How to live a productive life with ADHD 😏

Summary

In this video, the speaker discusses productivity, offering practical advice especially for those with ADHD or similar tendencies. They challenge common misconceptions about productivity, emphasizing that it looks different for everyone and shouldn’t be measured by someone else’s standards. Key points include focusing on what truly matters, managing distractions, setting realistic daily goals, and acknowledging that life is more than just checking tasks off a to-do list. Ultimately, the speaker encourages viewers to align productivity with their personal values and to prioritize impact over endless accomplishments.

Takeaways

• 📝 Productivity should be defined by what matters to you, not just about completing tasks or checking boxes.
• 🧠 Many people with ADHD or fast-thinking brains feel they're unproductive, but they may be doing more than they realize.
• 💼 Productivity is not about comparison; someone may excel in one area but lack balance in another, so prioritize what's important to you.
• ⏳ No to-do list is ever completely finished, and the goal shouldn't be an empty list but focusing on what truly matters.
• ✅ Dedicate a portion of your day to what is most important to you. Even carving out 30% of your day for personal priorities can make you feel more productive.
• 🚫 Know what's not important and avoid distractions like social media that don’t serve your larger goals.
• ⏱️ Be realistic about how long tasks take. Overestimating what you can do in a day leads to feeling unproductive.
• ⚖️ Balance is key: more tasks don’t always mean more productivity, so prioritize quality over quantity.
• 👥 Productivity is about making a meaningful impact in your life and others', not just completing tasks.
• 🌍 Life is more than productivity—focus on meaningful experiences and connections rather than just checking off to-do lists.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video?

The video focuses on debunking common myths about productivity and offering strategies to live a more productive life, especially for individuals with ADHD or ADHD-like tendencies.

Why do the speaker's clients often seek coaching?

The speaker's clients, many of whom have ADHD or similar traits, often seek coaching because they feel like they are not doing enough and want to be more productive. They seek guidance on how to focus, manage tasks, and complete their goals.

What is the first myth about productivity that the speaker addresses?

The first myth addressed is that productivity is often seen as a vague concept. Many people feel unproductive, even though they may be accomplishing a lot in different areas of their life but are fixated on the things they haven't done.

How does the speaker define productivity?

The speaker defines productivity as a personal measure of progress that varies for each individual. It's not about comparing oneself to others, but about identifying and pursuing what is most important to you.

What is one common misconception people have about their to-do lists?

A common misconception is that productivity equals completing everything on the to-do list. The speaker points out that to-do lists are often never-ending because we constantly add new tasks, and we should not base our productivity solely on clearing them.

How does the speaker suggest individuals can feel more productive?

The speaker suggests that individuals can feel more productive by dedicating a portion of their time (like 10-30%) to what is most important to them. Even if the rest of their day involves mandatory or routine tasks, focusing on priorities can enhance the sense of productivity.

Why is it important to identify what is NOT important?

Identifying what is not important helps people avoid distractions and focus their time and energy on tasks that matter. With constant distractions like social media, people may waste time on things that don't contribute to their goals.

What role does time awareness play in productivity?

Time awareness is crucial for productivity because understanding how long tasks actually take allows individuals to plan their day realistically. By doing so, they avoid feeling unproductive due to unrealistic expectations.

What final point does the speaker make about productivity and purpose?

The speaker emphasizes that productivity is not the ultimate purpose of life. Instead, life is about creating meaningful experiences and relationships, and not just about checking off tasks from a list.

What advice does the speaker give about using planners and to-do lists?

The speaker encourages using planners and to-do lists but stresses that tasks should add value to life. It's important to focus on things that matter and avoid becoming consumed by productivity for the sake of productivity.

Outlines

00:00

📅 Embracing Planner Season: Thoughts on Productivity

The speaker acknowledges mid-November as the time when many people buy planners for the upcoming year, with the hope of becoming more productive and achieving their goals. The speaker primarily works with women who have ADHD or similar tendencies, and they often express a desire to be more productive. The speaker highlights common concerns from clients, such as the struggle to focus and finish tasks. Through their program 'Distraction to Action,' the speaker aims to help people adopt systems that can genuinely improve their productivity, and they set out to debunk certain myths about productivity.

05:00

🤔 Defining Productivity: What Does It Really Mean?

The speaker challenges listeners to reflect on what productivity actually looks like for them. They suggest that many people, including the speaker's clients, often feel unproductive because they aren't fully aware of their accomplishments. The speaker notes that productivity is subjective and varies from person to person. They stress the importance of recognizing areas where one is already productive, while acknowledging that certain other areas might still need improvement. The speaker encourages people to avoid comparing themselves to others, as everyone prioritizes different aspects of life.

📋 The Never-Ending To-Do List Myth

A common perception of productivity is having everything crossed off a to-do list. However, the speaker argues that this is unrealistic, as new tasks constantly emerge. The idea of productivity should not be based on finishing everything but rather on achieving meaningful progress. The speaker questions whether people ever take time to reflect and congratulate themselves on a productive day, suggesting that most simply add more tasks instead. They encourage the audience to focus on what's truly important and not to aim for an unattainable, perfect to-do list.

⏳ Time Allocation: Focusing on What Matters

The speaker suggests that dedicating even a small percentage of time to what matters most can significantly increase feelings of productivity. They advise allocating around 30% of one's waking hours to pursue personal goals, while accepting that the remaining time might be spent on unavoidable responsibilities. The speaker emphasizes the importance of eliminating distractions, like social media, and getting clear on what is and isn’t important. This approach allows individuals to invest their time and energy into areas that truly make a difference.

🕒 Understanding How Long Tasks Actually Take

A key tip for enhancing productivity is becoming more realistic about how long tasks actually take. The speaker explains that many people overestimate what they can achieve in a day, leading to frustration. By gaining clarity on the time required for each task, individuals can create more achievable daily to-do lists and feel more accomplished. The speaker emphasizes that accepting human limitations and focusing on what’s truly possible is more effective than trying to do too much.

🌍 Living a Fulfilling Life Beyond Productivity

The speaker reminds the audience that the purpose of life is not simply to check tasks off a list. They argue that modern society's obsession with productivity can detract from experiencing meaningful moments and personal fulfillment. Instead of focusing solely on accomplishments, people should consider the impact they make on the world and the relationships they nurture. The speaker encourages a balanced approach, where daily tasks contribute to a fulfilling life, rather than becoming an end in themselves.

Keywords

💡Productivity

Productivity in the video refers to the ability to complete tasks and feel accomplished. The speaker discusses how many people, especially those with ADHD-like tendencies, struggle to feel productive despite completing tasks. It emphasizes that productivity is not solely about doing more, but rather doing what is important to an individual.

💡To-Do List

A to-do list is mentioned as a common productivity tool. The speaker highlights that people often equate crossing off items on their to-do list with being productive. However, they caution that to-do lists are never-ending and unrealistic expectations from them can make people feel less accomplished.

💡Focus

Focus refers to the ability to concentrate on tasks without getting distracted. The speaker notes that many clients express a desire to improve their focus and finish things. Focus is essential for productivity, but distractions can make people feel like they are not achieving enough.

💡Distractions

Distractions are external stimuli that divert attention away from important tasks. The speaker points out that in modern society, distractions like social media and external pressures can pull focus from what truly matters. Being aware of distractions and minimizing them is key to living a more productive life.

💡What's Important

This concept involves identifying what truly matters in one's life. The speaker suggests that productivity should be aligned with personal priorities rather than societal pressures. By focusing on what is important, people can feel more fulfilled and productive in areas that have real meaning to them.

💡Time Awareness

Time awareness refers to the understanding of how long tasks take to complete. The speaker explains that many people underestimate or overestimate the time required for tasks, leading to frustration. Improving time awareness helps individuals set more realistic expectations and feel more accomplished.

💡Procrastination

Procrastination is the act of delaying important tasks. The speaker mentions that even if people complete several tasks, procrastinating on one key task can make them feel unproductive. This highlights how procrastination can distort one’s perception of productivity.

💡Comparison

Comparison refers to measuring one's achievements against others. The speaker warns against comparing oneself to others in terms of productivity, as everyone prioritizes different aspects of life. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy, even when someone is productive in their own way.

💡System

A system in the context of the video is a structured method to keep track of tasks and increase productivity. Many clients seek a system to organize their lives, but the speaker emphasizes that a system alone will not solve all productivity challenges. It must align with personal priorities and realistic goals.

💡Purpose

Purpose refers to the broader meaning of one’s existence beyond daily tasks and productivity. The speaker concludes by reminding viewers that human existence is not solely about checking off tasks on a to-do list, but about creating meaningful experiences and relationships.

Highlights

Mid-November signals the beginning of planner season, where people set goals for the upcoming year.

Many individuals aim to be more productive by creating systems to manage their tasks, hoping this year will be different.

The speaker primarily coaches women with ADHD-like tendencies who struggle with feeling unproductive despite doing a lot.

Common challenges faced by clients include focusing, finishing tasks, and organizing chaos in their lives.

The myth of productivity is debunked: It’s often subjective, and many people are more productive than they think.

Productivity should be measured individually, not in comparison to others who may prioritize different areas of life.

The never-ending to-do list is a false measure of productivity—there’s always more to add, making it impossible to truly ‘finish’ it.

Living a productive life requires clarity on what is most important, allocating time and energy to pursue those key areas.

Recognizing what is unimportant (e.g., distractions like social media) helps in cutting down on wasted time.

Mastering the ability to estimate how long tasks take can drastically improve daily productivity and set realistic expectations.

Humans are not designed to simply check off to-dos—we are meant for meaningful impact and connections in life.

In today’s ‘knowledge era,’ we focus on unnecessary tasks, when in the past, survival tasks like feeding and shelter took priority.

On a deathbed, people won’t focus on how much they got done but on the experiences they had and relationships they formed.

A good planner can help organize tasks, but the purpose of existence is much larger than just accomplishing tasks.

Ultimately, individuals should focus on tasks that truly add value to their lives and to those around them.

Transcripts

okay it's mid-november as a record this

and we are coming into planner season

I.E I bet you were out there at Target

or at Walmart finding all the planners

that you're going to use in the next

year and you're going to promise

yourself that you're going to be more

productive and you're going to create

all these systems to get everything done

and you know this is going to be the

year that you meet all of your goals

right

and I think that's great I I'm not here

to poop on that planner party whatsoever

but I am here to share a few nuggets

about living a more productive life

because that is I think the thing that

comes up for most of my clients when

they come to me I typically coach women

with ADHD or ADHD like Tendencies so you

know very fast brains very driven want

to do all the things but they don't feel

like they are doing all the things so

they come to me saying that they want to

be more productive and case in point

when I first opened distraction action

which is going to be available again in

January by the way so I'll link to more

of that below but when I open

distraction to action I asked folks what

it is they were searching for and this

is some of the language they used how to

focus and finish things how to start

organizing chaos how to live a more

productive life how to have a system to

keep track of everything how to complete

tasks and manage OverWatch well those

are just a few of the responses I got

when I first started surveying my

audience for the program that I

developed and it's the same thing with

all of my clients they're always looking

for that system

that's going to make them more

productive and today I want to bust a

few myths about productivity and really

give you a mindset that's going to work

for you as we move into the new year and

just for the rest of your life in

general y'all because I feel your

struggle I know what you're going

through I go through it too clearly all

of my clients do as well and I feel like

we could all use a little normalization

around this idea of not being productive

enough so when it comes to how to be

more productive or live a more

productive life the first question I

would ask you is what does that actually

look like for you how would you know if

you were being productive I've talked

about this in previous videos both

myself and a lot of my clients are so

rarely present enough in the moment that

at the end of the day they don't have a

really clear idea of how much they have

accomplished in a day because they're

not paying attention to it in the moment

so we walk around with this belief that

we're not being productive enough but we

might actually be doing more than the

average person or we're doing a ton of

stuff but there's one thing that we're

procrastinating on so that somehow

negates all of the things that we are

doing and Ergo we call ourselves

unproductive so I think it's really

important to understand that the idea of

living a productive life is very squishy

and you probably are living productively

in a lot of areas of your life but

you're disregarding it because perhaps

there's other areas of your life where

you would like to be more productive the

other thing I would say here is that

productivity is not a measure of how

much you've done against somebody else

somebody else may be further on in their

career but may have no friends somebody

else may have a ton of friends but their

health is failing them so there's a lot

of ways that we can look at the people

around us and see how we're falling

short and call that a lack of

productivity because we're not as

advanced as they are in certain areas

but the thing is every single individual

prioritizes different things so when you

think about the things that you have

actually move forward and accomplished

in your life those are probably the

things that are important to you versus

what somebody else has done one other

thing I would point out here is that

when I ask my clients what does

productivity look like to them and how

would they know if they're being more

productive the most common answer I get

is I would have everything off my to-do

list I wouldn't be carrying things

forward

so let's be real for a second has there

ever been a time where your to-do list

had a finite end to it and if there has

been and you've actually done it have

you ever stopped to say okay I'm gonna

close my little to do book here and go

off and congratulate myself on a

productive day or have you just added

more to Do's to that list because you

had a little bit more time that you

could do more stuff in so the day where

you stop having ideas as a human being

might be the day where you'll no longer

put things on your to-do list but I

don't know that I would ever want that

day to happen so the next thing I would

point out in terms of living more

productively is knowing what's actually

important to you so that you can put

your time energy and resources in the

service and pursuit of that thing

because very often we do a lot of

different things throughout the day some

of it's important some of it's mandatory

and a lot of it's just kind of crap like

scrolling Instagram let me ask you this

if you are actually dedicating 10

percent of your waking hours every day

pursuing what is most important to you

how much more productive do you think

that you would see yourself as being how

much more productive would you feel if

you were able to give 30 to what was

most important to you even if that other

70 of your waking hours was dedicated to

things that just had to get done because

they're your responsibility if you could

just carve out 30 of your waking hours

to dedicate to being productive and

advancing the things that are important

to you I think you would probably feel

like a more productive person

to that end number three is knowing

what's not important hello Instagram

Karen I'm talking to you right now as a

society and a culture we are so

bombarded with distractions and options

and choices and things that we can be

putting our attention towards when I say

attention I mean time money resources

headspace we have so much that we can

dedicate to so when we're not clear on

what's not important like what somebody

else is driving or what somebody else is

wearing we can end up putting a lot of

our time tension resources towards those

things because they're in front of us

and they capture our attention but

they're not important so when you get

super clear on what's not important you

give yourself the best chance you

possibly can to be more productive in

the areas that are important or that

require your attention rather than the

extraneous noise that we're dealing with

on The Daily Number Four is something I

think we Overlook a lot but it will we

could Master it it would make the

biggest difference of all coming back to

this idea of the the Perpetual to-do

list if you can get really clear on how

long things actually take for you to do

in a day you would be Leaps and Bounds

ahead of anybody else in terms of

productivity because you would be clear

on what is actually possible to do in a

day I think a lot of our beliefs around

productivity are that more is better so

we try to do more but the reality is

that time is not infinite neither is our

energy and resources so we try to cram

in a lot of stuff but we can't because

we're human and as a result we end up

focusing on the things that we weren't

able to do that were not realistic in

the first place as opposed to really

focusing on everything that we did get

done so if we can get ahead of that

habit by being super intentional about

what we put on our to-do list in a day

knowing exactly how much time

something's going to take then you can

make your day so much more productive

because you're being realistic with them

and at the end of the day I think being

realistic about what you can potentially

do in a day is going to serve you a lot

better than magical thinking just saying

and then the last point I'll make about

living a more productive life is that

it's not what we're here for as a human

being and I'm assuming you are if you're

sitting here watching this video right

now we are put on this Earth for some

reason and I don't know what that reason

is but it's not to pay bills and to

check things off a to-do list I don't

know if there's ever been a time in

human existence that we have been more

focused on accomplishing things and

getting things done than we are in this

knowledge era in the past centuries

humans have focused on proliferation of

the species and feeding ourselves and

keeping a roof over our heads and that

has been the primary driver of the tasks

that we do in a day since most

privileged countries have those Bare

Necessities taken care of we're now so

full focused on doing a bunch of

extraneous things that may or may not

make a difference in our life in the

long run anyway so I urge you to spend

some time thinking about you and your

old and gray and you're lying on your

deathbed are you contemplating all of

the things that you got done in your

life are you contemplating the

experiences you had and the people you

loved and the impact that you made as a

human being on this Earth so much like

you I am a sucker for a good daily

planner I love to-do lists and

calendaring things out but I have to

remind myself again and again that that

is not the purpose of my existence

anything I put down on my calendar has

to actually add to my life or add to the

lives of the people or Critters that

live with me and around me because if

I'm not creating an impact then there's

not a to-do in the world that makes that

much of a difference so those are my

thoughts on living more productively get

clear on what product activity looks

like how will you know when you're being

more productive get clear on what's

important to you and what's not

important to you build your time

awareness muscle and only give yourself

tasks that you know you can actually do

in a day and finally accept that you are

a mere mortal just like me and that we

are not here to check boxes I hope that

gave you some good food for thought

thank you for watching guys and I will

see you in the next video