Ahhh! It's 10:27pm on a Sunday night and I have just spent hours CLEANING. Yes, cleaning is very important to me. I like to have a tidy house that has everything in its place - and happens to be kitty litter and dust free. No, that doesn't happen very often. I have Adult ADHD and along with that often comes inconsistency. It's a Catch-22 really: I feel better and think better when things are clean and tidy, but I find it hard to be consistent with keeping things clean and tidy.

Did you know that the answer to your productivity depends on the first 15 minutes of your day? Physically we know having breakfast in the morning is important to getting the right fuel to sustain our energy and metabolism throughout the day.  What we may not realize is that fueling our brain with what it needs to sustain focus and productivity is equally as important.  Similar to how we will grab and eat whatever is quickest when unplanned hunger strikes, we will grab aimlessly for something "to do" which may not be the most helpful or productive or valuable thing for us to focus on during the day.

Summer movie blockbusters are upon us and local theaters are showcasing another season of superhero action flicks. Raising two sons, I have watched my share of superhero movies - from Star Wars to Spiderman - and confess that I know quite a bit about superheroes – the struggles that led them to use their talents and gifts to fight for good and prevent evil. I am intrigued by these stories and characters because when you look closer, it seems that beneath the cape or the mask, these remarkable heroes are really ADHD adults in disguise.

Often with Adult ADHD, it's easy to be distracted by squirrels - both actual squirrels and the ones that float around in your brain! You can be reading a good book, watching television, or preparing for that big important meeting and a squirrel can come into your brain and overtake it! Sometimes, that's just what Adult ADHD is like ...

Hallelujah! I have started seeing a new therapist. It is the fist time in about a year-and-a-half that I've had time to see one and I couldn't be happier. After one visit I already have 2 new techniques to control anxiety that also address my inattention and hyperfocusing behaviors. This doctor is amazing.

As I believe I've said in the past, ADHD medications have really improved the quality of my life. I can still remember the first weeks of taking them in college and reading my first book cover to cover - and it wasn't even a great book! I remember how the thoughts in my head had a different flow and how much longer I was able to stay on task. I also remember some bad parts. ADHD medications can have an amazing effect on your life, but they're not all magic.

I've been doing some soul-searching this weekend. Not so much about my Adult ADHD, but it definitely involves how to best "live in the gray." I turned 30 last month and this month started my first physical therapy internship. I'm trying to figure out the professional I want to be and how open about my life that allows me to be.

I get into adult ADHD hyperfocusing phases. Right now, I love doing crossword puzzles. In the past, my phases have been actual puzzles to video games to tv shows to cross-stitching. You name it - I've done it. Hyperfocusing in ADHD is something that I find isn't always talked about in relation to adult ADHD, because it's sort of assumed the "A" for attention means only lack of attention. How could someone with difficulty focusing have period of hyperfocus? Who knows? ADHD's hyperfocusing certainly happen, though.

There are reasons why I share having Adult ADHD with people. It's not simply because I can't keep it in - it's important for those of us with Adult ADHD and our non-ADHD counterparts to see that we can be successful with this disorder.

I just sent in my life insurance premium. It was due in July. It wasn't entirely my Adult ADHD that lead to my paperwork being incomplete for so long - my wife and I use an online bank and we had ordered new checks months ago and they didn't come until mid-August. That has so little to do, though, with me sending it in tomorrow. If the premium was due late July, I should have sent it in mid-August - not mid-September. Paperwork is one of my least favorite adult needs.