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Focus, Flow and the ADHD Brain: how you can learn to create both and get things done.
Episode 21 • 22nd May 2024 • ADHD Powerful Possibilities: New and Late Diagnosis & Beyond • ADHD Coach Katherine Sanders
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ADHD Coach Katherine Sanders

Join me to learn about focus, flow and how your brain function affects both as well as some unusual practical tips to enhance your workflow.

This week we're looking at:

1. Understanding Brain Structures

2. What is Focus anyway?

3. Recognizing and Increasing Flow States

and strategies that you can use to improve your focus and experience flow.

Understanding Brain Structures and Their Roles:

Prefrontal Cortex (PFC): Executive functions and focus.

Basal Ganglia: Motivation and task engagement.

Habenula: Stress responses and motivation.

Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC): Attention processing.

Default Mode Network (DMN): Daydreaming and focus.

Task Initiation Challenges

Why it's Hard: Executive function impairments, dopamine dysregulation, anxiety, and perfectionism


Flow States:

What is Flow: Deep engagement and enjoyment in tasks.

Difference from Focus: Effortless vs. deliberate concentration.

Recognising Flow: Intense concentration, time distortion, intrinsic motivation.

Increasing Flow: Clear goals, immediate feedback, balancing challenge and skill.


Connect with Katherine:

Instagram: @adhd_coach_katherine

Tiktok: @adhd_coach_katherine

Online: https://lightbulbadhd.com


Let me know which one of these ideas you're going to try this week and share your experiences. Don't forget to register for the seminar before 3rd June 2024.


Next week: Celebrating achievements and engaging in force-free productivity. Don’t miss it!


This format provides a quick overview for those in a hurry and detailed information for those wanting to dive deeper, catering to a broad audience while enhancing SEO.

Connect with Katherine here:


Website

Instagram

Tiktok

Facebook

Youtube

LinkedIN

Threads 


Overwhelmed to Overflowing: how to navigate your ADHD Challenges and become your own best boss: https://lightbulbadhd.com/seminar-overflowing

Focus Music:

https://www.focusatwill.com/

https://brain.fm/



Arnold, L. E., Hodgkins, P., Kahle, J., Madhoo, M., & Kewley, G. (2020). Long-term outcomes of ADHD: Academic achievement and performance. _Journal of Attention Disorders, 24_(1), 73-85. (https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054714566076)

Barkley, R. A. (1997). Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: Constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. _Psychological Bulletin, 121_(1), 65-94. (https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.121.1.65)

Castellanos, F. X., & Proal, E. (2012). Large-scale brain systems in ADHD: Beyond the prefrontal-striatal model. _Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16_(1), 17-26.(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2011.11.007)

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). _Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience_. Harper & Row.

Csikszentmihalyi, M., Abuhamdeh, S., & Nakamura, J. (2005). "Flow." In A. J. Elliot & C. S. Dweck (Eds.), "Handbook of Competence and Motivation." Guilford Press.

Dietrich, A. (2004). Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the experience of flow. _Consciousness and Cognition, 13_(4), 746-761.(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2004.07.002)

Diamond, A. (2005). Attention-deficit disorder (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder without hyperactivity): A neurobiologically and behaviorally distinct disorder from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (with hyperactivity). _Development and Psychopathology, 17_(3), 807-825. (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579405050388)

Faraone, S. V., & Biederman, J. (2016). Neurobiology of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. _Biological Psychiatry, 57_(11), 1313-1323. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.11.024)

Kofler, M. J., Irwin, L. N., Sarver, D. E., Soto, E. F., Groves, N. B., Harmon, S. L., & Lonigan, C. J. (2018). Executive functioning heterogeneity in pediatric ADHD. _Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 46_(6), 1053-1065. (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-017-0353-4)

Jackson, S. A., & Marsh, H. W. (1996). "Development and validation of a scale to measure optimal experience: The Flow State Scale." Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 18(1), 17-35.

Lee YA, Goto Y. The Habenula in the Link Between ADHD and Mood Disorder. Front Behav Neurosci. 2021 Jun 24;15:699691. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.699691. PMID: 34248519; PMCID: PMC8264146.

Makris N, Seidman LJ, Valera EM, Biederman J, Monuteaux MC, Kennedy DN, Caviness VS Jr, Bush G, Crum K, Brown AB, Faraone SV. Anterior cingulate volumetric alterations in treatment-naïve adults with ADHD: a pilot study. J Atten Disord. 2010 Jan;13(4):407-13. doi: 10.1177/1087054709351671. PMID: 20008822; PMCID: PMC3746768.

Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2009). "Flow Theory and Research." In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), "Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology." Oxford University Press..

Rubia, K. (2018). Cognitive neuroscience of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its clinical translation. _Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12_, 100. [Link](https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00100)

Sibley, M. H., Graziano, P. A., Ortiz, M., Rodriguez, L., & Coxe, S. (2019). Parent-teen behavior therapy + motivational interviewing for adolescents with ADHD. _Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 87_(8), 706-719. (https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000424)

Zylstra, S. (2014). The impact of flow state on the attentional abilities of individuals with ADHD. _Journal of Attention Disorders, 18_(3), 246-257. (https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054714524412)




Transcripts

Katherine:

Hello, my friend.

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It is ADHD.

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Coach Catherine.

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And this is another episode.

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Of ADHD, powerful possibilities.

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The podcast is here to bring you reliable,

useful, and hopefully interesting

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news and strategies all about ADHD.

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Thank you for the lovely

feedback from last week.

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It's great to see.

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So many of you connecting the dots.

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And understanding that we need to use

our strengths as well as our executive

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functions and understand ourself.

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And how our ADHD affects us to really

have what I think of as a great life,

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which is one that's meaningful for you.

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Whereas.

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Strategies that allowed you to thrive

and to use your creative possibility

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seeking Brene whenever possible.

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I'd like to invite you

to a online live seminar.

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I'm giving.

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On Monday, the 3rd of June.

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2024 at 7:00 PM.

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UK time.

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Where I'm going to be talking about

the things I've been explaining here.

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And how the all joined together.

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The things that you may not think

are essential for people with

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ADHD, and hopefully we'll have time

for some questions and answers.

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And I will include a link in the

show notes where you can sign up.

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Or as always, you can go to my social

media profile and there's a link there to.

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But let's get on to the

meat and potatoes today.

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We are talking about focus and flow.

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And focus and flow are two

kind of fashionable topics.

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A bit like ADHD itself.

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It's something that we

wish we had more of.

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We feel frustrated and maybe a

bit ashamed if we can't focus.

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And then there are people, especially

those among my clients who almost feel

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they have too much focus or it's in

the wrong place at the wrong time.

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And so I thought today, what we

could do is explain what focus is.

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What's happening in your brain.

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When you're focusing and why is it

slightly different when we have ADHD?

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Move into flow and why.

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Why flow is so satisfying.

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And is it any different from hyper-focus?

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And of course.

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Finish off with some practical

help and support some strategies

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you might want to try.

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And so in the words of Billy

Connolly without further ado,

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Let's have a look at focus.

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When we talk about focus.

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We really mean how we

concentrate our attention.

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Or.

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Being fancy cognitive resources.

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On a task or activity.

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While ignoring distractions around us.

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Can you see the problem already?

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Because it uses our executive functions.

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And several of them at the same time,

particularly out attention control

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or impulse or inhibitory control.

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And our working memory.

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People with ADHD.

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Understandably faint

coordinating all of that.

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More challenging.

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If you've been around

for any length of time.

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And my pocast, you know,

that the thinner connections.

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Between our prefrontal cortex

and other areas of our brain.

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In ADHD.

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Are part of the overall

diagnostic condition.

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But with focus.

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We're using attention control,

impulse control and working memory.

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To direct your focus.

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That you're maned towards what

you're meant to be working on.

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Traditionally, what is

important at any given moment?

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Think of your focus, leak a torch beam.

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And what we're trained to do.

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I don't know if you've ever

had one where you could.

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Twist the front and the beam

would get wider and narrower.

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We're trying to narrow the beam down.

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That's focus.

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So for people with ADHD there.

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Our unique challenges.

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Because of our neurological differences.

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ADHD, mostly.

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F a C executive functions.

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Her.

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Decision-making.

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Planning focusing emotional

regulation, time awareness and so on.

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So I thought we would have a quick look.

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At the four main differences.

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And people with ADHD

and why it's different.

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The first of course is

related to dopamine.

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No.

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Dopamine is.

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At a lower level and ADHD brains

and dopamine is a neurotransmitter.

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That means it travels

from neuron to neuron.

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And it has a Quito in our motivation.

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Reward.

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And the attention systems of the brain.

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So if you have a dopamine reward

to deficit or a dysregulation,

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Then your ability to manage

your attention consistently.

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Is going to be a fate.

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So when we are given a task

that we have to focus on, which

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doesn't have immediate feedback.

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It doesn't have a quick reward.

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It's going to be harder for

our brain to sustain a level of

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dopamine that permits that focus.

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I'm going to see that again.

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When we are dealing with a task that

does not have immediate feedback.

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Or.

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An almost immediate reward.

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It's going to be harder for our brain

to sustain the dopamine level required.

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For attention and focus.

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That's right.

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Because we don't have the

dopamine to begin with.

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We need a stronger reward

and feedback to create it.

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But then that has to continue.

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Or our focus and attention will drop off.

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That's not because we're

lazy, we're bored or anything.

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We might feel like that.

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But that feeling is just

the absence of dopamine.

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And this is why routine.

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Or less interesting or stimulating tasks.

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Feel like we're looking at a

cliff that we're meant to claim

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or is there just less engaging?

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Like looking at a gray rock.

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So that's difference.

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Number one is your dopamine.

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Difference number two.

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It's the variability in our attention.

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We may have.

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Much higher differences between

our levels of attention.

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And again, this comes down

to tasks are repetitive.

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Lanksy.

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The generally are characterized

by ones that don't have much

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feedback or reward or interest.

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In contrast, we also

experienced hyper-focus.

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And hyper-focus, which can be.

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Fun for a little while.

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It can be too absorbing is where we

dive headfirst into something that is

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really interesting or really to awarding.

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And it's almost impossible

to stop and back home.

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And also hyper-focused can be

really effective for productivity.

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And I know people in business who have

worked through the night because they

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are just so into what they're doing.

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And they achieve a month's worth of work

in one or two days because of hyper-focus.

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It tends not to have the kind

of control that we would want,

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so we can't turn it on and off.

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And it means it.

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Unfortunately, we can

neglect other important.

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Jobs or responsibilities or

just not interesting enough.

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So it's an automatic reaction.

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It's not strategic.

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It's not always useful.

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Which could explain why so many people

with ADHD, especially in business.

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Are victims of shiny object

syndrome, which we'll come back to.

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The third ADHD difference with focus.

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Is our sensory sensitivity.

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We often react.

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More to external stimulus around us.

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Especially background noises.

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And looking at the people who chew.

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Oh, it's the people who tap their pains.

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Not us, obviously, because

we're low to tap her pens.

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The visual clutter that we, and our work

mates and families tend to accumulate.

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Or even hostings feel.

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That carpet under your desk, the.

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Ways that your shirt feels the.

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Surface of your desk.

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Things other people can ignore.

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We tend to struggle with more.

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This means we find it much harder.

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To focus and maintain our attention

when there's more going on.

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So well, other people might be

able to narrow that torch beam

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of attention down and block out

other things going on around them.

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For us.

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All my stars

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and the force difference for

people with ADHD and focus.

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Is of course starting

and completing tasks.

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This is something that comes

up so often and sessions.

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And it's an executive function.

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. Starting and finishing jobs.

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Is really difficult.

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It's related to planning.

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Organizing.

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And maintenance following

through on our actions.

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It's not because we don't understand.

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It's not because we don't care.

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It's not because we can't do it.

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It's not a lack of ability.

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But it's a neurological difference.

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It's actually the disability.

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And this is where people who are

extremely capable, who are extremely

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bright, who achieved great things.

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Might consistently feel to

do the last 20% of a job.

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Or they may never be able to start.

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And of course the people around

you are going to look at you

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and think what's going on here.

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Amazing.

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Why is this not working?

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Because your brain is built that way.

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It's a short answer.

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But that variability, that

inconsistency is really difficult

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for other people to see.

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I think of it, like looking at.

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Landscape with icebergs or ice flows.

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And from the same level as the ground,

it all looks completely smooth and wait.

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But when you go up in the

helicopter, you can see the big gaps.

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You can see the crevices

between the ACE flows.

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And that is a bit like ADHD.

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And the invisible.

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Executive function challenges,

particularly when it comes to focus.

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And that's why it's so important.

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That we understand why focus is difficult.

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And that we're able to advocate

and explain to other people.

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What is going on with our focus.

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Because until we

understand our challenges.

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And our executive function problems.

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We can't create the routines, the

structures, the environments, the tools.

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We can't identify the

distractions that cause problems.

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And the elements that we need.

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To provide just the right

amount of stimulation.

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It's the Goldilocks brain again.

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And this is why.

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Knowing our own ADHD.

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An hour presentation is so important.

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Because then when Zoe's needs are may, and

we understand we're taking care of them.

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We can use the problem solving and

creative solution, finding Breen.

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To our advantage.

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And if you're a business, you

will understand how absolutely

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vital that part of the problem is.

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If we don't take the time to do that.

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We are gonna continue to

go through this cycle of.

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Check-in ideas spaghetti at

the wall and nothing working.

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When it comes to understanding.

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Your ADHD.

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It's really important to

have a basic awareness.

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Of the bits of your

brain that are involved.

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I'm talking about executive

functions and prefrontal cortex.

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So we could start there.

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The PFC.

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The prefrontal cortex.

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Is the CEO.

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It's behind your eyes and your

forehead re at the front of your brain.

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It's responsible for the executive

functions we use in focus.

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So planning decision-making

problem solving.

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Organizing our activities.

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The PFC helps us to

ignore those distractions.

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And manage our working memory.

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And our cognitive flexibility.

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So when we're trying to focus,

we're asking our brain to be

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flexible and put things a site.

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Roz's and treat everything with

the same level of importance.

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Now mainly scans and studies

have shown that the ADHD brain.

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The prefrontal cortex

has reduced activity.

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And reduced connections.

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So that's why maintaining attention

and organizing completing tasks.

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Getting started.

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It's so difficult.

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It's the under activity.

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That is the.

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Marker.

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If you like.

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And that's what creates the

challenge for us to maintain

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a task and build that focus.

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The other crucial part of your brain.

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That you want to know about with

ADHD is your beetle ganglia.

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That's a group.

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Of nuclei, which are

deep within your brain.

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If I share Slade's, it's always

a cut-through because the stuff

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that really controls this.

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Is right in the middle

deep inside your brain.

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No.

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The basal ganglia.

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Usually so often terms of movement.

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And of course, with ADHD, we have

hyperkinetic or hyperactive, ADHD.

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But he also helped us

to process your wards.

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How we learn.

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And how we built those habits

that I talked about before.

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They connect to the PFC and

obviously the rest of your brain.

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There's no separate elements here.

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But these are crucial

for dopamine signaling.

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The reward.

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His insight, the basal ganglia.

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So because the pathways

between the basal ganglia.

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And the PFC.

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Or different.

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N E D H D brains.

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That means how we process rewards.

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Have we are motivated.

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And hope valuable jobs are.

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It's all different.

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When we have ADHD.

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Battier to connecting that.

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To action.

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Is so much deeper so you're not.

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Imagining that it feels hard.

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It really is.

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I want to mention briefly an area of

the brain that I've been looking at,

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which isn't talked about very often.

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There have been ULA.

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No.

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. It's a teeny tiny part of your brain.

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But what it does is it processes

the negative feedback that we hear.

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And external stimuli, Witcher

pre-booking and negative feedback.

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And influences your dopamine

and serotonin pathways.

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What that means is.

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Is activated when you

expect a negative outcome.

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And it inhibits, still Permian release.

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And that means if an activity

feels unrewarding or we've had

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negative feedback from somebody.

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Or there's an external stimuli,

which is making us feel horrible.

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Our dopamine regulation,

which is already challenged is

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affected by this Habana blessing.

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Nope.

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Nope.

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We're not doing that.

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And the few studies that

I've been looking at suggest.

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People with ADHD have a less active.

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Her Ben ULA.

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And childhood.

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And as we grow up.

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It adapts or changes in some way.

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They're not sure why that makes it over.

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React to stress later on.

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No.

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There are reasons that this could happen.

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The suggestion is the reactivity.

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That overreaction of

that Daniela and adults.

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Means we're more likely to experience

that major depressive disorder.

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And will you eat back?

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I talked about a study

in nature that suggested.

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Adults with ADHD are

three times more likely.

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To experience major depression.

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Then other adults.

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And this has because of the hope Angela.

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And our vanilla inhibits

dopamine regulation.

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When you don't have enough

dopamine, it's not just.

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That you can't move forward.

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It's not that you're in a neutral state.

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It feels bad.

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The lack of dopamine.

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Feels deeply bad.

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And so we look for easy to wards.

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The biscuit battle.

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The coffee cup.

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The secret break the scroll on your phone.

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Would desperately looking

for dopamine release.

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Without the negative feedback.

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So the Benalla.

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Kayla has got a lot to answer for.

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And I think it's not something

that we talk about very often.

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With ADHD.

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The last bit of your brain.

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I want to mention briefly today.

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Is this kind of two parts, really?

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So it's your parietal lobes and your

anterior cingulate cortex or ECC.

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Of heritage act mentioned a few

times on Huberman type podcasts.

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I am not a neurologist.

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I'm not a scientist.

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I'm a coach.

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So the only reason I'm mentioning

it is because . It has a practical

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impact on how you live here, life.

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And I firmly believe that when

you knew these things, It can

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actually help you feel better.

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And help you make

changes, which is my job.

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So your parietal lobes are near

the top and back of your brain.

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That helps us process all

the sensory information.

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And manage where we are and space.

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But also our attention.

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And ADHD.

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As you can imagine.

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That our differences.

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And how the parietal lobes function.

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And that's why it's

harder to filter it out.

373

:

This stuff, we don't need the

things that are irrelevant.

374

:

And that's why it's

harder for us to shift.

375

:

Out of tension from one thing

to the next, if you are.

376

:

Any kind of ADHD adult, or if you're

a parent of someone with ADHD.

377

:

You have seen the difficulty

moving from one thing to the

378

:

next, moving the attention.

379

:

That's connected to your parietal lobe.

380

:

No that ECC, was it anterior?

381

:

Singular cortex?

382

:

Is connected to eight or to take

action on the emotional regulation.

383

:

So that helps us to

modulate our attention or.

384

:

Adjust it up and down.

385

:

Based on how emotionally

significant a task is.

386

:

As you guessed, the ACC

works differently in ADHD.

387

:

We tend not to use the

specific area of our brain that

388

:

scientists would expect to see.

389

:

For ECC tasks.

390

:

And that means that we are more likely to

experience the emotional dysregulation.

391

:

But then that also

affects how we can engage.

392

:

Whether environment.

393

:

And the tasks that are around us.

394

:

I've looked at a few studies

and one of them compared how

395

:

people with, and without ADHD.

396

:

Dealt with really

challenging cognitive tasks.

397

:

Both groups found it difficult.

398

:

But the people with ADHD didn't

activate the anterior singular cortex

399

:

as the scientists had expected.

400

:

Because that helps us to decide

where, and when we put our attention.

401

:

As well as balancing the

attention of focus over time.

402

:

We didn't do as well in a task.

403

:

We used a different, less

specialized area of the brain.

404

:

To manage it.

405

:

So it's not that we can't do it.

406

:

It's just a brain bypasses, the

bit that isn't working, the way

407

:

it needs and find somewhere else.

408

:

Actually our brains doing a

great job with what it's got.

409

:

But that's why we struggle

sometimes to figure it out.

410

:

What to focus on.

411

:

And Twain.

412

:

This is why for so many of us having

a thinking partner, whether that's

413

:

a friend or a family member or a

coach, No someone who tells us what

414

:

to do, but who can support us to.

415

:

Think about that focus.

416

:

What to focus on.

417

:

And Wayne is so helpful because we're

accessing their anterior singular cortex.

418

:

And I liked the last bit is

actually your default mode network

419

:

have mentioned this a few times.

420

:

But your default mode network or the DMN.

421

:

Involves the areas of your

brain that are active.

422

:

When we rest.

423

:

So when you daydream.

424

:

When you think about.

425

:

Standing at a bus stop and

looking off into space.

426

:

We used to think of it as the

resting state, the resting brain,

427

:

but I actually was FM arise.

428

:

Thank goodness.

429

:

We can see how busy your

brain is when it's doing that.

430

:

And they discovered that the DMN.

431

:

Users areas like cure

posterior cingulate cortex.

432

:

Your medial prefrontal cortex.

433

:

And the lateral and

inferior parietal cortex.

434

:

So it's really wonderfully

juicy, complicated network.

435

:

And that's more active when we're thinking

about when we're looking at things

436

:

from other angles, if we're taking time

to look at a problem or a situation

437

:

from somebody else's perspective.

438

:

That's your DMN.

439

:

Normally swimmer.

440

:

On a task with a goal.

441

:

A completion.

442

:

So DMN.

443

:

Deactivates and a Lowe's.

444

:

The attentional networks to take over.

445

:

You guessed it.

446

:

With ADHD.

447

:

The DMN just doesn't quiet down.

448

:

When it's needed to.

449

:

It, when we need to focus the DMN.

450

:

Thousand switch off in the same way.

451

:

And that's because of

the weaker connections.

452

:

Between control centers and the DMN,

it's harder for them to regulate it.

453

:

It's a bit like you're trying to talk

to someone don't a crackly phone line.

454

:

They can't quite hear you.

455

:

Or for a more modern example, my goodness.

456

:

I'm showing my age.

457

:

When you're on a zoom call.

458

:

And the network freezes.

459

:

Because your bond with his limited.

460

:

So you miss bits of the sentence.

461

:

And this is true.

462

:

And everybody with ADHD.

463

:

Children, teenagers, adults.

464

:

Whether they take medication or not.

465

:

The reduced or absent balance.

466

:

Between the cognitive control

network and the DMN is consistent.

467

:

Because we don't have that separation.

468

:

Between task positive and.

469

:

Default mode.

470

:

Our attention lapses.

471

:

It's not that we're

deliberately zoning out.

472

:

Your brain is literally trained to

shift gear while you're in the middle.

473

:

If you listen way back to one of

the first episodes of the podcast.

474

:

I talked about a Landrover.

475

:

I used to have you had to hold it in

third gear, going round around a boat,

476

:

or it would just jump out into neutral

and the car would stop going round this.

477

:

Busy roundabout.

478

:

That's the ADHD brain.

479

:

We might be in the middle of doing

failing or admin if we catch.

480

:

An interesting article in a

magazine that we may be Turo

481

:

and left and the paler paper.

482

:

Guess what.

483

:

Your emotional interest center activates.

484

:

And the weaker control.

485

:

That is trying to keep you focused

on the important but boring task.

486

:

Is got no chance.

487

:

But one of the most powerful

things that we can use.

488

:

When we're managing ADHD.

489

:

I should really, I should leave you

hanging and shouldn't I, if I want you

490

:

to listen to the rest of the episode,

But I'm going to tell you one of the

491

:

most important things you can do.

492

:

Apart from education.

493

:

Is self-talk how we talk about, and

to ourselves is really important

494

:

when it comes to managing all

of these aspects of your brain.

495

:

And before we get onto the

strategies, I always take a

496

:

quick look at flu because flu.

497

:

Sometimes feels a bit like focus.

498

:

And it is.

499

:

So flu.

500

:

Is a state where we are completely

immersed in an activity.

501

:

Where we have focused

bitterness, a kind of vibrant.

502

:

Energized focus.

503

:

We're fully involved, the blinkers

are on and we're enjoying it.

504

:

It's almost like we

have this Jew sense of.

505

:

The process.

506

:

And the activity.

507

:

At the same time.

508

:

And the person who identified

it and gave it this name.

509

:

Is a psychologist called me,

highly chick sent me highly.

510

:

I apologize.

511

:

A probably.

512

:

Pronounced that badly.

513

:

But the characteristics of flow are

complete concentration on the task.

514

:

Really clear goals and immediate feedback.

515

:

Sense of control.

516

:

Over the task.

517

:

The quieting of that inner critic and

the loss of self-consciousness where no.

518

:

Worrying about how we look

when we're doing something

519

:

or other people are thinking.

520

:

Time changes.

521

:

We feel like it's flying past.

522

:

And it's something we love to do.

523

:

For its own sake.

524

:

That intrinsic motivation.

525

:

We do it because we love it.

526

:

Focus where looking at a

specific task or activity.

527

:

And ignoring distractions.

528

:

It tends to be something that we.

529

:

Choose.

530

:

There's effort involved.

531

:

And in your brain, it's

mostly prefrontal cortex.

532

:

And those executive functions.

533

:

With flu.

534

:

It's a deeper state.

535

:

Where you're not just

focused, but engaged.

536

:

You're emotionally engaged.

537

:

Enjoyment.

538

:

Satisfaction.

539

:

Savoring are all part of the process.

540

:

It feels effortless.

541

:

We don't have to try.

542

:

It's automatic.

543

:

And then the brain.

544

:

Part.

545

:

That's working in floor.

546

:

Is a balance between the

prefrontal cortex OVC.

547

:

But also the basal ganglia.

548

:

And release of the new transmitters,

the dopamine and endorphins.

549

:

The.

550

:

Default mode network

tends to quiet and don't.

551

:

But the dopamine and endorphins

provide this wonderful feedback

552

:

loop that keeps us going.

553

:

I would love to hear if you've

experienced states of flow.

554

:

And if you can recognize.

555

:

What was it that made it sort of warding?

556

:

Because I have an idea, but I'm

keen to hear from you as well.

557

:

If you've experienced floor.

558

:

When was it?

559

:

Is it something that you can repeat?

560

:

Or is it superior?

561

:

You wish you could experience it again.

562

:

That you can email or send

me a message on social media.

563

:

Ladies with cat.

564

:

Practical strategies.

565

:

Questions that you can use to

help you with focus and flow.

566

:

Chick sent me how you said that flu

is more likely to happen when we're

567

:

involved in tasks that are goal oriented

to that is they have a, an outcome.

568

:

That provide clear, immediate feedback.

569

:

Are just challenging enough.

570

:

And also Wednesday.

571

:

We enjoy the art.

572

:

Self motivated, self chosen.

573

:

But you can learn to increase

your experience of flu.

574

:

By using some of the same strategies.

575

:

That I would use for focus.

576

:

So let's combine the

strategies for focus and for.

577

:

First of all get very clear

on what the outcome is.

578

:

If you need to focus on something.

579

:

Does it have a clear end point.

580

:

A clear goal.

581

:

And if it's a long term one,

What's your first milestone.

582

:

I get that very clear to begin with.

583

:

Get as much feedback as you can,

Either from the process or the task.

584

:

Or from somebody around you.

585

:

And that will help you to stay engaged

and to adjust and course correct.

586

:

As you go along.

587

:

You want to make sure that any task

you're attempting and you need to

588

:

focus on or ideally tip over into flu.

589

:

It's just the right amount of challenge.

590

:

It's got to have enough

to push your ability was.

591

:

Making you feel like you can't complete.

592

:

Because.

593

:

The secret to flu.

594

:

Is that your brain is able to

predict the outcome correctly.

595

:

Repeatedly.

596

:

It's not a smooth river.

597

:

It's.

598

:

Taking tiny snapshots and thinking

if I do this, this will happen.

599

:

Over and over again.

600

:

And getting it right.

601

:

That is why you get the

dopamine and the endorphins.

602

:

So whenever you do something.

603

:

Try to infer something that

pushes you a little bit.

604

:

But still gives you the

reward of being right.

605

:

And if you're going to

struggle with it, get support.

606

:

And make sure that you have

some scaffolding in there.

607

:

To give you help.

608

:

Because if it's too hard, You

feel stressed and bored and.

609

:

The dopamine goes away.

610

:

And so does our focus.

611

:

Think about your environment.

612

:

Try to find an environment

where your interruptions.

613

:

And your sensory

distractions are minimized.

614

:

If you can't remove all the things.

615

:

Make sure that the sensory input,

whether that's noise, touch, smell.

616

:

Lating.

617

:

Is not going to be a hindrance to you.

618

:

Next think about.

619

:

Your mindfulness and.

620

:

I've talked about mindfulness,

quite a lot on the podcast,

621

:

but I'm thinking about that.

622

:

Being in the present moment.

623

:

As a mindfulness, rather than

specific meditation and mindfulness

624

:

meditation is brilliant.

625

:

If you can do it.

626

:

That literally start with

five second increments.

627

:

Of being present in your body.

628

:

Having your feet flat on the floor.

629

:

Feeling the seat.

630

:

Or the bench wherever you're sitting on.

631

:

Having an awareness of the

heaviness of your head.

632

:

Thinking about the brace as it comes in.

633

:

Cold and goes out or.

634

:

Congratulations.

635

:

You've just done some mindfulness.

636

:

It's that simple.

637

:

Well done.

638

:

Because so many of my clients,

I can't do mindfulness.

639

:

I'm just thinking all the time.

640

:

But you just did it.

641

:

And it doesn't matter if it

was for five or 10 seconds.

642

:

That is a start.

643

:

So well done.

644

:

And the last thing to

encourage your focus of flow.

645

:

It's to think about it.

646

:

Regularly.

647

:

If we are.

648

:

Busy people.

649

:

I'm constantly interrupted.

650

:

Your brain is not going

to get into the habit.

651

:

Focus.

652

:

And it's certainly not going

to get into the habit of flow.

653

:

Obviously, this has to be adjusted to your

individual circumstances and life pattern.

654

:

And I know many parents.

655

:

Find it, the team between

10 and 12 in the evening.

656

:

It's when the actually get things done.

657

:

Because.

658

:

Kids are in bed.

659

:

TV's off.

660

:

Hopefully the dishes are done.

661

:

And you can sit down and do some work.

662

:

And that's why it's really important

to look after your sleep hygiene.

663

:

And see if you can nudge

that back a little bit.

664

:

If that's where you

are in your life, then.

665

:

Maximize rest.

666

:

And restorative sleep.

667

:

In other areas.

668

:

It's one of the reasons why.

669

:

Thinking about planning and planners.

670

:

As much as it's a cliche and people

say, have you tried to planner?

671

:

It does actually help a little bit.

672

:

The trick is to find a right one for you.

673

:

And the one that you will

consistently use as the right one.

674

:

Find a planner that you are

comfortable with and that you will use.

675

:

Don't worry if you drop

out after a few weeks.

676

:

That's okay.

677

:

You can come back.

678

:

I'm a big fan of dotted journals

and bullet journals for that

679

:

reason, because it is flexible.

680

:

But.

681

:

When we have a Leo over D.

682

:

We can start to see areas where,

oh, I could have half an hour there.

683

:

I could maybe manage 25 minutes.

684

:

Start with that.

685

:

And then you can build

up your focus times.

686

:

But at the same time, as we're

trying to build up focus.

687

:

Make sure you're getting

enough relaxation.

688

:

And taking breaks.

689

:

There's research that says we have our

own four hours of productive work parody.

690

:

There is a lot of evidence

that is how much time we have.

691

:

For many people is broken

up into teeny tiny pieces.

692

:

If you're able to make it a clear section.

693

:

Then just power through it.

694

:

And we are, we can talk in future

about what your week might look like,

695

:

what your months might look like.

696

:

It's something that I

love doing with clients.

697

:

It's part of the program I've developed

ADHD raising, which I will talk about in

698

:

the seminar on Mondays assertive June.

699

:

But this ability to have a photo block.

700

:

It's not something many people can have.

701

:

Let's put it that way.

702

:

However.

703

:

Should you choose to pursue it?

704

:

Getting old done.

705

:

Sprinting.

706

:

Is a very ADHD thing to do.

707

:

Instead of breaking things up

and making them into a Maurice

708

:

and throughout the whole day.

709

:

The last two things I want to

mention are specifically for people

710

:

with ADHD and especially adults.

711

:

But if you're an adult was a young child

or a person, you can model this for them.

712

:

So the first thing you can do.

713

:

Is think about how you talk to yourself.

714

:

On a boat yourself.

715

:

There's a lot of data showing that.

716

:

Positive self-regard.

717

:

Talking.

718

:

Not since talking badly about yourself.

719

:

These can have positive and negative

effects on your mental health.

720

:

And your productivity.

721

:

So for instance, I was talking to.

722

:

Julia from the positive psychology.

723

:

College today and she was saying.

724

:

When she completes a

task on her to-do list.

725

:

She doesn't just take

the books, which I love.

726

:

She then writes.

727

:

You did it.

728

:

He gives herself an exclamation

mark and a smiley face.

729

:

It sounds.

730

:

Ridiculous.

731

:

But that positive cheerleading,

that celebration that I could

732

:

knowledgement of what we've done.

733

:

That makes us feel good

because it releases dopamine.

734

:

And remember we mentioned the Habana.

735

:

Way back here earlier in the program.

736

:

When you are.

737

:

Speaking badly about yourself.

738

:

Oh, I'm so forgetful.

739

:

I'm so lazy.

740

:

How could I forget that?

741

:

Yeah, all the negative

patterns that are very easy.

742

:

You have Nula hears that.

743

:

Your mind and your brain are not always.

744

:

Serving each other.

745

:

And so your brain says, oh,

there's some negative feedback.

746

:

I'm going to reduce the dopamine.

747

:

Exactly when you don't want it to go away.

748

:

Because then you feel terrible

749

:

think about.

750

:

A few supportive.

751

:

Farming phrases.

752

:

The ALO you.

753

:

To build up your focus.

754

:

And B.

755

:

Be genuinely warm.

756

:

And compassionate with yourself.

757

:

You can use.

758

:

Phrases from.

759

:

The loving kindness

meditations, you can see.

760

:

May I be kind to myself.

761

:

Yeah.

762

:

Oh, these kinds of things.

763

:

Or you can say something like.

764

:

I go this.

765

:

Okay.

766

:

I got this.

767

:

I did it.

768

:

And just recognizing that.

769

:

It works.

770

:

It's not difficult.

771

:

It's not.

772

:

Complicated, but remembering to do it.

773

:

That is why I just bought myself

a little pack of heart shaped

774

:

pastel colored post-it notes.

775

:

And of course.

776

:

Keep going with the physical

breaks, the movement breaks.

777

:

Stretch yourself.

778

:

There's a lovely chap on

Instagram called Adam Richardson.

779

:

Who's very funny and he's got

wonderful movement breaks.

780

:

I'm using.

781

:

From a pure shoulders and neck.

782

:

Find somebody who makes you smile

and use their movement breaks

783

:

their little YouTube videos.

784

:

Whatever.

785

:

To move for your body during

your focus time, if you can.

786

:

And of course.

787

:

Remember.

788

:

Your brain Fain, SIS so much harder.

789

:

You're trying to rollerskate.

790

:

An ice skates.

791

:

When we give ourselves a hard

time for not being able to focus.

792

:

It makes it even harder.

793

:

If you are finding an

important task, difficult.

794

:

Popo in your ADHD classes.

795

:

Your ADHD lens.

796

:

I have a pair of pineapple

ones, which are meat, Brie coat.

797

:

For.

798

:

Sharing this information.

799

:

Tell your brain.

800

:

This is important because, and

explained that the meaning and the

801

:

interest, not just the important.

802

:

And.

803

:

Understand that your brain needs the

information of meaning and interest.

804

:

To elaborate to do the task in

the first place, because without

805

:

the meaning and the interest.

806

:

We don't have the dopamine.

807

:

So establish, this is connected

to my vision to go to.

808

:

Bali next year.

809

:

If I do my taxes and I get this

many clients in the next few months.

810

:

I will go to Bali next year to do that.

811

:

I need to create.

812

:

This type of plan.

813

:

I need to do this work.

814

:

Think about it in that sort of context.

815

:

What does the task form apart of, in

connection to your vision, to your values?

816

:

To the meaning.

817

:

And interest.

818

:

Of the overall picture.

819

:

So really hope you found this.

820

:

Helpful as well as interesting.

821

:

Sure.

822

:

If you're still hanging around here, you

are a big fan of the human brain as I am.

823

:

I have got a link in the show notes so

that you can come along to the seminar.

824

:

Where I'll talk more

about this kind of thing.

825

:

And we can have a proper conversation.

826

:

I do occasionally have

one-to-one coaching.

827

:

Openings.

828

:

So if you're interested,

you can contact me as well.

829

:

But more than anything.

830

:

I would love you to get

in touch and just tell me.

831

:

Which part of this information is

the one that you are going to use.

832

:

What has changed now that you understand

what's going on in your brain, and

833

:

you've got a few ideas to throw in there

that you maybe haven't tried before.

834

:

Please get in touch and let me

know which one you're going to use.

835

:

And if you've used one and had success.

836

:

Share it.

837

:

Let's support each other.

838

:

As always.

839

:

You can get in touch

with me on social media.

840

:

The show notes, contain

references to the studies.

841

:

I've mentioned as well as other resources.

842

:

And until next time.

843

:

Take care.

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