Hacking Your ADHD

Hey team!
This week I'm talking with Dani Donovan, a neurodivergent artist and designer whose ADHD comics have been shared all over the internet. Dani holds a BFA in Visual Communication and Design and is the creator of The Anti-Planner. She's spent years as an advocate for neurodivergence, using her background in design to simplify those complicated, invisible daily struggles we all face. In our conversation today, we're diving into why traditional planners often feel like they never work how we want them to and how we can transition into a "toolbox" mindset instead. We explore the concept of "anti-shame" tactics and how to stop using mean-spirited self-motivation. Dani shares some of her favorite hacks for the mundane stuff, like an "Inbox Sprint" for tackling email debt and some unconventional strategies, including how she uses "worst drafts" and even Magic: The Gathering packs to keep herself moving.
Check Out the Anti-Planner: https://www.anti-planner.com/
If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/277
YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD
This Episode's Top Tips
We often beat ourselves up for "failing" to use a planner reliably after three months, but the reality is that our brains stop responding to the same stimuli once the novelty wears off. Instead of trying to find the one system you'll use forever, you can try building a "toolbox" of multiple strategies.
Executive dysfunction isn't a monolith; it's a collection of specific emotional roadblocks like being intimidated, over-committed, or paralyzed by perfectionism. Approaching every task with a standard to-do list is like trying to use a hammer on a screw; it's the wrong tool for the specific resistance you're facing. By identifying the specific flavor of your resistance first, you can choose a tool designed to dismantle that exact barrier.
Many of us have spent a lifetime using "mean" self-talk as a primary motivator because getting in trouble was the only thing that worked in the past. However, shame is a paralyzing emotion that actually increases avoidance. Shifting to an objective, "engineering" mindset allows you to view a failure not as a character flaw, but as a data point . Asking "Why did this fail?" instead of "Why am I like this?" allows you to troubleshoot the system rather than blaming the person.

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 look at a single research paper, dive into what it says and how it was conducted, and try to find practical takeaways.
In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Evaluation of Maternal Inflammation as a Marker of Future Offspring ADHD Symptoms: A Prospective Investigation." This study investigates the biological origins of ADHD—specifically, whether a mother's immune system during pregnancy might be able to predict ADHD symptoms in her children once they are born.
If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/276
https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link
https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube
https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

Hey Team!
Today, I'm talking with Erika Levine, a special education professional with a clinical background in Occupational Therapy. Erika has made it her mission to simplify the legal and procedural hurdles that keep parents from getting their kids the support they're legally entitled to, drawing from her deep well of lived experience as both a professional and a parent of neurodivergent children.
In this episode, we get into the nitty-gritty of advocating for a child who isn't "failing" but certainly isn't thriving. We dive into the legal weight these documents carry, the difference between an IEP and a 504 plan and how we can walk into those meetings with six professionals without feeling like you're the one being sent to the principal's office. Erika also shares some personal history about her own mother's advocacy and why she created "My IEP Hero" to help parents navigate the system.
Mentioned in this episode: https://myiephero.app/
If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/275
YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD
This Episode's Top Tips
Treat the IEP as a legal mandate and understand that it is a legally binding document that schools must adhere to strictly; it is not a set of globalized suggestions, but a tailored plan for a specific child.
Remember that the IEP team should include more than just teachers; it includes specialists like OTs, PTs, speech-language pathologists, and psychologists who can address the child's needs.
If a school denies services because the child is "fine" academically, parents can request an Individualized Educational Evaluation (IEE) from an outside psychologist, which the school may be required to fund. Remember we want to focus on our children thriving, not just passing by through school.

Hey Team!
In physics, there's a concept called "static friction"—it's the friction that exists between a stationary object and the surface on which it's resting. It's actually harder to get something moving than it is to keep it moving once it's already in motion. I think about this a lot when I'm staring at a pile of mail or a sink full of dishes. We often feel like we need a massive internal explosion to overcome that static friction, like we have to "hulk smash" our way into productivity just to get off the couch.
But that explosion often carries us too far, landing us right in the middle of a panic attack or total overwhelm. We're essentially trying to jump from zero to sixty in a car that isn't even idling yet. Today we're looking at a different approach: how we can gently increase our internal RPMs without redlining the engine. We're exploring the biology of our nervous system and how we can use "bottom-up" signals to tell our brains that it's time to move, without relying on the usual fuel of shame or last-minute panic.
If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/274
YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD
This Episode's Top Tips
Stop trying to "think" your way out of a shutdown or a panic. When your Prefrontal Cortex is offline, your brain isn't listening to logic; it's listening to your body. Use physical signals—like temperature or movement—to tell your brain you are safe or ready to move.
Understand that some stress is biologically necessary for ADHD focus. Instead of trying to be perfectly relaxed before a big task, aim for "optimal stimulation"—enough arousal to feel sharp, but not so much that you're jittery.
When you're stuck in a low-energy state, don't look for a massive "hype" session that might lead to overwhelm. Instead, "calm up" by using the smallest possible increments of arousal—like a single song or light stretching—to reach a "zen" state of doing.

Hey Team!
Most of us with ADHD have fallen into the trap of thinking that if we just work a little harder or do a few more things, we'll finally feel like we have our lives under control. But it turns out that "doing" and "leading" are two very different skill sets, and being a world-class "doer" can actually keep you stuck in place. Today, I'm talking with Katy McFee, an executive coach and the founder of Insights to Action. Katy reached the highest levels of corporate leadership before realizing that her success was built on a "doer" mentality that was no longer serving her, especially after her later in life ADHD diagnosis.
In our conversation today, we're looking at why that "doer identity" can be such a common pitfall for ADHD brains and how it can lead to burnout instead of progress. We talk about Katy's journey with a late-in-life diagnosis and how that shift in perspective allowed her to stop masking and start building systems that actually worked for her Combined-Type ADHD. Whether you're running a household, a small business, or a massive department, the way Katy frames the transition from tactical "doing" to strategic "being" is something we can all use.
If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/273
YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD
This Episode's Top Tips
Recognize when you are trying to "outwork" your ADHD by doing more tasks. We don't always have to be the person doing everything; instead, we can focus on thinking strategically about what needs to be done and focus on doing those most important things.
Give yourself explicit permission to stop pretending you work like a neurotypical person. You can reduce your cognitive load from "faking it" and free up energy for actually doing things the way they work for your brain.
Instead of just using a calendar, use systems that visualize the passage of time and the weight of your commitments. Often time blindness can hit us not only in the moment, but also while were in the planning phase, when we don't realize how much we're really taking on.