PodcastsEducationThe ADHD Skills Lab

The ADHD Skills Lab

Skye Waterson
The ADHD Skills Lab
Latest episode

123 episodes

  • The ADHD Skills Lab

    Why ADHD Brains Rely on Hyperfocus (and Why It Backfires)

    05/1/2026 | 13 mins.

    Looking for the Bottleneck Reset Workshop? Click here for details: https://unconventionalorganisation.circle.so/checkout/bottleneck-reset-workshop-wednesday-jan-21stIf you have ADHD, you probably know this pattern. You’re foggy, scattered, or stuck… until a deadline hits. Then suddenly, you’re laser-focused, productive, unstoppable. And afterwards, you’re wrecked. In this episode, Skye and William Curb from Hacking Your ADHD unpack why hyperfocus feels like the only way to get things done, and why it quietly creates more stress, burnout, and long-term chaos than most people realize. Using research on university students, we explore how executive function difficulties change the way ADHD brains access focus, why more ADHD symptoms often lead to more hyperfocus (not less), and why relying on pressure is not a sustainable strategy, even if it looks productive on the surface. This episode is for late-diagnosed adults, professionals, and business owners with ADHD who keep asking themselves: “Why do I only function when everything’s urgent?” “And why does it always cost me afterwards?” What we cover:- Why hyperfocus shows up most when things feel critical or overwhelming - How executive function difficulties push ADHD brains into last-minute intensity - The difference between intense focus and sustainable focus - How hyperfocus borrows energy from your future self - What this pattern means for productivity, stress, and burnout long-term P.S. If your ADHD symptoms turn every business day into chaos—unfinished tasks piling up, revenue stuck, systems that don't stick—it's not you. It's your operating system. We help service business owners unblock their next $50-500k with simple systems that focus their brain. Watch this video to see how we do it, then take the program walkthrough.

  • The ADHD Skills Lab

    ADHD and Advertising: Making Sense of the Noise

    29/12/2025 | 41 mins.

    Ads are overwhelming for a lot of ADHD business owners, not because they are bad at marketing, but because the information is scattered, noisy, and contradictory.In this episode, Skye talks with ads expert Jeremy Pogue, founder of Summit Acquisition, about how ads actually work at a high level, what they are and are not responsible for, and how to think about them without spiraling into complexity.This is a grounding conversation designed to help you understand the landscape before you decide anything.What we coverAds as awareness, not instant resultsWhy starting small matters emotionally and financiallyThe role of time and patience in ad performanceCommon misunderstandings that create anxietyHow to tell if ads even belong in your business right nowConnect with Jeremy: Instagram: jeremy_pogue. YouTube: @Jeremy_Pogue P.S. If your ADHD symptoms turn every business day into chaos—unfinished tasks piling up, revenue stuck, systems that don't stick—it's not you. It's your operating system. We help service business owners unblock their next $50-500k with simple systems that focus their brain. Watch this video to see how we do it, then take the program walkthrough.

  • The ADHD Skills Lab

    Why ADHD Brains Struggle With Video Content

    22/12/2025 | 18 mins.

    Video is everywhere, but very little of it is designed with ADHD in mind.In this Research Recap, Skye and William Curb from Hacking Your ADHD unpack a qualitative study exploring how people with ADHD actually experience video content. From captions to pacing to visual overload, they look at what helps, what hurts, and why one size never fits all.They also talk about why many ADHD viewers adapt by speeding up videos, multitasking, or using video as background stimulation, and how those habits make a lot more sense once you understand the research.This is a grounded look at accessibility, attention, and why flexibility matters more than rules when it comes to ADHD and learning.What we coverHow ADHD viewers experience video differentlyWhy captions help some people and frustrate othersThe impact of pacing and playback speed on focusWhy redundancy can improve comprehensionWhat accessibility really means for ADHDIf you want a copy of the research paper discussed in this episode, DM VIDEO to on Instagram to @unconventionalorganisation and we will send it to you.Want more of Will’s work? Go check out HackingYourADHD.com or subscribe to his YouTube channel P.S. If your ADHD symptoms turn every business day into chaos—unfinished tasks piling up, revenue stuck, systems that don't stick—it's not you. It's your operating system. We help service business owners unblock their next $50-500k with simple systems that focus their brain. Watch this video to see how we do it, then take the program walkthrough.

  • The ADHD Skills Lab

    Focus, Flight, and Figuring It Out: An ADHD Founder’s Journey

    15/12/2025 | 45 mins.

    Skye sits down with Carly Braker, founder of Avialan Blue, to talk about building a high tech areospace engineering consultancy while navigating ADHD. Carly shares how she masked symptoms growing up, why the “real world” hit harder, and the adjustments she had to make when deep focus, sensory overwhelm, and impostor feelings collided with entrepreneurship.What we cover:Why gifted kids often miss their own ADHD signsThe crash that happens when school structure disappearsThe identity shift from employee to founderWhat it took to create stability in a high focus consulting businessHow behaviour mapping helped her create systems that actually workCurious to see more of Carly’s work? You can find it here: https://www.avialanblue.com/adhdskillslab/Connect with Carly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlybraker/ P.S. If your ADHD symptoms turn every business day into chaos—unfinished tasks piling up, revenue stuck, systems that don't stick—it's not you. It's your operating system. We help service business owners unblock their next $50-500k with simple systems that focus their brain. Watch this video to see how we do it, then take the program walkthrough.

  • The ADHD Skills Lab

    ADHD Strengths and Success: The Evidence Behind the Myth

    08/12/2025 | 24 mins.

    People love to say ADHD comes with superpowers. The research is more nuanced.In this Research Recap with William Curb from Hacking Your ADHD, Skye and Will examine two papers that look at ADHD strengths in careers. They discuss the themes that appear across 79 studies, the stories from qualitative interviews, and the complicated truth about strengths that can help and hurt depending on context.What we cover:Why creativity and idea linking appear across ADHD career researchHyperfocus: strength, liability, or bothHow environment can support or sabotage ADHD strengthsThe emotional side of ADHD achievement before diagnosisThe role of humor, resilience, and adaptive altruismWant more of Will’s work? Go check out HackingYourADHD.com or subscribe to his YouTube channel P.S. If your ADHD symptoms turn every business day into chaos—unfinished tasks piling up, revenue stuck, systems that don't stick—it's not you. It's your operating system. We help service business owners unblock their next $50-500k with simple systems that focus their brain. Watch this video to see how we do it, then take the program walkthrough.

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About The ADHD Skills Lab

Navigate each day in an ADHD-friendly way – with research-backed strategies, real-life experiences and expert advice. Each week, UO founder Skye Waterson chats with expert guests, reviews the latest ADHD research, takes your questions and offers practical support to help you move past whatever may be holding you back. Skye Waterson is a former academic turned coach, podcast host, and founder of an international ADHD support service, Unconventional Organisation. After getting a surprise ADHD diagnosis in the first year of her PhD, Skye turned her struggles into research-based strategies. She researched and wrote over 50 articles with a combined readership of 250,000+ and then began her next phase of disseminating these strategies around the world. After being invited to share her strategies with the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) in 2022, Skye has supported late-diagnosed healthcare professionals, professors, lawyers, reporters, fortune 500 directors, and entrepreneurs. She crafted her vision for Unconventional Organisation after realizing how few personalized ADHD strategies were available for adults following her diagnosis.
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