The ADHD Skills Lab

Presented by Understood.org
You keep switching direction mid-project, and now nothing in your business is fully built.
In this episode, we break down ADHD novelty bias and why new ideas don’t just feel exciting. They feel urgent, important, and hard to ignore.
You’ll hear how this shows up in real businesses. The team is aligned, work has started, and then a new idea comes in. It sounds better, feels right, and within days everything shifts. Six months later, you’ve got multiple half-built projects and no clear direction.
This isn’t random. Research shows ADHD brains assign higher reward value to novelty, even when it works against long-term goals.
We also look at the other side of it. Why boredom feels almost painful, why sticking with one direction gets harder over time, and how this pattern quietly impacts growth, team focus, and execution.
This isn’t about lack of discipline. It’s about understanding the pattern that’s driving your decisions.
What We Cover:
Why new ideas feel urgent instead of optional
How novelty bias overrides long-term plans
The “half-built business” pattern many founders fall into
Why teams follow the founder’s attention automatically
The link between boredom, disengagement, and switching
When novelty is useful and when it starts breaking the business
If you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Sorry, I Missed This.
Listen here: https://lnk.to/sorryimissedthisPS!theadhdskillslab
 P.S. Losing work because the admin layer around your business can't keep up with you? Invisible Systems is a 90-day done-for-you sprint where I (Skye) extract the processes from your head, build the operating layer, and find the right person to run it. Six spots left at the founding price, book a call at invisiblesystem.co

Presented by Understood.org
Getting diagnosed with ADHD explains a lot. Then it starts explaining too much.
In this episode, Nir Eyal breaks down what happens after that initial relief. When ADHD stops being useful information and starts becoming your identity.
He shares how that shift can quietly limit effort, create anxiety loops, and turn every struggle into “this is just how I am.”
This isn’t about ignoring ADHD. It’s about understanding the difference between what’s real and what you’ve started to believe about it.
Because those beliefs don’t just describe your behavior. They shape it.
You’ll hear how to separate facts from interpretations, why beliefs are tools not truths, and how small shifts in how you think can reduce friction and make action easier.
What We Cover:
Why ADHD diagnosis brings relief, then can create new limits
The difference between a label and an identity
How “this is just my ADHD” becomes a stopping point
Why beliefs increase or reduce effort before you even start
The difference between pain and suffering in focus and work
A simple way to question beliefs that aren’t helping
If you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Sorry, I Missed This.
Listen here: https://lnk.to/sorryimissedthisPS!theadhdskillslab
Connect With Nir Eyal
Book: geni.us/beyondbelief
Website: nirandfar.com
Instagram: instagram.com/nireyal
 P.S. Losing work because the admin layer around your business can't keep up with you? Invisible Systems is a 90-day done-for-you sprint where I (Skye) extract the processes from your head, build the operating layer, and find the right person to run it. Six spots left at the founding price, book a call at invisiblesystem.co

Presented by Understood.org
Bad environments can train ADHD entrepreneurs to second-guess themselves long after they leave those environments behind. Brandon Smith shares how years of struggling in school, standardized testing, and constant negative feedback shaped the way he saw himself, and why finding practical work completely changed how he viewed his ADHD brain.
In this conversation, Brandon breaks down how environment affects confidence, self-trust, business growth, and leadership. He also shares lessons from building a construction company, learning to delegate, and realizing that many ADHD business owners stay stuck trying to perfect systems long before they actually need them.
What We Cover
Why ADHD people often confuse environment problems with personal failure
How Brandon rebuilt confidence through practical work
Why school experiences still affect ADHD adults years later
The mindset shift that helped him hire and delegate
Why unfinished systems can still move your business forward
If you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Sorry, I Missed This.
Listen here: https://lnk.to/sorryimissedthisPS!theadhdskillslab
 P.S. Losing work because the admin layer around your business can't keep up with you? Invisible Systems is a 90-day done-for-you sprint where I (Skye) extract the processes from your head, build the operating layer, and find the right person to run it. Six spots left at the founding price, book a call at invisiblesystem.co

Presented by Understood.org
You feel seen by something that wasn’t meant for you.
Skye and Robbie explore whether Bluey reflects ADHD patterns or just captures behaviour accurately.
Using DSM criteria, they break down distraction, unfinished tasks, and how patterns are identified over time.
This episode sits right on the line between observation and diagnosis and shows you how to think about both.
What We Cover:
Where observation stops and diagnosis starts
Why realistic behaviour can feel diagnostic
How ADHD criteria actually gets applied
The risk of over-interpreting behaviour
Why this conversation matters beyond the show
If you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Sorry, I Missed This.
Listen here: https://lnk.to/sorryimissedthisPS!theadhdskillslab
 P.S. Losing work because the admin layer around your business can't keep up with you? Invisible Systems is a 90-day done-for-you sprint where I (Skye) extract the processes from your head, build the operating layer, and find the right person to run it. Six spots left at the founding price, book a call at invisiblesystem.co

Presented by Understood.org

You build a new system, follow it for a few days, then quietly stop using it.

Craig Ballantyne has coached high performers across multiple industries and his approach focuses on building systems that survive real life, not perfect conditions.

This conversation looks at why most systems fail for ADHD brains. Craig explains how self-awareness, environment control, and honest constraints matter more than motivation.

You will leave with a different way to think about systems that actually hold when your brain resists structure.

What We Cover
Why most systems fail when they rely on motivation
How to design systems based on how you actually behave
The role of environment in making systems stick
Why honesty about how you learn changes everything
How to remove friction instead of adding more structure
If you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Sorry, I Missed This.
Listen here: https://lnk.to/sorryimissedthisPS!theadhdskillslab
Connect with Craig:

Craig Ballantyne Coaching: https://craigballantyne.com/

Instagram: @ realcraigballantyne
 P.S. Losing work because the admin layer around your business can't keep up with you? Invisible Systems is a 90-day done-for-you sprint where I (Skye) extract the processes from your head, build the operating layer, and find the right person to run it. Six spots left at the founding price, book a call at invisiblesystem.co