Have you ever wondered how successful entrepreneurs navigate ADHD to unleash their creativity? 

What are the best strategies to manage ADHD while running a business? 

How can you turn ADHD into a strength in your personal and professional

life? 

🔗 Read / Listen more: https://smartadhd.me/8

In this episode of The Smart ADHD Podcast, we dive deep into the common ADHD traits that often trip us up but can also propel us forward. I share my personal journey and insights from living with ADHD, along with expert advice to help you better manage these traits in your daily life.

We'll be tackling the biggies: poor memory, chronic procrastination, impulsivity, and sensory sensitivities. Whether you're struggling to start tasks or finding it hard to stop once you've started, this episode is packed with strategies and stories to help you feel less alone and more empowered.

🎙️ In this episode: 

00:00 Welcome to the Smart ADHD Podcast 

01:05 Exploring Top Smart ADHD Traits: Part Two 

01:47 Behavioural Traits of ADHD 

03:23 Chronic Procrastination: A Deep Dive 

05:48 The Challenge of Getting Started and Stopping 

08:33 Impulsivity and Its Impacts 

10:01 Navigating Addictive Behaviours and Substance Abuse 

12:08 Understanding Restlessness in ADHD 

13:31 Sensory and Perceptual Traits in ADHD 

17:48 Wrapping Up and What's Next 

🕺More about Ian Anderson Gray

Ian is the host of the Smart ADHD Podcast and a live-streaming video coach and consultant. He helps business owners and entrepreneurs broadcast live confidently, communicate better, and set up the right gear and tools. Ian runs Seriously Social, a business aimed at helping others be more productive and level up their impact online. He's also a professional singer, web developer, and an international speaker. Ian lives near Manchester in the UK with his family.

🤗 Connect with Ian 

Website: https://iag.me/ 

X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/iagdotme 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ianandersongray 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianandersongray/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iagdotme 

Threads: https://threads.net/@ianandersongray 

What's your biggest challenge in navigating ADHD as a smart creative? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, and don't forget to subscribe and leave a review!

🎤 About the Smart ADHD Podcast

The Smart ADHD Podcast is for smart creatives, entrepreneurs, and business owners who are navigating life with ADHD. We celebrate unique brilliance, whether we're intelligent, exceptionally talented, or both. Ian Anderson Gray interviews experts to uncover the real story of ADHD for smart creatives, busting myths and discovering effective strategies to improve our lives, unleash our creativity, and grow.

🔗 Find out more at https://smartadhd.me/8

Hello, I'm Ian Anderson Gray, and this is the smart ADHD podcast.

Now if you're a smart, creative entrepreneur or business owner

navigating your life with ADHD, This is the podcast for you.

Now, I'm no ADHD expert, but I'm eager to share my story on what I've learned

by talking with experts, as well as digging into the personal ADHD stories of

successful creatives and entrepreneurs.

I was diagnosed at age 46, and it answered so many questions in my life.

But of course, that was in many ways, only the start of my journey.

So let's learn together.

Smart stories, smart strategies, smart ADHD.

Hello, welcome back to part two of the top smart ADHD traits.

I thought I could fit all of these into one episode.

But as I found out the last time I did this, I ran out of time.

I'm probably going to have to do three or four episodes, because it

turns out there's a lot of traits.

And some of these affect me.

Some of them don't.

There are as many Types of ADHD as there are people with ADHD.

So just bear that in mind.

And as always, of course, if you're affected by anything that

I say in this don't cope alone.

Do seek medical help through, professional An expert in ADHD.

I'm no expert.

I'm just going to be sharing my thoughts on this.

Let's get in to the beginning because I want to talk about behavioural traits.

Poor memory and forgetfulness, poor working memory.

And when I was talking to Tamara on the show recently, we were talking about the

fact that it's almost like our working memory is like an Etch a Sketch that has

very limited space to Hold information and it loses information very easily.

So this ADHD impacts executive functions of the brain, and

this includes working memory.

It's like the RAM in a computer.

And yeah, even though my computer has a lot of RAM, it's a little bit like

back in my days of my ZX Spectrum.

Computer there, which is like 48k.

It feels a little bit like that sometimes.

So this can lead to difficulties and retaining information long.

So that's the short term memory.

And I have to remind myself, I'll write things down because I will forget that.

Particularly in cognitive tasks, and this can cause issues with recalling

past events or important information.

What I've found is that I'm very good at remembering fun things.

So it's really weird.

Sometimes it's random things that I can remember.

I can remember poems, certain poems or like a song that I sung.

But sometimes it's like the important information that I can't remember.

So yeah, it just takes a lot more effort to be able to do that.

That is definitely a common issue for those of us with ADHD.

Okay.

This is the big one for me.

Chronic procrastination and it's not just procrastination because most

people in the world struggle with procrastination there's something a

task that you don't really want to do and just getting the effort to do it But

with chronic procrastination Wow, it's a big problem and it's Often it's with

a task that I know that I really need to do and I just really struggle with it.

For example, this week I've got I'm speaking at an event and I've been

procrastinating and procrastinating about putting the slides

together and practicing the talk.

Now I have done it, thankfully, finally I did do it, but it just took

a lot of effort to do this and this, this results from difficulties with

executive functions stuff again and related to planning prioritizing.

And time management.

People with ADHD tend to delay starting tasks because it could be to do with

feeling overwhelmed or uncertain about how to proceed or because they lack

the immediate motivation to do it.

And that is the common thing, it's, It just, you just don't have the

mental process or power to be able to get started until the pressure

of a deadline forces that action.

And so this is when it's like a yellow zone task in the four groups, four

quadrants, you've got like green tasks, which are like high stimulation

and fun, you got low stimulation and fun, which are the blue tasks.

And then on the left hand side.

You've got the kind of yellow zone, which is low stimulation and not fun.

And that is often where these tasks lie that we procrastinate with.

And what happens is that they become red zone tasks, which

is high stimulation, not fun.

And that is danger zone.

So you were triggering our brain into forcing us to do

it because we have to do it.

It's like tomorrow, the deadline is tomorrow, the deadline is yesterday.

and this can often fuel guilt and self loathing, or we use those

things to force us to do the stuff.

I've always thought I'm just lazy, I compare myself with others here, but

chronic procrastination is a huge issue for many people with ADHD.

And yeah, guilt definitely comes into that.

So that's kind of flows on quite nicely to the next one, which is, Difficulty

getting started with things once you get started, and it's sometimes a

difficulty getting to actually stop.

But this is known as activation.

This is this challenge involves the struggle to initiate tasks due again

to problems with executive function.

Do you see where I'm going with all of this?

It can be particularly difficult to start tasks that are seen as boring or complex.

Again, this is procrastination because ADHD symptoms often include a need for

more stimulating, rewarding activities.

So I find that instead of doing like the big task that requires a lot of effort,

I'll do lots of little tasks that I enjoy, or I'll toggle between a big boring task.

I'll do maybe three minutes of it.

I'll then go on to something that's a lot more interesting.

And then I'll go back and I'll toggle between those things.

I wonder whether this is partly to do with dopamine as well.

There's just not enough dopamine there and it's just really difficult to get started.

Also, we just don't know how long this thing is going to take.

And this is the whole time blindness thing.

So we might just make this task, which is actually only going to take

us three minutes, but we think it's going to take us hours and hours.

And so we just don't get started or we just think it's more complicated.

We get overwhelmed by it and we just don't get started.

But then.

We have the next issue.

Difficulty stopping or switching tasks.

This is a big problem for me.

So I get in the zone.

And I'm hyperfocused, so I just really, really struggle to stop it because I'm

in that zone and I don't want to stop.

So, Once engaged in that activity, especially one that is enjoyable or

stimulating, we tend to find it hard to stop due to hyper focus on that task.

And additionally.

This is a really weird one.

I always wondered why this was the case.

Switching or transitioning to another task requires that executive function

thing, which can be impaired with ADHD, making task switching challenging.

And I found this, that I'm focused on something and then maybe somebody comes

up to me like my dad and he's asking me a question or saying can you help me

with this and I really find that painful.

I've had to work really hard at this because I'm so focused on this and I'm

worried that if I stop focusing on that I'm going to find it difficult to get

back into it but it's just difficult to switch tasks transitioning between

those different things really hard.

So yeah, is that something that you struggle with?

I think a lot of people with ADHD do.

Okay, impulsivity.

And this is a one of the big traits with ADHD.

And this is linked to an underactive prefrontal cortex, which affects the

ability to think ahead and evaluate the consequences of our actions.

And this can lead to hasty decisions and actions without thorough consideration.

Often, not always seeking immediate gratification or response, but often

it is, we just see something that we want to buy, we want that immediate

gratification but we, yeah, it is a little bit of that thrill seeking thing.

Now, not, this isn't always about impulsivity, can sometimes be a

really good thing because we're, we're trusting our gut and we

know that this is going to work.

But if this is not put in check, it can cause real problems.

I've, in the past I've seen a, like a phone or a piece

of tech that I really want.

And my gut is telling me that I, Probably shouldn't buy this.

I don't have the enough money for it or it's not the right thing, but I just go

and buy it anyway for me often Because I have a high level of anxiety that keeps

my impulsivity in check But if you don't have a high level of anxiety that keeps

it in check This can be a big problem.

It can also be a good thing, but in moderation.

So bear that in mind.

And then we're moving on to a bit of a dark subject, I think which is related

to impulsivity and this is addictive behavior or even substance abuse.

And I know I'm treading in dangerous, difficult ground here.

This is partly down to dopamine, I think.

Again, no expert here, and I'm gonna bring on export, exports?

Experts onto the show about this, to talk about this, because it is

something that really interests me.

The dopamine regulation, is a problem for people with ADHD and this can lead

to individuals with ADHD to seek out behaviors or even substances that increase

that dopamine in the body, in the brain.

And this is, particularly if you don't know you have ADHD, you're not

medicated, you're not seeking a holistic approach or whatever it is, you're self

medicating through other activities.

Now, this could be down to alcohol it can be drugs, it can be sex, pornography, it

can be loads of different things here that people can get addicted to and can cause

huge problems because you are trying to seek out or increase that dopamine level

in your brain and it become addictive with all pretty much all of those things

that I've mentioned that changes the chemical balance in your brain and you

can become addicted to those things.

this can make addictive behaviors more appealing, harder to resist, it can

make you initially maybe feel better.

You get that initial rush, but over time, or at the end, you're

gonna feel absolutely awful.

You're gonna feel guilty.

You're gonna feel all those things.

So that can be a huge problem with people with ADHD.

And I talked to Tamara about so she was talking about

alcohol can be a big problem.

But it can be lots of different things.

It can manifest itself in different things.

So you've gone, we've gone from the impulsivity and you could be addicted

to things like shopping or gambling but it can then get into the more that

is addictive behavior, but substance abuse and all that kind of stuff, right?

Let's move on restlessness.

Now This is like a feeling of feeling wired but you can be, moving your legs

or your, ribbon rubbing or whatever.

And this is a manifestation of the, internal hyperactivity.

So it can be external.

You can be externally hyperactive.

But the thing I'm talking about here is this feeling of being, feeling restless.

And it's this internal hyperactivity, which is associated with ADHD.

And when I thought I had ADHD, I thought I was the inattentive type, I didn't

think I was hyperactive, because I wasn't, I'm not very physically hyperactive,

I was as a child, but not as an adult.

And then I realized that internally, I am very hyperactive, and it can

be very difficult for those with ADHD to sit still, to remain still.

That's not so much of a problem with me, I tend to be quite still.

Some people, they can't be.

Like my wife, she's yeah she gets a little bit restless physically, but yeah, this

restlessness can appear as fidgeting or inability to sit for prolonged periods

or a general feeling of being physically uncomfortable when not in motion.

I don't have a problem sitting down, but I do sometimes need to get out.

Like today, I need to go out for a walk.

I need to get some exercise.

I need to do something.

I get like anxious and frustrated if that's not the case.

Okay, let's move on to the next section, which is sensory and perceptual traits.

So this is really interesting, because I didn't really realize

until relatively recently that these were anything to do with ADHD.

Sensitivity to noise and overstimulation.

And apparently as children, children, younger kids, they find

it difficult to filter out things.

So kids can get really overstimulated very easily.

It's the same with a lot of people with ADHD.

We find it difficult to filter out lots of conversations happening.

We can get overwhelmed with too much stimulation.

It's weird because We like to be stimulated, but we find it very difficult

to filter out or to focus on one thing if there's lots of things going on.

And, an example of this is like a few weeks ago, I was in London for an event.

It was a really good day and the evening there was going to be, there was a

party with, it was what do you call it?

A networking party when we were speaking with people.

Which I was looking forward to because there were a lot

of really cool people there.

The problem was that they had a DJ, which sounds great.

But the music was like pretty loud and I just struggled to hear the conversation.

So I was listening really intently To what people were saying,

but I was really struggling.

And it was, it took so much effort that I kept on having to go to the bathroom,

the toilet to just have some space.

It was really quiet.

And then I closed the door.

I had three minutes of space.

I didn't actually go to the toilet.

I just stood there and then I went back out and I had another five, 10 minutes

of this, and then I had to go back.

And then eventually it was just too much for me.

And this has happened quite a lot.

When I've been to events where there's music going on and

I just can't cope with that.

And it's the same with like a noisy coffee shop.

If there's too much noise going on, I can't concentrate and that's why noise

cancelling headphones Playing things like brown noise or using a tool like

brain FM really, really help here.

And so like many individuals with ADHD have sensory processing

sensitivities, which make them more susceptible to being overwhelmed by

sensory inputs, such as loud noises or visually cluttered environments.

And that's really interesting, because actually, if I'm an environment.

Where it's messy, like my office and studio I need it to be tidy.

Otherwise I get a little bit stressed.

And, but actually keeping it tidy in the first place is a difficult one.

Yeah, back to the noises thing.

It's not just lots of loud noises.

It could just be a sudden loud noise that can be really, quite shocking to me.

So then this is interesting.

Like our nervous systems are less effective at regulating inputs and

that can lead to sensory overload.

And I will just have to lie down.

I feel it's almost like I feel physically assaulted.

I have to just lie down, rest almost in a darkened room.

And often, I was doing some research into this heightened sensitivity.

And this is, I think the sympathetic nervous system as opposed to the

parasympathetic nervous system.

I'm learning all these things.

If you're in that state for too long, it can lead you to overwhelm, anxiety,

irritability, maybe even burnout as well.

It takes me a lot of concentration to focus on what somebody is saying, but if

there's a lot of stuff going on in the background, it's even more difficult.

This is to do with that difficulty.

In filtering out the background noise from the conversation, and people with

ADHD really struggle with this often, not focusing on that conversation.

And even if you want to, and most of the time I do want to talk to the person, it's

not like I don't want to and there's this brain's, challenged ability to prioritize

auditory information effectively.

And I'm really concentrating on what this person's saying, but

I'm struggling to filter out all this other stuff that's going on.

It can make it really hard to concentrate on that one person is saying, particularly

like a party or a professional setting can be really difficult.

So I wonder whether that's something that you struggle with yourself.

Let me know.

That is the end of this episode.

I will be coming back with some more traits and of course, more episodes.

We've got some smart ADHD stories and some experts coming back on

the show and do get in touch.

I'd love to hear from you.

You can get in touch with me by sending me an email to ian@smartadhd.me.

But, until next time, I encourage you to be smart with your ADHD.

See you soon.

Bye!