

ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka
Tracy Otsuka
Want to fall in love with your ADHD brain and make it work for you? Learn more about my patented program, Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy here : programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup*I have NEVER met an ADHD woman who wasn’t truly brilliant at something! This podcast, with nearly 7 million downloads, is for smart, high-ability ADD/ADHD (diagnosed or suspecting) women who see their symptoms as more positive than negative. If you want to fall in love with your ADHD brain and discover where your brilliance lies, this podcast is for you!**ADHD for Smart Ass Women is globally ranked in the top one-tenth of one percent of all podcasts in the world on any subject. It’s streamed in more than 160 countries and is downloaded by more than 150,000 listeners every month. My book of the same name, published by HarperCollins/William Morrow, was recently honored by Amazon Editors as a Top 20 Best Nonfiction Book of 2024.**I’m Tracy Otsuka, your host. I’m a lawyer, not a doctor, a lifelong learner, and a certified ADHD coach. I’m on a mission to change the conversation around ADHD because I believe it’s time to focus on the strengths that come with our unique brains. When I was diagnosed eight months after my son, my entire life finally made sense, yet all I read and heard about ADHD focused on what I should struggle with. What I discovered, though, was that my ADHD was responsible for some of my greatest strengths.**Another thing we constantly hear is all the success stories about ADHD men, but no one talks about the women. This podcast is here to change that. ADHD women are my people, and I’m here to acknowledge, support, and cheer them on. My experience as an adult living with ADHD, along with my expertise, is regularly sought out by top-tier media, including Bloomberg, Forbes, CBS Mornings, ABC News Live, Inc., Prevention Magazine, Verywell Mind, ADDitude magazine, and The Goal Digger Podcast, etc.**adhdforsmartwomen.com**The content in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment and does not constitute medical or professional advice. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of anything you have seen or heard from Tracy Otsuka, her guests or this podcast.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 27, 2020 • 39min
EP. 73: ADHD Hacks Recommended By Our Members
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___In Episode 73 of ADHD for Smart Ass Women, Tracy shares ADHD hacks contributed by members of her Facebook Group, also of the same name. There were so many good tips but here are some of the most popular ones.Discover: What every ADHD women needs in the shower, how big is too big for a bathroom clock, the trick to keep your bathroom clean, how much time you really take for your morning routine, how music might help you get to work on time, the one thing you need at your front door, how many laptop chargers do you really need, how to never forget anything when you travel, the best place to write down your morning and nighttime routines, how to finally schedule appointments so you’re on time, how to sign up for free trial apps or software without ending up paying for it, what a Not Now List is, what to keep in your desk at work, why you should always hit snooze and not turn off an alarm even though you’re going to get to the item next.______________Resources:ADHD for Smart Ass Women PodcastADHD for Smart Ass Women Facebook GroupEllieGridBullet JournalFacebook Minimalist Bullet JournalsOurGroceriesFocusmateSend a Message: Your Name | Email | Message If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shiftInstead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academyLearn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2 Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

May 20, 2020 • 37min
EP. 72: What The Pandemic Taught Me About My ADHD Brain
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___In Episode 72 of ADHD for Smart Ass Women, Tracy shares what social distancing has taught her about her ADHD brain. This episode is for those of you who have been practicing social isolation for a while, are growing weary, and are struggling to find more positive emotion in your life.Discover: why awareness is so important to our ADHD brains, how one little shift that we don’t even realize can contribute to a downward trajectory in our positive emotion, how quickly we can bounce back if we’ve just recently fallen in the hole and haven’t yet buried ourselves in it, how important routine and structure is not only to our ADHD brains but also to positive emotion, the importance of nature to the ADHD brain, how Covid reconnected me to nature, my family, and myself, and what you actually need to feel more connection to others.______________Resources:ADHD for Smart Ass Women PodcastFacebook Group: ADHD for Smart Ass WomenFocusmateSend a Message: Your Name | Email | Message If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shiftInstead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academyLearn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2 Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

May 13, 2020 • 41min
EP. 71: ADHD and the Importance of Fun, with Psychologist, Author & Grand Poohbah of Play, Dr. Kirsten Milliken
Dr. Kirsten Milliken, a licensed psychologist and ADHD coach, shares her late-in-life diagnosis and the transformative power of play in managing ADHD. She emphasizes how play enhances self-awareness and motivation, making daily tasks more enjoyable. The discussion includes the importance of balancing hyper-focus with breaks and the creation of the 'World Without ADHD' project to celebrate the strengths of those with ADHD. Kirsten also encourages artistic expression across ages, reinforcing community engagement and creativity in overcoming challenges.

May 6, 2020 • 51min
EP. 70: Social Anxiety and ADHD with Mental Health Clinician, Kelsie Elizabeth
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___Join Tracy in Episode #70 of ADHD for Smart Ass Women where she introduces you to Kelsie Elizabeth. Kelsie grew up in NH and attended a small liberal arts school in Massachusetts, earning a BS in clinical and research psychology and a second BS in music with a concentration in piano. Kelsie was also three credits short of a third degree in social welfare because she couldn’t make up her mind. Sounds pretty ADHD, doesn’t it? Kelsie was diagnosed with ADHD last year at the age of 25. At her young age, she has so much insight, wisdom, and a remarkable sense of who she is. Tracy just knew that you would love Kelsie’s story.Kelsie shares: the circumstances around her diagnosis, what her symptoms were, her struggle with disabling social anxiety, her love of psychology, her early career struggles, what she finally did to right herself, how the correct diagnosis helped her regain her confidence, what her favorite ADHD traits are, how her ADHD makes her even better at her job, her keys to living successfully with ADHD, and her ADHD workarounds.______________Resources:Email: pianoforteanima@gmail.comSend a Message: Your Name | Email | Message If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shiftInstead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academyLearn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2 Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Apr 29, 2020 • 47min
EP. 69: ADHD and the Arts with San Francisco Opera Singer Sally Mouzon
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___In Episode #69 of ADHD for Smart Ass Women, Tracy introduces you to Sally Mouzon. Sally is a member of the acclaimed San Francisco Opera Chorus. She has appeared in numerous roles with the company, including Second Priestess in Iphigénie en Tauride, Second Bridesmaid in Le nozze di Figaro, Second Girl in Show Boat, and Second Orphan in Der Rosenkavalier. She has also created roles in three world premieres: La Popolana in Two Women, Joan in Heart of a Soldier, and Sister Lillianne in Dead Man Walking. In real life, Sally is an avid reader, union activist, baseball fan (Go Giants!), and single mother of a collegiate Shakespeare nerd. She is a dedicated alumna of the University of Virginia and now lives in the Bay Area.In this delightful interview, Sally shares how an article about time blindness resulted in her adult ADHD diagnosis, her ADHD symptoms which were present since childhood, her music-filled childhood, why structure was so important to her academic success, how she pivoted back into music and ultimately parlayed her love of music into an audition with the San Francisco Opera, how her degrees in African American Studies and Russian Literature help her to be a better opera singer, the ADHD traits that she feels are responsible for her professional success, the key to living successfully with ADHD, and her ADHD workarounds.______________Resources:Instagram: @sallymezzoTwitter: @sallymezzoCirca Levenger SmartPlanner Master Agenda - Weekly JrCirca Starter KitSend a Message: Your Name | Email | Message If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shiftInstead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academyLearn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2 Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Apr 22, 2020 • 19min
EP. 68: How to Train Your ADHD Brain to Work with Fear
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___In Episode 68 of ADHD for Smart Ass Women, Tracy talks about how to train your ADHD brain to deal with fear. This is an extension of last week’s episode and Tracy’s stab at simplifying concepts so they can be applied today if her listeners are struggling with their emotions.Learn about: Abraham Hicks The first place you should go if you’re feeling fear? how your inner guidance system (your intuition) can help you, how fear can act as your rudder and is just information, what it means to always reach for a better feeling, why controlling your environment doesn’t make you happier, how to use your thoughts to always feel better regardless of the circumstances, the importance of the journey, the only freedom you will ever experience, how to train your brain to always tune into positive emotions.______________Resources:EP. 65: Managing our Children and our ADHD in the Time of COVID-19 with Jaime FisherThe Biggest Missing PieceAbraham: APPRECIATION VS. GRATITUDE - Esther & Jerry HicksSend a Message: Your Name | Email | Message If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shiftInstead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academyLearn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2 Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Apr 15, 2020 • 48min
EP. 67: Surviving a Very Difficult Adolescence, a Love of Accounting and Belonging to Yourself with Vera Bruursema
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___Join Tracy in Episode #67 of ADHD for Smart Ass Women as she welcomes her guest, Vera Bruursema. Like many of us with ADHD, Vera has crafted a diverse career path from volunteer firefighter/EMT, soccer coach, Trader Joe’s Assistant Manager, and bookkeeper. While earning her MBA, she worked as a staff accountant for many different companies but still struggled to find her place. It all finally came together when Vera decided to seek help for her ADHD and open her own practice as owner and founder of Verified Accounting. Tracy wanted to talk to Vera because many believe that the ADHD brain is incapable of a career in accounting or finance. In fact, Vera is going to tell us how she took her nonlinear brain and created a really interesting niche for herself in accounting.Vera shares with us the circumstances around her ADHD diagnosis in sixth grade, her very difficult teen years, the ADHD program in Wyoming that changed her life, how she finally learned executive function skills, how she ended up in bookkeeping and ultimately accounting, the “social handbook” that she finally read that explained so much of her struggles with other people and helped her to build her confidence back up, the thing she started to embrace that turned her life around rapidly, why accounting plays into one of her biggest strengths—hint: it’s problem-solving—and how her dog Atlas gives her the structure she needs to succeed.______________Resources:Braving the WildernessThe Four Tendencies QuizAcademy at SOARSend a Message: Your Name | Email | Message If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shiftInstead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academyLearn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2 Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Apr 8, 2020 • 40min
EP. 66: Change Your ADHD Life by Changing Your Thoughts
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___Join Tracy in Episode #66 where she talks about the coronavirus, why the ADHD brain struggles so much with uncertainty, and how the only thing that we have control over is our thoughts.Discover: What Mister Rogers taught journalist Tom Junod, why anything that is mentionable is manageable, how panic comes from uncertainty and trying to control what we can’t control whether we’re talking about a pandemic or anything else, what you really fear when you’re feeling uncertainty, why worrying has nothing to do with being prepared, why the journey is so important, the importance of our thoughts, what dictates our feelings/emotions, what fear really is, how the ADHD brain is motivated, the formula that involves our thoughts, feelings/emotions, actions and results, how to control your thoughts, what mindfulness is, how mindfulness helps ADHD, who connected mindfulness with brain science, ADDitudeMag’s mindfulness acronym STOP, Tracy’s list of 100 experiences, and observations that generate positive emotion and wouldn’t have come about but for the coronavirus.______________Resources:ADDitude’s FREE Mindfulness and Other Natural Treatments eBookPodcast #53: Neuroplasticity, Mindfulness, Meditation and ADHDPodcast #50: Meditation That Even You Can Do with ADHD Life Coach Diann WingertSend a Message: Your Name | Email | Message If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shiftInstead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academyLearn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2 Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Apr 1, 2020 • 56min
EP. 65: Managing our Children and our ADHD in the Time of COVID-19 with Jaime Fisher
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___In Episode #65 of ADHD for Smart Ass Women, Tracy introduces you to Jaime Fisher. Jaime lives in Connecticut where she is raising four kids and an infant while transitioning back into the workforce. With over 100,000 hours of parenting experience, Jaime is a strong advocate for both moms and babies. She runs a Facebook site called Hey New Mama, and is working on a book on the optimal care and feeding of new moms.Jaime shares: the circumstances around her ADHD diagnosis why ADHD mothers make great parents, how her and her husband manage their household of five children under normal circumstances, how her family is actually doing in the midst of COVID19 good news on the resilience of children, what she works on paying attention to during this time her advice around learning and children, why rituals are important during times of stress her personal ADHD workaround.Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shiftInstead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academyLearn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2 Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Mar 25, 2020 • 1h 4min
EP. 64: ADHD and the Creative Life with Francesca Rizzo
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___In Episode #64 of ADHD for Smart Ass Women, Tracy introduces Francesca Joy Rizzo. Francesca is an award-winning actor, writer, producer, and director in theater, film, television, and digital media. Her powerful and provocative ideas are fueled by a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate the female experience with passion, humor, and imagination. Fran believes that the way the world sees women affects how the world treats women, so she uses female creativity to balance the scales. A college dropout, Fran mined her creative talents to pay rent in New York City, carving out a career as a children’s book illustrator, professional actor, co-founder of a downtown theater company, and eventually a filmmaker and CEO of MovieBaby Productions, a Tribeca-based media company. After 9/11, Fran returned to her roots, earning her degree in Media Arts and receiving the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence. Fran's accomplishments in the fine arts and interior design include penning and performing three theatrical productions, curating *The Cinema-Femina* film series, and creating *Believe Women*, a rape activist initiative supporting the Cosby survivors. She is also one of the founding members of *ADHD for Smart Ass Women* and now serves as an administrator of the group. Tracy often introduces Fran as the most creative person she knows, and some women join the Facebook group just to meet her. Fran shares with us: The circumstances surrounding her ADHD diagnosis, her ADHD symptoms, how her symptoms got worse in midlife?, how important interest is to her driven brain, the ADHD traits that she feels are responsible for her success?, what she feels is the key to living successfully with ADHD, and some ADHD workarounds. ______________Resources:Website: www.francescarizzo.comFacebook: Francesca Joy RizzoInstagram: @francescarizzonycSend a Message: Your Name | Email | Message If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shiftInstead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academyLearn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2 Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com


