Hacking Your ADHD

Hello all you beautiful people, happy new year. I'm gearing up for 2026 after a few set backs at the end of last year that we'll get into in a future episode. But today we're talking with Alyece Smith, founder of Socially Ausome, a neurodivergent entrepreneur coach, and the host of The ADHD CEO Podcast. She specializes in helping business owners build sustainable systems that actually work for their brains rather than against them. In our conversation today, we get into why we often feel the need to "earn our rest" and how that can lead to burnout. We also jump into how to systemize your life to save your brainpower for what actually matters. Alyece shares her "DMO" or Daily Method of Operation, and how she uses routine to cut down on daily choices. We also talk about the trap of monetizing every hobby, finding clarity in what actually fulfills us, and why knowing why your brain works the way it does is often more helpful than just trying to force a square peg into a round hole. If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/264 YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD This Episode's Top Tips Try using Voice Memos to prevent context switching. When you feel a spiral coming on or have too many ideas, use a voice-to-text app (Alyece recommends "Voice Pen") to brain dump everything immediately. This allows you to get the thoughts out without stopping your current workflow. Once you have a brain dump, categorize items by the "mode" required to complete them (e.g., calls to make while driving, emails to answer at your desk, errands to run). This helps you batch tasks based on where you are, rather than just creating a deadline. Track your natural energy peaks to identify your "Spark Times." Save your high-value creative or money-making tasks for these windows, rather than wasting that high energy on low-priority admin work. Work on identifying "Fake" productivity. Be honest with yourself about whether you are creating tasks just to feel busy or "earn" your rest. If you are inventing work to avoid important tasks or to feel productive, it's a sign you need to pause and figure out what's really a priority in that moment (hint: it's usually taking care of one of your basic needs).  

It's hard to believe we're already into 2026. If last year felt fast, this year is moving even quicker. As we settle into the rhythm of a new year, I found myself looking back at some of the most impactful conversations we've had on the show—specifically those that help us navigate the "new year pressure" without the burnout. That's why today, we're revisiting a fan-favorite conversation from the archives with Chris Wang, CEO and co-founder of Shimmer. Even though this originally aired at the start of 2025, the strategies Chris shares are more relevant than ever. We dive deep into: Process-oriented goal setting (focusing on the "how" rather than just the "what"). The power of community in maintaining momentum. Living in alignment with your core values to avoid "productivity for productivity's sake." Chris brings a wealth of actionable advice to the table. Whether you're currently looking into ADHD coaching or you're just trying to figure out how to make your plans stick for the rest of 2026, this episode is packed with gems. If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/207 This Episode's Top Tips Work on setting process-oriented goals where your focus is on the actions you can control, like "exercise 3 times a week," rather than outcome-based goals like "lose 10 pounds." Make sure you are specific and write your to-do lists with clear, actionable steps to avoid overwhelm and decision paralysis. You want to know exactly what your next step is when looking at your to-do list. Leverage your support systems. You can use community and coaching to provide accountability, remove roadblocks, and refine your systems. Remember there is no gold star for toughing it out by yourself and it's okay to get help.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our research recap series. In this series, we take a single research paper and dive into what it says, how it was conducted, and any practical takeaways. In this episode, we're discussing a paper titled "The Effects of Subclinical ADHD Symptomatology on Subjective Financial, Physical, and Mental Wellbeing of Entrepreneurs and Employees." Essentially, this study looks at how ADHD traits—even if they aren't at a diagnosable level—relate to wellbeing for two groups: entrepreneurs and employees. If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/263 https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

For this week's episode, we are dipping into the archives to revisit a conversation that resonated with so many of you. I'm talking with Vanessa Gorelkin, a seasoned occupational therapist and ADHD coach who's been working in the field for nearly 30 years. Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brandeis (Bran-Dice) University and a Master's degree in Occupational Therapy from NYU. She specializes in executive function strategies, emotional regulation, and anxiety management, and she brings a unique perspective to helping adults with ADHD navigate the day-to-day. In this encore presentation, we discuss: The "Want-to-Do" Gap: Why we struggle even with the tasks we actually enjoy. The Anxiety Connection: How anxiety and executive dysfunction team up to create a cycle of frustration. Strategy Decay: Why tools that work perfectly for a month inevitably seem to stop working. Practical Regulation: How to break down tasks so they feel doable and why you need a "crisis plan" before the crisis actually hits. Whether you missed this the first time around or just need a refresher on these strategies, there is so much gold in this episode. You can still find all the links and resources mentioned in this episode on the original show notes page at: HackingYourADHD.com/215 This Episode's Top Tips 1. If something feels overwhelming, try breaking it down into micro-steps. Even something like getting out of bed can be broken into "sit up," "put feet on the floor," and "stand up." In more practical ways, we could think of this as starting out as just opening the document you need to work on, adding the formatting, and starting your first sentence. The idea is you want to build momentum and go with the flow. 2. Be mindful of language; words like "just" and "should" can be damaging. Instead of "I should just wash the dishes," you can reframe it as "I could wash the dishes," and then also if you need a little bit more asking yourself, "What's making this difficult, and how can I work with it?" 3. It's important to have a crisis plan ready before you need it. When emotional overwhelm hits, it's hard to think through what you need. You can pre-plan strategies like a weighted blanket, a favorite show, or calling a friend so you don't have to figure it out at the moment.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb. Today I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our research recap series. In this series, we dive into a single research paper to see what it says, how it was conducted, and find any practical takeaways. In this episode, we're discussing a paper called "Association between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and intestinal disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis." It's a fascinating one because they started with nearly 2,000 papers and narrowed it down to 11 high-quality studies. If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/262 https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon