ADHD-Friendly, Episode #223: "Planning for the Future with ADHD"

Host: Patty Blinderman
Date: January 28, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Patty Blinderman—ADHD coach and the heart behind ADHD Friendly—shares practical strategies for planning for the future when living with ADHD. The episode combines personal stories, actionable tips, and insights into ADHD-friendly products and tools. Patty addresses the unique executive functioning challenges faced by people with ADHD, offering real-world tactics to "tilt the playing field" toward success. The episode also touches on celebrating small wins, managing connections with friends, product recommendations, and more.

Celebrating ADHD Wins: Packing Up Christmas

[01:00 – 07:30]

• Patty opens the episode by celebrating her recent accomplishment: finally packing up Christmas decorations, which she had been putting off.
  • She outlines her struggle with motivation and the classic ADHD dilemma: wanting something done but not wanting to do it.
  • Strategies that helped her:
    • Put on a favorite movie in the background (“Spider Man Homecoming”) for enjoyment and distraction management.
    • Outsourced tasks: asked her son and husband to bring Christmas boxes up from the basement.
    • Focused on one area at a time, instead of bouncing between rooms, to see visible progress.
    • Tracked and celebrated incremental progress, such as cleared areas and bins stacked by the basement door.
  • “I just wanted it done, but I had to figure out how to motivate myself to do it. ... I just put on a movie that I didn’t have to pay attention to, but I would enjoy having on in the background.” (Patty, 02:00)
  • The process took about 4.5–5 dedicated hours, punctuated by a lunch break.
  • Takeaway: Find a way to start, outsource what you can, and make the experience as pleasant as possible.

ADHD-Friendly Product of the Week: Life Hacks 2026 Calendar

[07:30 – 16:20]

• Patty spotlights the Life Hacks 2026 calendar by Keith Bradford, a day-to-day tear-off calendar found on Amazon for $8.99.
  • She admits the purchase was impulsive, yet “I think it’s going to be one of my favorite things this year already.” (Patty, 09:30)
  • Why she loves it:
    • Daily actionable hacks, some of which were entirely new to her.
    • The reverse side of each calendar page includes quiz questions or tidbits, encouraging continued engagement.
  • Shared favorite hacks:
    • Medication Reminder Hack (Jan 5): “Need to take your medications at a specific time every day? Give your dog a treat each time you do and you’ll start getting a friendly reminder from your dog to take your meds.” (10:30)
      • Patty notes her own dogs’ predictability with mealtimes and sees this as a fun, practical reminder system.
    • Pac-Man Ghosts Hack (Jan 7): “Did you know that the four ghosts in Pac Man are programmed to act differently? ... The red ghost chases you, the pink ghost tries to position itself in a set way, the blue ghost tries to ambush you, and the orange ghost is random.” (12:55)
      • Patty expresses delight at learning this after years of playing Pac-Man.
    • Consume Content Faster (Jan 11): “Start consuming educational content at 1.5 times speed. You’ll save time. And studies have shown that the rate of retention is exactly the same as at normal speed.” (13:45)
      • Patty shares her own habit of listening to audiobooks and podcasts at 1.4x speed and notes her husband’s aversion to this.
  • “Again, really helpful, interesting little tidbits of information. So that is my product of the week and the thing I purchased this week, $8.99 on Amazon. Again, this is by Keith Bradford. Thanks, Keith.” (Patty, 15:30)

ADHD-Friendly Social Tip: Reconnecting with Old Friends

[16:20 – 22:52]

• Patty addresses the common ADHD challenge of maintaining friendships and reconnecting with old friends.
  • She notes the difficulty: “The longer we go without checking in, the harder it gets. We start building up a narrative in our head about what happened ... So the structure of keeping in touch with friends can feel not only difficult, but impossible.” (16:50)
  • Patty shares from personal experience, admitting she struggles here but has learned a few effective strategies.
• Tips for Reconnecting:
  • 1. Text a Quick Note: “Hi, I’m thinking about you and would love to catch up. Do you have any time in the next week or two to schedule a quick call?” (19:30)
    • Be specific about timing to create a real opportunity rather than a vague intention.
  • 2. Schedule Recurring Connection:
    • Set up a regular coffee, call, or meeting. Patty cites her weekly Friday call with her friend Linda: “We look at our calendars and see, are we talking next Friday? ... Having that regular schedule really does help us stay in touch.” (20:45)
  • 3. Send a Physical Card:
    • For challenging reconnections, consider sending a thoughtful card to bridge the gap and convey genuine care.
  • Invitation to Listeners: If you have other strategies, share them in the episode notes (“Let’s put our brains together and help each other ...”).
• Emphasis on non-judgmental friendships, where understanding is mutual and there’s little pressure or guilt over time passed.

Main Topic: Planning for the Future with ADHD

[22:52 – 38:30]

Why Planning Is Challenging for ADHD Brains

• Executive functioning deficits in ADHD make planning, prioritizing, time management, organization, and sticking to plans tough.
• “It’s not an excuse, it’s an explanation for why this is really hard for ADHD brains.” (Patty, 23:15)
• Research shows adding external structure or “scaffolding” reduces overwhelm and increases success in follow-through.

ADHD-Friendly Planning Strategies

1. Externalize Your Plan
[25:10]

• Get ideas and plans out of your head into visual, external formats: written plans, sticky notes, calendars, notebooks, visible lists.
  • “Externalize whatever your plan is for whatever future you’re planning for ... Make it visible and external.” (Patty, 25:20)

2. Create Concrete Prompts and Structure
[26:10]

• Avoid vague intentions; use “if, then” statements to tie specific prompts to desired actions.
  • Example: “If it’s the first Sunday of the month, then I look at my monthly spending with my partner.”
  • “Those concrete prompts will build a bridge from your intention to plan ... to the action you’re going to take towards it.” (27:10)

3. Backwards (Blackwards!) Planning
[28:00]

• Start with the desired outcome and work backwards, chunking the goal into manageable steps.
  • Example: If planning a vacation next year that requires saving $4,000, break down savings goals month by month.
  • “It literally creates the awareness of what that looks like and you can adjust instead of getting frustrated.” (29:40)

4. Build in Rewards
[31:10]

• Add fun or meaningful incentives to planning tasks to boost motivation and follow-through.
  • Patty shares her solution for weekly financial check-ins: combine with breakfast out—“The reward of going to breakfast makes it sparkly enough to follow through with the intention.” (32:10)
  • Structure plus reward increases the likelihood of completing sometimes unpleasant or overwhelming tasks.

Key Takeaways

• “You don't have to have the perfect plan ... a little future planning is better than no planning at all.” (34:30)
• Experiment with one structure at a time and notice what works.
• “Progress comes from experimenting. So we need to break out of our now/not now brains where all we can see is what’s right in front of us.” (35:35)

Book of the Week

[38:30 – 41:24]

Patty recommends "The Book Woman’s Daughter" by Kim Michelle Richardson, sequel to "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek."

• She recaps the plot: Honey Lovett, daughter of a blue-skinned pack horse librarian in Kentucky, faces stigma and continues her mother's legacy of delivering books to remote communities.
• “I did enjoy it. Not as much as the first one, but definitely enjoyable read. I gave it three and a half out of five stars.” (Patty, 41:00)
• She mentions a forthcoming companion novel: The Mountains We Call Home: The Book Woman’s Legacy (April 2026).

Notable Quote of the Week

[41:24 – 43:05]

Patty shares a comforting insight from Adam Grant on introversion:

“How introverted you are has nothing to do with how much you like interacting with people. Social introverts love people but often get overloaded. Shy introverts love adventure but often avoid attention.” (Adam Grant, [41:40])

• Patty reflects: “Just because you’re an introvert doesn't mean you don't like people. It just means you might get overwhelmed by ... the amount of time you’re spending with one and you need to kind of back off and have some alone time to recharge.” (Patty, 42:15)
• She appreciates the distinction between social and shy introverts, identifying more with the latter.

Final Thoughts

Patty ends the episode by reminding listeners to “take what works for you, leave the rest behind”—a refrain characteristic of her compassionate, non-judgmental approach. She encourages experimentation, flexibility, and the pursuit of ADHD-friendly strategies tailored to individual needs.

Summary Timestamp Overview:

• [01:00] ADHD Win Story (Packing up Christmas)
• [07:30] Product of the Week (Life Hacks Calendar)
• [16:20] Social Tip (Reconnecting with Friends)
• [22:52] Main Topic: Planning for the Future with ADHD
• [38:30] Book of the Week
• [41:24] Quote of the Week

Tone:
Warm, encouraging, practical, and honest—with plenty of real-life examples and gentle humor throughout.