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I don't know if Sam has ADHD, but these tips are very compatible with those that I use to manage my productivity with ADHD. ex: paper lists - physical stimulat

I don't know if Sam has ADHD, but these tips are very compatible with those that I use to manage my productivity with ADHD. ex: paper lists - physical stimulation from writing is rewarding, and re-writing things helps reinforce importance and accommodate for bad memory / executive functions (bullet journaling works great for this reason too) skip breakfast + am espresso - I prefer medication for stimulation (game changer) vs caffeine, but breafast can definitely be a distraction. Removing unnecessary decisions in general helps me not go off track AM blocked from interruptions - super critical for me to have time without people expecting me to respond immediately. this is prime "hyperfocus" time for deep work Sleep hygeine - many adhd'rs struggle to sleep since their mind keeps running, indicas are preferred among my friends for helping with that. Personally I fall asleep better than most so its more of a matter of not giving into temptation to stay up late with my night-owl husband. Needing to be interested to work on something - definitely a hard requirement for me. Those periods of low motivation / brainfog are relatable too. I'm not sure if it's burnout, overstimulation catching up, weed messing up my dopamine (I try to take a month or two off per year to keep that in check) or just that the world is sometimes too boring. Tempted by "productivity porn" - I'm bad about totally buying into a system (ie, GTD) and using it perfectly for about a week before getting bored. to be fair, it's not bad for a week, but sometimes I use it to avoid doing other things which is a problem. Exercise - I dont do this enough but I probably should. There's a semi prominent ADHDer (Peter Shankman) who swears that it makes a huge difference. But I dont lean towards the hyperactive type anyhow so it's not as appealing to me. The only thing I might add would be that making time for mindful meditation, 15 min a day, has been tremendously helpful in maintaining a healthy emotional state. Practicing non-reactivity and learning the value of not dwelling excessively on negative thoughts and experiences really gives your mind more time to think of better stuff. Self forgiveness is a big one too. Anyhow, if anyone is able to use Sam's advice to reduce stress or reclaim time for themselves, it will have been worth the writeup. Always love reading this kind of stuff.

opdahl 9y ago
When do you practice the meditation? I’ve been struggling to find a good spot to fit it into my routine. Usually I’m too anxious to get working in the morning, and too tired to do it before bed.
- sudosteph 9y ago
  The best times for me are either at lunch time, or late afternoon / early evening. I like to use it to help transition between parts of the day, it's a good way to wind down and collect yourself so you can change gears. I mostly wfh these days, so it's not hard to find a quiet spot, but when I went into the office I would usually just take a lunch break in a nearby park and put headphones in, nobody bothered me. Walking meditations can be nice too if your space to practice is limited or noisy. If it comes to it though, morning sessions are actually pretty great. It's only 15 min so if your schedule allows it, doing it then and just observing the work anxiety might actually be great practice. Probably worth trying at various times and seeing what is most effective. Agreed about before bed time being tough though, I would fall asleep if I did it then.
  - criddell 9y ago
    I recently stopped meditating. I got some nice benefits at the beginning but diminishing returns set in. The skills I learned are certainly still valuable to me and I use them enough during my week that I'm not afraid of losing them. I quit because I wanted to take guitar lessons and needed to find 30 minutes a day for practice.

opdahl 9y ago

When do you practice the meditation? I’ve been struggling to find a good spot to fit it into my routine. Usually I’m too anxious to get working in the morning, and too tired to do it before bed.

sudosteph 9y ago
The best times for me are either at lunch time, or late afternoon / early evening. I like to use it to help transition between parts of the day, it's a good way to wind down and collect yourself so you can change gears. I mostly wfh these days, so it's not hard to find a quiet spot, but when I went into the office I would usually just take a lunch break in a nearby park and put headphones in, nobody bothered me. Walking meditations can be nice too if your space to practice is limited or noisy. If it comes to it though, morning sessions are actually pretty great. It's only 15 min so if your schedule allows it, doing it then and just observing the work anxiety might actually be great practice. Probably worth trying at various times and seeing what is most effective. Agreed about before bed time being tough though, I would fall asleep if I did it then.
- criddell 9y ago
  I recently stopped meditating. I got some nice benefits at the beginning but diminishing returns set in. The skills I learned are certainly still valuable to me and I use them enough during my week that I'm not afraid of losing them. I quit because I wanted to take guitar lessons and needed to find 30 minutes a day for practice.