Motivational and inspirational writer, Bryan Hutchinson is the author of several books about life with ADHD including the highly acclaimed, best selling "One Boy′s Struggle: A Memoir" and the author of the hilarious eBook that went viral "10 Things I Hate about ADHD"

tips

How to Use Rewards to Your Advantage If You Have ADHD

How to Use Rewards to Your Advantage If You Have ADHD

If you have ADHD then you are probably familiar with the fact that incentives such as rewards help us focus and accomplish tasks. But have you considered using these incentives as an advantage? What excites you, what enthralls you and what motivates you? Take note of those things. They are important. Usually we reap rewards for accomplishing something, but the experience is too fleeting. We don’t take the time to bask in the reward and take note of it. Here are a few examples of what I mean… Is your desk covered with clutter? Have you ever cleaned it and put it in such an organized order that made you feel comfortable and proud of its appearance? If so, consider how that felt, really think about that a moment and take it in. Have you ever cleaned out your car, gave it a tune up and went on a joy ride […]

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7 Strategies on How to Remember What You’ve Read. The ADHD Way.

7 Strategies on How to Remember What You’ve Read. The ADHD Way.

Reading, Memory and ADHD As you well know reading is one thing, remembering what you’ve read is another. Dang it. I love reading. Truly, I do. But it’s often been a frustrating experience because I have ADHD. I read for minutes or for hours and then when finished I come to realize I don’t remember a thing. Nope. Nothing. Blank. Nada. I’m lucky to remember the book title. This was a pain in the booty back in my school days. It’s kind of weird, but I tend to remember things better two weeks later rather than after 2 hours. Go ahead, try and explain that to your teacher. However, the good news is that over the years of beating my head against books (paperbacks, because hardbacks hurt), I have come up with strategies that help me remember. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. So below are the top 7 that have been the most […]

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Tips on How the Good Kind of ADHD Distraction Works

Tips on How the Good Kind of ADHD Distraction Works

The Discovered Treasure We discovered a treasure for our senses, something we will remember for years to come and I would love to share it with you. A couple weekends ago Joan (my wife) and I went out for a nice ride to the Bad Dürkheim wine fest. It’s the largest wine fest in the world. It’s more than a wine fest, though. It’s a carnival with lots of rides and, of course, the most important part, lots of delicious food! Isn’t food the main reason anyone goes to a carnival? Or is that just me? We love carnivals. But let’s not talk about the rides. I’ve already gone there in a previous post and the wimp inside of me doesn’t want to go there again anytime soon. We left early one Saturday morning with the plan of finding a decent parking place. Smart move, right? However, things did not go as planned. Something special happened as […]

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ADHD and Insomnia! 10 Tips How to Overcome Insomnia and 1 Big No – No!

ADHD and Insomnia! 10 Tips How to Overcome Insomnia and 1 Big No – No!

Beyond Tired I’m tired. It is 3am as I write this and I am still awake. Well, yes, I’d have to be in order to be writing this. But here’s the thing, I went to bed at 10pm. It was a respectable time and I was already very tired. As usual, after I slipped under the warm covers I randomly chose a book from my nightstand. There’s plenty there, a large pile actually. (I cleared the clutter from my desk. I never promised myself to do the same thing for my nightstand.) Reading a book at night puts me to sleep, unless it is extremely good and if that’s the case I can become so hyper-focused that I keep reading until it’s too late (or early) to get any sleep at all. 3 potty breaks, 4 water breaks and a piece of pie later and I am still awake. Yes, pie. Apple if […]

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5 Steps To Get What You Want, Even If You Have ADHD!

5 Steps To Get What You Want, Even If You Have ADHD!

What does a small white dog look like? Visualized the picture of a small white dog in your mind’s eye. Close your eyes for a moment. Imagine – Small. White. Dog. Roll with me on this. Got it? Did you clearly see an image of a small white dog in your mind or perhaps remember a dog that fit the description? Okay, I cheated by posting a picture of a small white dog. I do that sometimes. The mind’s eye is powerful. What if I told you that if you want something you must first visualize having it. Would you believe that? We do it all the time. I am willing to bet (and you can let me know) that today or perhaps for the next couple days you are going to notice (or think about) more small white dogs than normal. We visualize things all the time with our words, […]

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How to Jailbreak ADHD Brain Lock

How to Jailbreak ADHD Brain Lock

Has your brain ever locked up? You don’t have to admit it out loud. It’s okay. You can be secretive about it. Unless you’re at the checkout line, you forgot something and have no clue what it was. In that case you’re just standing there looking weird. Dumbstruck. Yeah, you’ve been there. At some point. Somewhere. Right? Me, too. Dumbstruck is a good word. It fits. I don’t like it. But it fits. You know the moment your brain has locked not because you realize it instantly. No. That would be too good to be true. You come to realize it because someone nearby asks if you are okay or if you need an ambulance. I am stuck like glue My PC is dying and I absolutely must replace it. That’s what this is about. That’s why my brain has locked up like Fort Knox! Seriously, it’s going, but it is […]

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Stop Seeking Perfection and Approval, especially if you have ADD / ADHD

Stop Seeking Perfection and Approval, especially if you have ADD / ADHD

How to stop striving for perfection and approval, that’s what this post and my latest FREE eBook is about. Special shout-out to Healthline for awarding my blog, one of the best ADHD blogs on the web! Thank you! I am a recovering perfectionist. I’ve never been perfect, mind you, not even close. But that didn’t stop me from striving to be. I always thought, somewhere in the back of my mind, that if I could achieve perfection then I would also achieve approval. It’s not that I told myself those things. No. It was behind the scenes of my thoughts that the idea was somehow planted, grew roots and those roots eventually strangled my creativity, my goals, my hopes, my enjoyment and my happiness. And, I have ADHD, too! I didn’t know that I was a perfectionist until I was diagnosed with ADHD and quite a ways into treatment. I was diagnosed with […]

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Here are ADHD Studies and Reports To Be Concerned About

Here are ADHD Studies and Reports To Be Concerned About

Have you been keeping up with all of the recent studies and reports concerning ADD / ADHD? . What – you haven’t? Is it because you do not have an easy way to keep track of them? If so, I have good news for you. I have an ADHD radar. It alerts me to special news about ADHD. Do you want one? You’ll have to sign a special waiver, of course. After the waiver there will be tests. If you pass those tests there will be more tests after that, but I am not that kind of guy. I cheat. . For you (only you), I have a special deal = The secret to how I cheat: Go to Google News. Once you get there type ADHD in the search field, then click the search button. After you’ve done that you will see a list of the latest news about ADHD. […]

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ADHD – the STRENGTH Based Approach – TRY it

ADHD – the STRENGTH Based Approach – TRY it

Lately I have been reading a lot about the strength based approach to managing, coping and, more importantly, striving and thriving with ADHD! It’s a contagious, positive and wonderful new movement and I like to think I have been a small part of helping push this movement into the forefront by writing my blog, my books and eBooks. David A Crenshaw recently wrote on facebook: A—adventurous D—determined H—hardy D—dynamic ©David A. Crenshaw, 2011, all rights reserved. I really like his use of ADHD! It’s a new way of looking at ADHD. We can talk about the difficulties, the challenges and the disadvantages of ADHD all day long. We can read about and study what the science tells us and what the statistics show us, but there’s one thing I have noticed, and that is that those who believe in and live by their strengths, whereby one uses what they can […]

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For Parents and Teachers of Children with ADHD – Adults with ADHD too!

For Parents and Teachers of Children with ADHD – Adults with ADHD too!

This is a very special announcement. I have a new book coming out in a couple short weeks. It is my labor of love, the grandest adventure and the most ambitious writing I have endeavored since One Boy’s Struggle: A Memoir. The title of my new book is 7 Crucial Tips for Parents and Teachers of Children with ADHD. Don’t let the title fool you though, this new book will be just as important a read for adults with ADHD as it is for parents and teachers. I would even go so far as calling it my Manifesto – at least, that’s what my wife is calling it. The new book shares with readers what I consider the 7 most crucial tips for parents and teachers. Because of how serious I am about this new book I asked two professional therapists (who you may have heard of) to write forewords […]

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