Am I Ready for an ADHD Coach?
How do you know if you are ready to work with an ADHD coach?
You may have been diagnosed with ADHD. Or you may suspect that you have ADHD.
Maybe you’ve heard how ADHD coaches can help you on YouTube or read it in a book.
Your doctor or therapist may have even told you that ADHD coaching is one of the best ways to manage your ADHD symptoms without medication.
And frankly, you’re a little exhausted buying all the programs, joining all the groups, and reading all the books (well, at least starting all the books) to help you manage your life as an ADHD mom or ADHD entrepreneur but in the end you just feel like you are going in circles rather than making progress.
But before you slap down that credit card on another hopeful solution, I want to make sure that you are going to get the most out of the money you spend with an ADHD coach.
I want to make sure you are ready for what ADHD coaching entails which is why we are discussing what an ADHD coach is along with what I call my “3 Phases of Embracing ADHD” to help you make the most out of the time, effort, energy and money you invest in ADHD coaching.
What is an ADHD coach?
So before I delve into how to know if you’re ready to work with an ADHD coach, let’s define what an ADHD coach actually is (because it may not be what you’re even looking for)!
In a nutshell, ADHD coaching helps you develop skills and coping strategies for managing life in a neurotypical world.
Typically ADHD coaching is more of an educational process that helps you improve your daily functioning in your home life, work life, or both.
Every coach’s approach and skill set is going to be a bit different. Some may focus more on productivity and work-related skills by helping you with planning, goal setting, and follow through by providing accountability.
Others may work with you to develop strategies for time management or organizing the things, commitments, and events in your life.
Coaching differs from therapy because where coaching focuses on action and developing skills, therapy focuses on healing and improving your emotional life.
And if you’d like to learn more about the difference between coaching and therapy, you can check out my previous episode by clicking the link in the show description.
3 Phases of Embracing Your ADHD Diagnosis
Ok. Now that you know WHAT an ADHD coach is and how they can help support you, let’s discuss how to know if you’re ready to hire an ADHD coach to help you take action and develop skills.
When I first started coaching ADHD mom business owners, I noticed almost immediately that some of my clients absolutely thought they were ready for the type of accountability and support I offered with regular check-ins and follow-ups throughout the week…but in actuality, they weren’t quite there yet.
Not that I’m mean or aggressive…it’s just that you really need to be in the right headspace after your ADHD diagnosis to have someone regularly checking in on you to say “Hey, you said you were going to work on this project today, how’s that going?” or “Hey, can I get a status update on that task you wanted to finish before our next call?”
Because I want to see you succeed! And maybe because of my ADHD people-pleasing tendencies, I also want you to think I’m doing a good job and following through on my promises.
This is why I came up with a self-evaluation to see where you are in your ADHD journey and if ADHD coaching may be right for you.
It’s what I call the 3 steps of Embracing ADHD Your ADHD Diagnosis…
The First step is Awareness.
Awareness around how your neurodiverse brain operates differently.
You need to create awareness around certain executive function challenges such as working memory assistance, or how to switch tasks when you’re in hyperfocus mode.
You can develop a better awareness of your ADHD symptoms and patterns by reading books, watching YouTube videos, attending webinars, or by talking to your doctor or therapist…just to name a few options.
Once you’ve developed an awareness of what ADHD looks like for you…
The Second step is Acceptance.
Because it’s one thing to realize your brain operates differently.
It’s a completely different thing to accept that you have to change how you do things to accommodate it.
Or that you may need additional or specific support to function in the neurotypical world.
Accepting that you may need to write down all of the things because you can’t remember things without writing things down.
Or that you need to set alarms throughout the day to remind yourself to do or stop doing certain tasks.
Or that you need to use a checklist when you walk out the door because you struggle to remember all the different things you need to take with you when you leave.
These are all strategies that I put in place after my ADHD diagnosis that have helped me cope with my busy mom entrepreneurial life.
Before my diagnosis, I would beat myself up for forgetting things at the grocery store because I shouldn’t have to write things down if I’m only getting 3 things, right?
Or I would struggle to get out the door and arrive on time because I was always trying to squeeze just one more thing in before I would leave.
I fought against using coping strategies for so long because I felt like I should just be able to do it like everyone else. Until I accepted that I’m not like everyone else and that I need different accommodations.
Trust me when I tell you that the sense of pride you’ll feel when you start to actually follow through on things or remember to do things or stop forgetting things when you leave the house far outweighs the inadequacies you might feel that you have to put all of these parameters in place.
And after we’ve completed the acceptance phase, we’re ready for…
The Third step is Action.
Now that we’re aware of what our brains need and we’ve accepted that we may need some specialized strategies to work with our unique brains, we’re ready to take action.
And that’s where I come in.
Because as an ADHD coach, I help you take action and follow through on taking your big ideas and making them a reality.
Being honest with yourself about where you are in your ADHD journey can help you make the most of what you put in when you hire an ADHD coach.
I’ve been where you are. Buying the courses and joining the programs and reading the books and watching the videos looking for what is going to magically make it all make sense.
But the fact is, you don’t necessarily need more to be successful as a mom and entrepreneur with ADHD. In fact, sometimes you need less.
Maybe you need to put into practice some of the stuff you learned in the courses, programs, books, and videos.
And that is what an ADHD coach can help you do.
If you’re ready to see how my programs can help support you in building a successful business while juggling your busy family life, click below to schedule your free, no-obligation clarity call with me.
