Ex-Gifted

Problem: It's hard to remember that June and December have different struggles when it comes to productivity, mental health, and executive dysfunction if we don't actually mark the passage of time through the year.

Solution: Celebrating the two solstices and two equinoxes is a great way to welcome a new season and actually tangibly remind yourself that things are about to get different. For the upcoming autumn equinox, try some autu...

• pick it up every day (note this doesn't mean you need to do anything elaborate in it)
• time management consists of two parts: what you do and when you do it. This results in 4 possible combinations

1. Plan what you do AND when you do it
2. Plan when you're working, but not exactly what - aka time blocking. Combining time blocking and to-dos can be a great system for ND people who need some structure but also need the flexib...

There's a new podcast on the way, but it needs more work than a standard episode, so I recorded a little something until then. Find the video here: https://youtu.be/VCHGrghlFzU

It's tossed about a lot: that you will never grow if you allow yourself to be comfortable.

It's bullshit.

Growth itself is uncomfortable, but comfort and safety provide the best foundation for the discomfort of growth. In other words, you don't grow b...

Mentioned this episode:

1. YouTube video for this episode

2. How to ADHD Bullet Journaling

3. WheezyWaiter explains what Bullet Journaling ACTUALLY is

4. Printable vertical weekly planner

5. ABCs of Time Management (where you can sign up for the time management 5 day email course with time tracker workbook)

6. Tara’s awesome Obsidian tips

7. Digital/analog planning with Rocketbook

Problem: You need a planner, but they’ve never worked...

In this Episode: My discord community!

Bullet Journaling with ADHD on Facebook

Problem: Those of us who would love to "just use a planner" - that is, if we could keep it up more than 3 days without losing it or entirely forgetting it even exists.

Solution: Make simply remembering that your planner exists your number 1 priority when you first start using a planner. Just pick it up. Just look at it. Just carry it with you. Do this every...

Join my email list and download my time tracking workbook for free.

Time tracking apps:

(These apps have a free option, but if you choose to sign up for a paid plan using my link I may earn a small commission at no cost to you!)

Toggl (my FAVORITE and with so many features in their free plan!)

RescueTime

Problem: You don't have enough time to do the things that matter, but your time seems to just get sucked down the drain by pointless t...

Get the 2022 roleplanning journal for 10% off with the code SMOL

Problem: Things feel too big for it to even be worth it to get started on them. And jumping from task to task is too inefficient.

Solution: A simple reframe in favor of taking the smallest step that can move you forward instead of tackling big projects in their entirety (sometimes - when appropriate for your brain and your to-do list.)

When your focus is too slippery to ...

Chaotic Organized Discord server 

Problem: You have an ocean of attention that never seems to flow in the direction you want it to go 

Solution: By engaging your physical senses, the mind becomes easier to direct. In this way, it's sometimes possible to bring on hyper focus, or the flow state. 

Some ideas for sensory engagement 

Sound: instrumental music (or music in a language you don't know IF you don't know the l...

Dr. K on motivation (CW for problematic language in linked video, probably)

Problem: There's stuff you have to do but just don't want to do

Solution: Figuring out why I do want to do something works way better for me than just pushing through, trying to convince or cajole myself, or "waiting until motivation strikes"

When there's something I really need to do, it usually comes with rewards or consequences. This means I can have a con...

With social media and advertisers spending billions to buy as much of our attention as they can, we owe it to ourselves to learn how to hold onto some of it to invest in ourselves.

If you find that your attention is harder to hang onto even than it is normally, you might need an Attention Reset. These are the things I do to hold onto more of that most valuable asset I own - my attention. 

I go over rules for a short but strict r...

There comes a point in April when I...just...can't....

In March I'm hit with some new spring energy and I do so many things and then suddenly I find myself wading through molasses and everything just seems harder than it normally is. My normal flow slows to a standstill.

And yet it always comes as a surprise to me.

Part of embracing my chaotic nature means not fighting against the fact that my life goes in cycles and I can't be on in ...

Ex-Gifted is now the Chaotic Organized podcast. But still called "Ex-Gifted"!

I'm still going to be all about executive dysfunction and telling the story of how I'm working to get my shit together on a daily basis so that you can hopefully learn from my mistakes (hey now - my successes too!)

Please recommend it to any of your friends who can relate to the experience of being neurodivergent - or frankly just different - and not unders...

Listen to the Power of Yet

Check out my Ko-Fi page! It's been redesigned and I'm posting so much over there as I work on moving to a new website. I'm hosting challenges, posting previews for blog posts in progress, and of course uploading the video versions of this podcast right here. And the challenges are entirely free for anyone following along while they're currently active! 

I also have new membership options. The natural 2...

Sorry I've been MIA! Guess what? Having your brain treat you like an asshole is normal. It happens to all of us at some point in time (some more than others.) That's okay! What's important is to move forward anyway.

New episodes of Ex-Gifted resume Feb 25, 2022!

Support the show at https://ko-fi.com/reneliza for as little as $1/month

All monthly donors will get a shout-out at the end of each podcast episode!

Find me at Exgifted.co...

Get the Roleplanning System at ko-fi.com/reneliza/shop in order to get help defining your values and then actually living up to them. 3 months of support in the Quest for Chaos is included. Use code DORMANT for 15% off.

All monthly donors will get a shout-out at the end of each podcast episode!

Find me at Exgifted.com or Instagram @exgiftedcast

Also, check out @chaotic.organized on Instagram and chaoticorganized.com for more executive...

The Roleplanning System is made with this need for reflection built in! The 13-week calendar gives you the opportunity every 3 months to set your priorities all over again.

And the hourly layout allows you the option to schedule in down time and sleeping hours every day. 

Get the Roleplanning System at ko-fi.com/reneliza/shop

Use code DORMANT for a 15% discount through the end of 2021

All monthly donors will get a shout...

Featured this episode:

Insight Timer

References:

https://www.brown.edu/research/labs/britton/research/varieties-contemplative-experience

https://www.pacesconnection.com/blog/meditation-may-aggravate-trauma-mindful-action-is-a-better-alternative

https://journals.aom.org/doi/full/10.5465/amd.2017.0033 “individuals with a high learning goal orientation (LGO), high need for cognition (NOC), high openness to experience, and high internal lo...