In The Abyss or In The Zone

By Rick Green

So we are working on a sequel to ADD & Loving It?! A Part 2. The next step.  Taking it to the next level.

ADD & Loving It?! won awards because it dared to suggest ADHD & ADD are real, they’re impairing, they run in families, they can ruin families, they show up in odd and unsuspecting ways, they’re tricky to diagnose, knowing you have it can save your life, and there’s a ton that can be done to manage ADHD.

But it’s not easy.

Thus, the next video, ADD & Mastering It! Hopefully ready for June and airing on PBS stations starting in August and September.  A week ago, I would have said that was a pipe dream. I was stuck.  In overwhelm.  I was walking through the valley of the shadow of deadlines.

We’d hit a huge problem. Read more

A Bike Wheel Is Like A Doughnut

By Rick Green

Last week I blogged about the Bike Rally I did. And a member, ‘Sdwa’, commented that the story was inspiring, but then shared the challenges he/she has had getting in shape. One pilates class and he/she could barely walk for two days. That suggests a couple of things.

First: Wow, congrats, you really took it on.

Second: Oh dear, that was too much.

Third: As long as you didn’t injure yourself, that pain is your body going, “Oh boy, I need to build more muscle.” Apparently our muscles actually get damaged, Read more

A Bicycle Built For Two…Hundred

By Rick Green

So I’ve been blogging about how I, an ADHD adult, managed to train for a 368 mile/6 day bike rally in less than three months. Bearing in mind that I was out of shape, didn’t have a bike, hadn’t ridden in years, and the other 190 riders had been training for 6 weeks.

I pulled it off using the same strategies I’ve used to manage and even master my ADHD.

I’ve explained how I broke the ride down into manageable steps. This was crucial when I was cramping up, burned out, or exhausted. I cut off thoughts like, “How will I manage today? I’ve only done 30 miles out of the 74 miles and I’m toast!” Instead I Read more

How I Did The Hardest Thing I Ever Did

By Rick Green

Six years ago I was out of shape, didn’t own a bike and did not particularly mind that I didn’t.

Ten weeks later I was sweating through a six-day, 386 mile bike rally. Actually, since it was from Toronto to Montreal, I should say 622 kilometers.

I promised to share the ADHD strategies I used to accomplish this. They are strategies I’ve used elsewhere in my life to master my ADHD on projects as big as launching this website and as small as doing this month’s paperwork. (Oh, who am I kidding. I never get paperwork done. Ava does.)

One strategy that had me manage the bike rally, as I mentioned in my previous blog, was breaking the training down into small chunks.  Small, bite-sized chunks. Or ‘bike’ sized.

I didn’t wonder, “Can I manage to ride 124 kms today?” Instead I focused on Read more

Pedal To My Mettle

By Rick Green

Last week I blogged about the upcoming changes to TotallyADD.com.  If you haven’t already filled in the survey, please take a few minutes to do that.  It’s only 10 quick questions.

Back to last week’s blog… William, one of the many members of Totally ADD requested that I share details about a bike rally I did way back in 2005, when I was a mere slip of a child. (Ahem.)  He wondered how I stayed focused.  Good question.

I used five practices, all of which anyone with ADHD can use for pretty much any challenge. In fact you probably already use some or all of these when you successfully complete a project. (You just may not be consciously applying these strategies.)

The first strategy is ‘Chunking.’  I had to break the bike rally into chunks. Manageable chunks. And since I didn’t own a bike, hadn’t ridden one in a decade, was out of shape, overweight and late to start the training regime, those chunks had to be very, very minute to be manageable. Especially at the beginning. And later, when the going got tough. Read more

Making A Good Thing Better

By Rick Green

What would make the most difference for you in mastering your ADHD/ADD? What do you need? What are your biggest ongoing challenges around ADHD/ADD? What stops you from moving forward? What can we create to have you succeed? (And have fun doing it!)

That’s the question, or bunch of questions that we’re asking now that we’re in our third year at Totally ADD and we’d like your help.

Ava, Dr. J., Jimi and I are proud of what we’ve created. When I spoke last Friday at the ADHD Coaching Organization’s (ACO) annual meeting, Ava and I were overwhelmed by the positive feedback. Coaches all over the world are sending their clients here. In some cases this site is literally saving lives.

The impact we’ve having is more than we imagined; we created the website to bust myths and demolish stigma with humour and reliable information.   Information is helpful… if it’s used.  But if ‘information’ made a difference then every diet and exercise plan would work, right? We’d read what the diet says and we’d follow along.  I only have to look in the mirror to know that isn’t the case. Read more