In Perpetual Pursuit

Neurodiversity and....Laundry If I ran the world, laundry machines would be located on the floor of the house where you generate the most laundry.  This whole carrying laundry up and down flights of stairs is just inefficient.  Laundry is the bane of my existence.  (BUT I LOVE FOLDING LAUNDRY!) I struggle with laundry. I'm not the only one who struggles with laundry.  Here's some strategies I've used before to tackle laundry: The monthly laundromat bender: *note this requires purchasing enough underwear, socks, and clothes to go 6 weeks. Before I was married, I didn't even own a washer or dryer.  I went to the laundromat once a month, loaded up an audiobook, plugged in my headphones and went to town. I had it down to a science. I knew how to spread my laundry out in multiple washers and dryers so in about 4 hours total including...putting my clothes away at home (gasp), I was DONE with laundry for a MONTH. I loved this system. I literally never stopped moving......

One of my best note taking tips: Index Cards It seems so simple​!  I keep a resource list that is numbered and the source is written on my resource list (I keep this on a piece of paper in the box i store my index cards)  I use a code system and write a number in the upper right hand corner corresponding to the resource number so its quick and easy. I use one index card for each note or thought.  So if I'm listening to a podcast and there are several great ideas/thoughts, I add it to my resource list, then jot each note or thought on an index card, then add it to my resource box. Why I do it:  Long pages of notes can be cumbersome and often get lost in the shuffle. Index cards are sortable When I need inspiration, I sort thru the cards.  Generally if I write it down, I can find it later.  I will generally remember where I heard or read the note and can eliminate the other options based on the resource number. B/C i have adhd and can get overwhelmed easily, ...

In Today's Episode of "Another Moment inside Caroline's Brain" we examine how one loses a NEON YELLOW Earbud Case 🎥Scene: Headphones say "Battery Low" while in office 🧠1: Where is your NEON YELLOW skull candy case? 👀: Don't see it sitting out 🧠1:check your purse pocket you always keep it in 👀: Nope 🧠1:Check your work bag even though they don't go there. 🧠2: Its not there you never put it there 🧠1: look anyway 👀: Nope 🧠2: How does this stuff keep happening. I bought a yellow neon case and i'm so careful to always put things back. This is ridiculous. How can I be so stupid. No wonder you aren't good at anything. You're probably going to lose the damn headphones and then you'll find the case. 🧠1: First of all... stop. Just stop. Second, let's go put the headphones in your purse pocket. That's something you can control. 🧠2 :grumbles and puts headphones in pocket. 🧠1: OK, now that we're out of our head, lets think ...

Coaching is the easy part.  In-the-moment work like coaching practice, teaching a swim lesson....Those are my "easy brain buttons".  The hard work was all the other stuff....the work of creating a season plan. Of writing practice. Of writing lesson plans. They were ALL A WASTE OF TIME because I threw them out the window and coached/taught from feel anyway....based on the kids that were there that day, based on what I saw happening in the water.    Yes, I had a loose idea of what I needed to accomplish that day and that part of the season. Often a pre-planned main set for the older athletes was all I really needed to coach.  I had a series of warmups that athletes knew, so as they were warming up without a lot of 'need' for my attention, I was assessing strokes, the athletes, their energy levels.... all so I could coach to what the group needed that day.   (It also relieved my frustration of late stragglers, since I'd already 'done the work' explaining ...

School was always easy for me. Work never has been. My Brain on 'Hard' The type of work that is hard for my brain isn't breaking down a project into small pieces and assigning them. It's not the 5-hour shift at Jo-Ann Fabrics as a young adult.  It is not the act of teaching swim lessons or coaching a workout. Those are 'Easy Buttons." What's hard for me? It's doing my pieces of that project puzzle before the other people need it to do their pieces.  It's staying on task and not deviating from it. It's trying desperately to not go down a rabbit hole and spending 4 hours on research for something not exactly relevant but kinda is relevant and you know you probably need the information for something later and having all this knowledge is why you're so gifted so why not go down the rabbit hole It's being terrified to stop working because you may never get back to this project because its not finished and if you stop you may not be able to s...

 Hi! I'm Caroline and I have ADHD. Yeah, I OWN having ADHD. ADHD is a life of paradoxes.  Like....  I can get a lot done in a short amount of time, but my sense of time is different than neurotypicals. It's either now...or, not now. That's it! Ways I manage My ADHD Calendly Google Calendar Wardrobe Simplicity Amazon Subscribe and Save  Objects at their point of performance  Conditions of Success: (Avoiding PDA) Video calls as much as possible Label where things go Put things back White furniture Focusmate My Brain Book Asana see the bottom of the blog for elaborated answers      Things I'm working on: (or struggling with) Eliminating Choices Stopping work in order to be on time when I could 'just squeeze in this one more thing' CLUTTER The art of getting things done Administrative assistant Light Colored furniture Not picking my face not binging on food for dopamine Things that drive me batshit about the system of navigating ADHD Paper prescrip...

In Today's Episode of "Another Moment inside Caroline's Brain" we examine losing a Surface Pro Pen With ADHD, we are constantly trying to exist in a world that does not work for our brains.  It's exhausting sometimes.  Nothing exists to work for you.  The world wants you to behave and navigate a specific way.   There are things that I just don't do because I just can't. But there are things we have to do-like laundry and pay bills and get the work done, that means we have to hack and hack and hack, just to do the thing. To get the thing started. Our brains are exhausted just from navigating day-to-day life. I AM SO TIRED. ---

Today we're going to talk ADHD and PDA. Yep.  PDA. You're probably thinking PDA?!?!? 💋💋💋 Noooo not that kind of PDA 😂🤣🤣 PDA for ND (Neurodiverse) people is short for "Pathological Demand Avoidance" Essentially, our brains fight against us to do tasks we 'should' or 'need' to do, and sometimes even activities we want to do,  like, or love. Examples: Fold and put away the laundry, go to bed, have sex with our partner, eat, go to the bathroom when we realize we need to, get out of bed, get to the gym. It's EXHAUSTING.  Once I learned about PDA from an Autistic person, Harry Thompson , my mind was blown. He gave an example of how if he needs to go to bed, he just can't...He'll be up all night, just avoiding the demand to go to bed he's placed on himself.   I DO THIS TOO!!!!!  MIND BLOWN What this Autistic person suggests is creating CONDITIONS for success.  Instead of avoiding bed, he just .... goes to bed, but the intent is NOT to go...