I'm Busy Being Awesome - Sustainable Productivity for ADHD Episode 348: 10 Years of ADHD Lessons in 35 Minutes
Mar 30, 2026
A ten-year reflection on a late ADHD diagnosis, sharing ten concise lessons learned over a decade. Topics include understimulation vs. laziness, why medication helps but skills matter, and using notes as working-memory support. The episode covers masking and how it drains energy, rejection sensitivity and shame spirals, and why self-acceptance is the foundation for lasting change.
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Understimulation Explains Falling Asleep
- Falling asleep during boring readings or long drives often signals brain understimulation, not laziness or lack of sleep.
- Paula realized stimulatory mismatch explained naps during dense academic articles despite ample sleep and caffeine.
Use Meds But Build Skills Too
- Use medication as a tool but actively learn strategies because pills won't teach skills.
- Paula recommends finding a supportive prescriber and building focus, transition, and emotional-regulation skills alongside meds.
Cognitive Flexibility Is An ADHD Challenge
- Cognitive flexibility — shifting tasks and handling changes — is a specific ADHD weakness that looks like rigidity.
- Paula reduced self-blame by adding buffers, transition time, and permission to process plan changes.