Organizing an ADHD Brain

Welcome to Season 4 of Organizing an ADHD Brain!
In this kickoff episode, we talk about what it really means to work with your ADHD brain instead of against it with honest strategies from a working ADHD entrepreneur. We talk about daily rhythms, tools, and mindset shifts. Learn how self-compassion, body doubling, period tracking, and asking for help can transform your relationship with productivity and yourself.
If you've ever consumed all the ADHD advice in the world and still felt stuck implementing it, this episode is your permission slip to meet yourself where you are.
Mentioned in this episode:
Real daily/weekly rhythms, and tools to externalize your brain and stay accountable.
How to manage shame, burnout, and unrealistic expectations by giving yourself grace.
The connection between hormones, cycles, and ADHD symptoms
Different perspectives on what it means to work with your brain.
Resources on ADHD and Executive Function:
(Freebie) Dopamine Menu: https://www.organizinganadhdbrain.com/dopaminemenu
Time Management Skills and Organization Help for ADHD: https://www.additudemag.com/time-mana...

00:00 What Does it Mean to Work WITH Your Brain? 
07:47 There's Not Much Time in a Day 
09:22 Body Doubling Group 
12:00 Giving Yourself Grace for Not Getting Everything Done 
15:17 ADHD, Your Cycle, Shame, and The Unexpected 
20:21 Different Ways of Working with Your Brain 
22:12 The Reality of Being an ADHD Entrepreneur 
25:22 Where Can You Start and What’s Next?

Website: https://www.organizinganadhdbrain.com/
Blog: https://www.organizinganadhdbrain.com/blog
Events: https://www.organizinganadhdbrain.com/adhd-events

CONNECT
🔗 Instagram:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/megscrawford/
🔗 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@Organizing.an.adhd.brain
🔗 LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/MegsCrawford
🔗 Pintrest: https://www.pinterest.com/OrganizingAnADHDBrain/

Editing done by Ian Gilliam at Sabr Media LLC: https://www.iangilliam.com/sabr-media-llc

#ADHDProductivity #ADHDParenting #ADHDEntrepreneur #ADHD #Neurodivergent #ADHDBrain #ADHDCoach #Hyperfocus #ADHDPodcast #WorkWithYourBrain
Share your thoughts with Megs!
Would you like to learn more about hiring Megs as your ADHD coach? Start here> The Perfect Place to Start
The Community is OPEN! Join right here: Organizing an ADHD Brain
You can also learn more about the community HERE> OrganizinganADHDBrain.com

A year ago I sold everything, organized my whole life into a 5x8 trailer, and moved across the country. There's no after picture to show you — and that's exactly the point.
In this Season 3 finale, Megs looks back on a year of navigating the messy middle: rebuilding a life in Massachusetts, decluttering an entire home in fight-or-flight mode, learning to interrupt hyperfocus before it turns into burnout, and letting go of the Pinterest-perfect kitchen for pink countertops that are exactly enough. If you've ever made a beautiful plan, watched it fall apart, and decided that meant something was wrong with you — this one's for you.
In this episode:
 • Why the "before and after" picture is a lie, and what growth with ADHD actually looks like
 • How to catch yourself in fight-or-flight (even mid-oven-scrub) and come back to the present
 • The "shallow holes" problem: what happens when dopamine picks all your projects — and the treasure you find when you keep digging one
 • Why half-assing it beats no-assing it, every time
Plans change — that's not failure, it's data. If you want to build a flexible fall plan that works with your ADHD brain, join me for the Plan Your Fall Before It Plans You workshop on August 30th: Sign up here
Season 4 launches in September — with episodes on YouTube and big community news coming. Follow the show so you don't miss it. 💛
Related episode: Half-Assing It with Russ from ADHD Big Brother 
02:09 Finding joy and learning to play with ADHD
05:24 When your plans fall apart (and why that's data)
08:21 ADHD fight or flight: regulating in real time
14:52 Hard days, self-belief, and why community matters
19:58 Getting out of debt with ADHD
21:52 Why there's no perfect "after picture"
25:13 Shallow holes, dopamine, and half-assing it
Share your thoughts with Megs!
Would you like to learn more about hiring Megs as your ADHD coach? Start here> The Perfect Place to Start
The Community is OPEN! Join right here: Organizing an ADHD Brain
You can also learn more about the community HERE> OrganizinganADHDBrain.com

What if getting organized isn't something you finally achieve, but something you keep deciding, one small step at a time?
On this episode of Organizing an ADHD Brain, ADHD coach Megs revisits one of her earliest organizing episodes with fresh eyes, more ADHD knowledge, and a lot more compassion for how hard it actually is to start. Whether you're looking for ADHD coaching, a supportive ADHD community, or practical ways to get organized, this episode meets you where you are.
By the end, you'll have a realistic, shame-free framework for decluttering and building routines that actually work with your ADHD brain, not against it.
Megs opens by reflecting on how her thinking has shifted since recording this episode two years ago, particularly around not prescribing one-size-fits-all habits (she's officially retiring the 5 a.m. wake-up recommendation) and understanding organizing as a collaborative, regulated process rather than a checklist to complete. She shares her own history of growing up surrounded by generational clutter, her Facebook Marketplace decluttering phase, and what she learned from the book Decluttering at the Speed of Life, that not everything needs to be sold, and donating is often the more regulated, sustainable choice.
The episode covers why executive function challenges make starting and stopping so hard, why having less stuff means fewer decisions, and how tiny time-boxed steps, paired with reminders, habit stacking, a dedicated donation box, and focused "blinders", are what actually move the needle over time. She also talks through teaching kids organizing systems, what happens when everything feels equally important, and why action will always beat knowledge when it comes to getting your space under control.
The good news? You don't have to overhaul your whole home. You just have to start somewhere small, and then praise yourself for doing it, without shame.
Mentioned in this episode: 
Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K. White: https://amzn.to/43XyQAh
Resources on ADHD and Executive Function: 
What Are ADHD Executive Functions?: https://www.additudemag.com/slideshows/what-are-adhd-executive-functions/ 
How to Improve Executive Function with ADHD: https://www.additudemag.com/how-to-improve-executive-function-adhd/ 
Time Management Skills and Organization Help for ADHD: https://www.additudemag.com/time-management-skills-organization-help-adhd/
This episode is for anyone with ADHD who has tried to get organized, given up, and is ready to try again, this time with a plan that actually fits their brain.
00:00:39 — Revisiting Old Advice with Fresh Eyes and More ADHD Knowledge 
00:13:03 — 2026 Megs: Selling Versus Donating perspective
00:15:19 — 2026 Megs: Lessons Learned from Her Parents' Decluttering Journey 
00:20:57 — The Craft Closet Reality Check 
00:22:46 — 2026 Megs: Teaching Kids How to Use Organizing Systems 
00:25:54 — 2026 Megs: When Everything Feels Equally Important 
00:35:01 — Starting Small with Time-Boxed Organizing Sessions 
00:37:59 — 2026 Megs: Using Reminders and Habit Stacking to Build Consistency 
00:45:40 — Why Having Less Stuff Creates More Ease 
00:48:41 — Praising Your Progress Without Shame 
00:50:59 — 2026 Megs: The Messy Middle and Closing Thoughts
Share your thoughts with Megs!
Would you like to learn more about hiring Megs as your ADHD coach? Start here> The Perfect Place to Start
The Community is OPEN! Join right here: Organizing an ADHD Brain
You can also learn more about the community HERE> OrganizinganADHDBrain.com

Have you ever achieved something you were "supposed" to want, and still felt like something was quietly off?
On this episode of Organizing an ADHD Brain, ADHD coach Megs reconnects with Lauren Goldberg to talk about internalized ableism, disability pride, career transitions, and what it really means to work with your ADHD brain instead of against it. Whether you're looking for ADHD coaching, a supportive ADHD community, or practical ways to get organized, this episode meets you where you are.
By the end, you'll have a new lens for understanding the shame many of us carry around disability and neurodivergence, and what it looks like to slowly, imperfectly trade that shame in for pride.
Lauren was diagnosed with ADHD at age eight, but it wasn't until an ADHD reassessment for college that she learned she also had hearing loss. She shares what it felt like to hide her hearing aids, why she initially resisted identifying as disabled, and the milestones that shifted things, ASL classes, learning about Deaf culture, and eventually decorating her hearing aids as a public act of pride. She also opens up about navigating the space between hearing and Deaf communities, and the ongoing messy middle of considering cochlear implants as her hearing continues to change.
On the career side, Lauren talks about how repeated industry shifts and COVID-era unemployment pushed her toward entrepreneurship and why she moved away from digital products to focus on deep one-on-one coaching for neurodivergent clients. She and Megs dig into internalized ableism, toxic professionalism, and what self-advocacy actually looks like in practice when you've spent years masking and shrinking yourself to fit in.
The good news? The messy middle of identity isn't a problem to solve. It's where the real work and the real growth actually happen.
This episode is for anyone with ADHD who has ever felt shame around who they are and is ready to start seeing themselves differently.
Lauren Goldberg is a Career Self-Discovery and Leadership Coach who specializes in helping neurodivergent changemakers move from self-doubt to self-trust, in their careers and beyond. Diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia, and hearing loss, Lauren brings lived experience and deep compassion to her coaching, helping clients unlearn toxic professionalism, advocate for their needs, and build careers that actually fit them. She describes herself as a disco ball, reflecting your light back at you so you can enjoy it and shine it on the world.
Website: https://www.laurengoldbergcoaching.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurengoldbergcoaching 
Share your thoughts with Megs!
Would you like to learn more about hiring Megs as your ADHD coach? Start here> The Perfect Place to Start
The Community is OPEN! Join right here: Organizing an ADHD Brain
You can also learn more about the community HERE> OrganizinganADHDBrain.com

When did you last do something just for the fun of it, no purpose, no productivity, no plan?
On this episode of Organizing an ADHD Brain, ADHD coach Megs explores what it really means to give yourself permission to play and why your ADHD brain might need it more than you think. Whether you're looking for ADHD coaching, a supportive ADHD community, or practical ways to get organized, this episode meets you where you are.
By the end, you'll have a new way to think about joy, mess, and micro practices that interrupt the go-go-go mindset and bring you back to the present.
Megs opens with her daughter's observation that adults forget how to play and takes it seriously. Turning 40, watching her girls gleefully stomp through mud, and eventually joining them despite every instinct to stay clean became a turning point. From there she shares a series of playful experiments: ice skating, rollerblading, hopscotch on the school walk, a spontaneous lunch invitation, and using Command strips to try out home decor without the pressure of getting it perfect.
She connects rigid internal rules, shaped by church culture, parenting pressures, and strict routines, to a deeper fear of making mistakes, and explores how treating life and work more like play helped her run a summer-planning event smoothly despite tech mishaps, stay present with her family, and slowly retrain her body to pause instead of push.
The good news? Play doesn't have to be big or planned. It just has to be real and this episode gives you plenty of small places to start.
Megs has been part of the Mindful as a Mother community and wanted to share something she thinks is worth knowing about. If you're a mom of a neurodivergent kid, their small group might be exactly what you've been looking for, a 4-week space led by neurodivergent child counselors who live this stuff too. Real talk about regulation, RSD, meltdowns, and burnout, in a small group where you can finally stop masking and get into what actually works.
Learn more here: https://stan.store/Mindfulasamother/p/you-can-sit-with-us-
Also check out the Mindful as a Mother podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindful-as-a-mother/id1546749518
This episode is for anyone with ADHD who has been running on empty and is ready to remember what it feels like to just play.
2:54 — Turning 40 and the Mud Lesson 
5:45 — Micro Practices and Shifting the Go-Go-Go Mindset 
7:24 — Family Skating and Making Play Happen 
8:43 — Messy Social Play and the Lunch Invitation 
11:12 — Rigid Rules, Church Culture, and Bedtime Battles 
13:59 — Hopscotch on the School Walk 
15:51 — Why Play Is Really Practice 
18:03 — Home Decor Experiments Without Perfectionism 
19:50 — Making Faster Decisions by Lowering the Stakes 
21:16 — Running a Planning Event Like It's Play 
24:45 — Interrupting the Go-Go-Go in Real Time 
Share your thoughts with Megs!
Would you like to learn more about hiring Megs as your ADHD coach? Start here> The Perfect Place to Start
The Community is OPEN! Join right here: Organizing an ADHD Brain
You can also learn more about the community HERE> OrganizinganADHDBrain.com