Tag Archives: Coaching

I want to change my ADD life. What can I do?

ADD is a way of life, a difference in the way you see and move in the world. You can learn to manage the world and use your brain.A series of short articles by Sarah Jane Keyser. Follow the links.

ADD has strengths as well as weaknesses; like heads and tails, you can’t have one without the other.

Attention Deficit Disorder is not an illness (in spite of the name) and there is no “cure”. ADD is a way of life, a difference in the way you see and move in the world.

You can learn to manage the world and use your brain.

There are many ways to train your brain. Usually, a combination of medication, ADHD coaching strategies, and exercise is most effective. Each individual needs to discover what combination works best for him or her.

Here are some ways that you can change your life:

Life Styles for ADD – You can do many things for yourself. A good program includes exercise, what to eat, how to breathe, how to get to sleep and how to enjoy.

Maintaining the Brain – If your car runs on two cylinders you take it to the garage. If your brain sputters take it to a doctor for a checkup.

ADD Coaching Strategies – A coach is a partner who guides you to new ways of seeing yourself and the world. An ADD coach who knows how ADD feels and understands the ADD brain can help you value your strengths and structure your life.

Celebrating ADD – Learn to appreciate the passion and sparkle which are the gift of ADD.

 

 

Published by Sarah Jane Keyser, Copyright 2006, all rights reserved. Learn more about ADHD at Coaching Key to ADHD

Permission is granted to forward or post this content in full for use in a not-for-profit format, as long as this copyright notice and full information about the author, Sarah Jane Keyser, is attached intact. If any other use is desired, permission in writing is required.

*** About Sarah Jane *** Sarah Jane Keyser worked for many years with computers as a programmer, analyst, and user trainer, but her struggle with inattentive ADD kept getting in the way of her plans and dreams. Her credentials include ADD Coach training at the ADD Coach Academy, the Newfield Network’s graduate coaching program “Mastery in Coaching” and “Coaching Kids and Teens” by Jodi Sleeper-Triplett MCC. Sarah Jane is an American living in Switzerland who coaches in French and English by telephone.

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ADHD Coaching Strategies

 Vanquish negative thought patterns and help build strategies to master organization and time management.From I want to change my ADD life. What can I do? – A series of short articles by ADD coach Sara Jane Keyzer

How is ADD Coaching and how does it work?

ADHD Coaching is a partnership dedicated to you. ADHD Coaching provides support and encouragement for you to follow your passion and realize the visions of your childhood.

Editor’s note: A coach can be anyone who believes in you and cheers you on. Your friends or family, a mentor, or even an employer can help you find your strengths and develop them. It’s important, however, for both of you to understand ADHD and how it impacts your life so that you can work around it. If you cannot afford a personal coach,  see Alternatives to ADHD Coaching which lists group coaching, self-coaching, and other options.

Finding a Support group, online or in person, can also help.  See my Pinterest boards, Lead with your Strengths and ADHD Coaching Strategies for ideas. If you are not on Pinterest, you can access 50 of ADD freeSources’ boards on Facebook. Look down the left side for the  Pinterest button.

ADHD Coaching will help you vanquish negative thought patterns and help you build strategies to master organization and time management. New confidence and a healthy self-image provide the motor to climb your personal mountains.

Your coach will listen to your stories of pain and frustration and hear your wholeness, your strengths, and hidden resources. Powerful questions open up new vistas to explore. Making choices leads to ownership instead of victimization. The result is a new awareness of self. Your coach is your loudest cheerleader, and they expect you to succeed.

ADHD Coaching starts with an inventory of where you are now and where you want to go. Many clients want some help organizing, managing time, and surviving overwhelm. You will choose two or three areas on which you want to focus in your coaching.

In following sessions, usually held once a week by telephone, a coach will hear your success report, help you explore problems that have arisen and ask you to choose and commit to your next steps for the next period of time.

A successful ADHD coaching relationship requires honesty and a willingness to change. You will do the work of creating new habits. It is important that this is important to you and not your spouse, parent or employer. A coach must be able to be honest with you. It may be hard, but important for you to learn how others see you.

Return to: I want to change my ADD life. What can I do?

If you need help choosing a coach, see: Find an ADD Coach. If you cannot afford a personal coach,  see Alternatives to ADHD Coaching which lists group coaching, self-coaching, and other options.

***See below for our Pinterest boards with more specific ADD Coaching Strategies.

 

Published by Sarah Jane Keyser, Copyright 2006, all rights reserved. Coaching Key to ADD

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20 Tools to Enhance your Memory

20 Tools to Enhance your MemoryBy ADD coach Marla Cummins

(Note: Many links return to other articles by Marla Cummins on her site.)

For adults with ADHD, not being able to remember your intentions is what can sometimes get in the way of following through.

I know from plenty of personal experience with forgetting everything from the mundane to the important, it can be really frustrating.

But, rather than berate yourself because you think you should have a better memory, you can adopt workarounds to help you remember what you need and minimize your frustration.

Below I’ve curated a lengthy list of possible options you can apply to the various situations in your life. And, if you can think of more, please share below.

Short Term and Long Term Memory

First, a little bit about why you may have such a hard time remembering information at the time you need it.

One reason is that short term (working) memory is often weak in adults with ADHD.

  • That is, you may not hold information long enough to follow through on it. So, you say to yourself, “I need to drop off that folder at Joe’s office before I leave.” Then you turn around to get your jacket, pack up and forget about the folder. All within the span of a few minutes!
  • Because you do not hold onto information long enough it also does not enter your long term memory. So, it is lost to you until Bill says to you, “Hey, Lisa, I didn’t get that email you said you would send when I saw you in the hall yesterday.”

Challenges with long term memory are also common for adults with ADHD.

  • This can mean that you have difficulty remembering your intention to do something in the future. So, as you are leaving the office you have this nagging feeling you are supposed to do something before going home. Not until you get home do you remember you were supposed to pick up the take-out!
  • Also, you may have difficulty recalling information when you need it. You go to the meeting and can’t remember all the details of the report you want to share.

Bottom line. Your memory, like mine, may be more like Swiss Cheese than a trap door. That is ok, as long as you use some of the methods below to help you remember what you need when you need it.

Remembering What You Want

    1. Paper-Based Task Managers– If you are looking for a comprehensive paper-based system to manage your to-dos, try the Planner Pad.

Their web site is oudated but don’t be discouraged. See this article about why to use it.

  1. Electronic Task Managers You may opt for an electronic system to manage your to-dos. These range from the simple, like Remember The Milk,   to the more comprehensive like OmnifocusNozbeToodledo or, Todoist.

 

  1. Put It Where You Can Do Something About It– For example, when you have books to return to the library, clothes to donate, etc. put them in the car where you can see them. That way you can take care of them when you are out and about. Could save you an extra trip.

 

  1. Just Do It!– If a task is going to take you less than 2 minutes (literally), it may be worth it to just do it rather than trying to figure out how you are going to remember to do it later. Of course, you want to be careful that doing that task doesn’t take you away from what your primary intention in the moment.

 

  1. Put It In Your Calendar– You calendar contains the hard landscape of your life. A commitment for a specific day and/or time should go in your calendar. Right away. Even if it is tentative, put it in your calendar and mark it as “tentative” until you can confirm it. That way you will not double-book.

You can find more tips on using your calendar here.

 

  1. Post It Where You Can See It– Maybe you want daily reminders of how you want to be or what you want to achieve. Whether it is a quote, list or vision board to visually illustrate your hopes and dreams, post it in a prominent place where you are most likely to see it regularly.

 

  1. Tie It To Another Habit– It is always easier to remember to do something if you can tie it to an already well-established habit. For example, if you are trying to remember to take your meds, put them by your toothbrush.

 

  1. A Plain Piece Of White Paper– I’ll admit this isn’t the most environmentally sound option. But it is one I use every day. Write the 3-5 tasks you are committed doing each day on a piece of paper and put it where you will see it (middle of your desk, taped to your monitor, on the wall, etc).

 

  1. Weekly Review– To offset the pull of immediate gratification, the weekly review is the time when you assess where you are vis -a- vis your projects and goals in your various areas of focus, as well as plan the next action steps. By doing this on a weekly basis you can be confident you are remembering your important stuff and time is not just slipping away.

 

  1. Post A List– When you notice you are out of something, immediately put it on a list that you leave on your fridge or another easily accessible place. That way you won’t worry about trying to remember it when you get around to creating your grocery/errand list.

 

  1. Read It Later!– We all know what a “time suck” the internet can be. And it may be that you are pulled to reading something immediately because you don’t think you will remember to read it later. Try an application like Instapaper or Pocket  to save articles you come across. And then you can refocus on your original intention.

 

  1. Electronic Notebook– An electronic notebook, like OneNote or EverNote,  is a great place to keep track of and remember all of your random ideas from project planning to lists.

 

  1. Send Yourself A Message– When you are out and about and something suddenly comes to mind, rather than assume you will remember it later, call, text or email yourself a message. But don’t wait. You know those ideas can be fleeting. Well, at least for me…

 

  1. Set An Alarm– Use an alarm to remind yourself of appointments. Since transitions can be a challenge, you may want to set two alarms. The first alarm will remind you to stop what you are doing and get ready. The second will be the reminder that it is time to go!

I suggest you don’t use alarms to remind yourself of tasks unless you are committed to doing it at a fixed time. Because, if the reminder goes off when you can’t do anything about it, you will learn to ignore those alarms. And they will just become background noise…

 

  1. Wake up and Reminder Services – You may tend to ignore your alarm, but I’ll bet you find it hard to ignore a phone ringing. Telephone reminder services like Wakeupland can help get you out of bed or to your appointments on time.

 

  1. Tracking – At the beginning just remembering the habits you are trying to build can be the hardest part to following through on them. Tracking your progress is a good way to remember.

And an app, like Beeminder, (link works or copy and paste: https://www.beeminder.com/) may be the extra support you need. As you track your goals, they will plot your progress on a yellow brick road and if you go off track they take your money!

 

  1. Meeting Notes– Taking notes during meetings will help you pay attention as well as have the information you need for later. Just as important is reviewing and taking action on your notes soon after.

 

  1. ADHD Coach– If you are working with an ADHD Coach, take advantage of the accountability support as you are trying to build new habits and makes changes.

 

  1. Launching Pad– Create a launching pad by the door where you put everything (purse, briefcase, etc.) you need for the next day. You could carve out a small space or use a small table for your launching pad.

 

  1. Put Your Keys In The Refrigerator– To remember your lunch put your keys with it in the refrigerator.

Share Your Tips

How do you get out of your head and remember what you need when you need it?

 

By Marla Cummins. Please visit Marla’s website at www.marlacummins.com for additional articles and resources on Adult ADHD. Original article posted at http://marlacummins.com/adhd-and-20-ways-to-remember-what-you-want/

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Find an ADD coach / ADD Coach Training

Find an ADD Coach
ADD coaching focuses on practical issues confronting the ADD adult, such as organization, managing time, and setting and reaching goals. ADHD Coaches can be therapists, although coaching is not therapy. Alex Hey writes, “An ADHD coach is able to look at the life circumstances of someone with ADHD and how ADHD is at work in their life. By knowing more about their own uniquely wired brain, the coaching client is better able to design action plans that will work for them. This is why it is important to find an ADHD coach who has training in ADHD.”

See The ADD Journey: Help for the Road Ahead or ADHD Coaching Strategies to learn more about ADHD Coaches and how their services differ from those offered by other treatment providers. For even more information, Totally ADD! has created 6 short videos titled “What is ADHD Coaching?

If you cannot afford a personal coach,  see ADHD Coaching Options which lists group coaching, self-coaching, and other options.

Search Tips – Most ADD coaches work over the phone. It’s possible that you won’t find one nearby. It may be more important to find one who deals with your specific needs rather than one close to you. With any site, just choose Coach as the Service Provider Type and the Age Group looking for help. To narrow the search further, make a selection from Coaching Focus. If you prefer someone nearby, your choices will be much more restricted.

Any ADHD Provider Directory will have a number of listings for Coaches.

You’ll find other listings through AD/HD Coach Certification or Training Programs.

You can also find a few referrals for Specialty Coaching for Teens and Parent below. 
AD/HD Coach Certification

The specialized field of ADD Coaching is still largely unregulated. No certification past that granted by the following organizations is required to call yourself an ADD Coach. Most of the Associations seeking to establish standards for ADD Coaching require applicants to have met the training requirements for Life Coaching set up by the International Coach Federation (ICF), International Association of Coaching (IAC), or the ADD Coach Academy (ADDCA)  with David Giwerc.

On the other hand, there are now ADHD Coaching Associations and specific ADHD Coach Training that credit specialized training in working with clients with ADHD.

The Professional Association of ADHD Coaches seeks to advance the field of AD/HD Coaching through the development and delivery of a professional credentialing standard for AD/HD Coaches worldwide. (No training available- instead they rate a coach’s experience and training to ascertain what ranking they should receive.) PAAC Certification requirements


ADHD Coach Training

The ADHD Coaches Organization (ACO)
ACO posts a number of Coach Training opportunities.
They also have a coach referral service. (Site under construction as of March 2019) It lists 150 life coaches who have additional training in ADHD.

ADD Coach Academy (ADDCA – with David Giwerc)
Provides coaching accreditation through ICF plus training for ADHD  – Site includes a Coaches Directory

Sandy Maynard of Catalytic Coaching offers Individual Coach Training

As does Susan Sussman and Laurie Dupar’s International ADHD Coach Training Institute. 

Additional Coach Training to work with Children and Teens with ADHD

Edge Foundation – Provides coaching for teens and college students as well as ADD coach training to certified life coaches. Find a coach for your teen here. Look at the top bar to find  coaches for your student or yourself.

 

Specialty Coaching for Teens and Parents

Edge Foundation – Provides coaching for teens and college students as well as ADD coach training to certified life coaches.

Parent coaching or groups – Online or phone-based.  Options vary from free services, like blogs and Facebook groups, to webinars, online or recorded classes to participatory groups and individual Parent coaching.  See our collection at  Parent Training Providers

 

 

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