I've been thinking a lot about the idea that thinking about planning isn't the same thing as planning. When we're just thinking about planning, sure, we're imagining the steps, the obstacles, the finished results, but we often get stuck in the execution gap, where we think we know exactly what we need to do, but can't actually find a way of getting ourselves to do it.

So we’ve got a bit of a different kind of episode today. I am talking with Derek Hales, the founder and editor-in-chief of NapLab, a mattress review website. While that might not scream ADHD, I was interested in having this conversation because so many of us with ADHD have issues around sleep. And what really impressed me with Naplab is how they’ve really focused on turning mattress testing into actual science, moving away from just "it-feels-soft vibes" and towards using thermal cameras, accelerometers, and other gadgets to really see what's going on with each of these mattresses. 

In this episode, we’re going to be discussing a paper called "Brain potentials reveal reduced attention and error processing during a monetary go/no-go task in procrastination." This study looks at how procrastinators handle mistakes and try to stay focused, especially when tasks get harder, and how those differences in rewards and punishment affect those outcomes. So, there is a lot there—and I’m going to tell you, this paper has a ton of acronyms. Let’s get into it.

Today I’m talking with Katy Weber, a certified ADHD coach and the creator of the top-rated Women & ADHD podcast. After a career in journalism and wellness, Katy was diagnosed with ADHD at 45. Following that diagnosis, she has built a platform helping neurodivergent women move past the shame of late diagnosis and into a place of radical self-acceptance.

So today we’re talking about midnight motivation - that late-night urge to turn your life around that somehow doesn’t translate into the next day. We’re going to be talking about why, in the quiet of the night, we become these master architects of our own lives, designing sprawling mansions of productivity because we don’t have to worry about the cost of materials or even the laws of physics. But when we wake up, we’re no longer the architect; we’re the contractor. Or maybe even more accurately, the subcontractor who has been handed some hastily drawn out plans on the back of a bar napkin. So in this episode, we’re going to look at why our ADHD brains love building these "theoretical" lives when the world is on pause and how we can start translating those blueprints into something we can actually build during the daylight hours.

Today I’m talking with Meredith Carder, author of It All Makes Sense Now. Meredith is an ADHD coach and the creator behind the popular Instagram account @hummingbird_adhd, where she focuses on neuro-affirming strategies for adults. With a background in psychology and an MBA, she brings a unique perspective on how we can bridge the gap between our high-level professional goals and the executive dysfunction that often gets in the way.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Time Perception in Adults: Findings from a Decade Review." In this paper, they analyzed a decade of research—from 2012 to 2022—investigating the specific nature of time perception deficits for adults with ADHD. Time is a little bit more complex than we often think, so let's get into how complex it really is.

This week, I’m talking with Caroline Maguire, a veteran social skills coach and the founder of the Social Excellence training program. She holds a Master's in Social Emotional Learning and is one of the few experts who approaches social skills as a "muscle" that can be built, rather than an innate talent you either have or you don't. Her first book, Why Will No One Play with Me?, became an instant staple for neurodivergent families helping children struggling with social skills to make friends. And with what she learned from that book she is now bringing to her upcoming book, Friendship Skills for Neurodivergent Adults: A Guide for the Anxious, Uniquely Wired, and Easily Distracted.

We often talk about the "internal" struggles of ADHD, the messy desks and the forgotten appointments, but we don't always talk about how the outside world reacts to those traits. I’m joined by Brooke Schnittman, an ADHD coach and the best-selling author of Activate Your ADHD Potential. Brooke has worked with thousands of individuals to help them develop sustainable systems for focus and emotional regulation, but today, she’s here to talk about a global study she conducted on the link between ADHD and bullying.

So in today’s episode, we’re talking about how this study was conducted and what we can garner from that data. We also discuss the "invisible disability" penalty, where our symptoms are misinterpreted as character flaws, and how "masking" can actually prevent us from progressing because we’re too busy being chameleons. And we also cover some practical ways to identify safe people and build a "reciprocal" support system that helps buffer against the impact of chronic criticism.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Improvement of Anxiety and ADHD following goal-focused cognitive remediation: a randomized controlled trial." This study investigates goal-focused interventions and looks at whether they can improve executive function and emotional well-being for adults with ADHD. There’s not too much to the intro, so let's get into it.

This week, I’m talking with Dr. Anupriya Gogne, a psychiatrist at Brown University Health in Rhode Island. Dr. Gonge works at the crossroads of addiction psychiatry and neurodevelopmental disorders, with a specific focus on treating ADHD during pregnancy and the postpartum period. She’s dedicated to clearing up the misinformation surrounding medication safety during pregnancy, which can be seen in her book, Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Adult Women: Special Considerations in the Perinatal Period.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Use of Cosmetics in Pregnancy and Neurotoxicity: Can it Increase the Risks of Congenital Enteric Neuropathies?" That's a lot. In this, the authors explore the hypothesis of neurotoxins such as microplastics, parabens, benzophenones, phthalates, and metals that can cross the placental barrier and disrupt the development of the fetal nervous system.

This week I’ve got Cate Osborn and Erik Gude on the show. Cate, known online as Catieosaurus, holds an M.Ed and uses her background in research and sex education to help neurodivergent folks navigate relationships and communication. Erik, known online as HeyGude, is an advocate and speaker who uses his platform to destigmatize the messy internal monologue of the ADHD brain. Honestly, it almost feels like I don’t need to introduce these two given everything they’ve produced; they are definitely an online powerhouses. I’ve been a fan of their podcast, Catie and Erik's Infinite Quest: An ADHD Adventure, for quite a while now. So I imagine you’ve probably seen at least something from them.

I’ve been working on a presentation for an upcoming conference called Neurodiversion, and when I was thinking about what I wanted to present, the idea of memes came to me, and I'm gonna be honest here: this was mostly out of a desire to just make looking at memes part of work. As I started looking into the concept more and putting together the presentation, I realized there's a lot more to it than I initially thought.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 take a look at a single research paper and dive into what the paper says, how it was conducted, and try to find any practical takeaways.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Atomoxetine treatment strengthens an anti-correlation relationship between functional brain networks in medication-naive adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial." Yes, that's the full study name.