ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka

Episode 376: Rethinking How We Learn (Because It’s Not Working) with Deena Kara Shaffer

Release Date: March 18, 2026
Guest: Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer, founder of Awakened Learning

Overview

In this episode, Tracy Otsuka sits down with Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer, a leading learning strategist and fierce advocate for inclusive, strengths-based education. Together, they dig into why traditional approaches to learning fail many—especially women with ADHD—and what a more holistic, humane, and effective system can look like. Dr. Shaffer, who is not officially diagnosed with ADHD but has dedicated her career to supporting neurodivergent and struggling learners, shares her practical insights on how to make learning feel good again, explains the crucial difference between "study skills" and "learning strategies," and spotlights the invisible labor and emotional burdens women with ADHD often shoulder. The conversation is filled with actionable tips, powerful reframes, and compassionate wisdom for anyone seeking to build a learning (and living) strategy that works for their brain.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Breaking Podcast Rules for a Reason

• Tracy reveals that Deena is the first non-diagnosed guest on the show (03:53), and acknowledges “kismet” or fate in having her on, given her deep expertise and passion for empowering learners “pushed to the margins.”
• Quote:

  “We’re in action. Breaking every single rule.” — Deena (03:53)

The Personal Side of Learning Struggles

• Deena shares her background as a first-generation student, her experiences with the trauma of bereavement, and how these informed her awareness that so many struggles are “off the diagnostic radar” yet directly impact learning (07:08–12:24).
• She stresses the power of radical inclusion and the often-unseen burdens (race, finances, grief, medical issues) that influence educational outcomes.
• Quote:

  “There is a layered story that comes with every learner who steps into a learning space.” — Deena (09:30)

From “Study Skills” to Holistic “Learning Strategies”

• Deena reframes the idea of “study skills” as far too narrow; holistic learning strategies, by contrast, encompass everything a learner must do—pay attention, manage time tasks, communicate, recall, handle wellbeing, etc. (18:53–24:39).
• Tracy notes the particular importance of this distinction for neurodivergent learners, who need systems that align with “how [their] brain naturally works.”
• Quote:

  “Holistic learning strategies trump executive function coaching because it’s still broader.” — Deena (21:34)

The Role of Well-Being in Learning

• Both agree: You can’t learn if you don’t feel good. Deena describes how her approach is always tailored to the person’s actual, urgent need but is always married to wellbeing—there’s no point hacks for time management if you’re eroding your sleep and burning out (24:39–28:04).
• Quote:

  “We try to marry them all the way along… Don’t let anything touch your sleep.” — Deena (25:40)

Startable, Doable, Finishable, Sustainable

• Deena introduces her four-part framework for making any task or learning process manageable:
  • Startable: Reduce friction, break through inertia
  • Doable: Assess the conditions needed for focus
  • Finishable: Limit scope to something concretely achievable
  • Sustainable: Avoid intensity/burnout, focus on long-term capability
    (28:04–32:07)
• Powerful insight: Most task lists are overwhelming and unfinishable because items are too big and unconstrained.
• Quote:

  “My approach would be, let’s give you learning strategies for that and let’s see if we can get you where you want to go.” — Deena (28:36)

Reducing Overwhelm—Practical Techniques

• Dr. Shaffer advocates for “subtasking the crap” out of to-dos: break tasks into “smallest, most imperfect, tiniest starting place,” and then contain them (by number, time, or other concrete measure), so you know when you’re done and can feel accomplishment, rather than endless guilt (32:07–36:05).
• Quote:

  “We subtask the crap out of something to make it the smallest, most imperfect, tiniest starting place…we didn’t contain it.” — Deena (33:05)

Self-Awareness Over “Realistic”

• Both discuss the problems with "realistic" as an external standard. Instead, cultivating awareness of your own rhythms, capacity, and patterns is more empowering and humane (36:05–41:18).
• Deena suggests the word "awake" as a replacement:
• Quote:

  “Maybe it’s around this growing of awareness, the willingness, the commitment to on purpose practice, reflection, so you get to know yourself.” — Deena (41:00)

• Tracy highlights the value of understanding when and how you work best as foundational ADHD insight.

The Critical Value—and Messiness—of Sleep

• Deena and Tracy lament toxic productivity and the glamorization of all-nighters, emphasizing that sleep is critical for memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and creative thinking (41:18–44:59).
• Quote:

  “Work fit around sleep instead of sleep around work.” — Deena (42:30)

Concrete Study Strategies (Not Myths!)

• Deena busts the “learning styles” myth, arguing research doesn’t support fixed styles—multimodal, active learning is best.
• Effective studying isn’t reviewing notes, but practice questions and “spaced retrieval.” (44:59–47:49)
• Quote:

  “The only thing that counts as studying are practice questions and practicing them over time.” — Deena (44:36)

Favorite Digital Tools for Neurodivergent Brains

• Deena recommends:
  • NotebookLM: A free Google tool that creates audio and video overviews of your study material, great for multimodal learning, catching up after missed classes, and reducing overload (45:02–47:49).
  • Magic To-Do: Free app for breaking down big tasks into actionable steps, essential for moving from “theory” of subtasking to practical lists (47:54–50:39).
  • AI for Reflection: Use ChatGPT’s "study and learn" function for custom support (“What did I do well? What can I improve?”), letting AI fill in where you’re unsure how to self-assess or reflect (50:44–55:32).
• Quote:

  “Holistic learning strategies reveal the how so it’s doable.” — Deena (55:15)

Why Aren’t Schools Teaching This?

• Deena calls out the failure of education systems to teach universal learning strategies at scale—lamenting the narrow, siloed approach and the lack of systemic integration (55:46–59:54).
• Quote:

  “Learning strategies can multi-solve for, in an unsiloed way, inequity and injustice in the classroom… I’m on a mission.” — Deena (57:51)

The Invisible Labor & Emotional Load of Women

• Tracy asks about “invisible labor” for women with ADHD—a concept Deena unpacks as all that’s required to simply show up as functional: trauma, caregiving, grief, chronic illness, racism—and how this impacts working memory, learning, and energy (60:11–65:50).
• Quote:

  “For me, invisible labor is like the ancestral stuff, the contextual stuff, the behind the scenes stuff that we carry with us. That, of course, could you say, how are you? And what would your answer be? I'm fine, I'm good.” — Deena (61:29)

Tiny, Practical Workarounds for Daily Life (e.g., Laundry!)

• Deena’s laundry hack: Don’t try to do the whole overwhelming task; break it down into smaller steps, interspersed with fun or movement. Get others involved, and make it a dance party if you can! (66:24–68:32)
• Key for ADHD: Is it fun, challenging, or social? Use those workarounds instead of relying on the destructive “urgency” model.

Prioritization and Avoiding the “Urgency Trap”

• Rejects the Eisenhower matrix as sometimes counterproductive:

  “If you're only doing what's urgent, you're in crisis mode all the time… We want everyone to begin to move away from that urgent quadrant into what is important, not urgent” — Deena (69:33)

Where to Find Deena & Her Resources

• Website: www.awakenedlearning.ca
• Instagram: @awakenedlearningca
  • Free resources, low-cost inclusive group sessions for students, parents, educators
  • Training and talks for organizations

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “You were never the problem. You just have a different brain, which means you need different systems.” – Tracy (13:24)
• “Learning, leading, work, parenting doesn’t have to feel like suffering.” – Deena (68:12)
• “Maybe the riff on that is that we don’t often give ourselves the opportunity to reflect on our rhythms, on our pacing, on our chronotype.” – Deena (36:05)
• “Our goal is to change the conversation around ADHD, helping as many women as we possibly can learn how their ADHD brains work so that they too may discover their amazing strengths.” – Tracy (73:50)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–03:53: Tracy’s show intro, how Deena became an exception to the guest criteria, moving day chaos
• 07:08–12:24: Deena’s personal learning and life challenges; broad definition of what impacts learning
• 18:53–24:39: Study skills vs. holistic learning strategies; what “counts” as learning, inclusion of wellness
• 28:04–32:07: Four-question framework: startable, doable, finishable, sustainable
• 32:07–36:05: How to reduce overwhelm; subtasking and containing
• 41:18–44:59: The practical (and messy) importance of sleep for learning
• 44:44–47:54: Best study methods and tools; myth-busting “learning styles”
• 57:51–59:54: Why these strategies aren’t standard in schools; systemic barriers
• 60:11–65:50: Invisible labor, trauma, and their impact on women with ADHD and all learners
• 66:24–68:32: Deena’s real-life laundry hack and lesson in micro-tasking
• 69:33–71:04: Humane prioritization and escaping the “urgency” trap

Final Thoughts

This episode is a compassionate, energizing permission slip to do learning—and life—differently. Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer’s expertise in learning strategy offers practical tools for ADHD brains and beyond, helps listeners do away with outdated systems, and puts the focus where it belongs: on human needs, strengths, and adaptability. Tracy’s reflections and shared stories create an engaging, validating atmosphere for any “smart ass” woman ready to embrace her brain and reimagine what’s possible.