This glossary defines common terms used throughout the PoweredADHD guide. Understanding this language is essential for applying strategies effectively.

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Core Concepts

ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)

A neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent patterns of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interfere with functioning or development.

ADHD is not a lack of willpower or a character flaw. It involves differences in brain development and brain activity that affect executive functions, attention, motivation, and emotional regulation. Symptoms must be present before age 12 and occur in two or more settings (e.g., home and work/school).

The ADHD Connection for Entrepreneurs: Many ADHD traits can be strengths in entrepreneurship (creativity, risk-taking, high energy). However, challenges with organization, time management, follow-through, and emotional regulation can also pose significant hurdles.

Common Subtypes:

• Predominantly Inattentive Presentation: Difficulty sustaining attention, following detailed instructions, organizing tasks; easily distracted, forgetful.
• Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Presentation: Excessive fidgetiness, restlessness, difficulty staying seated; acting impulsively, interrupting others.
• Combined Presentation: Symptoms of both inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity are present.

Key Insight: ADHD is about a dysregulation of attention, not a total deficit. Individuals with ADHD can often hyperfocus intensely on tasks that interest them.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter crucial for motivation, reward processing, and executive function that operates differently in ADHD brains. Often called the "motivation molecule," dopamine signals anticipated rewards and drives action toward goals.

In ADHD brains, dopamine is processed differently. Lower baseline levels or different processing means routine tasks don't generate enough dopamine to activate motivation. Altered dopamine transporters might clear dopamine too quickly from synapses.

Executive Function(s)

A set of mental skills, primarily managed by the brain's prefrontal cortex, that help us plan, organize, initiate tasks, manage time, regulate emotions, and monitor our actions. Key executive functions include:

• Planning & Prioritization: Organizing tasks and projects, determining importance and sequence.
• Working Memory: Holding and manipulating information in your mind.
• Task Initiation: Getting started on tasks, especially non-preferred ones.
• Self-Monitoring: Observing and evaluating your own performance and behavior.
• Cognitive Flexibility: Shifting between different tasks or ways of thinking.
• Emotional Regulation: Managing and responding to emotions appropriately.
• Inhibition: Controlling impulses and resisting distractions.

Interest-Based Nervous System

A model for understanding ADHD motivation, suggesting the brain activates primarily based on interest, novelty, challenge, or urgency, rather than by perceived importance or future consequences.

The Four Primary Triggers:

• Interest: Is the task genuinely engaging or fascinating?
• Novelty: Is it new, different, or unexpected?
• Challenge: Does it present a stimulating problem to solve?
• Urgency: Is there immediate time pressure?

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ADHD Traits & Experiences

Hyperfocus

An intense state of concentration on a particular task or topic, often to the exclusion of everything else. When in hyperfocus, individuals can lose track of time, ignore bodily needs, and become oblivious to their surroundings.

The Double-Edged Sword: Can lead to incredible bursts of productivity when directed at important work, but can also lead to neglecting other responsibilities or burning out if not managed.

Time Blindness

A common ADHD trait characterized by an inconsistent and unreliable perception of time, making it difficult to estimate how long tasks will take, sense time passing, or manage deadlines effectively.

There's often a "now" or "not now" perception of future events, making long-term planning difficult.

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD)

An intense emotional pain and distress experienced in response to perceived or actual rejection, criticism, or failure. The emotional response is often far out of proportion to the actual event.

RSD can lead to fear of launching products, difficulty receiving feedback, avoiding sales calls, and people-pleasing behaviors to avoid disapproval.

ADHD Tax

The extra time, money, energy, or opportunities lost due to ADHD symptoms: essentially the hidden costs of managing ADHD in a neurotypical world.

Common Forms:

• Financial: Late fees, replacement costs, impulse purchases, forgotten subscriptions
• Time: Searching for lost items, redoing forgotten work
• Energy: Mental exhaustion from fighting your brain
• Opportunity: Missed deadlines, damaged relationships
• Emotional: Shame, frustration, and self-criticism from repeated "failures"

Attention Dysregulation

The ADHD experience of having plenty of attention but difficulty regulating where it goes, when it activates, and how long it sustains. You might have intense focus sometimes and scattered attention at others.

How It Manifests:

• All or Nothing: Either completely absorbed or unable to engage
• Interest-Dependent: Attention follows interest, not importance
• Environmental Sensitivity: Small distractions have big impact
• Time Distortion: Losing hours to hyperfocus or feeling minutes drag
• Delayed Processing: Needing things repeated despite "hearing" them

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Neuroscience & Brain Function

Prefrontal Cortex

The brain region responsible for executive functions, located behind your forehead. It's the last brain area to fully develop and is particularly affected by ADHD.

Basal Ganglia

A group of brain structures involved in motivation, habit formation, and movement that function differently in ADHD. They help initiate actions, form routines, and regulate movement.

Key Functions Affected in ADHD:

• Task Initiation: Getting started on activities, especially routine ones
• Habit Formation: Difficulty establishing automatic behaviors
• Reward Processing: How the brain responds to incentives
• Motor Control: Can contribute to hyperactivity or restlessness
• Cognitive Flexibility: Switching between different activities

Cerebellum

A brain region that plays a crucial role in attention, timing, and executive function, all areas affected in ADHD. Differences in cerebellar function contribute to challenges with timing, attention, and cognitive coordination.

Cerebellum Functions Affected in ADHD:

• Timing and rhythm: Why you might struggle with time perception
• Attention shifting: Smooth transitions between focus targets
• Motor coordination: Can contribute to clumsiness or fidgeting
• Cognitive coordination: Integrating multiple mental processes
• Learning automation: Making skills automatic takes longer

BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor)

A protein that supports brain cell growth and connectivity, often lower in ADHD, but increased through exercise. This explains why physical activity significantly improves ADHD symptoms.

Why BDNF Matters for ADHD:

• Supports executive function development
• Improves neuroplasticity (brain's ability to adapt)
• Enhances mood and emotional regulation
• Facilitates better focus and attention
• Helps with memory formation and recall

Natural Ways to Boost BDNF:

• Aerobic Exercise: Most powerful BDNF booster (30 minutes of moderate activity)
• Strength Training: Also increases BDNF, especially with compound movements
• Quality Sleep: BDNF production happens during deep sleep
• Intermittent Fasting: May increase BDNF levels
• Social Connection: Positive interactions boost BDNF
• Learning New Skills: Mental challenges stimulate BDNF

Altered Dopamine Signaling

The neurological difference in how ADHD brains produce, release, and process dopamine. This includes faster reuptake, lower baseline levels, and irregular release patterns.

Key Differences in ADHD:

• Faster Reuptake: Dopamine transporters clear dopamine too quickly from synapses
• Lower Baseline Levels: Less dopamine available for routine tasks
• Different Receptor Density: May have fewer or differently functioning dopamine receptors
• Irregular Release Patterns: Inconsistent dopamine release in response to rewards

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Strategies & Techniques

Body Doubling

Working alongside another person (physically or virtually) to improve focus and task initiation through social presence and subtle accountability. The presence of another person provides a kind of external regulation that makes starting and sustaining focus remarkably easier.

Why It Works for ADHD:

• Social activation: The ADHD brain often "wakes up" in social contexts.
• External structure: Another person provides gentle accountability without pressure.
• Reduced isolation: Breaks the overwhelming feeling of facing tasks alone.
• Mirror neurons: Seeing someone else focused can trigger your own focus state.

Variations:

• Silent co-working: No interaction except greeting and goodbye.
• Pomodoro partners: Work for 25 minutes, then brief 5-minute check-in.
• Task commitment: State your specific goal at the start, report completion at end.
• Group sessions: Multiple people in virtual rooms or co-working spaces.

Accountability Partner

A person who provides regular check-ins and mutual support to help maintain focus, follow through on commitments, and stay on track with goals. Unlike a coach, this is typically a peer relationship with mutual accountability.

Types of Accountability Partnerships:

• Daily Check-ins: Brief text or voice messages sharing what you'll accomplish today
• Weekly Reviews: Longer sessions reviewing progress and setting next week's goals
• Project-Based: Focused on specific initiatives with defined endpoints
• Body Doubling Hybrid: Working simultaneously while on video/phone

Accountability Systems

Comprehensive frameworks that include multiple layers of support, tracking mechanisms, and external structures designed to compensate for ADHD-related challenges with self-monitoring and follow-through.

Components of Effective ADHD Accountability Systems:

• Human Elements: Partners, coaches, mastermind groups, team members
• Technology Tools: Apps with reminders, progress tracking, public commitments
• Environmental Cues: Visual progress boards, strategic placement of reminders
• Structured Routines: Regular review cycles, scheduled check-ins

Activation Energy / Activation Threshold

The amount of mental energy required to initiate a task, which is typically higher for ADHD brains, especially for tasks lacking inherent interest or urgency.

Factors That Affect Activation Energy:

• Interest Level: Fascinating tasks have near-zero activation energy
• Task Clarity: Ambiguous tasks require more energy to start
• Energy State: Physical fatigue or hunger increases the threshold
• Time of Day: Activation energy fluctuates with natural rhythms
• Environmental Factors: Clutter or noise can increase the threshold

Strategies to Lower Activation Energy:

• Break tasks into micro-steps (the smaller, the better)
• Prepare materials in advance (reduce friction)
• Use activation rituals (specific music, location, time)
• Leverage momentum from easier tasks
• Create artificial urgency or interest

Activation Triggers

Specific elements that naturally lower the activation threshold: Interest, Novelty, Challenge, and Urgency. These are the "keys" that unlock motivation and focus in the ADHD brain.

How to Apply Them:

• Add Interest: Research how your spending patterns compare to successful entrepreneurs
• Add Novelty: Use a new app or work from a different location
• Add Challenge: "Can I categorize all expenses in under 30 minutes?"
• Add Urgency: Schedule a meeting with your accountant for tomorrow

Artificial Deadlines

Self-imposed deadlines set before actual due dates to create urgency that activates the ADHD brain while maintaining a safety buffer.

Creating Effective Artificial Deadlines:

• Make them feel real: Put them in your calendar, tell others
• Add consequences: Schedule a review meeting or accountability check
• Buffer calculation: Set 20-30% earlier than real deadline
• Milestone deadlines: Break projects into phases with separate deadlines

Brain Dump Protocol

A systematic process of externalizing all thoughts, tasks, and ideas from your mind onto paper or digital format to reduce cognitive overload and clarify priorities.

The ADHD Brain Dump Process:

• Set a timer (10-15 minutes)
• Write continuously without editing or organizing
• Include everything: tasks, worries, ideas, reminders, random thoughts
• Don't judge: Capture silly or impossible items too
• Keep writing even if you think you're done

When to Brain Dump:

• Sunday Planning: Weekly dump to prepare for the week
• Overwhelm moments: When you feel paralyzed by too much
• Project starts: Capture all aspects before organizing
• Before bed: Clear racing thoughts for better sleep
• Monthly reviews: Comprehensive dump for bigger picture

Curiosity Hacking

The practice of deliberately reframing boring tasks as questions or investigations to trigger the ADHD brain's natural curiosity and engagement.

Curiosity Triggers to Use:

• Pattern seeking: "What trends will I find?"
• Optimization: "How can I make this 10% faster?"
• Discovery: "What have I forgotten about?"
• Competition: "Can I beat my last record?"
• Investigation: "What's really happening here?"
• Learning: "What skill can I develop while doing this?"

Cognitive Reframing

The practice of consciously changing how you interpret situations, particularly useful for managing ADHD-related negative thought patterns.

Common ADHD Reframes:

• "I'm so lazy" → "My brain needs different activation strategies"
• "I can't focus on anything" → "I focus intensely on things that engage me"
• "I'm always late" → "I struggle with time perception and need better systems"
• "I'm too sensitive" → "I experience emotions deeply, which can be a strength"

S.T.O.P. Technique

A framework to interrupt emotional reactivity:

• Stop - Pause physically and mentally
• Take a breath - One deep, intentional breath
• Observe your thoughts and feelings
• Proceed mindfully

Box Breathing

A simple breathing technique using equal counts for inhale, hold, exhale, and hold that quickly calms the nervous system and improves focus. Used by Navy SEALs for stress management.

The Technique:

• Inhale through your nose for 4 counts
• Hold your breath for 4 counts
• Exhale through your mouth for 4 counts
• Hold empty for 4 counts
• Repeat 4-6 times

Body Scan

A mindfulness technique involving systematic attention to physical sensations throughout the body, helpful for ADHD emotional regulation and present-moment awareness.

Quick ADHD-Friendly Body Scan (2-3 minutes):

• Start at your head: notice any sensations (tension, warmth, tingling)
• Move to shoulders: often where we hold stress
• Check your chest: breathing shallow or deep?
• Notice your hands: clenched or relaxed?
• Scan your core: any tightness?
• End with your feet: feeling grounded?

Cold Exposure

Brief exposure to cold water or air that triggers alertness and can help reset ADHD symptoms like brain fog or emotional overwhelm.

Quick Cold Exposure Techniques:

• Face splash: Cold water on face and wrists (30 seconds)
• Cold shower finish: Last 30-60 seconds of shower
• Ice water hands: Submerge hands briefly
• Winter walk: Step outside without coat for 1-2 minutes
• Cold compress: On neck or forehead during work

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Time Management

Buffer Time / Buffer Zones

Extra time deliberately scheduled between tasks or appointments to accommodate ADHD time blindness, transitions, and unexpected delays.

Types of Buffer Time:

• Transition buffers: 15 minutes between different types of work
• Meeting buffers: 10 minutes before (prep) and after (decompress)
• Task buffers: Add 30-50% to time estimates
• Daily buffer: 1-2 hours of unscheduled time for overruns
• Travel buffers: Extra time for getting lost or parking

Buffer Time Formulas:

• For familiar tasks: estimated time × 1.3
• For new tasks: estimated time × 1.5-2
• For tasks involving others: add 20 minutes minimum
• For creative work: use time ranges, not fixed times

Calendar Blocking

The practice of scheduling specific time blocks for different types of work in your calendar, creating visual structure and protecting focus time.

ADHD-Optimized Calendar Blocking:

• Color coding: Different colors for different types of work
• Energy matching: High-focus blocks during peak times
• Buffer inclusion: Build in transition time
• Flexible blocks: "Creative work" vs. overly specific tasks
• Reality-based: Block based on actual time needs, not wishes

Daily Framework

A flexible but consistent structure for daily routines that provides external scaffolding for ADHD brains without being rigidly restrictive.

Core Components of ADHD Daily Framework:

• Morning Activation: Consistent wake-up routine with movement
• Energy-Matched Blocks: Align tasks with natural energy patterns
• Transition Buffers: Built-in time between different activities
• Flexibility Zones: Unscheduled time for spontaneous focus
• Evening Wind-Down: Routine to close loops and prepare for tomorrow

CCCAR Framework (Capture-Clarify-Chunk-Activate-Review)

A five-stage system for breaking down complex projects into ADHD-manageable pieces while maintaining momentum and clarity.

The Five Stages:

• Capture: Brain dump everything about the project without filtering
• Clarify: Define what "done" looks like with specific criteria
• Chunk: Break into phases, tasks, and micro-steps
• Activate: Create implementation strategies for actually doing the work
• Review: Regular check-ins to maintain alignment and momentum

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Environment & Tools

Deep Focus Zone

A carefully designed physical and temporal space optimized for sustained attention on complex tasks, customized for ADHD needs.

Elements of an ADHD Deep Focus Zone:

• Physical Space: Dedicated area with minimal distractions
• Sensory Control: Optimized lighting, sound, temperature
• Tool Availability: Everything needed within arm's reach
• Digital Environment: Apps/sites blocked, notifications off
• Time Protection: Specific hours when you're unreachable
• Entry Ritual: Consistent actions that signal deep work time

Auditory Environment

The sound landscape of your workspace, which significantly impacts ADHD focus. ADHD brains are often hypersensitive to auditory stimuli.

Types of Productive Auditory Environments:

• Complete Silence: Works for some during deep focus tasks
• White/Brown Noise: Masks distracting sounds with consistent frequency
• Nature Sounds: Rain, ocean waves, forest sounds
• Instrumental Music: No lyrics to compete for language processing
• Binaural Beats: Specific frequencies that may enhance focus
• Coffee Shop Ambience: Background chatter that some find focusing

Visual Timer

Timers (like Time Timer) that show time as a visual element that shrinks, making the abstract concept of time tangible and visible.

Fidget Tools

Non-distracting objects that allow for movement while working, helping maintain focus by providing sensory input.

Analog Clocks

Traditional clocks with hands that visually represent time passing, particularly helpful for ADHD time blindness.

Why They Help with ADHD:

• Visual Time Representation: You can literally see time as a "slice of pie"
• Intuitive Remaining Time: The space between current time and deadline is visible
• Movement Awareness: The continuous hand movement makes time passage tangible
• Quick Glance Understanding: Faster processing than reading digital numbers

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Cognitive Patterns

Cognitive Load

The amount of mental effort being used in working memory. ADHD brains often experience higher cognitive load for routine tasks due to executive function differences.

Why ADHD Increases Cognitive Load:

• Manual override: Tasks that are automatic for others require conscious effort
• Distraction filtering: Constantly working to maintain focus
• Working memory: Juggling information that won't "stick"
• Emotional regulation: Managing intense feelings takes mental energy
• Time monitoring: Consciously tracking time passage

Signs of Cognitive Overload:

• Simple decisions feel impossible
• Increased forgetfulness and mistakes
• Emotional volatility or shutdown
• Physical symptoms (headache, tension)
• Complete inability to start tasks

Decision Fatigue

The deteriorating quality of decisions made after a long session of decision-making, particularly impactful for ADHD due to already-taxed executive function.

Decision Fatigue Reduction Strategies:

• Batch similar decisions: Make all weekly meal choices at once
• Create defaults: Standard responses for common situations
• Limit options: Fewer choices mean easier decisions
• Schedule important decisions: Make them when fresh
• Delegate when possible: Let others decide non-critical items

Catastrophic Thinking

The tendency to jump to worst-case scenarios, particularly common in ADHD due to emotional dysregulation and past experiences of things going wrong.

Why ADHD Brains Catastrophize More:

• Emotional dysregulation makes negative feelings more intense
• Past ADHD-related struggles create a pattern of expecting failure
• Rejection sensitive dysphoria amplifies perceived threats
• Executive function challenges can make problems feel unsolvable
• Time blindness makes current problems feel permanent

The Reality Check Process:

• Notice: "I'm catastrophizing right now"
• Pause: Take three deep breaths
• Question: "What's the most likely outcome?"
• Evidence: "What facts support or contradict this?"
• Action: "What's one small step I can take?"

Cognitive Distortions

Systematic errors in thinking that negatively bias perception:

• All-or-Nothing: "If I can't do it perfectly, why bother?"
• Mind Reading: Assuming negative thoughts without evidence
• Fortune Telling: Predicting negative outcomes
• Should Statements: "I should be able to focus like everyone else"
• Personalization: "The meeting ran long. It must be my fault"
• Mental Filtering: Focusing only on the one criticism among ten compliments
• Emotional Reasoning: "I feel stupid, therefore I am stupid"

Cognitive Flexibility

The ability to switch between different thoughts, adapt to new situations, and see multiple perspectives, an executive function often challenging for ADHD brains.

How ADHD Affects Cognitive Flexibility:

• Hyperfocus lock-in: Difficulty disengaging from absorbing tasks
• Transition struggles: Getting "stuck" between activities
• Black-and-white thinking: Difficulty seeing middle ground
• Routine disruption: Strong reactions to unexpected changes
• Perspective taking: Challenges seeing other viewpoints when emotional

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ADHD Strengths

Crisis Management

The ability to perform exceptionally well in high-pressure, urgent situations, often a surprising strength for ADHD entrepreneurs. Crisis provides the stimulation needed for focus, and ADHD brains can quickly see multiple solutions under pressure.

Why ADHD Brains Excel in Crisis:

• Urgency activation: Crisis provides the stimulation needed for focus
• Present-moment focus: No time for distraction or future worry
• Rapid processing: ADHD brains can quickly see multiple solutions
• High stimulation threshold: Less likely to panic under pressure
• Creative problem-solving: Novel solutions emerge under constraints

Divergent Thinking

The ability to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions, a common ADHD strength that drives innovation.

Pattern Recognition

The ability to see connections and patterns that others miss, often leading to innovative solutions and creative breakthroughs.

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Strategic Planning

Core Values

Fundamental beliefs that guide decisions and behaviors, particularly important for ADHD entrepreneurs to maintain focus amid numerous opportunities and distractions.

Why ADHD Entrepreneurs Need Clear Values:

• Decision filter: Reduces overwhelm when facing multiple options
• Focus anchor: Helps resist fascinating but misaligned opportunities
• Motivation source: Values-aligned work activates intrinsic motivation
• Consistency tool: Provides stability despite changing interests
• Energy guide: Helps identify what deserves your limited focus

Decision Filter

A predetermined set of criteria used to quickly evaluate opportunities and choices, preventing impulsive decisions and reducing overwhelm.

Components of an Effective Decision Filter:

• Values alignment: Does this match my core values?
• Energy assessment: Will this energize or drain me?
• Resource reality: Do I have time/money/attention for this?
• Strategic fit: Does this move me toward my main goal?
• Opportunity cost: What would I have to give up?

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Executive Function

Context Switching

The mental process of shifting between different tasks or types of work, which requires significant executive function and is particularly challenging for ADHD brains.

Why It's Harder with ADHD:

• Working memory limits: Harder to hold previous context while loading new
• Hyperfocus inertia: Deep engagement makes switching feel impossible
• Executive function load: Switching uses lots of mental energy
• Transition anxiety: Uncertainty between tasks creates stress
• Time blindness: Underestimating time needed for mental shifts

The Smooth Switch Protocol:

• Close current context: Save work, write next steps
• Physical reset: Stand, stretch, brief walk
• Mental clear: 3 deep breaths, clear desk
• Load new context: Review goals for next task
• Ease in: Start with smallest/easiest aspect

Attention Control

The ability to direct and sustain focus on chosen tasks while filtering out distractions, a core executive function that operates differently in ADHD.

ADHD Attention Patterns:

• Hyperfocus: Intense, sustained attention on high-interest activities
• Scattered Attention: Difficulty maintaining focus on low-interest tasks
• Involuntary Switching: Attention pulled by environmental stimuli
• Inconsistent Performance: Attention varies based on internal state

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Professional Support

ADHD-Informed Coach

A professional coach with specific training and understanding of ADHD neurology, challenges, and evidence-based strategies for support. They understand that ADHD isn't a willpower issue and requires different approaches than neurotypical coaching.

What They Understand:

• Executive function challenges and how to work around them
• The reality of interest-based nervous systems
• Why "just try harder" doesn't work
• The importance of external structures and accountability
• How to identify and leverage ADHD strengths

How They Differ from Regular Coaches:

• Regular Coach: "Set goals and stay disciplined" → ADHD-Informed Coach: "Let's design systems that work with your brain"
• Regular Coach: "Why didn't you follow through?" → ADHD-Informed Coach: "What got in the way? Let's problem-solve"
• Regular Coach: Focus on mindset changes → ADHD-Informed Coach: Focus on practical adaptations and tools

AI Task Breakdown Coach

A customized AI prompt designed to break down overwhelming tasks into ADHD-friendly micro-steps with minimal activation energy.

Why It Works for ADHD:

• Eliminates the executive function demand of breaking down tasks yourself
• Creates ultra-specific first steps (reducing activation energy)
• Provides time estimates (helps with time blindness)
• Available 24/7 for immediate support when stuck

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Learning Strategies

Cognitive Scaffold Method

A learning approach that provides external structure and support to compensate for ADHD working memory and attention challenges while building understanding.

Key Components:

• Chunking: Break content into micro-sections (300 words max)
• Visual mapping: Show relationships between concepts visually
• Redundancy: Repeat key concepts in different formats
• Interest hooks: Start each section with engaging elements
• Active engagement: Build in interaction, not passive reading
• Progress tracking: Visual indicators of completion

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Working Memory

Working Memory

The mental "clipboard" or short-term cognitive workspace used to hold and manipulate information temporarily while performing tasks. It is often impaired in ADHD.

Working memory is more than just short-term recall; it's an active system that allows you to hold information in mind (like a phone number or instructions) while simultaneously using or processing that information (like dialing the number or carrying out the instructions). It's crucial for learning, problem-solving, and following conversations.

Real-World Impact for Entrepreneurs:

• Forgetting multi-step instructions.
• Losing track of thoughts during conversations or presentations.
• Difficulty keeping track of multiple project details simultaneously.
• Needing to re-read information frequently to comprehend it.
• Misplacing items or forgetting why one entered a room.

Practical Strategies:

• Externalize information: Use notebooks, apps, voice memos, checklists.
• Break down complex information into smaller chunks.
• Use visual aids and cues.
• Minimize distractions when tasks require high working memory load.
• Repeat information back or teach it to someone else to reinforce it.

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Summary

Understanding these terms helps you:

• Recognize patterns in your own experience
• Apply strategies more effectively
• Communicate with healthcare providers and coaches
• Reframe challenges as brain differences rather than personal failings
• Leverage ADHD traits as entrepreneurial strengths

This glossary serves as a reference for the concepts explored throughout PoweredADHD. Return to specific terms as you implement strategies from other sections.