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August 1, 2014

Attention Talk News

In This Issue . . .

Can you guess what the three deadliest time wasters are? Do you run your day, or does it run you? How do you handle time wasters? Face them head on or bury your head in the sand? If there's one thing ADDers need more of, it's time, so we shouldn't be wasting it! ADD Crusher^TM Alan Brown gives us his take on how to control time, cut it down to size, and put on our Big Boy pants. Be sure to read Alan's article, "3 Deadly Time Wasters--and Fixes--for ADHD Adults," featured in this issue and learn some tips to make your ADHD much more manageable.

On Attention Talk Radio, be sure to check out these recent shows:

Is delegating all about organizing? How do you deal with delegating? Is it frustrating? Do you get anxious? If it were easy, wouldn't those with ADD have been delegating by now? What do you think? Listen to our show with Dr. Kirsten Milliken, titled "ADHD and Delegating, Like its Really That Easy."

Can you believe we are in the 21st century and the very legal establishment whose job it is to fight discrimination has been exercising discriminatory practices? They've been flagging LSAT test scores for ADHD accommodations! Thank God for ADHD advocates like CHADD, ADDA, and Edge Foundation for supporting the end of disability discrimination. Learn more in our show with attorney Robert Tudisco, titled "An ADHD Victory over Discrimination in the Ivory Tower."

How do you figure out your natural processes that will lead to outcomes? Can the clues be found in what went right? Or should you work the process and just let the product follow? Do you run experiments with the intention to sail forward in order to learn what works for you? Catch our show with Dr. Ari Tuckman and learn more. It's titled "ADHD: Attending to Process to Get Outcomes."

You choose who hears your story in a trusting conversational way. Is this an insightful perspective to you? Is there any difference in coming out or inviting in? What is the experience between an ADHD diagnosis and a gender-variant diagnosis? Are they different? All this and more in our interview with ADHD coach Michel Fitos, titled "ADHD, Gender Variance, Coming out Versus Inviting in."

And don't miss our recent interviews on Attention Talk Video:

"ADHD doesn't exist!" Ever bump into that statement? What do you think would happen if you responded with, "That's what I used to think"? Hear what ADHD coach and nurse practitioner Laurie Dupar has to say in our video, titled "ADHD Does not Exist: Tips to Manage Ignorant People."

Does a parent-child dynamic in ADHD couples evolve over time or does it manifest relatively early in a relationship? Marriage consultant Melissa Orlov says it can manifest early. What are your thoughts around breaking that dynamic? Check out our video interview, titled "ADHD Couples: The Parent-Child Relationship."

If your body isn't manufacturing neurotransmitters, can ADHD stimulant medications be effective? What if your ADHD medications are not working. Is it necessarily the medications? Watch our video interview with Dr. Charles Parker and learn more in the interview, titled "Neurotransmitters: Stimulant Medications and Protein."

Different countries have different attitudes and diagnostic criteria for ADHD. If one nation's incidents of ADHD diagnoses are less than North America's, does that mean it is just a U.S. and Canadian condition? Get the answer and learn more in our video interview with Dr. David Teplin, titled "Adult ADHD Globally."

Are you attending to the right thing? If you haven't done it yet, download our new a-Book (the "a" is for attention), "Identify YOUR Top Five Hurdles to Managing ADD/ADHD." It has tips Jeff has learned from doing over 300 interviews with ADHD experts. Let your friends know about it, too! They can download it here:
www.attentiontalknetwork.com.

Featured Article

Brought to you by Time Timer

3 Deadly Time Wasters--and Fixes--for ADHD Adults

"Either you run the day, or the day runs you." -- Jim Rohn

...and boy, do the days tend to run us ADHD adults, cuz we let so much time slip away needlessly.

Indeed, if there's one thing we ADDers need more of, it's TIME. So if there's one thing we should never be doing is WASTING IT. And here are three of the deadliest (and most common) time-wasters, along with some simple time management fixes that act as natural remedies for ADD.

1. The But-First Syndrome: Heard of this one? Even if not, I promise you've experienced it. You start on a major, important task...but just before getting fully engaged, you say, "But first I gotta..." and you dart away to do that other thing. During which you blurt, "Oh, and let me also just do this one other thing..." and then another...yada yada. You know the rest. Hence The But-First Syndrome - a massive time waster, cuz NOTHIN' gets completed, least of all, the major, important task you first set out to complete.

The Fix: The key to staying on task and resisting But-Firsts is to LABEL thoughts and things. If you were to use a mental labeling gun to forcefully label the task at hand as "What I'm Doing Now", you'd be less likely to But-First yourself away from it. All the more so if you then label potential distractions as "NOT What I'm Doing Now". Here's free access to ADD Crusher™ Video II, Way 8, with the full treatment on this alternative ADHD strategy: Do What You're Doing Now

2. Screensucking: A term coined by Dr. Ned Hallowell, it refers to wasting time in front of electronic screens. For instance, TV has rightly been called the great preventer. It sucks precious hours from our life and undercuts our productivity. The three hours a day the average American is watching TV are three hours preventing growth and accomplishment. And we ADHD adults are more likely to have addictive attachments to TV - and all electronic consumption. So for anything with a screen - Facebooking, video games (including the particularly stupid ones on our phones), online shopping or gambling, etc., we must ask ourselves - what is the VALUE of the time we spend with these vs the VALUE of doing other things?

The Fix: Make a list of your top electronic behaviors. Go ahead - do it right now, cuz otherwise you'll never do it! All electronic behaviors - necessary and frivolous. Rank them in descending order of time spent over the course of a typical week. Circle the biggest offenders: those eating most time and being least important to your success. Then make a pledge, right here on the spot, to reduce or eliminate one or more of those behaviors. Think about it: How often do we say to ourselves, "I just don't have enough time to do everything I need to do"? Yet, NOTHING horrible is gonna happen if you do NOT watch another re-run of Two and a Half Men or check Facebook every 10 minutes. By honestly facing up to our screen-sucking crimes, we can free up gads of time.

3. Doing It All Ourselves: We ADDers waste HUGE amounts of time trying to do things at which we suck - or just needn't be doing ourselves. Things that people around us can and will do FOR us - if we are WILLING and ABLE to hand them off. If you could delegate just two things this week, you'd free up tons of time. I know, easier said than done. We're terrible at delegating because (1) it requires giving a subordinate a clear road map to completion of a task, which we suck at; and (2) delegating means asking something of another person, which we don't feel entitled to do...we're always aiming to please.

The Fix: The above two barriers to delegation apply mostly to major, complex tasks. But there are lots of to-dos and routine tasks that can be easily delegated - either to a family member (e.g., laundry to one of the kids) or a paid service (e.g., laundry to a wash-and-fold service). Take the time right now to identify one or two things you could delegate, even if just on a trial basis. Keep it simple. Key thing is to flex that delegation muscle so you can begin to build it up.

Lets' face it. We can't stop time. But what we CAN do is cut it down to size and start taking control of it by pulling on our Big Boy or Big Girl Pants and facing these time wasters head-on. So there ya go. Three deadly time pirates that, if reduced even modestly, would make your ADHD waaaay more manageable.

www.ADDCrusher.com

Audio News

Brought to you by CHADD

Listen to Recent Radio Shows in Our Archives

(Just click the title link)

ADHD and Delegating: Like It's Really That Easy

Delegate, delegate, delegate! It sounds so simple, but is it? If it's so simple, wouldn't you have done it by now? In this episode of Attention Talk Radio, host Jeff Copper and Dr. Kirsten Milliken talk about delegating and its nature, and they reveal a few key secrets about delegating that will make it easier for you to activate. If you've got ADHD, know you should delegate but can't seem to, then you don't want to miss this show.

An ADHD Victory over Discrimination in the Ivory Tower

Get this! For students with disabilities, including those with ADHD, who asked for accommodations when taking the LSAT to get into law school, scores were flagged as such, opening the door to discrimination by a law school to choose which students were and were not accepted. Now, after pressure from the US Justice Department and the American Bar Association, the application process for accommodations on the LSAT are being expedited and are more transparent. Most importantly, the practice of flagging accommodated test scores has been discontinued. In this episode of Attention Talk Radio, we interview attorney Rob Tudisco on his advocacy around this issue, the victory, and what it means for the ADHD community. If you have ADHD or are impacted by it, you need to listen to this show and celebrate for the community.

ADHD: Attending to Process to Get Outcomes

Those with ADHD are not stupid. Their issue isn't knowing what to do; it's using the executive functioning brain to execute what they already know. If this is the case, why do so many people focus on goals and outcomes to help those with ADHD? Wouldn't it be better to help those with ADHD understand their own process that leads to outcome? In this interview we discuss the topic with Dr. Ari Tuckman and illustrate how a focus on process can lead to outcomes. If outcomes elude you, then don't miss this show!

ADHD, Gender Variance, Coming out Versus Inviting in

Is gender variance consistent between the population and the ADHD community? Or is the frequency higher in one group over the other. Is there any difference in coming out or inviting in? What is the experience between an ADHD diagnosis and a gender-variant diagnosis? Are they different? Can a gender-variant individual find it easier to focus after starting hormone treatment? All this and more will be covered in this edition of Attention Talk Radio when we interview ADHD coach Michel Fitos, who is gender-variant. This is an interview we guarantee will open your mind.

Be sure to visit the Attention Talk News website

at www.attentiontalknews.com.

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Video News

Brought to you by
ADD Coach Academy Find a Coach

ADHD Coaching Works
Edge Foundation is a loyal supporter of Attention Talk Network. Recently they released an excellent video about coaching with lots of great comments and testimonials from individuals coached by Edge Foundation coaches. We encourage you to check it out! Coaching can be powerful for many in need. If you see someone struggling with ADHD, forward this video and let them know help is out there in the form of coaching.

ADHD Does not Exist: Tips to Manage Ignorant People
How do you manage ignorant people who don't believe ADHD is real? Watch our interview with ADHD coach Laurie Dupar as we discuss what you should do and some tips to help manage things.

ADHD Couples: The Parent-Child Relationship

So, you're in an ADHD relationship. Is your partner in denial around his or her ADHD? Are you in denial around your impact on his or her ADHD? Watch our interview with marriage consultant Melissa Orlov as she talks about denial, the role it plays in your relationship, and what you can do about it. If you have ADHD or are in a relationship with someone who has ADHD, this is an interview you won't want to miss.

Neurotransmitters: Stimulant Medications and Protein

Stimulant medications impact key neurotransmitters helping those with ADHD. What do you need to know about how neurotransmitters are manufactured and collected to help those with ADHD focus? In this interview with Dr. Charles Parker, we simplify things so you understand and better manage your brain.

Adult ADHD Globally

Is adult ADHD a global phenomenon or limited just to North America? Dr. David Teplin says it's global! Attitudes and diagnostic criteria vary around the world and have an impact on the number of reported cases in other countries. But make no mistake about it... research is clear... adult ADHD is not limited to the United States and Canada. If you are in doubt about adult ADHD, don't miss this show.

Other Stuff

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Editor's Note

Jeff Copper, Editor

About the Editor

Our intention is to share audio, video, and printed content to capture your interest and perhaps inspire you to pay attention to something differently. Enjoy.