ADHD and Productivity: What You Need to Know

Hello, Brains! If you clicked on this video I'm  guessing you would like to be more productive   whether that is because you want to get more stuff  done, you want to be more successful—in your career, in your life in general—or you just want to  be done. You want to do the amount of work   you need to do and then be done with it faster,  so that you—like the version of me in the   thumbnail—can enjoy fruity drinks sitting in a  beach chair. This episode I am so excited about   because I got to talk to somebody who really  deeply understands ADHD and productivity.    He has written books such as "ADHD After Dark" which I  interviewed him about in this video and now I got   the chance to speak to him about his latest book  "The ADHD Productivity Manual" and pick his brain. You can see the full cut of this video over on  our Patreon—[I'll] put the link in the description below   but for this video we narrowed it down to the  top questions that he answered about ADHD and   productivity. I hope you enjoy! [Ari] My name is Dr. Ari  Tuckman. I'm a psychologist. I've written some books. [Ari] I do a lot of presenting. I hang out with fun people  like you when I'm lucky. So glad to be here. [ Jaunty Intro Music Plays ] [Jessica] Really excited to have you. [Jessica] You have this  amazing book that is coming out this week! [Ari] It is! [Jessica] First of all lots of resources exist on ADHD  and productivity so...

What unique perspective or gap in existing resources led you to write "The ADHD Productivity Manual"? [Ari] I'm a psychologist I sit with   clients all day like that's actually really  what I do and I have a lot of conversations   about productivity and the thing of it is especially if you have ADHD it's not just   one thing and it's not like the top five things, right? There's all sorts of things that can   impact somebody's ability to get stuff done. What  I wanted to do was write a book that was both sort   of... deep and wide. So, deep meaning it goes beyond  just kind of obvious advice of like: get a to-do   list, or set an alarm, or whatever, right? Like  everybody knows that stuff nobody needs more   of that but it's also wide in the sense that it  covers a whole bunch of different topics—many   of the things that can impact somebody's ability  to get stuff done. This is why I wrote a book and   why you have more than like three videos on your  channel, right? [Jessica laughs. ] Because it's—right? —it's not just   the three things it's lots of different things  and I wanted it to be really sort of accessible   an all in one place.

[Jessica] So what are a few of  those things that impact productivity and ADHD— why is productivity such a challenge for us? [Ari] I mean... there's the sort of inherent parts and then there's the more complicated part, right? So the  inherent parts is things like trouble with seeing   time, and feeling future deadlines, and getting  distracted and forgetting, and so there's   that sort of basic sort of fundamental stuff of  ADHD but then you get into the psychology   of it—people pleasing for example, right? If  you've struggled more you're going to try harder   to say yes to people or, you know, feeling kind  of confused because you're not entirely   sure—like ambiguity—right? Like... "I know I need to  do this thing I'm not entirely sure I think my... " "... boss told me but I don't want to ask because if  I ask then they're going to know I wasn't paying ... " "... attention. " Then you get into the social part of it. Everybody's going to have opinions and everybody's   going to have expectations for you... but how much  do they get to vote on what you do versus how   much do you get to say "Sorry man I wish I could  but you know what I got other things I need to do ... " "... instead. " Right so there's like do you have that  social capital to be able to do that and what do   you do when the other person is disappointed or  frustrated or even angry about it there's a lot   that goes into this as you know yeah I know from  writing my own book there's a lot that goes into   um challenges with productivity but there's  also something I noticed from your book which   is really interesting is there's more of a  benefit to productivity than just getting the   thing done right like we tend to think we want  to be productive so that we can get the thing   done but there's more to it than that i talked  to Ari about this but one of the things that is   really difficult for me about productivity is  that I get into a good flow good   swing of things a good routine a good rhythm and  then a crisis happens and then my productivity   everything just kind of falls apart when I'm in  crisis is also like a really hard time for me   to work out which is unfortunate because when I  work out my brain works better i'm able to focus   better so thankfully I have a personal fitness  coach through Train Well i feel like a lot of   fitness programs that I've tried you kind of  have to like do what you're supposed to do and   there's not really like a lot of flexibility to  it train Well meets you where you're at in terms   of your schedule in terms of what equipment you  have available you have a personal fitness coach   who designs your workouts based on your personal  needs your goals your equipment and even the time   that you have available most recently I met with  my fitness coach and we realized like it was a   little too much of a barrier for me to be starting  my week and jumping right into a strength training   exercise but she always helps me figure out like  how to work with what I've got even if that's like   I've got too much going on i'm too stressed great  let's just move your body let's just focus on   self-care this week you still stay in this kind of  routine and then when you're ready to lift weights   again then we can lift weights again but I love  how flexible it is i love how forgiving it is i   never feel any sort of like shame for like messing  up it just feels really supportive of my   needs and my goals it's really amazing in terms  of like the flexibility and the personalization   train well pairs you with a fitness coach that's  a good match for you through a quiz that you take   when you go to sign up and I'm getting as much  done as I am getting done because of the support   that I'm getting from my fitness coach from this  app um I can't say enough positive things about   it if you want to get more done and you want to  feel good in your body and brain TrainWell is a   great resource for people with ADHD take the quiz  to find your perfect trainer and get a 14-day free   trial by going to go. trainwell. net/howto ADHD i'll  also put the link in the description below beyond

task completion what deeper needs or desires might  be fulfilled by improving our productivity life is   not just about getting things done when you've  spent a lot of your life not managing your ADHD   well then it does become about getting things  done and mostly it's about getting things done   so bad things don't happen to you somebody is  mad at me something is going to happen something   isn't working out here we go again kind of right  so it's about avoiding the negative things that   you don't like but that's not a good life right  avoiding negatives is the least motivating thing   what's really motivating is this is good this is  meaningful this is important to me I want more   energy for this and that's really kind of my thing  about productivity is it's about having more time   and energy for the things that matter most i like  that a lot yeah that brings us to goals right so   in your book you say productivity begins with  having the right goals the right tasks follow   from there so how can people with ADC effectively  identify meaningful long-term goals it involves

really kind of thinking about it what matters most  to me some of it is sort of personal development   stuff you know so we can talk about work we can  talk about school there's family obligations and   friends and the people in our life that we care  about getting into shape eating better whatever   right like there's all these different goals  but there's still only 24 hours and when you're   scrambling scrambling you don't  have time to sort of like pick your head up   and actually look at where you're going and think  about if that's where you want to go so you know   so there's that whole thing of like stopping  and really thinking about what am I doing and   does this work for me yeah i don't know if I ever  told you this but it's how I started my channel i   was scrambling to do all the things that I was  supposed to do in my career as a friend as a   partner and I would just get more and more frantic  i would fall further and further behind as a life   coach actually and I was like "Help this isn't  working clearly. " And she was like "All these   things you're doing stop. " And I was like "What  do you mean stop like I'm already so far i can't   stop. " But she said "Just anything that's not  absolutely critical like go to work go to sleep   eat stop doing it because we don't know where  you need to be putting your effort yet. " Yeah   and I went "Okay. " And it was the most terrifying  thing I ever did in my life but I actually stopped   doing anything that I was supposed to do other  than the absolutely most critical things and in   the space of a month that felt like a lifetime  my brain was finally able to talk to me and say   "Hey this is what we need. " Instead of me being  like "Brain do this do this. " It was like   "Hey I can we do this. " Like and that was actually  really helpful so I like that you're saying   that like stop pause breathe so that we have the  space to think of what those goals might be for   ourselves but if we figure out what our goals  are how do we first of all remember what those   goals are i feel like there are times where I'm  like "Here's my goal. " And then two days later   somebody's like "How's that going? " And I was like  "The what now i forgot about the goal. " So first

of all how do we remember the goals but then how  do we sustain motivation and focus over the long   haul this is why New Year's resolutions tend not  to hit the light of February you know let alone   the second week of January is because it's easy to  have ideas but it's about doing something with it   it's about really thinking about like what does  this goal actually look like in real life moment   by moment where does this goal happen and doing  a bit of sort of planning or sprinkling it into   your schedule and then to sort of do the things  you need to do to remind yourself at that right   time and place so maybe when you're in that like  I'm excited about this new goal space that's the   time to put blocks on your calendar that's the  time to make your to-do list or whatever it is   so that when that motivation waines a little bit  like it you've already done a lot of the work to   set yourself up for success how do we know when it  actually makes sense for your goals to shift that

is such a hard thing right cuz it's a difference  between being persistent which is admirable and   being stubborn which is not helpful that's a  thing like not every goal is worth pursuing to   the end so I think it it's a thing of like really  making that honest assessment is this working like   I'm okay with working hard that's fine but is it  working am I coming to where I want to be on this   do I feel like there's a sense of progress maybe  I need to check in with some other people and talk   it through i should have had check-ins whether it  was with myself whether it was with someone else   what I do now for my company is if we say we're  going to do this it's not we're going to do this   for the foreseeable future in perpetuity it's  like even if it's a long-term goal we're going   to make it a short-term or medium-term goal and  then do a check-in and be like is this working is   this getting us to where we want to go because if  I don't have those regular check-ins first of all   I might get distracted in 5 minutes but second of  all I might do this thing that isn't working for   me for the next 5 years so having those built-in  check-ins I think is really valuable definitely   those check-ins are important and I think  also having people who call you out in a good way   right and it will say like "I don't think this is  working out or wait why are you doing this? " Let's   say you you've chosen your goals you remember  what the goals are you've got the motivation you   know you've got your check-in scheduled and then  somebody asks you to do something for them like

how do you manage requests from others when you  have your own goals and priorities you need to be   able to be assertive and advocate for yourself and  say "Sorry I can't do that. " It's a matter of kind   of feeling the balance of the relationship and you  know is this a thing that's reasonable for them to   ask of me is this good for me to do it for them  like how important is this to you is there some   flexibility can you explain what the challenges  are that people with ADHD experience when it comes

to time folks with ADHD have a more difficulty  kind of seeing time predicting how long things   take more variability in how long things take so  it's just like in lots and lots of ways ADHD makes   it harder to really kind of see time and like  we were talking about before kind of feeling the   future so how do you suggest navigating this fear  of being late in a way that doesn't overly derail

the rest of our lives because that comes at a  cost too it does but that's the thing   right that like I can't start anything because I  have to be at this thing at two honestly the math   on that adds up if your alternative is missing it  is catastrophic versus wasting time until two much   lower like I'll take it that is the better option  so some of this then is really being intentional   about what you start before right like hyperfocus  is real maybe some things you just need to not go   anywhere near before you need to do something else  but it's also kind of setting enough alarms and   reminders setting ones that you're really going  to notice it also means being intentional about   not being so far behind the eightball that you  don't have any choice right you're scrambling and   you know like all the way up until the last  second let's talk about those alarms and reminders   so a lot of people with ADHD are recommended to  set alarms after I gave birth every doctor that   I went to I was like I'm able to take care of the  baby but taking my own painkillers like taking my   naps all of these things are like this really  difficult for me and every single one of them   proudly looked at me and said as if I had never  heard this before "Set an alarm. " I was like "Yeah   here's the thing though like I set the alarms and  then I ignore them. " Or "I don't have my phone   with me. " Or the alarm goes off while the baby's  napping on me and now the baby's awake and it's a   whole thing like how do you like do you have any  tips for managing alarms reminders and things for   those of us maybe have tried it and it hasn't  worked out there's very much an art to setting   alarms and reminders because like if you set it  but you don't have your phone not helpful being   a bit more intentional maybe or seeing if there's  anything you can do there if you're not in the   right place don't turn the alarm off until you do  the thing including just real quick I'm just going   to finish this email and then I'm going to do it  that's okay but then the alarm goes to snooze not   to off finding ways like that and I think also  and this is super easy to say but if your life   is not a total scramble it's easier if you have a  bit more mental breathing room the alarms become   more effective but it also becomes this thing  when your life is a scramble the strategies don't   work as well and then your life continues to be a  scramble right and you're always behind and right   so like there's totally a momentum that goes both  ways you need to find some way to sort of peel   off some things to begin to give yourself a little  bit of breathing room a little bit of opportunity   to be more intentional and mindful about the  strategies you use and the things that you take   on do fewer things because if you're trying to do  too much then you can't effectively do any of it   right and that has definitely been my experience  too what is a good work environment for somebody   with ADHD when you have ADHD and you have a harder  time sort of pushing things out or saying "I'm not   going to pay attention to that. " It means the  environment has much more of a direct path into   your attention what's happening around you has a  bigger effect on what's going on inside your head   so part of managing attention well means managing  your environment well whatever that means for you   right for this job for where I am right now what  is the best environment for me to get this done   right so that might be dead silent it might be  all notifications off but it might actually not be   that right that silence might be too distracting  in its own way or it leaves your thoughts too much   room to roam so maybe instead it's a louder  environment or there's music or there's videos or   there's people or you're talking to someone on the  phone how do you have this focus on productivity

and be productive in a way where you also get to  enjoy your life best place to do that is in the   beginning of the day right is to remind yourself  I really want to go see my friends but also I want   to go and be guiltree there i want to be there and  know that I should be there and feel good about it   and feel like I've earned it and I just I want  to not have to worry about the stuff I didn't do   right so f again focusing on the positives of what  I'm going to gain from doing this therefore I'm   going to really hunker down and get this done now  because I really want to be there with my friends   if you sort of messed around for half the day  and now like you know there's only half a day's   worth of stuff you can get done that's a harder  situation because on the one hand you know as much   as I might think like that's admirable that you're  saying you know what sorry guys can't do this i   really need to get this done if you're doing that  too much then that's not good for you either at   some point you need to say you know what I need  to take some time and just do a fun thing i'm not   as effective as I should be maybe you just go hang  out with your friends at that point knowing where   that balance is I think is really important the  impossible question is how do you know when you've

done enough when society will tell you haven't  frankly as somebody with ADHD or even somebody   who's neurotypical in a capitalistic society  you're constantly getting the message that you   could be doing more you should be doing more you  haven't done enough so how do you know when you've   done enough everybody has expectations right so  like let's just start there but for each of us as   an individual we need to figure out what's enough  for us and as much as there's absolutely benefits   and there's gains to being more productive to  getting more done there also is a cost to it   it's your time it's your energy it's stress it's  things that you're not doing so for each of us at   each moment of our life or each stage of our life  we decide that I want more and I'm willing to do   the work or we decide you know what it isn't worth  it has come to a point where I think I actually   want a little bit less i think the bigger idea is  knowing that you can do that that is okay and   that for all of us we need to figure out what  that balance is i love that i had never thought   about it that way but yeah there is a cost to  productivity that's time you could be spending   doing other things could be spending connecting  with friends and all of that so I mean I guess   ideally you know your book is meant to support  people in being productive in the ways that are

meaningful to them so that they can then also get  to enjoy their lives right and they can feel good   about themselves i'm really excited for your book  it's out May 9th is that right yep may 9th yep all   right well I will include in the description  below where people can get a copy but do you   also want to tell them your website or where you  would like them to go so adultbook. com is really   the best place i've got a bunch of information  and you know sample from the book that's not the   stuff the sample that's available you know through  Kindle and I just want to get this stuff out there   and I really want people to kind of live better  lives like that's really what this book is about   i love that so much yeah there's so many things  that are out there to like make people with ADHD   more productive i love that this is to help us  lead better lives so yes really excited for this   book thank you so much for writing it thank you so  much Ari i'm sure that this is going to be helpful

for a lot of people i even learned some things and  I know a lot about ADHD and productivity if you'd   like to know more you can again see our entire  uncut version over on Patreon and you can also   buy Ari's book it's available now at I'll put  it in the description below oh and let us know   if there's any aspect of productivity that you  would like us to cover in a future video thank   you so much to our brain advocates and all our  Patreon brains for supporting the work that we do   and thank you to Train Well for supporting this  video again link for that is in the description   like subscribe click all the things and I will see  you next video bye brains go get some stuff done