Artwork for podcast ADHD Mums
107. Sorry I'm Late. I Have ADHD.' But .... My Friend Has ADHD Too. She's Never Late
Episode 10721st May 2026 • ADHD Mums • Jane McFadden
00:00:00 00:31:25

Share Episode

Shownotes

Sorry I'm late. I have ADHD. So does my friend. She's sitting at the coffee shop halfway through her first one, watching me sweat through the door twenty minutes late. Same diagnosis. Different morning. Different brain doing the work behind it.

What We Cover

  • The vein surgery saga — three appointments, three completely different outcomes, same brain
  • The receptionist who handed me the appointment card like a library card and the one who didn't
  • Why "set more alarms, leave earlier" is the equivalent of telling someone with low blood sugar to just have more energy
  • The four types of ADHD time blindness — petrol gauge stuck on full, the car that won't start, the GPS that lies, the seatbelt warning that's late
  • Why your strategies haven't worked — because they were built for someone else's type
  • What actually works for each one — visual time, body doubling, departure rituals, calibration with a stopwatch, manufactured deadlines
  • Why "I left heaps of time" keeps being true and untrue at the same time
  • The 40-50% rule — adults with ADHD underestimate task time by half. Double it. Then add buffer.
  • Why the friend at the coffee shop at five to nine isn't more disciplined — she's borrowing structure from her environment
  • What collapses on school holidays, sick days, working from home, and what that tells you about which strategies are actually holding you up
  • The estrogen/dopamine link — why the same brain at 32 isn't the same brain at 42

Free Resource

Time Blindness Jotform — figure out which of the four types you actually have, then find the support that fits: https://adhdmums.com.au/ (on Jane's website)

Energy Accounting Guide — for the dopamine/load piece: https://adhdmums.com.au/product/adhd-mums-energy-accounting-guide/

Free Resources Library: https://adhdmums.com.au/product-category/free-resources/

Paid Resource

ADHD Reset Workbook — Values, Energy & Planning: https://adhdmums.com.au/product/adhd-planner-and-values/

Related Episodes

📬 Listener Questions & Community

🎙️ Ask a Listener Question (voice)

Voice notes are preferred when possible — hearing your voice helps add context — but you’re very welcome to submit a written question instead.

Send me a WhatsApp voice message here:

https://wa.me/61403457313

✍️ Ask a Listener Question (written)

https://form.jotform.com/251238118486864

👥 Join the ADHD Mums Facebook Group

For community, shared language, and conversations with other mums who get it.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/adhdmumspodcast

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube