Hacking Your ADHD

In this special rebroadcast, we are revisiting a conversation about a phrase many of us use at the start of a new project or a new year: "I want to hit the ground running."
Often, we start with great momentum, but it doesn't take much—like an unexpected illness or a change in schedule—to throw a snag into our plans. For those of us with ADHD, we tend to thrive on speed and urgency. We don't want to wait around, and that "emergency" energy can be a powerful motivator. However, living from one urgent task to the next often means we never get around to the things that are important but don't have an immediate deadline.
In today's episode, we explore how to use urgency as a tool without letting it run our lives, and how we can intentionally make space for the tasks that truly matter in the long run.
This Episode's Top Tips
Urgency vs. Importance: Just because a task feels urgent doesn't mean it is actually important. We often feel an internal pressure to act immediately, but it's essential to pause and evaluate if that task truly requires our instant attention.

The Deadline Trap: We frequently use deadlines as our primary source of motivation. However, living deadline-to-deadline ensures that only "urgent" tasks get finished, while the "important but not urgent" goals—the ones that often lead to the most growth—continually fall by the wayside.

Creating Artificial Pressure: Since important but non-urgent tasks lack a natural "fire" to get us moving, we can use accountability to bridge the gap. Creating artificial deadlines or engaging in co-working and body-doubling sessions are great ways to ensure we follow through on our long-term plans.

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 and how it was conducted, and try to find any practical takeaways.
In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Bidirectional Association Between Allergic Rhinitis and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." This is a comprehensive study looking at the relationship between allergic rhinitis—which is more commonly known as hay fever—and ADHD. All right, let's get into it.
If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/305
https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link
https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube
https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

Hey team,
We're dipping into the archives this week to revisit one of my favorite high-energy conversations! This episode features the incredible Rachel Scanlon—stand-up comedian, actress, writer, and co-host of the podcast Two Dykes and a Mic. You may have seen her on Don't Tell Comedy or Comedy Central, bringing her signature positivity to the stage.
In this classic episode, Rachel and I dive deep into her ADHD journey and the intentional choices she's made to manage it. We also explore the fascinating intersection of ADHD and queer identity. Whether we're talking about the struggles of the classroom or the magic of finding your voice through podcasting, this conversation is a masterclass in the power of embracing your unique experience.
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Find the full show note at HackingYourADHD.com/149
This Episode's Top Tips
Challenge the Labels: ADHD is often unfairly linked to being "lazy" or "scatterbrained." Let's shift the focus to our real strengths: drive, engagement, and compassion.

Embrace Your Brain: Understanding your neurodivergence is liberating. Stop trying to fit the neurotypical mold and start celebrating what makes you you.

Explore the Intersections: There is a unique overlap between the queer and neurodivergent experiences. Self-reflection and introspection are vital tools for self-discovery.

Find Your Outlet: Creative self-expression is a superpower. Lean into your strengths to find fulfillment in what you do.

Hey team,
As we look at ways to refresh our systems, we're rebroadcasting a fan-favorite episode featuring ADHD coach Shane Thrapp. We're diving deep into the world of Focus101, a free digital body-doubling platform designed to help you reclaim your focus.
If you struggle with task initiation or follow-through, this episode covers the essential mechanics of body-doubling. Shane and I discuss how working in the presence of others—even virtually—can dramatically reduce distractions. We also touch on the "productivity stack": using Pomodoros, alarms, and task-splitting to make your work sessions even more effective.
This Episode's Top Tips (A Refresher):
The Power of Presence: Body doubling is a technique where working in the presence of another person provides the external accountability many ADHDers need to stay on track and motivated.

Stack Your Tools: Body doubling is even more effective when paired with "micro-productivity" tools like Pomodoro timers, scheduled alarms, and breaking large projects into tiny, actionable steps.

Focus101: As discussed with Shane, Focus101 is a free, specialized tool that combines body doubling with accountability groups and timing features specifically for the ADHD community.

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—or, in today's case, multiple papers—and dive into what they say, how they were conducted, and try to find practical takeaways.
The first paper we're discussing is called "The MTA at Eight Years: Prospective Follow-Up of Children Treated for Combined-Type ADHD in a Multisite Study." This is about the MTA, the Multitreatment Study of Children with ADHD, which was the largest, most expensive, and most influential study conducted on ADHD treatment, originally published in 1999. It had a huge impact on how we view ADHD, especially in highlighting the shift toward thinking of ADHD as a chronic condition that requires sustained management rather than just something you "cure." Let's dive in and talk about what's going on in this eight-year follow-up study.
If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/304
https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link
https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube
https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon