your sympathetic (fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) systems. For those with ADHD and mental health conditions like anxiety, depression or stress, it’s common for our fight or flight to be working in overdrive, which can exacerbate other symptoms and sometimes lead to panic attacks. Fight or flight When triggered (especially during a panic attack), the sympathetic system increases your heart rate, releases adrenaline, and shallows your breathing, which can cause sweating, nausea and dizziness, all physical symptoms of a panic attack. It can be triggered by high levels of stress, anxiety and an overactive emotional response to triggers. Rest and Digest The parasympathetic system decreases your heart rate, regulates your breathing, limits the amount of adrenaline your body releases in high-stress situations, relaxes your muscles and promotes overall regulation, helping you stay calm and manage yourself. When we become overstimulated, stressed, and feel out of control in high-stress situations, it can exacerbate symptoms of impulsivity and hyperactivity, make it harder to focus, and make it difficult to manage our emotional responses. Journaling is another way I regulate myself daily. These are the same Executive Functions ADHDers already struggle with daily (read more about executive functioning here). Regulating your nervous system through breathwork helps you balance your natural stress response by activating the rest-and-digest response while keeping your fight-or-flight response under control. I have found daily breathwork hugely beneficial; I can focus much better and feel my emotions are most muted. Regulated nervous systems also support critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as executive functioning improves. So, what are the other benefits of doing breathwork? I want to preface this by saying that learning to regulate your nervous system takes a little time, patience (with ourselves) and consistency. However, the benefits are well worth it, and there will be positive knock-on effects in your daily life and career. Other benefits include: Improved Focus: A common ADHD challenge is difficulty narrowing and sustaining focus; however, this is increasingly difficult for everyone, as we are eroding this skill with smartphones and other technology. Breathwork can help you reset your focus by reducing overstimulation and relaxing the body and mind. Less Emotional Dysregulation: ADHD, anxiety and stress are often accompanied by emotional dysregulation, which can cause agitation and create an intense emotional response to everyday situations (for me, it can feel overwhelming, a bit like an emotional rollercoaster that I can't get off). By calming the nervous system, we can teach ourselves to listen to our feelings, regulate our moods, and limit bodily responses to high-stress situations. An Overall Reduction in Anxiety and Stress: Anxiety and stress are deeply connected to our nervous system. High stress can lead to anxious thoughts and hypervigilance that can wear us down over time, leading to fatigue and burnout, undermining our resilience and overall mental health. Improved Overall Executive Functioning Neurodivergent people and ADHDers have impaired executive functioning (by up to 30%) compared to neurotypical people. Their ability to shift between tasks, retain and adapt to new information, and manage emotional responses is more complex and can make daily life quite frustrating (to say the least). Improved Executive Functioning looks like easier task activation (starting tasks), feeling that tasks and focus require less effort, well-balanced energy levels, improved memory, and better task and action management. How can breathwork stop panic attacks? Breathwork can reduce the physical symptoms of a panic attack. Breathwork tools, like the 4-7-8 breathing technique I share below, are quick, easy to learn, and totally accessible for you to use at any moment (I have definitely used this one many times whilst driving or taking the kids to the supermarket). They help you slow your racing thoughts and regulate your heart rate, so your mind and body can relax. They are an excellent tool for preventing panic from escalating, but you do need to monitor your body and catch yourself as soon as you realise the panic is rising. Hyperventilating (shallow breathing) during a panic attack decreases blood carbon dioxide levels. This often causes dizziness, tingling in hands and feet, and shortness of breath, which increases feelings of fear. Controlled breathing techniques involving deep and slow breaths counteract hyperventilation by reducing oxygen levels in the brain and stabilising oxygen/CO2 levels. Now that you know why regulation is important and how breathwork can help, here's how to do it - the 4-7-8 breath is one of my favourite breathing techniques. I use it daily and always recommend it to my ADHD career coaching clients to allow them to take regular pauses in their day and self-regulate. Follow the instructions below and see how it feels for you: How to do the 4-7-8 breathwork technique This technique, created by Dr Andrew Weil, is quick and easy. You can use it anywhere, anytime, whether you’re feeling anxious, on the verge of a panic attack, or as part of your morning routine. It’s really easy to do, and for the best results, Dr Well suggests doing it daily for 2 minutes or 4 whole breaths. Here it is step-by-step to 4-7-8: Step One: Close your eyes and exhale completely through your mouth, releasing tension in your mind and body. Step Two: Inhale through your nose, counting to 4 and allow the breath to fill your lungs. Step Three: Hold your breath, count to 7 with your eyes closed, and give yourself a moment of stillness. Step Four: Exhale fully through your mouth and count to 8 as you feel your body soften and your mind quiet Step Five: Repeat until you feel calm, relaxed, and in control, or for 2 minutes, whichever comes first. With a combination of long-term strategies like mindfulness, journaling (follow the link here to download a free journaling template for regulation), EFT or EMDR therapy and small and steady changes to your lifestyle, you will see a huge difference - happy regulating! Set yourself up for a successful day by becoming aware of your thoughts, feelings and daily goals each morning! As an ADHD Career Coach, I often support my clients with regulation, helping them balance daily work-life stressors that can take their toll, whether they’re vying for a promotion, struggling with career growth, or managing their ADHD symptoms in the workplace. If you’d like support with your Career or ADHD symptoms, please book a free consultation with me here. In the meantime, give this technique a try. It does make a difference - I promise! Warm wishes Nat x About Nat Harrison, Specialist ADHD Career Coach, Ayama ADHD Career Coach Nat Harrison of Ayama Coaching Hi, I am Nathalina (everyone calls me Nat). I help people become more fulfilled and happy in their working lives by aligning their careers or businesses with their skills, values, and interests, and by helping them overcome barriers to success at work. I am a Certified Specialist ADHD coach, and I work with neurodivergent people who want to harness their brains for the better, improve their relationships with themselves and manage their symptoms. Book a consultation below if you would benefit from some coaching on your ADHD and working life.

Please note that this article contains content that may be triggering - please read with caution - themes: mental health disorders, suicide. If you are struggling with your mental health or any of the topics discussed in this post, please reach out for support - https://www.mind.org.uk is a great place to start. Did you know that for every three boys diagnosed with ADHD, only one girl will be diagnosed? However, in adulthood, that ratio is closer to 1:1; however, women are diagnosed way later than men (research by Da Silva et al. 2020). This doesn’t add up, especially now that we know that ADHD is a condition you are born with and runs through families (shown in twin studies). Whilst doing my ADHD Coaching course this last year, I have been forced to reflect on (and start to process) my own experience as a woman (and girl) with ADHD and how far we’ve come very rapidly in acceptance and reducing the stigma of being neurodivergent, but also how far we still have to go. As we mark ADHD Awareness month as I write this, I want to take this time to highlight this issue, one that is impacting women’s mental health worldwide - the underdiagnosis of ADHD and the medical approach to women’s health. As a woman diagnosed with ADHD in my 40s (although I was labelled ADHD in my childhood), I’ve experienced the challenges of living undiagnosed for years in a health system that still lacks an understanding of women’s health. Historically, women’s healthcare has been neglected, meaning there’s still not enough research, funding or resources, often leaving us without the right support - you only have to give birth, go through menopause, or experience gyno issues in the UK to see this starkly. There are many reasons why ADHD is so underdiagnosed in women, from the initial idea that it was a predominantly male disorder, resulting in the majority of the diagnostic criteria surrounding hyperactivity symptoms ('naughty boy' behaviour). A lack of understanding of how it presents in girls is a big factor, and the patriarchal dismissive attitude towards female health issues that we’ve all faced at some point or another. Keep reading as we look at the challenges we face without a diagnosis and the fight many of us have to endure to get one. Understanding ADHD in women and the challenges in diagnosis Let’s start by looking at what ADHD is and how it can be present in women specifically. Research has long viewed ADHD as a male disorder, which has led to a lack of understanding of ADHD in women until recent years. Unlike men and boys, ADHD symptoms in women are often less obvious, making it more challenging to get the right diagnosis and support. Boys typically present as hyperactive, while girls are more likely to show signs of predominantly inattentive type (ADHD-PI), which includes internal restlessness, inattentiveness, distraction, maladaptive daydreaming and slower processing levels with higher rates of emotional dysregulation. This makes it harder to diagnose and, in many cases, leads to a misdiagnosis of mood or personality disorders, resulting in the wrong medication and often being given antidepressants with no diagnosis at all and sent on your way with little to no support - more on this later. This delay in recognising and diagnosing ADHD in women, misdiagnosis, wrong medication or no support at all puts a huge strain on so many different areas of our lives. Still, it isn’t just caused by a lack of knowledge surrounding women’s health and ADHD in women; it’s the medical approach, too, and we need to talk about it. The medical approach to women in the UK and our experience Many women, including myself and so many friends and family members, have encountered dismissive attitudes from healthcare providers towards neurodivergence. I remember chasing my diagnosis at my GP practice. The doctor said something along the lines of “You’re so lovely; why would you want something like ADHD?” as if it were something I was “choosing” to have. The doctor clearly was not thinking of how much my identity and personality are tied to my ADHD. Let’s be clear, “I am ADHD” and "ADHD is me". It defines me - it affects how much I sleep, how and when I eat, how much I move and my behaviour and relationships (not least the negative relationship I was brought up to have with myself for being "too much" or "too loud" or "too chaotic" or "a disaster"). I know I’m not the only one who has experienced this either - in a study by Dr William Dobson, he identified that ADHD children experience 20,000 more criticisms by the age of 10 compared to neurotypical children! The problem with the current medical situation with ADHD is that it holds an “it’s all in your head” undertone, which prevents ADHDers from going through the "relief" phase, which brings self-acceptance and allows you to come to terms with the years of "not knowing", thinking "what's wrong with me", or "I know I am different but I don't know why" and subsequent masking that this drives. I still think that women’s health, across the board, is not deemed that important. Most of the ADHD research was done on hyperactivity, completely missing the PI (predominantly inattentive) type of ADHD, which the majority of women and girls have. And then it's common for women to stop asking for help because we just aren’t being listened to; plus, it’s exhausting to get through your GP onto a waiting list to be seen and do the rigorous tests, even to get diagnosed. This has resulted in years of women being misdiagnosed and sent away with antidepressants that they are then left on for years (I have one client who has been left on them for nearly 30 years and only recently got a diagnosis at nearly 70!!). This robs women of their time to understand their symptoms and how their ADHD impacts their lives and families, build self-resilience and a closer relationship with themselves. Hormones also play a massive part, exacerbating symptoms during times of change, complicating diagnosis and treatment further. Puberty is a difficult time for ADHDers. During our 20s and 30s, we’re often given contraception, and you just have to look at recent press to know that perimenopause and ADHD are a perfect storm! In my case, the perimenopause rendered me unable to make any decisions or even know what I was supposed to do when I sat down at my desk. My brain fog turned into total memory loss for a couple of years, and I resorted to leaving myself little notes around the house about where I had put things - a little tip I had gleaned from my 90-year-old neighbour across the street, who was starting with dementia! Thank God for HRT - that’s all I can say, but not everyone can take it, and the risks of staying on it forever are unknown. If you think you are perimenopausal and have ADHD, listening to Katie Breathwick’s experiences from the podcast “You’re Wrong About ADHD” has massively resonated with me and helped me normalise my experiences in equal measure. The Impact This is Having on Women Everywhere The reality is this: many women are struggling in so many areas of their lives and have truly been let down by a system that’s supposed to support us. The impact of living undiagnosed is detrimental to our mental health on its own - I have heard from many ADHD coaching clients, “Why can't I just..... (do the washing up in one sitting, stay on top of the housework, not live in a mess - fill in your gaps here). The opportunity for self-criticism is massive when women say to themselves (every hour!), “I don't understand why I can just get the basics right today?” Starting a family can be a pressure point for everyone, but if you are an ADHDer and a new mum, the wheels can come off. I remember telling my therapist then, “I just can’t do the weekly shopping.” She completely did not accept that I was telling the truth - she argued that I was being hard on myself or having too high expectations. Assumptions she had made from her Neurotypical standpoint - not being able to do something as simple as the weekly shopping or laundry wasn’t a possibility. I am pleased to say that online delivery shopping has revolutionised my life; however, I probably messed 1 or 2 shops up, last week 2 bottles of vodka arrived and some cat litter and no food for the kids or me, having not been able to maintain my focus and check out my basket fully after spending 40 minutes filling it (btw, I am not a massive alcoholic; I just had high-priced items into the basket initially to check out quickly and save my slot). The pressures of giving our all at work while staying on top of the home, raising our children, supporting our partners and showing up for everything and everyone before ourselves with a smile and without complaint (this deserves an article all by itself but you get the idea) on top of managing ADHD (whether diagnosed or not) and the “why can’t I just…” attitude, it’s a cocktail for self-judgement and feelings of inadequacy when we can’t measure up to unrealistic standards (or even to the basic tasks that neurotypical women seem to be able to breeze through). Even with society’s growing knowledge of ADHD and how executive functioning works, ableism is still rife, not least internalised ableism, where we feel a sense of shame about having the disorder and are in denial about how much it impacts our lives. Internalised ableism is also compounded by neurodivergence being stigmatised. I have found myself having to pull friends up for using the phrase “they are clearly on the spectrum” in a derogatory fashion, so we have a way to go. Although ADHD is a widely known condition, there’s still this idea that people who have ADHD are “too much”, "dizzy", or “lazy”, and any negative connotations you can attach to not functioning in a way that fits a single narrative. As more people are being diagnosed later in life, the stigma is shifting in the right direction. However, there’s still an underlying tone of “wanting to be different” and “wanting attention”, which is bizarre thinking. Someone recently commented (directly to me) that “ADHD was so trendy right now” (cringe), and I promptly changed the subject. This highlights how far we still have to go in our understanding of ADHD (and other neurodiversities) and the education and acceptance of society as a whole. At least 1 in 6 people are neurodiverse, for goodness' sake!! You may have heard of the term “Masking”, which means neurodiverse people modifying their behaviour to hide their differences and fit in with neurotypical people. Masking is a coping mechanism, hiding our struggles (under shame mostly) just to fit in and meet the normal way things are expected to be done. The embarrassment and shame attached to struggles with attention, focus and organisation lead to stress, anxiety and feelings of not being good enough while continuing to hide these feelings, bite the bullet and carry on, which sends us into a cycle of self-doubt and perfectionism, pushing to prove ourselves in every situation, spiralling into burnout. It can prevent us from forming relationships, leaving us feeling isolated and blaming ourselves again. With the pressures to perform paired with internalised struggles, it’s no surprise our mental health suffers to the extent it does. A look into co-occurring Mental Health Conditions In 2005, a study into the treatment of women with ADHD found that 14% of women were given antidepressants before considering an ADHD diagnosis and treatment, compared to 5% of men, which is a shocking statistic. The issue we’re facing with these medications for those who use them often leads to disconnecting from self at a time when that connection and self-awareness are crucial to help us manage our symptoms and implement tools and techniques that benefit us. Sheridan Smith recently touched on this after her recent late diagnosis. It’s extremely common for ADHD to coexist with several mental health conditions and personality disorders. The most common being generalised anxiety and depression, which can also hinder daily functioning, exacerbating ADHD. People with ADHD can also experience mood disorders, bipolar disorder and personality disorders such as borderline personality disorder. Each co-occurring condition needs a more in-depth approach to treatment that involves a combination of therapy, medication and lifestyle changes that can be challenging with a seriously underfunded mental health sector and waiting lists that are getting longer and longer - more on this in my next article. There are also some small similarities between these disorders and ADHD, such as inattentiveness, rejection sensitivity, dysphoria and emotional dysregulation presenting in women, which you’ll find leads to misdiagnosis altogether, the wrong treatment and the wrong medication - again, exacerbating symptoms of ADHD and deepening the feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. All of this can have horrifying consequences. The University of Glasgow held a recent study about the correlation between suicide and ADHD. People with ADHD are known to have an increased risk of suicidal thoughts, attempts and death. This study is diving into why this is the case as they explore the association between psychological and psychosocial factors that increase suicide risk in people with ADHD. Henry Shelford, Chairperson and co-founder of ADHD UK, said, “Research shows that one in four women with ADHD have attempted suicide. ” - You can read more on this here. This is a frightening statistic for both men and women, and these statistics only cover those who are diagnosed. So, where do we go from here? Although the impact of undiagnosed ADHD is also true for men (something that also needs to be addressed), the bottom line is that the issue for women lies in the lack of knowledge regarding our health overall and highlights how much is still to be done. With this new knowledge (if it is new to you), I hope that you can see and understand the disparity when it comes to ADHD diagnosis in women. Recognising the challenges we face is important, so you can participate in the call for change. We need to educate ourselves on this difference and process the micro trauma that has come from living a life not understanding our brains, empowering those with ADHD to embrace their differences without shame or stigma. This is inclusion; this is equity! Whether you have an ADHD diagnosis or not, it’s important to listen to yourself, and while you wait to be seen, give yourself the tools you need so you can self-regulate and manage your symptoms. A great way to do this is with a specialist ADHD Coach like me. If you or anyone you know is facing something similar, please don't hesitate to ask your medical practitioner for support and lean on those you love to help you through. You are going to be ok, and you are not alone. If ADHD is diagnosed or is otherwise affecting your career or work, and you would like support with techniques to thrive exactly as you are, please do get in touch for support if it's something you feel you need. About Nat Harrison, Specialist ADHD Career Coach, Ayama ADHD Career Coach Nat Harrison of Ayama Coaching Hi, I am Nathalina (everyone calls me Nat). I help people become more fulfilled and happy in their working lives by aligning their careers or businesses with their skills, values, and interests, and by helping them overcome barriers to success at work. I am a Certified Specialist ADHD coach, and I work with neurodivergent people who want to harness their brains for the better, improve their relationships with themselves and manage their symptoms. Book a consultation below if you would benefit from some coaching on your ADHD and working life.

With our busy lives and the boom in technology and social media, we as humans have moved further away from connecting with ourselves and understanding our feelings. In the past, many people I’ve coached have mentioned not having the language to articulate their feelings and being unable to understand and respond to them in ways that feel good. I most definitely struggled with this in my 20s, and it caused me a lot of problems, often leading to panic attacks because I just got so overwhelmed, not having a clue what I was feeling or what it was trying to tell me. I want to reframe feelings in a way that helps us understand them so they can guide us, because we need to listen to our bodies and our intuition. The Feelings Wheel has helped me greatly with this. Introducing The Feelings Wheel Roman Paprotsky's Feelings Wheel “Alexithymia: is a cognitive-affective impairment that makes it difficult to identify, understand, and describe emotions. The term comes from Greek and roughly translates to "no words for emotion". - Read more here. Many neurodivergent people and ADHDers have something called Alexithymia, which is an inability to attach a label to a feeling because they don’t have the language to articulate it. It’s something that both I and some of my clients have all struggled with. It makes it incredibly difficult to take care of yourself when you don’t know what needs tending in the first place. This is why connecting with ourselves and our feelings, giving them names, and understanding them are so important for regulation. Something I discovered last year was the Feelings Wheel. This has been so helpful to me because feelings indicate met and unmet needs. If our needs are met, we’ll generally feel positive, regulated, and good about ourselves; if they’re not, we’ll be dysregulated, which can hurt us. Not only that, but meeting our needs is one of the biggest ways we can build mental resilience, limit our chances of developing depression and make ourselves happy overall. The only way to do this is to understand our feelings and what they’re trying to tell us. Understanding them helps us understand ourselves, making decisions that fulfil our needs and steer us towards what we want. The Feelings Wheel App Roman Paprotsky has a wonderful app that you can download here. I use it and would recommend it. You can get it just here. It’s been such a great tool for me. I use it by looking at the wheel and trying to identify as many feelings as possible. It’s completely possible to hold both positive and negative emotions simultaneously. It’s also completely normal to have one overriding feeling that takes precedence over the rest, so once you’ve identified it, I recommend sitting with it and saying things like: Yes, I’m stressed, and yes, I’m overwhelmed, but I’m also really proud of myself for having that honest conversation yesterday. I’m feeling really loving towards my children today, or I’m feeling really ill and tired. Acknowledge and name them, and look at them to see what you need. If you’re feeling unwell or tired, you may need some rest. If you’re feeling angry, try to figure out where that anger comes from so you can tackle anything that comes up. If you’re stressed, look at how often you’re giving yourself rest and time away from the things causing that stress. In my journaling post, you can find ways to use the feelings wheel to help you as a part of your morning routine, but the step-by-step process I usually go through is this: Use the wheel to identify all of my feelings Sit with them to understand where those feelings come from Work out what needs aren’t being met to cause any negative feelings Work out what you need to do to meet those needs. Add it to your morning routine alongside journaling - it can make such a difference. Once you do this, you can notice how that feeling changes. The great thing about Roman’s Feelings Wheel app is that you can take notes and save your feelings every day to refer back to and see how they change over time. You’ll also be able to see which ones come up often and gain a better understanding of recurring feelings that might need a little more TLC. I honestly love this app, and it’s a great tool. Using it alongside EFT (Emotional Freedom Therapy) is also a great way to regulate and understand your feelings. Look out for my future post on EFT, where I’ll explain how to work through overpowering feelings that make you upset. In the meantime, for more tips on regulating your emotions, check out my post, Emotional Regulation: What it is and how to do it. Set yourself up for a successful day by becoming aware of your thoughts, feelings and daily goals each morning! If you’d like to work with a professional career coach specialising in ADHD to help you overcome mental, emotional, or general roadblocks in your career, then book a free consultation with me. I’ll see you next time. Nat x About Nat Harrison, Specialist ADHD Career Coach, Ayama ADHD Career Coach Nat Harrison of Ayama Coaching Hi, I am Nathalina (everyone calls me Nat). I help people become more fulfilled and happy in their working lives by aligning their careers or businesses with their skills, values, and interests, and by helping them overcome barriers to success at work. I am a Certified Specialist ADHD coach, and I work with neurodivergent people who want to harness their brains for the better, improve their relationships with themselves and manage their symptoms. Book a consultation below if you would benefit from some coaching on your ADHD and working life.

Wondering what exactly ADHD coaching is? Or maybe you want to understand how an ADHD coach can help you? You're in the right place because I am a gold standard-trained ADHD coach, and I can tell you all about it. First things first, what is ADHD Career Coaching? ADHD Career Coaching helps people diagnosed with ADHD or ADHD-like symptoms to navigate their careers and jobs and achieve their professional goals. ADHD Coaching is a creative and incredibly transformative process that uses specialised ADHD coaching tools to help you reframe your ADHD, find strategies to manage your symptoms, and ultimately be more effective at work (whether you're employed or self-employed). The training I have completed to become an ADHD coach is a unique coaching approach, completely tailored to neurodivergent minds, and I am now very glad I can fully support Neurodivergent clients in navigating their work challenges with creativity, compassion, and empowerment. Having been a coach for over 15 years, I have worked with many Neurodivergent clients. I've been a career coach for over 15 years, and I have been frustrated by how traditional, linear coaching often falls short for ADHDers, often resulting in more procrastination. Standard methods like identifying goals and assigning tasks, with a coach for accountability, may seem productive, but for many ADHD clients, they don't translate into sustainable action (if any action at all). That's why ADHD Career Coaching is so different. Instead of pushing you into rigid structures, I use my coaching skills to help you work with your brain so you can embrace your strengths and address challenges with self-compassion and curiosity. Here's exactly how I'll do it: ​ Creating a safe, judgment-free space: In our sessions, you'll have the space to unmask and fully connect with yourself. Through an ADHD lens, we'll explore how ADHD traits show up in your life, allowing you to be open and honest without the pressure of fitting into a "typical" mould. This process involves you starting to see yourself clearly and focusing on patterns and strengths that empower you. Self-Compassion and Emotional Balance: A core goal is to help you move past the "Why can't I just .... (complete my tasks on time/keep on top of my inbox (that was mine)/not get burnt out)?" mindset, that so many ADHDers face in a neurotypical world (I have seriously lived this way for years). Through compassionate, ADHD-focused coaching, you'll learn to let go of your critical voice and develop self-acceptance that enables self-regulation, true growth and change. Building on Strengths and Achieving Balance: ADHD comes with unique talents; maybe you're a big-picture thinker, deeply creative, or highly passionate about what you're most interested in. Instead of trying to "fix" something that isn't broken, we'll tap into these strengths and establish ways to balance them so you can move forward confidently in work and life. Ultimately, we'll work together to find strategies and techniques that will help you understand who you are and accept your true self, so you can find ways of working that allow you to thrive in a neurotypical world that feels good for you. If this sounds great to you, why not book a free consultation with me here? Let's talk about how I can help you. Want to know more? You can find more about my ADHD career coaching services just here. About Nat Harrison, Specialist ADHD Career Coach, Ayama ADHD Career Coach Nat Harrison of Ayama Coaching Hi, I am Nathalina (everyone calls me Nat). I help people become more fulfilled and happy in their working lives by aligning their careers or businesses with their skills, values, and interests, and by helping them overcome barriers to success at work. I am a Certified Specialist ADHD coach, and I work with neurodivergent people who want to harness their brains for the better, improve their relationships with themselves and manage their symptoms. Book a consultation below if you would benefit from some coaching on your ADHD and working life.

Have you ever heard of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)? If you have ADHD and you haven’t, then read on, as it can really help you connect to yourself, increase interoception, allow you to process your emotions and reduce your ADHD symptoms. When I was in the ‘not knowing’ phase of my ADHD (pre-diagnosis, and I had assumed I had grown out of it), I had a couple of years of talking therapy, but my emotional regulation didn’t improve. What I came to realise is that the 'little T' trauma which often comes along with ADHD (either from experiencing the years of criticism and/or the negativity that often come with a hyperactive child) sits in the body, and as ADHDers often intellectualise therapy, staying in the drama of day to day life and keeping in all in their heads, this trauma is never addressed or processed out of the body. I think it is quite difficult to shift any emotions or past traumas stuck in the body through verbalising. I was never able to identify, process or remove stuck emotions (and many are from a non-verbal phase in my life, too). So, about five years ago, I learnt about EFT (from Instagram) and met a highly skilled coach called Alice Southern, who just so happened to be an EFT practitioner. I started working with her during lockdown, and the results have been remarkable. EFT quickly became one of my go-to techniques (alongside journaling and the 4-7-8 breathing method) for regulating my nervous system. In this post, I’ll be talking about: What is EFT, and how does it work? EFT, or tapping, is all about identifying the physical representation of your emotions and feelings in the body while talking aloud about some of the topics you would like to discuss in talking therapy. Instead of just talking, the words you capture are very intentional, including what your body is conveying to you, and, at the same time, you’re tapping various energetic meridians (ancient Chinese medicine describes meridians as a network of channels that allow energy to flow). EFT uses eight meridian points - side of the hand, eyebrow, side of the eye, under the eye, under the nose, under the mouth, collarbone and under the arm, which you tap in order, facilitated by your ETF practitioner. This helps process your emotions in your body because, whilst you’re talking, you’re also touching your body, and there’s something about that mind/body connection that allows you to focus on your bodily sensations, which often, in turn, changes how your emotions present in your body. The way it works practically with an EFT practitioner/coach is that you explain to them what you’re feeling in your own words, and the practitioner will form a script for you and then repeat your words back to you whilst showing you which meridian to tap on at what time, and then you repeat those words back to them, whilst mirroring their tapping. You might need to do two or three rounds of tapping before the feeling shifts in your body, and the physical representation of your emotions might move to a different part of your body, or become more or less intense. It’s really about focusing on whatever you’re experiencing in your body due to your emotions/feelings. If you struggle to identify your emotions and put them into words, check out my Feelings Wheel post. It’s a great tool to help you (and for you to use daily). What are the benefits of EFT for ADHDers? It has really helped me get curious about how I am feeling, and since I have learned to start listening to what my body is saying about my emotions, trying to understand them, and actually processing them, it's done me a world of good and really helped me with self-regulation. Here are some other benefits of EFT: It reduces stress and overwhelm by signalling to your brain that you are safe, lowering cortisol levels and helping you process your emotions. It helps to remove stuck emotions that can exacerbate ADHD and mental health, improving executive functioning. It can help process past trauma by addressing your emotional response to traumatic memories and triggers, giving you a release for distress, and detaching emotion from the memory. It can help with behavioural changes and breaking unhealthy habits by managing the emotional triggers that create them, so that you can replace them with healthier habits. Finally, all of this together can help you stay regulated, which leads to better relationships, better executive functioning, better productivity and ultimately more success and fulfilment in life! What's not to love? Ready to give EFT a try? Here's a step-by-step to DIY! Although I always recommend working with a practitioner, you can do it yourself. You can also add it to your morning routine (which is also recommended). You can read more about how a morning routine can help you regulate and boost performance here, or you can download the Ayama Morning Routine One-Pager—it’s free! In the meantime, here’s a quick step-by-step guide to DIY it. Set yourself up for a successful day by becoming aware of your thoughts, feelings and daily goals each morning! Think of one specific issue that holds emotional weight - this could be anxiety around a big meeting you have coming up or a task you need to finish with a tight deadline. Think of a phrase that acknowledges the issue and an affirmation to counteract it. For example, 'even though I’m nervous about this important meeting, I am confident in myself'. Use two fingers to gently tap on the meridian points on the top of your head, your eyebrows, the side of your eyes, under your eyes, under your nose, your chin, your collarbone, and under your arm. Repeat your affirmation multiple times, and pay attention to how you feel about your body and the emotional weight of the issue. Has it changed? Keep going until you feel your anxiety begin to fade. Quick Tip: Something I really love about EFT is the way it uses the power of metaphor; metaphors are extremely powerful in coaching. In EFT, all you need to do is envisage how your emotions appear; they could be colours or take shape or form. For me, I sometimes imagine a bottle with a cork stuck in my throat, making me a bit croaky, which usually means I want to say something that I’ve been holding back on. Over time, using EFT, I’ve been able to change its temperature, texture, or shape to release the cork, allowing me to say the things I’ve been holding back. This is a massive relief and has been very helpful for my relationships - why not try it? EFT is massively helpful, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to make some big shifts. That’s all from me on EFT, but keep your eyes peeled for my next post, all about strengths journaling. About Nat Harrison, Specialist ADHD Career Coach, Ayama ADHD Career Coach Nat Harrison of Ayama Coaching Hi, I am Nathalina (everyone calls me Nat). I help people become more fulfilled and happy in their working lives by aligning their careers or businesses with their skills, values, and interests, and by helping them overcome barriers to success at work. I am a Certified Specialist ADHD coach, and I work with neurodivergent people who want to harness their brains for the better, improve their relationships with themselves and manage their symptoms. Book a consultation below if you would benefit from some coaching on your ADHD and working life.

My approach to ADHD Career Coaching is strengths-based. This means that instead of focusing on the challenges ADHD brings (we don’t get into the weeds on what you can’t do), we build your positive mindset by highlighting core strengths and wins. If we focus on our weaknesses, there’s only a small opportunity for growth; however, if we focus on our strengths, we can move mountains literally overnight! What is strengths-based journaling? The Strengths Journaling I recommend to my clients and use myself regularly is based on the VIA Character Strengths. These were identified by a research project about 20 years ago by a team of 55 scientists led by Positive Psychologists Chris Peterson and Dr Martin Seligman. “In their research, they looked across cultures and across millennia to attempt to distil a manageable list of virtues that have been highly valued from ancient China and India, through Greece and Rome, to contemporary Western cultures”, according to Wikipedia. Strengths-Based Journal They identified 24 character strengths that we all have and can lean more into in our everyday lives. The idea is to help people, in moments of difficulty and challenge (or success), see their strengths regardless of the circumstances before them. This can stop us from falling into a shame cycle when something does not go as planned, with little room for manoeuvre or growth. Let's take a look at the 24 character strengths... In this research, VIA found 24 core character strengths that can be categorised into virtues (in blue): Wisdom & Knowledge: Curiosity, creativity, love of learning, perspective and judgment Courage: Bravery, perseverance, honesty and zest Humanity: Love, kindness and social intelligence Justice: Fairness, leadership, teamwork Temperance: Forgiveness, humility, modesty, prudence, and self-control Transcendence: Appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humour and spirituality When you look at these virtues, you realise how lovely it would be to feel them or demonstrate them more in daily life. We all have the capacity to learn how to be stronger in these areas, whether we believe it or not. It’s not about turning weaknesses into strengths; it’s about looking at how you can exhibit more of these strengths, which can be found in almost every situation, circumstance, or challenge. So, how do you use them? How to do strengths journaling at home I generally recommend journaling for about five minutes (using a timer is helpful to make sure you focus), and you can do that at any time - a moment of difficulty or success. Focusing on your high-value strengths helps reduce our feelings of “not good enough” and anxiety, which can lead to a more relaxed and grounded state of mind and help us to identify new ways of behaving that can help us through tricky situations or allow us to reuse the same strengths again for successful outcomes over and over again. To practise strengths journaling: Set a timer for 5 minutes and write about your challenge/win on lined paper (on every other line) - this is just a stream of consciousness, not pressure to choose your words carefully. After five minutes, look at the VIA strengths image (see above) and identify where you have demonstrated one of the VIA character strengths in your journaling. Underline the words that show this and write the strength in the spare line above it. Look back at your journaling and acknowledge how many times you have shown strength during a difficult moment and which ones are more frequent. Think about what other strengths you would like to lean more into. Once you have done this often, you will have the strengths at your fingertips and in future moments of crisis, you will shift your focus straight to the VIA strengths you can bring to it, rather than allowing any negative bias to take over and getting stuck in the problem, rather than thinking about what agency you have. Focusing on how you bring your strengths to your work could help you change your self-perception over time, and, with positive self-regard, amazing opportunities can arise! Set yourself up for a successful day by becoming aware of your thoughts, feelings and daily goals each morning! Take a deeper look at the benefits Strengths-based journaling works because it leverages psychological principles that promote personal growth and wellbeing. Here are some benefits of using it: It focuses on strengths by allowing you to concentrate on what you do well rather than fixing your weaknesses, giving you the confidence to face challenges head-on. Focusing on positive aspects, such as strengths and achievements, rewires the brain for a more optimistic outlook, reducing negative bias and reframing negative thoughts as constructive ones. Acknowledging your strengths and successes can reinforce your self-belief, boost your confidence, and motivate you to move forward. It naturally boosts positive emotions like gratitude and contentment, improving overall well-being and mitigating stress. Journaling about your strengths can help you better understand yourself and give you direction, so you can align with them in your life and career. So, why not give this a try, add it to your morning routine (you can also download my free morning journal to help if you don’t already have a journal - get it here) and use it alongside the feelings wheel app I spoke about in my last blog post. Try it for 30 days and see how you feel by the end. It really can be a game-changer. Enjoy! Nat x About Nat Harrison, Specialist ADHD Career Coach, Ayama ADHD Career Coach Nat Harrison of Ayama Coaching Hi, I am Nathalina (everyone calls me Nat). I help people become more fulfilled and happy in their working lives by aligning their careers or businesses with their skills, values, and interests, and by helping them overcome barriers to success at work. I am a Certified Specialist ADHD coach, and I work with neurodivergent people who want to harness their brains for the better, improve their relationships with themselves and manage their symptoms. Book a consultation below if you would benefit from some coaching on your ADHD and working life.

Disclaimer: This post is not to diagnose anyone with ADHD, but to be used as a resource if you are suspicious that you may be ADHD or if you are recently diagnosed and would like a better understanding of ADHD symptoms to support your journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance. Something I frequently notice when working with many creatives who suspect they might have ADHD or have recently been diagnosed (which was also true for me before my diagnosis) is that their understanding of ADHD is often more generalised and heavily influenced by its medicalised definition. ADHD is frequently described as a deficit or disorder (as the name implies), an inattentiveness problem, an impulsivity problem or a focus problem. You only have to look at the NHS website to see if it still uses "behavioural problems" in its definition - "The symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be categorised into 2 types of behavioural problems". It doesn't make me feel great. How does it make you feel? 'Problem', however, is a very common descriptor. ADHDers are given many different labels that consistently carry negative connotations. Pair that with the medicalised definitions and societal stigma. It's no wonder people are only now recognising ADHD themselves in their 30s and 40s and even later in life. Negative self-views can have a huge impact. While ADHD is technically classified as a disability under the Disabilities Act, some ADHDers also don't identify as disabled because they don't feel their symptoms are severe enough, and that's something medicalised descriptions and definitions leave out: the nuance of how ADHD differs from person to person, the severity in terms of the full spectrum of ADHD and how it can vary and change throughout life thanks to hormonal fluctuations, life circumstances and even trauma). This can impact understanding of ADHD, especially if you're not already familiar with your own symptoms or you're stuck in the in-between of knowing and not knowing. My approach as an ADHD Coach (and late diagnosed ADHDer) In the first few coaching sessions with my clients, I help them understand the full spectrum of their ADHD symptoms. No two people are the same, and though there are common traits, each person can exhibit them differently. For example, not everyone's hyperactivity projects outward, and not everyone will experience every symptom, which is why it's so important to go inward and bring your own into your awareness. Once this happens, we start to unpack symptoms and dive deeper into ADHD; they begin to add the pieces together and make sense of it all. I know someone who was recently diagnosed, and they were already suspicious, but once it was confirmed, everything started to make sense. For the first time in a long time, she gave herself grace as she looked back at the things she struggled with and the negative self-view she'd developed growing up from constant criticisms and not fitting into the neurotypical mould - and it all started from learning about ADHD beyond generalised descriptions. My coaching isn't specifically to diagnose, not at all, but it does help my clients recognise symptoms within themselves, push for diagnosis (if they want one), bring self-acceptance, and support their understanding of themselves by recognising their challenges were not because "there was something wrong" or they were "too much" or "too little" or "not enough." Hopefully, this post can help you, too. Let's look at some common ADHD symptoms, misconceptions and the nuances behind them. 1. An inability to focus The most commonly discussed symptom of ADHD is inattention, which is described as an inability to focus. However, it isn't an ability to focus at all - instead, it's the ability to focus on multiple things at once because it's difficult to filter out distractions. This is why, for example, an ADHDer in a coffee shop might be actively engaged in conversation while listening to the conversation at the following table, noticing every sight, sound and smell too, which can pull their mind in different directions, making it seem as though we're not paying attention when actually, we're paying attention to everything - ADHDers can focus on one task but under the right circumstances. If you struggle with this, check out this post for a quick hack to help you get into the single-focus zone at work or at home. This heightened awareness is especially obvious in ADHD children, who tend to pick up on everything. Your child could be happily playing on the other side of the room, then later in the day, mention something you said in passing, thinking they weren't paying attention. A neurotypical child is less likely to pick up on this when focused on a single task. 2. Hyperactivity Did you know? Fidget toys can help focus when hyperactivity is high. Hyperactivity is another common ADHD symptom. When you think of hyperactivity, most people have a specific image: someone who can't sit still, a child "bouncing off the walls," or even talking without taking a breath. This is true for some, but for others, it can be internal hyperactivity or restlessness, a racing mind, an endless stream of thoughts one after the other, an internal monologue that doesn't stop and anxious thoughts despite sitting completely still or showing more subtle signs of hyperactivity like fidgeting, pacing, or picking at nails and skin. In more severe cases, internal restlessness can often lead to complete ADHD paralysis or freeze mode. When you know you have a lot to do, your thoughts are racing, but so much is happening internally that you can't do any of it. The flip side is being able to hyper-focus, especially when a topic or a piece of work grabs your interest, and you end up pouring all of your energy into one task or thing, which can leave you running on empty for others and, worse case, trigger the ADHD burnout cycle - more on that here. 3. Impulsivity Impulsivity is another ADHD symptom that can manifest in multiple ways. When you think of impulsivity, you think of grandiose decisions like quitting your job without thinking it through, spending too much money shopping because it feels good in the moment, or even starting a business because you decided you wanted to without a plan. This can happen, but it can also involve interrupting conversations and talking over people, sending a message after a misunderstanding without clarification, or jumping to action on a task at work because it excites you without fully understanding it (we've all been there). Maybe you've been in a meeting because you suddenly had an idea or knew exactly what you wanted to say in response to a question, and instead of waiting for your turn, you went full speed ahead and said it. That's an example of impulsivity that isn't often discussed. 4. High Sensitivity Many ADHDers are highly sensitive, and this symptom isn't one I see spoken about often unless it's from ADHDers themselves. But it means we are very attuned to social dynamics. We can walk into a room and immediately sense the underlying mood. In meetings, we may be able to follow the discussion while also paying attention to the dynamics among everyone in the room and, at the same time, thinking about what we might have for dinner. It also makes us highly attuned to other people's emotions. It is incredibly common for ADHDers to have high levels of empathy, which I think is what makes us such great friends and leaders. It also means we are very, very good at picking up on social cues despite general knowledge suggesting we aren't. We don't miss social cues; how we react to them in the moment can be challenging because we're pulled between impulse and masking to fit in. 5. Rejection Sensitivity (RSD) Rejection Sensitivity is, by definition, an intense emotional reaction to perceived rejection, criticism, or failure. From the outside, it can seem like an overreaction, but for an ADHDer, these emotions are very real and usually stem from growing up trying to fit in and the constant flow of 'small' criticisms mentioned earlier in this post. It's different for everyone, and not every ADHDer will experience RSD. For some, it can be triggered by outright rejection; for others, by a change in tone, a shift in body language, or a social cue that wasn't meant to be seen. It could be an overwhelming fear of getting in trouble for a big or small mistake. A fear of failure can stem from not feeling good enough at work or at home. These emotions can make it harder to regulate and lead to impulsive decisions to protect or please. 6. Multitasking Multitasking can, if not managed, quickly lead to ADHD overwhelm. ADHDers often find multitasking calming and may focus better when doing two things simultaneously, which makes them more likely to complete tasks. This could be anything from listening to music while doing the laundry to watching TV while working. In meetings where focusing on one task is necessary, someone may play with their hands or a pen. This could be enough for one person, but some tend to start three, four, or even five tasks at once, which can quickly become overwhelming and lead to completing none of them or to becoming easily distracted by something else. Set yourself up for a successful day by becoming aware of your thoughts, feelings and daily goals each morning! To sum it all up... This is just a brief overview of the differences and variations of symptoms, but how they present and the limited information ADHD in the medical space can all play into the lack of understanding of ADHD, lack of diagnosis and, more importantly, a lack of connection and understanding of self. And that's the goal of my coaching. We can work towards greater self-acceptance and empowerment by helping clients understand the full spectrum of symptoms and how they present. By recognising our challenges and where they come from, we can also recognise our strengths and capabilities to manage our day-to-day lives, live in a way that works for us, not against us, and thrive in our lives and careers, with or without a diagnosis. If you'd like to learn more about my ADHD career coaching to feel empowered in your work, check out my post here. If you suspect you may have ADHD, speak to your GP about a diagnostic referral and what to do next. About Nat Harrison, Specialist ADHD Career Coach, Ayama ADHD Career Coach Nat Harrison of Ayama Coaching Hi, I am Nathalina (everyone calls me Nat). I help people become more fulfilled and happy in their working lives by aligning their careers or businesses with their skills, values, and interests, and by helping them overcome barriers to success at work. I am a Certified Specialist ADHD coach, and I work with neurodivergent people who want to harness their brains for the better, improve their relationships with themselves and manage their symptoms. Book a consultation below if you would benefit from some coaching on your ADHD and working life.

Interior Designer, Lisa (name changed for anonymity), has permitted us to share these great efficiency and work tips with you all. She has also shared her experiences as an ADHD entrepreneur. I met Lisa through the business network I co-founded in East London, Hive Collective CIC, and she was a guest speaker at our London "Unmasking Entrepreneurs" event in March 2025. (Which, by the way, was an absolute mindblower! The panel discussion, with 4 amazing Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs (and me as the MC), lasted over an hour, and the audience kept the questions coming!) Would you like to see the whole thing? A video drop is incoming. Just sign up for the Hive Collective Mailing list to get notified when it happens. To maintain anonymity, as Lisa is not 'out'/masked in her work or with her family (imagine sharing with your clients the extent of your Neurodivergent problems with focus, procrastination and time management!), we didn't film the part of the event where I interviewed Lisa. This really was a very heart-wrenching and candid conversation, but she has kindly shared her great tips and tools for managing ADHD as a self-employed creative. Lisa is a freelance interior designer who also writes about design and teaches ad hoc on the topic. She is multi-passionate, sometimes working in a more advisory role and occasionally styling photoshoots related to her work. Very cool and some exciting stuff... Here's what she had to say: --------------------------- I'd love to know more about your work - how did you become an ADHD entrepreneur? I never intended to work for myself or have any concrete career plans. I just knew I wanted to do something creative and media-related that involved designing and writing. I loved interior design, but was always more interested in the decorative side than in the more technical aspects, mainly because I struggle with calculations and measurements. I’m terrible with numbers (I suspect I have dyscalculia). So, I started working in film and media productions at a junior level. Being on sets and hanging out with celebrities (albeit as their tea server) was pretty dopamine-tastic. But I couldn’t see myself lasting long-term, as production is very intense, and I was starting to realise my need to balance the full-on shoot days with quieter solo projects. With my on-set experience, I started doing more artistic work, met designers who worked on branded and commercial jobs as well as residential, and then jumped ship. Your work can also be very fast-paced. How does it work for your ADHD (or against)? "You’re also doing creative work alongside like-minded people." Shoot days can be great for ADHD because they allow you to be hyper-focused and constantly problem-solving, which I love. You’re also doing creative work alongside like-minded people. It taps into the ‘great in an emergency’ ADHD trait - it’s sort of my equivalent of working on an A&E ward; the one time the barrage of thoughts and anxieties about the rest of the world just completely vanishes and you’re totally in the zone and thinking with calm and clarity - but then the ‘post-shoot hangover’ hits so I need a few really quiet days alone to recalibrate. How do you get on with the less-on-you-feet, blissful chaos side? When I’m researching for design ideas or something I’m writing, my ADHD is both a superpower and a curse. I come up with interesting connections, but I struggle to know when to stop and usually amass way more research and ideas than I need, then feel overwhelmed trying to work out which direction to take, to get it written and finished, - my executive function dries up as the ‘fun’ but is over. Then I spend too long scrutinising it all and have to force myself to stop because I’ve run out of time, which leaves me feeling unsatisfied with the result. In hindsight, I kind of unwittingly created my perfect career based on my special interests, as I love working on different kinds of projects and seeking out new, interesting looks and trends. I feel compelled to dive deep into whatever I’m designing or writing about, often to far greater levels than I need to, partly because I feel I need to wholly and fully understand something, or my brain just won’t engage. What are your thoughts on inclusivity in the workplace? I’ve never really liked working in an office. I struggled to concentrate and made excuses to wander around and wake my brain up. Then, I often stayed late, as my brain didn’t really come online until the end of the day. "One key thing for me is being asked how you’d prefer to communicate." I’ve not been in that sort of environment post-diagnosis - but I’d probably disclose my ADHD and ask for adjustments like a sit-stand desk, being allowed to wear noise-cancelling headphones, avoiding being in the middle of a run of desks, and a degree of autonomy to stretch my legs, etc., without feeling like I have to pretend to be going to the post room. This is less relevant to me, as I generally have a lot of freedom to work however I want and on my schedule. But more broadly speaking, one key thing for me is being asked how I'd prefer to communicate, for example, by phone call vs video, Zoom vs Teams, Slack or WhatsApp, or over email, etc. I would much prefer collaborating via Google Docs than being forced to send Word docs back and forth, especially when someone renames them with ‘new’ or ‘final’, then ‘final 2’, which drives me insane and is rife for making mistakes. I am also a big fan of running AI during calls and asking it to create a summary with the next steps, which I can email immediately after the call. AI summaries are a game-changer! What other tech tools would you recommend? IMPORTANT NOTE: Tech tools like the ones below can sometimes be funded by Access to Work if the assessor agrees they would help you manage your condition, so always be sure to ask during the application process. SUNSAMA - a smart day/time planning app that aggregates everything into one place. For example, you can add tasks directly to plan your day, and it also pulls from your calendar, emails, and other productivity apps like Trello/Notion, so you’ve got a more holistic view of your day. You can then drag your tasks onto a timeline and add estimated durations to the time blocks. It checks in with you and asks you to review your day. NOTION - a super clever, everything-planner for tasks but also bigger projects, knowledge resources, etc. I’m slowly migrating all of my knowledge and tasks to live here. It isn’t very easy to set up, but it’s super powerful once you’re in the flow. It works really well for my ADHD brain because it’s tag-based rather than folder-based and customisable. So, I can link loads of different things together and see everything in limitless different views. SETAPP - this app subscription gives you access to loads of other apps. So, within SetApp, there are over 200 apps you can download as part of your subscription - most are focused on one niche, like a smart calculator app, a focus Pomodoro time, a tool that helps you better organise your screenshots, or a smart calendar that has note-taking abilities. I love it because there are so many useful tools that really help streamline workflows. It cuts down the overwhelming task of searching the entire internet for an app that does the weird thing you were looking for. It also means I spend less time deliberating over the best app for XYZ, since I can just try one and then try something else if it doesn’t suit me. AIRMAIL - an email platform that pulls through your email accounts from Gmail, iCloud, etc., so it’s all in one place and helps you create workflows. I find it much easier to use than Gmail directly, and it makes it easy to add labels with keyboard shortcuts. I get lots of press releases emailed to me with info I might find useful in the future, so my tags let me process them quickly. They can live in several different places (again, anything that saves me from having to choose a single category for something is far better for my brain!). WAVEBOX - a smart browser that allows you to create different tab ‘groups’ (aka, sets of browser windows) all from the one browser, and you can also pin go-to websites (and apps), meaning far less desktop clutter. I can then almost use it to ‘file’ things to deal with later. For example, I have a ‘read/watch’ group for random stuff that’s taken my interest, a ‘shopping’ group, groups for each of my current work projects, and groups for ‘topics’ like social media and digital design tools. ----------------------------- I really hope you find a nugget or app here for you. One of the biggest challenges my creative and business ADHD Coaching clients face is which tools can help them and how to use them, so Lisa's practical advice is invaluable. If you're looking for coaching in your creative career, specific to you and your ADHD, do get in touch! In the meantime, why not try one of the tools to see if they work for you? A huge thank you to Lisa for allowing us to share this with you! Sending like-brained thoughts your way Nat x PLEASE NOTE LISA IS NOT THE REAL NAME OF THE PERSON INTERVIEWED HERE About Nat Harrison, Specialist ADHD Career Coach, Ayama ADHD Career Coach Nat Harrison of Ayama Coaching Hi, I am Nathalina (everyone calls me Nat). I help people become more fulfilled and happy in their working lives by aligning their careers or businesses with their skills, values, and interests, and by helping them overcome barriers to success at work. I am a Certified Specialist ADHD coach, and I work with neurodivergent people who want to harness their brains for the better, improve their relationships with themselves and manage their symptoms. Book a consultation below if you would benefit from some coaching on your ADHD and working life.