Transforming ADHD Obstacles into Action

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Overcoming Distractions—Thriving with ADHD, ADD

Episode: Transforming ADHD Obstacles into Action
Host: David A. Greenwood
Guest: Russ Jones (ADHD Big Brother)
Release Date: April 17, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode takes a direct, street-smart dive into how adults with ADHD—especially high-achieving professionals and entrepreneurs—can turn their unique challenges into actionable strategies. David talks with Russ Jones, founder of the ADHD Big Brother community, focusing on the practical use of accountability, body doubling, and daily tactics to boost follow-through and productivity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rethinking Accountability for ADHD

[01:31–04:02]

• Is Accountability a Negative?
  David opens by questioning the common (often negative) perception of accountability and sets out to explore its real value for those with ADHD.
• Russ’s View:
  Russ describes his community as “an implementation engine” for folks with ADHD—emphasizing practical productivity, daily accountability, and gamification.
  • “Accountability is not a dirty word for us. It is literally the beating heart of ADHD Big Brother.” (Russ, [02:24])
• Felt Accountability Definition:
  Russ explains “felt accountability” as the tension and increased likelihood to follow through when you know someone else is aware of your commitments, as opposed to purely internal (self-) accountability.
  • “Anything internal is usually like a deal breaker to me… how do you externalize accountability?” (Russ, [04:32])

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2. Visibility, Vulnerability, and Community

[04:51–06:33]

• Visibility & Vulnerability:
  Making your intentions “visible” to someone else both requires and builds vulnerability and courage. Successful accountability is rooted in shared, non-judgmental spaces.
• Nagging vs. Support:
  The hosts clarify the distinction between unwanted, unsolicited accountability (nagging) and the supportive, chosen accountability found in ADHD-friendly communities.
  • “Nagging is... unsolicited accountability. Like, I’m going to give you accountability that you didn’t ask for.” (Russ, [05:54])

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3. Externalizing Motivation

[06:51–09:35]

• The Role of “Healthy Tension”:
  Declaring your intentions to others (even just a single trusted person) introduces a small but crucial sense of tension that boosts the chances of task completion.
  • Russ’s anecdote about quitting nicotine: “Sharing that information out there... makes it more likely to happen because I declared it and put it in front of other people.” ([07:45])
• “Not Now” Brain:
  For ADHDers, momentary discomfort often leads to procrastination. Creating structures that make non-completion just uncomfortable enough helps tip the balance toward action.
  • “You’re adding a sprinkle of tension to not doing it that hopefully counteracts the tension to doing it…” (Russ, [09:27])

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4. Customized Accountability: One Size Doesn’t Fit All

[09:47–12:13]

• Finding Your Fit:
  David shares his hybrid approach—sometimes craving accountability, other times preferring to "keep my head down and just do the thing." Russ agrees there’s no universal fix; declaring intentions to “faceless people” (like social media) rarely moves the needle.
  • “If you are finding yourself not doing the things that you want to do, that's when externalized accountability can be a more likely help.” (Russ, [11:53])

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5. Practical Examples in Real Life and Business

[12:22–15:40]

• Everyday Accountability Scenarios:
  Common examples include chronic avoidance—taxes, laundry, phone calls, or ending the workday on time. Russ shares about a COO client who simply needs a daily text check-in for work-life boundaries.
  • “He literally sucks at stopping work at 6:30pm... His opt-in decision to text me every day... makes all the difference.” (Russ, [13:29])
• Gamifying Accountability:
  Using color codes (green/yellow/red) to track progress creates a playful but effective way of staying visible and responsive to your commitments.
  • “If you get red too many days in a row… let’s make a game out of it.” (Russ, [14:58])

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6. Body Doubling: Tool or Distraction?

[16:13–19:43]

• What is Body Doubling?
  Working quietly (often via Zoom) with others present as a way to boost focus, even if you’re not directly collaborating.
  • “I was literally you... not into it. But now I’m in the body doubling room all the time getting work done... It just adds a teaspoon of extra focus.” (Russ, [16:24–17:33])
• Not For Everyone:
  David prefers total silence to regulate his nervous system and is skeptical about being “watched.” Russ encourages trying it before dismissing, noting that sometimes resistance is based on untested assumptions.

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7. Strategies for Demanding Professions & Busy Lives

[21:07–24:06]

• Time Constraints & Overwhelm:
  • Life throws curveballs: work, home, caregiving, crises, etc. Accountability and body doubling can help maintain traction on important but easily-ignored tasks.
• Gamify and Collaborate:
  • Find a non-judgmental accountability buddy; make boring tasks a friendly contest.
• Calendar “Truth”:
  • Don’t just block time—specify the actual task for every time chunk.
  • “If ever there was a magic wand: look at your calendar and ask yourself, is it true? And move forward.” (Russ, [24:06])

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8. Notifications & Distraction Management

[25:03–26:12]

• Notification Audit:
  Whittle down phone notifications to only what’s genuinely actionable—create a black-and-white rule: if it pops up, you must address it consciously before dismissing.
  • “You will be like, well, that notification's got to go. I'm going to delete those.” (Russ, [25:45])

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9. Upgrading Your Workflow: The Audit

[27:21–28:29]

• Russ promotes his five-point “leak” audit covering the full life cycle of a task (capture, prioritize, calendar, out-of-sight/out-of-mind, and overcoming the “not now” moment).
  • “For an ADHDer, there's usually a leak in the process… I’ll just give it to your people.” ([28:16])
  • Find it at: adhdbigbrother.com/leaks (announced to be live by release)

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Memorable Quotes

• “Accountability is not a dirty word for us. It is literally the beating heart of ADHD Big Brother.” —Russ [02:24]
• “Nagging is… unsolicited accountability. Like, I'm going to give you accountability that you didn't ask for.” —Russ [05:54]
• “If you are finding yourself not doing the things that you want to do, that's when externalized accountability can be a more likely help.” —Russ [11:53]
• “You’re adding a sprinkle of tension to not doing it that hopefully counteracts the tension to doing it…” —Russ [09:27]
• “If your to-do list is on a napkin and you get your shit done, who am I to judge you?” —Dave [17:33]
• “While you're doing all that work to regulate your emotions or process your trauma... we still want to do the laundry.” —Russ [22:03]

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Actionable Tips & Next Steps

• Find a Like-Minded Accountability Partner:
  Start with small, non-judgmental check-ins—gamify mundane tasks if possible.
• Try Out Body Doubling:
  Even if skeptical, do a “test drive” for a single task (alone or via online communities).
• Be Honest with Your Calendar:
  Don’t just block time—define the actual work intended for each slot.
• Streamline Notifications:
  Audit and intentionally limit what’s allowed to interrupt your workflow.
• Audit Your Task Workflow:
  Assess where tasks fall through the cracks—visit adhdbigbrother.com/leaks for Russ’s self-assessment.

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Notable Moment

• Russ’s Personal Thanks:
  Russ shares candid appreciation for David’s book “Overcoming Distractions” as one of the most influential ADHD books he read post-diagnosis and notes he gave it away to someone in need—“I don't give away books unless I really want someone to, like, get something out of it.” ([29:38])

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This episode provides a practical, sometimes humorous, and always relatable look at how busy adults with ADHD can use external structures—like accountability and body doubling—to overcome inertia and get more of the right things done. Both hosts stress that what works is what works for you—don’t be afraid to trial new approaches and adapt them to your life.

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Transcript

[A]

I'm Dave Greenwood and this is Overcoming Distractions. If you are an adult with adhd, a busy professional, an entrepreneur, a high achiever, or just need some strategies to navigate your adult adhd, you're in the right place. Who am I? I'm an entrepreneur with ADHD and the author of two books, Overcoming Distract and Overcoming Burnout. I coach and mentor people just like you, and together we navigate the ups and downs of adult adhd, from getting out of our own way to helping people just like you thrive in the workplace. That's what I do. Want more info on working with me? Hit overcoming distractions.com ready? Let's get to today's podcast. It is Overcoming Distractions. Welcome back. I think you know who you are. If you've been here before. Thank you for coming back. Thank you for all the support. And if you're new, then welcome. This is the place for the busy executive, the person with the demanding career that has adhd, or if you think you have adhd, I like to say you don't need a piece of paper to come here. So.

[B]

So.

[A]

And as I think you know, after that intro, we just like to dig right in to our topic du jour, so to speak. So we are going to talk about accountability now. Is that a negative word? Let's see if we can decide that in the next few minutes. So we have Russ Jones. He leads the ADHD Big Brother community. You got 60 seconds, Russ. Tell us what the big brother community is.

[B]

Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. ADHD Big Brother, it's. It's an implementation engine for people that want to be productive, even though it's for folks with ADHD that want to get unstuck, they want to be consistent. And I do that through daily accountability, body doubling room. We have community challenges, gamification. We hit ADHD on all the sides. Accountability is not a dirty word for us. It is literally the beating heart of ADHD Big Brother.

[A]

We're gonna find out about that. You know, I had, I went through a coaching program years ago. It wasn't ADHD specific, but it was a program. It was like a six month program. And it was cool. Kind of broke down, you know, personal, professional, what you wanted to do with your life, you know, blah, blah, blah, that type of stuff. It was very beneficial to. And then you got like coaching afterwards. And there was a point where I said to my coach, I said, you know what? I think I'm good with kind of the, kind of the stuff we've discussed and I've written down and I'VE thought about and you know, pondered about life and everything. I said, I just need somebody like to check in with every week. That somebody that, you know, kind of gets me, that I know I'm meeting with you and I know that I gotta maybe do X, Y and Z or it's just like a check in point, so to speak. That's the way I look at it. But you, you, you, in your note to me, you, you were talking about felt accountability. So what is felt accountability? Is it different from traditional accountability? Are they one and the same? Is it a term or is it kind of a different approach?

[B]

Yeah, it's like an organizational. It's normally like an HR term. Right. It's the felt accountability is. I'm going to be, I'm going to have to report about this thing. Right. You'll see that in people's jobs. Right? Yeah. Performance reviews or something. Like I need to change my behavior, I need to do a thing because some person is going to ask me about it. Right. We think of accountability a lot of times is like self accountability. Like I just need to be accountable to myself. I need to be able to do what I say I'm gonna do. And I think with ADHD that's anything internalized. Anything internal is usually like a deal breaker to me. Like how do you externalize accountability? How do you get it outside of yourself to someone else? Like what you're saying is someone else to check in on me. Sometimes we have a person that will check in on us. And then sometimes it's like it's us giving somebody. Giving somebody like being. I call it visibility. It's giving visibility on a thing that we want to accomplish that we can't seem to do on our own.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's kind of how I view it. And I think visibility requires. It requires vulnerability. Right. Being able to put something out there that says, I know, I know how to do this, I should be able to do it on my own, but I'm going to share it. And then it needs courage, which is like you need to be able to be willing to try a thing even though, you know, historically you've never done it, even though your brain is telling you, I've tried that before, it'll never work or I know myself and I'll never do it.

[A]

But there's certainly a difference between accountability and nagging, right? Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, it depends on like us ADHDers. Us ADHDers don't like nagging, but we do like that gentle kind of check in, right?

[B]

Yeah. It really depends because I don't know, like nagging is something that we, what we, we say we want help and then we don't want the help. We don't want someone to check in with us. Like nagging is to me is somebody that is unsolicited accountability. Like I'm going to give you accountability that you didn't ask for.

[A]

Right. That to me is where's the thing? Where's the thing? Where's the thing?

[B]

Yeah, which is why I believe in community. Right. And I mentioned briefly mine, but like the, a supportive environment, a non judgmental environment, the person that you put visibility to needs to meet some criteria or maybe it will become nagging. Right?

[A]

Yeah. No, that makes sense. I mean do you think that knowing somebody is aware of the work or the thing that you were going to do just does that increase follow through, so to speak?

[B]

I think it, I think we're in service. We're in ADHD land. I think we're in service of more likely. There's no guarantee. Right. But it does make things more likely to happen. The community accountability that I built was modeled after a quit group, right? So I had a 20 year nicotine addiction and I needed someone else. I couldn't do it on my own. So I joined a quit group, which is basically putting visibility on my declaration that I'm not going to. For me it was chewing tobacco and smoking cigarettes, right? I was doing it all and sharing that information out there. Day one, I'm not gonna use nicotine today. And then you're peeling your face off all day long because you're going through withdrawals. But you know that there's other people who get it and you can just complain with them, like, oh my God, I hate myself. I hate everybody. Why am I an asshole? Because I'm so angry all the time now it. We're in service. It makes it more likely to happen that. Because I declared it and put it in front of other people.

[A]

Yeah, no, I think that, that, I think that makes a lot of sense. What, what do you think, you know, jumping off that in your experience? What do you think is actually going on in the brain when that felt accountability, so to speak, is a factor or, or kicks in. What, what is. I mean, I know us, ADHD is. We like to kind of pick apart the pieces of the brain that do this and that, you know, but, but something's going on, right?

[B]

I was like, it's the dopamine neurotransmitticals, David. They're firing into no I think it's,

[A]

it's the, it's the dopamine 3000 version 2.

[B]

You have 30 cc's less of dopamine. Now, I, I believe. I don't speak too scientifically, but it's tension. You're creating a little bit of healthy tension. Yeah, tension to not doing it. And I mean, we are not now people. Right. So the second we feel tension, we. It becomes not now. Right. So, like, I usually use. Use anything you want, like laundry, for instance. Like, whatever. It's like in the moment of the thing, we have tension. Like, ah, not now. But if I said to someone, let's say in a group that I said, today I'm doing my laundry no matter what, Right. If when I comes to the moment and I say, oh, no, not now laundry. Oh, but I'm gonna have to tell people that I didn't do it. It's just a little bit of. You're adding a sprinkle of tension to not doing it that hopefully counteracts the tension to doing it and therefore it wins.

[A]

But see, that's why I don't really shout from the rooftops what I'm going to do. That's me, though. Yeah, that's me.

[B]

Wait, why don't you. Because.

[A]

Because I actually think I will do the thing. And this is just me. Okay. Like now I just mentioned the beginning that, you know, accountability did work for me. It was, it was very successful. I think on certain things, though, I like to just kind of keep my head down and, and do the thing, so to speak. You know, maybe that, maybe that takes a little more analysis on my part. But I also, if you don't need

[B]

help with it, you don't need help with it. I don't think anything requires accountability.

[A]

Well, I think, you know, there's certain people that like, oh, go on, go on Facebook or go on social media and announce that you're going to do this XYZ thing. Like you're going to start this whole new whatever. Well, yeah, exactly. That. That's faceless, people.

[B]

That's like, right, Anything. I'll.

[A]

Believe me, I'm at the, I'm at the age where it's like, you know, I don't know if you've ever read the Courage to Be Disliked, but it's just like it, it basically talks about who cares? You know, it's just like, you're not.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You're not here to please other people. You're not here to understand why somebody might think that what you're doing is wackier or, or what have you. Or you know, I use the example of, you know, before kids I'd walk around the mall and somebody would have food on a shirt and I'm like, what a slob. And then you have kids, you know, oh, now I. Turns out, turns out I have food and puke on my shirt.

[B]

Badge of honor. Right?

[A]

And you're like, who cares? Yeah, so, but that, that's.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

And again, I do understand those check ins super work and they work for me in some circumstances I think other things for me are just like, you know what, I'm just going to keep my head down, I'm going to do X, Y and Z and. And let's see where it goes. So great.

[B]

I mean that's like most people that are looking for help, if they don't need help, then there's nothing to do. As social media, I just want to say this about social media saying declaring intentions to faceless, nameless people is not gonna do anything for you. Same with.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

Same with declaring to your AI chatbot, hey, let me, let me. Tell me the things I'm gonna do today, which I think is brilliant and great, but you're still only accountable to yourself. And that's the thing that if you are finding yourself not doing the things that you want to do, that's when externalized accountability can be a more likely help.

[A]

Right, Exactly. So share a. Obviously no names or anything because probably a lot of people in your community

[B]

do like it's a celebrity and his name is.

[A]

Yeah. Really? His initials are. No, but share a common example that might come up more than a handful of times in like an accountability scenario that, that you have encountered. Is it like I gotta send this quote out to this client and I've been sitting on it for two weeks. Is it, you know, is it like the laundry? Is it the dishes? Is it I forgot to pick up the kids from school.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, well, I, I have an example I can give you. But like on the community aspect, it tends to be more daily things like pay my taxes on time, do the laundry, I gotta make some uncomfortable phone calls. It's like the things that give us tension. Right. On the one on one client standpoint. I work with a COO right now to this day. Who his coaching. We're done with it. He knows how to coach himself now, but he still needs and desires accountability, which to me is literally a text message every day.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then a couple of check ins. But it's for ending his day on time. He literally sucks at stopping work at 6:30pm and then he wants to plan his day by the eight, by six, 7:30pm but the visibility that he gets, these are his words really. It's like the fact that he has visibility every single day and he knows that he has to text me that his decision, his opt in decision to text me every day, end of day, 645 thumbs down.

[A]

But that's what I think, you know. And I think, you know, I work with that busy professional as well. Actually. That's all I do is. But the, the fact that you have gotten through some of the, I don't know, basics, if you will. All right, we figured out what to do list works for you. We figured out how to maybe calendar a little better. Now these people, some of these people just want to, like I said, check in with somebody that gets them right. Like some of these sessions may look completely different than like a traditional. All right, let's bust down your scheduling and to do list and let's prioritize and let's find out why you're not getting the thing done and all that stuff. But some of these people just like the check in it. It actually might motivate them to do the thing. Right.

[B]

Yeah, it's a. I believe the, the way that it's been working for us is that it's like either green, you did it perfect. Yellow, it's you working on it. And red, total failure. Right. It's fine there. No judgment. It's just what are the facts? Right.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And just the knowing that you're doing that every day makes that thing that you're working on visible to yourself, to me, your coach. Right. So it's, it's. If you get red too many days in a row. Hey man, what's going on? Let's make a game out of it. Let's do a thing where you're going to end the day at 6:30 no matter what. If you, if you don't put visibility on it, it just kind of. We are in a car that always pulls left. So if you go away from the problem cars going off the rails, it

[A]

sounds like my, my driver off the tee, you know.

[B]

Yeah, you're always going left, David.

[A]

I'm actually, I'm always going right for some reason.

[B]

Aim your body all the way to

[A]

the well, that's what I got to do. I got to move my feet, you know, so. So explain body doubling. I know that's part of this conversation as well. And again, I'm just I'm, you know, I'm not saying I'm not convinced. I'm just putting it. We keep it real here. If you haven't figured it out yet, for me, sitting on, say, zoom with somebody working on the other end, maybe I need to try it. I'm just.

[B]

Oh, you do, David, you do.

[A]

Because some people say, you know, this made a big difference for me. Me, I'd be like, you know, why is this guy staring at me, David?

[B]

Let me tell you something. It's a game changer. I was you. I was literally you. So I make a community, right? And then one of my members says, you know, it would be really cool if you had a body doubling room. And I'm like, nah, that's not really my jam. But, you know, you're paying for a community, so I might as well add a zoom room. What is it, 11 bucks a month? Fine. Zoom room open 24 7. Let's body double. I tried it. I'm literally in there all the time getting work done all the time. Nobody's actually staring at you. But you are on camera. And there is something about that. I mean, you talk about, like, ongoing, live felt accountability. I've said I'm going to do a thing. We type it in, like the chat. I'm going to work on outreach marketing for my podcast. I'm going to work on whatever. The other day, it was like, IRS stuff. And it just, it adds a teaspoon of extra focus. And if you find yourself off the rails, right, you're on a. Oh, now I found myself on a tab. I'm looking at news, I see that there's a whole bunch of people on my screen. I'm like, oh, I know what I'm here to do. I'm here to work on this thing. I said I was gonna work on.

[A]

See, now for me. And again, if. If people have listened to me for any length of time, you know that, for example, if your to do list is on a napkin and you get your shit done, who am I to judge you? Do you when it comes to adhd, right? I don't care. Okay. And if body doubling works for you, then that's the thing, right? From. I think for me. And again, I'm willing to try it. Is that.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Like, I'll give you an example. I. I work best in complete silence. Great. So I don't know if it's a nervous system regulation thing for me. And I've used the example of, you know, I was running my PR firm, you know, full boat of clients and everything else. And I used to go to these networking meetings in the city. And before the networking meeting, I would drive into the city. I would go down to the lowest level possible in the parking garage. I would shut my car off and I would just sit there for like 15 minutes because it was dead silent underground. And it was just. It was my thing. Yeah, you hear a car door slam occasionally and. But for the most part, it was like. I mean, there was nothing. And it just. It just regulated my system. So bringing that back to body doubling, I'm like, if there's somebody, like, even if it was silent, I think it would just be like in my head. So. But I'm willing to have to do

[B]

it and tell me how it goes, because now I'm. I'm fascinated by what your experience will be like.

[A]

No, it's, you know, me.

[B]

Afterwards, you and me will body double sometime. But you know what some boring thing

[A]

this is, the thing with ADHD is, I think a lot of times we do tell ourselves and we convince ourselves that something doesn't work.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And then someday when we finally say, I'm going to try the thing, and you're like, holy. Yeah, I've just been lying to myself. Lying is a strong word. Don't you know? But just telling myself a story that maybe wasn't entirely true, I had convinced myself.

[B]

So I don't, I don't. Like half the time, I don't buy that from people, clients that I work with. It's like, I've tried that before. It doesn't work.

[A]

I'm like, it's like parsnips. Like, I told myself I hated parsnips, and then my wife did something to him like, hey, that ain't bad.

[B]

You know, half the time to try is literally like, I tried it one day and I just. It didn't work because I forgot to do it. So therefore it doesn't work. You're like, but you didn't actually try anything.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it was trying to think for 30 days straight.

[A]

So the, the makeup of the overcoming distractions audience is, like I said, everything from the business owner, the CEO, PhDs, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs. So how can this be powerful for somebody with an extremely demanding lifestyle? Because it's not just work that gets in our way, but it's not work that we have challenges with. It's home life, it's other things. It's kids, it's. You know, some of us are getting to the age where maybe we're caring for an Aging parent. My point is many of us have super busy lives and the seasons of life change. So for the demanding, the person with the demanding life and career. How. How does like accountability and body doubling help that type of person?

[B]

You want to get shit done? That's, that's what it is. It's like if you're. So many of us are trying to like get not overwhelmed and then we can focus on taking care of our time management or our, our lives. I'm like, I'm diagnosed adhd, depressive disorder and anxiety disorder. So I've, I have every crappy mood state there is, but I still want to do stuff. I want to do stuff even though I'm, I'm like, what's the point of it all? I want to be able to do stuff even though I'm like too overwhelmed. So the. I like, let's throw every freaking possible tip tricks, all that stuff that people like. Like everyone wants to regulate their emotions first and then get to work. I'm like, while you're in therapy and while you're doing all that work to, to regulate your emotions, to overcome, to process your trauma while you're doing all that work, which is good work.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like we still want to do the laundry. We still want to show up for work on time. We still want to do stuff. So what does it take? That's what I'm a nerd about. Like, what does that take? Yeah, and it's unique for everybody, you know.

[A]

Yeah. I don't think I'm gonna do laundry in front of somebody else, but I'll give the. You didn't want me to see your dirty knickers, David, I'll give you a catching up on email or something. You know, so, so let's talk about. Because I always want somebody to be able to listen to these podcasts and you know, get through it and then try to think about how to implement something, some part of it, get them thinking about a next step on a particular challenge issue, whatever that we talk about. So what is the easiest way for somebody to kind of introduce this accountability or body doubling like during the workday?

[B]

Oh, to introduce it. Get with somebody that you know, that's non judgmental.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's knows what's going on with you. That's a. You like minded someone that can. Yeah, you guys can go, oh, let's gamify some stuff. What do you want to get done this week? Well, we got to do these reports, get these successful spreadsheets done. Whatever it is. Like okay, challenge. I'M going to. Let's get two of them done by Friday. First one to get done buys lunch. Like, you make a game out of your boring slog. And if you're a CEO, make your calendar true. By the way, this is it, your calendar. This is a side help. People have their calendars and they add like, oh, I'm gonna put a time chunk in here for marketing or I'm gonna put a time chunk, but then they don't actually know what they're doing in that time. If you're.

[A]

No, that's my. Yeah, exactly. You've locked up the time. You're halfway there. Get it?

[B]

Yes. Or people be like, I want to make sure I think about this thing. So they'll make it a calendar event. And you're like, that's. If ever there was a magic wand, it's like, look at your calendar and ask yourself, is it true? And move forward. And then, and then get with a buddy and be like, is your calendar true? Mine's true. Whatever. That's your accountability partner.

[A]

Right. No, and I think as a, as a side note, side note, you know, I would put those in my calendar. I would say, actually I would call it to do, you know, 8:30 in the morning, the thing goes off. Bing. Okay. I open it up. And you know how like when you have a calendar invite, there's, you know, you open it up, there's the body of the invite. Right. You know, especially like 365 or, you know, Gmail, Google suite or something. Yeah. I put my to do list in there. So I would put the. I would put the three to five things that needed to get done because it would basically slap me in the face at 8:30 every morning.

[B]

Yeah. You know what, here's, here's a quick tip for everybody. This will help everybody. Because so many people will come push back and say, I don't look at notifications. I swipe them away. Do this. Go in your settings on your notifications, on your phone and turn off all the notifications except for the things that have permission to bother you. And then create a black and white rule for yourself that no matter what, no matter what happens, if a notification pops up on your phone, you have to stop, acknowledge it before you swipe it away. Right. That will get obnoxious really quick. And you will be like, well, that notification's got to go. I'm going to delete those.

[A]

Yeah, but I think that's important to that. I think that's probably why we don't do the thing because we're being assaulted by notifications.

[B]

Noise. Right.

[A]

Yeah, right. Yeah, exactly. It's. It's just like I leave things out on the counter to remind me to do something. Like I gotta take something to my father's house where I write a note, but if I leave it out there too early, then it just becomes part of the furniture and I just keep walking by it. You know, it's like it became ineffective.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

So, I mean, what do we do

[B]

to make it effective?

[A]

No, there's. There's a sweet spot in terms of, you know, that, that type of stuff. So. And what. How do you know any other tips on, you know, that. That busy professional? Because we just mentioned it. The packed schedule. Right. I, you know, I talk to people all the time and I'm like, hey, what's your day look like? I'm in meetings all day. Okay. So my. I don't know what you feel about this, but my advice would be like, then just do the meetings. Don't, don't. Don't set yourself up for frustration to try and, you know, grab an hour that isn't there to do the thing that you can't even get in the zone to do it before you have to jump into another meeting. Right.

[B]

Be thoughtful about your daily planning. 100%. Yeah, like, look, some people will just have a to do list of like 80 things. You're like, well, you're not going to do all those things. Be thoughtful. Yeah, but have a. Do daily planning and. Weekly planning and stuff like that so that you can be thoughtful about that stuff for sure.

[A]

Cool. Anything. I didn't ask you about accountability or body doubling that you think people should know.

[B]

No, I mean, I can give. I don't know if you want me to give. I have a. An audit that people can do. Like if you are somebody that's like, it's basically covers the life cycle of a task. So I don't want to get down the rabbit hole too far, but it's like, you know, a task comes into your head, oh, you got to do a thing. I gotta remember to do that thing. And then it happens one day and then it's deleted. It's a done task. And for an adhder, there's usually a leak in the process. Whether it's how we capture ideas, then how do we determine what to do with our time, our prioritizing, how we calendar, which is a big deal. And then how do we handle out of sight, out of mind. And then finally the moment comes when you're going to do the task. How do you handle the inner tantrum? The not now. That's when your hacks come in. So I can give you a website. The thing on my website, it's ADHD bigbrother.com leaks L, E A K S. I haven't built it yet. By the time this is out, I'll have it up there. But it's a five point audit that. I usually add it to something else, but I'll just give it to your people.

[A]

Cool. All right. Anything that helps the busy professional with adhd, just sort things out, make decisions and. And get things done. Right.

[B]

And put a black Sharpie to the task and say done.

[A]

That's what. I lived on Sharpies when I was in the corporate world. You know, I. There's my. Yeah. All different colors. It's just like.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, man.

[B]

David, let me show you something. Like this, to me, like, this is a. I use a bullet journal. This to me is. Hey, somebody is. It's a reminder that I'm doing the things that I said.

[A]

It looks like some redacted government document.

[B]

No comment.

[A]

Anyway, we don't do politics here, so. All right, Russ, thanks for hanging out. And I'm gonna try body doubling with somebody at some point. I'll. I'll give it a shot. I'll give you that.

[B]

You got it. But Dave, I did. I forgot. I don't think I mentioned this. Did I mention that I. Your book was one of the first books that I read?

[A]

No.

[B]

When? Oh, my God. I've totally neglected to say this. Okay, before we go. Before you shut it down, your. When I first got diagnosed. This is like 10 years ago, 11 years, 8 years ago. Something like it was a while ago. And, you know, you do the deep dive and you're like, oh, I gotta. I gotta, you know, figure it all out. Your book Overcoming Distractions was literally one of the first books I read. And I know it was impactful, but I was like. So I was gonna. I was excited to come on the interview and I was like, I'm gonna find the book. I can't find it. Which means that I gave it away, which means. Cool, dude. I don't give away books unless I really want someone to, like, get something out of it. I have a load of crappy ADHD books on my bookshelf that are not going anywhere.

[A]

Yeah. I just want to say it was

[B]

a big deal to get to talk to you today.

[A]

Yeah. I really appreciate that book. No, and thank you for the kind words. I. You know, I just got my royalty statement. It was $38.

[B]

Way to go, man.

[A]

You're killing it. I mean, seriously, you know, I just, like. I've been dreaming of buying that Bentley for a long time, you know, and here I am.

[B]

I did a. I did movie back when I was in my 20s. I was an actor. I did a movie. And small, small part. And I still. I make about 18 bucks a year off that thing, so.

[A]

I mean, living large, you know? Who says we can't be successful?

[B]

We can do it. I believe in us.

[A]

That's right. $18 a lap. So, anyway. Alrighty, Russ. Thanks.