Once per month, Reset ADHD offers “Improv for ADHD” play sessions. These sessions are an opportunity to have fun and grow in your ADHD management skills. Improv is a huge part of my life, and I love sharing it with others. But, why do I love it so much? Well, there are many reasons. I will detail why it is so special to me below.

At the 2023 International Conference on ADHD, Alan P. Brown of ADD Crusher made a shocking confession. He does not wash his hands after going to the bathroom. Scandalous, I know! However, he further clarified that what he does after using the restroom is go to the kitchen and wash two dishes. By the end of the washing, he has clean hands and two clean dishes. This is silly, and that is why it works.

Now that October is over, it is officially conference month! Yes, most of the 2023 International Conference on ADHD is actually in December, but the conference begins in November. And, I am traveling to Baltimore in November. So, in my mind, we are in the month of the conference. I. AM. PUMPED. I love going to this conference and have gone every year since I started Reset ADHD. I go every year because it is a great conference there is so much to love about it. I want to detail my favorite things about it.

About a year ago, I wrote about a new exercise journey I had begun. It was an online personal training program. I had a trainer who would send me workouts over an app. For most of the year, I stuck with it. However, after not seeing much in terms of gains, I lost motivation, and not too long ago, I quit altogether. This left me without an exercise plan. I spent maybe a week or two wondering what was next for me and exercising. Then, I signed up for a week-long trial of a dojo. I am now enrolled in jujitsu classes.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the 2023 Applied Improvisation Network Conference. I arrived at the Improv Centre in Vancouver for registration, got my badge, got the lay of the land, and then walked outside. There, sitting on a bench, was one of the keynote speakers, Colin Mochrie of Whose Line Is It Anyway? fame. I was able to sit next to him and tell him how much he meant to me as an improv performer and practitioner of applied improvisation. Reflecting on my encounter with Mochrie and learning more about his life and career has led me to wonder how he can help those of us with ADHD.

Players have reported. Training camps have begun. And, a new NFL season is dawning. Many of us will be taking part in the annual tradition of fantasy football. If you are like me, you want a unique name for your team. Why not use this year’s team name as an opportunity to raise ADHD awareness? There are some great possibilities out there. Below, I have compiled a few.

On March 23, 2023, Reset ADHD hosted a webinar on ADHD and improv. At the end of the webinar, it was announced that Reset ADHD would be hosting virtual improv “playdates.” If this sounds intriguing to you, sign up. If you are wondering why I am pushing ADHD and improv so hard, read on, for in this blog post I will be discussing what can be learned from improv.

When I was in college, I had to interview three entrepreneurs for one of my classes. One of the entrepreneurs I chose to interview was my grandfather. During the course of the interview, he gave me a piece of advice that I’ll never forget. He said, “No matter where you want to go in life, work hard to get there, but also, take the time to play hard along the way.” He went on to tell me that he feels he did not take the time to play enough early in his career and that he was trying to make up for that a bit in his later years.

When we think about dealing with our ADHD, we use words like “control” and “manage.” What I would like to propose is that we change the way we talk about ADHD management. What if we started using words like “play” or “harness?” How would that change the way we think about ADHD? I maintain that this is a better way of approaching things. Now, I am not proposing to make ADHD a superpower. I am not one of those people; I see the dangers of ADHD. In fact, I have called ADHD the “ignored public health crisis.” However, I think the answer to this public health crisis is play and fun.

I perform in an improv group. I have also been known to write poetry. I also design sports jerseys. Why do I do these things? Because I have a need for creativity in my life. Having something into which I can pour my creative juices helps me stay sane. Without a creative outlet, I get restless and depressed. In short, I need to be creative. In fact, I believe all ADHDers need a creative outlet.

I have done a fair bit of writing in my time. Has that been a struggle considering I have ADHD? Yes and no. Yes, ADHD does provide some challenges when it comes to writing (task initiation, follow through, etc.), but ADHD also comes with a side of creativity. That creativity can make writing a great hobby or even career. That being said, what can an ADHDer do to improve their writing and become more prolific? Read on to find out!

Self-care is a necessity. If you do not take care of yourself, you will be unable to take care of everything else going on in your life. Taking care of yourself is not easy, though. It can be hard to find the time to do it, and it can be hard to know what to do for self-care. For example, treating yourself to ice cream might sound like self-care, but if done too often, it can lead to health problems. (Every once in a while, ice cream is okay.) So, what follows is a selection of self-care tips and ideas.

Dogs are great. I have written before about why every ADHDer needs a doggo in their life. I wrote it around my dog Charlie’s birthday in 2018. A couple of months later, I got a second dog, Ace. Charlie has since passed away, but I still have Ace. Charlie and Ace have taught me so much. In this blog post, I want to talk about some things we can learn from dogs. This will not be a pitch for getting a dog. Rather, I want to look at dogs and how they live their lives, and I want to enumerate what ADHDers can learn from them.

Growing up, I always felt different, and I could never put my finger on why. It was not until I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 20 that I began to understand why I was the way I was. This realization has explained why I always felt different.

I do not believe I have ever mentioned this on this blog, but I do improv. I get a suggestion and then make up a scene with another performer. I love it. Improv is one of the most fun things I have ever done. I believe everyone who tries improv can walk away with some skill that applies to their real life. If there is one thing you can learn from improv, it is to “yes and…”

One of the guiding principles of Reset ADHD is “If it’s not fun, it won’t get done.” I try to make my coaching fun and engaging. I want to make sure my clients are excited about coaching and trying the strategies we discuss in our coaching sessions. There is a very good reason for this: The ADHD brain loves fun!

One of the most popular productivity tips bandied about the internet, self-help books, and seminars is: Do the hardest thing you have to do right away in the morning. Doing that big gruesome thing is supposed to help you be more productive throughout the day. This is great advice……for neurotypicals. However, the ADHD brain does not work the same way as neurotypicals. The ADHD brain needs to do things in a way that supports their brain and does not fight against it. So, for those of you with ADHD brains I give you this productivity tip: DO THE FUN THING FIRST!