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!

The summer before my junior year of high school, I was forced to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain for the AP English class I would be taking that school year. I hated these summer reading assignments, but this one I actually enjoyed. Twain’s writing style and the story intrigued me.

One of the parts I enjoyed the most was Tom Sawyer’s sudden arrival into the story. When Tom Sawyer arrives, he and Huckleberry Finn get into all sorts of mischief, mayhem, and adventures.

How often do you say you're sorry? It is important to apologize when we have wronged someone, but sometimes, we can over-apologize. That places others’ needs ahead of your own. If we continuously sacrifice our needs for the desires of others, we do ourselves a huge disservice. Here are a few things for which you definitely should not apologize.

Whether you are managing ADHD or fighting some other battle, you can sometimes feel like you are climbing a mountain. Climbing a mountain is daunting and takes hard work, as does battling ADHD. If you are on a mountain, there are some things you should know.

I do not write comedy. I don’t ever sit down to write a funny story or a stand up comedy routine. However, I am funny. I did improv in college, and I have been known to make funny comments in conversation. Yet, I cannot write comedy. I have found that, when I try to be funny, the humor is ruined. I am more funny when I let myself be in the moment, when I’m not trying to think of something clever to say.

What should I do with my life? In what hobbies should I engage? How will I live my life?

The above questions are important questions that everyone needs to ask themselves. If you want to live a happy, fulfilling life, find the gifts God gave you and use them to the best of your ability.

As much as I hate to admit it, my mom was right about a lot of things, not everything, but a lot of things. Moms are like that. Much of what they are right about are things that are especially important for those of us with ADHD. Here are eight things your mom was probably right about.

We ADHDers tend to have a history of messing up. When you have not yet learned how your brain works best, you mess up a lot. This can lead to a lack of confidence, even in areas where we are naturally gifted. Unfortunately, we become prone to experiencing a great deal of fear, anxiety, and nervousness. However, that does not mean we have to be slaves to this fear. Instead, we can escape its deadly grasp and take back control of our life. This is something I learned through my experience in the theater.

I went to the 2018 International Conference on ADHD, and I feel it is my duty to encourage you all to attend this year’s conference. Trust me. You won’t regret going.

Everybody always shares the same old advice for time management. The three big ones are: Plan on more time than you think you need (approximately 1.5–2 times as much time as you think you need) to do a task, aim to be 15–30 minutes early for everything, and use timers/alarms/planners. You’d think after years of people saying these things that everyone would be so much better at time management, but they are not.

I write these words on the afternoon of March 25, 2019. I have just returned from watching a performance of Me…Jane: The Dreams and Adventures of Young Jane Goodall (which is based on the book Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell which is based on the life of Jane Goodall). I loved it (and not just because my sister-in-law played the lead). In fact, I cried. More than once! This silly kids show made me cry. Therefore, I thought I would share what I found so moving about this story and what I think we ADHDers can learn from this story.

One day, during my Freshman year of high school, one of my teachers pointed out in front of the class that I had a weird sense of humor. “Yeah, but I’m not the only one,” I responded.

He doubled down. “Yeah, but yours is way out there.” At that moment, the conversation went from playful to isolating. I acknowledged that I had a bizarre sense of humor, but he went further and made me feel different. And, this teacher was a family friend! My sense of humor started to become a source of shame. I tried to hide the more bizarre side of my sense of humor, only sharing the humorous side that I knew others would appreciate.

One of the best ways for a person with ADHD to stay focused and be productive is to carefully choose the environment in which they operate. What do you need to succeed in each setting for each situation? You might need one thing while working and another while reading a book. Here are some things to think about when deciding on your ideal environments.

The cult classic The Princess Bride is one of the greatest films of all time. I will not take any arguments on that point. “Anyone who tells you differently is selling something,” as Wesley says. Not only is this movie hilarious, but it also teaches us some lessons I think are particularly relevant for those of us with ADHD.

Yes, there are spoilers in this post, so if you haven’t seen The Princess Bride, GO WATCH IT NOW. Then, come back and read this.

Our culture places individual achievement on a high pedestal. Those one-man armies are revered for their accomplishments, but oftentimes, what you do not hear about is all of those who have helped those people get where they are. The phrase “no man is an island” is old but still very much true.