ADHD-Friendly Podcast: Before You Set Goals—Do This! (#220)
Host: Patty Blinderman
Date: January 7, 2026
Episode Overview
In this special "10th episode" milestone, host Patty Blinderman shares her ADHD-friendly approach to New Year’s goal setting. Before leaping into intentions and resolutions for 2026, Patty emphasizes the importance of pausing, reflecting, and ensuring that chosen goals align with personal priorities and sustainable change—especially for those with ADHD. The episode is structured around actionable steps to make goal setting more effective and less overwhelming, closing with a book recommendation and an inspiring quote.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Celebration & Tools (00:45–03:40)
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Celebrating Small Wins: Patty starts by celebrating her new sparkly desk blotter calendar, explaining how using visually appealing, functional tools motivates her to track habits such as yoga and walking.
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System Adaptation: She shares her experience of combining habit tracking (yoga and walking) onto one calendar after separate systems stopped working:
"We have great systems until we don't. And for whatever reason this year that system stopped working." (02:10)
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Physical Setup Matters: The addition of a notes section on her calendar helps her overcome her resistance to clutter but still gives her a space to jot important thoughts:
“I love that it has space for me to take notes on and it’s very sparkly. So it’s definitely pulling me in and I’m using it.” (03:10)
Community Invitation (03:40–05:55)
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ADHD Friendly Membership: Patty invites listeners to her membership community, which includes live workshops, recorded webinars (e.g., boundaries, time management, procrastination), on-demand courses, and the year-long “ADHD University” program.
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Upcoming Workshops:
- Plan Big Start Small (Jan 7): Annual & semester planning (04:15)
- Pick Your One Word Theme (Jan 14)
- Plan Smarter Not Harder (Jan 21): Creating an ADHD-friendly planning system
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Clear, flexible access: “You can cancel anytime… you have access to all the live events… There are 30 of them, more than 30 in there now that you can go back and watch on demand with topics… everything from boundaries to time management to planning…” (05:15)
Main Topic: Before You Set Your Goals, Do THIS (05:55–19:45)
- Pause Before Goal-Setting:
- Recognize the “sparkly” energy of the new year and the temptation to rush into goal setting.
- ADHD brains may default to urgency and external expectations—slowing down for intentional reflection is key.
- “Pausing is really key. It’s also really hard with our brains. So giving our brains the gift of slowing down and identifying what is really important to us, what matters most, so that we’re not just fueled by that urgency or the sparkle…” (06:30)
Patty’s 7-Step Reflection Process
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Do a Wins Review (09:20):
- List what went well last year—even small wins like arriving on time or remembering tasks.
- “Capture those wins. It’s an important piece of planning going forward because you’ll get a sense of what really did work for you…” (09:36)
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Do a Survival Review (10:00):
- Identify moments where you persevered through challenges.
- “Notice where you were able to dig deep and continue moving forward even in the face of adversity…” (10:10)
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Notice What Drained or Energized You (11:00):
- Go through your calendar—mark which activities fueled or depleted you.
- “You will see patterns over the year if you give yourself permission to look back…” (11:23)
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Identify What You’re Carrying That Isn’t Yours (12:00):
- Challenge “shoulds” or externally driven goals.
- “Notice what you’re continuing to hold on to that isn’t serving you.” (12:38)
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Do a Capacity Reality Check (13:00):
- Be honest about your limits—don’t set yourself up with unrealistic goals.
- “It’s adjusting our expectations so we’re able to meet them and succeed, not expecting ourselves to go and run a mile every morning at 5am if we know we’re not going to do that…” (13:38)
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Choose a Focus or Theme Word for the Year (15:00):
- Pick a simple word to act as your filter and guide for decisions.
- “A theme word can really help ground you like a touchstone throughout the year…” (15:32)
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Ask Your Future Self a Question (16:15):
- Imagine what your future self would appreciate you doing (or not doing) now.
- “A year from now, what will I wish I had done? Or what would I be celebrating, really happy that I chose to take on or to remove from my life?” (16:35)
- Big Takeaway:
- Pause and reflect before committing to any goals.
- “Pause and reflect first, then choose so you’re prioritizing with fewer, better fit goals that are going to lead to more follow through and more successes.” (18:30)
Book of the Week & Closing Thoughts (19:45–22:00)
- Book of the Week: Night of the Seven Kingdoms by George R. R. Martin
- Prequel to Game of Thrones, described as “really, really good… if you’re a Game of Thrones fan, I highly recommend that one.” (20:10)
- Quote of the Week:
“Celebrate endings, for they precede new beginnings.” – Jonathan Lockwood Huie (21:20)
- Patty’s Send-off:
- “Just wanted to kick off the new year with a few tips… celebrating setting goals by pausing first and paying attention to what your priorities are. So you’re setting yourself up for success.” (21:45)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On adapting systems:
“We have great systems until we don’t. And for whatever reason this year that system stopped working.” (02:10)
- On starting with reflection:
“Pausing is really key. It’s also really hard with our brains…” (06:30)
- On capacity and reality:
“It’s adjusting our expectations so we’re able to meet them and succeed, not expecting ourselves to go and run a mile every morning at 5am if we know we’re not going to do that…” (13:38)
- On the importance of endings:
“Celebrate endings, for they precede new beginnings.” – Jonathan Lockwood Huie (21:20)
Key Timestamps
- 00:45: Celebration & new tools for tracking habits
- 03:40: Community & membership info
- 05:55: Main topic introduction—goal pausing explained
- 09:20: Reflection step 1: Wins Review
- 10:00: Reflection step 2: Survival Review
- 11:00: Reflection step 3: Energy gains/drains
- 12:00: Reflection step 4: Let go of external “shoulds”
- 13:00: Reflection step 5: Reality check for capacity
- 15:00: Reflection step 6: Theme word for the year
- 16:15: Reflection step 7: Consult your future self
- 19:45: Book of the week
- 21:20: Closing quote and final advice
Summary Wrap-Up
Patty’s heartfelt and approachable style makes “Before You Set Goals—Do This!” an actionable, uplifting resource for ADHDers (and anyone!) looking to make lasting progress in 2026. By emphasizing reflection, personalization, and realistic planning, she offers a much-needed counterpoint to high-pressure New Year’s goal-setting narratives. Her practical steps and gentle reminders empower listeners to pause, honor their wins, shed unnecessary baggage, and set themselves up for genuine, sustainable success.