Okay okay, I may be SLIGHTLY overstating things by saying “we’re doomed” without this practice.
But if you’re ready to stop feeling overwhelmed and scattered, this practice needs to be part of your ADHD strategy.
It’s called EXTERNALIZATION. Externalization completely changed the way I handle my ADHD brain.
A little background:
My mind generally has two modes. Either I experience a massive deluge of thoughts pouring down all at once. Or I’m drained and very little is going on upstairs.
My “deluge brain” periods make me super-creative, and pretty intelligent if I do say so myself. But they can also be OVERWHELMING.
Before I got help with my ADHD, I couldn’t figure out why it was so hard to get traction on any of my very cool ideas. I would literally wonder, “I’m smart, I’m ambitious, I KNOW I work hard! Why can’t I get anything done?”
When I started studying ADHD, I learned that ADHD brains often struggle to filter out irrelevant information. This makes it incredibly difficult to focus, prioritize, and think linearly, even when we have a clear goal in mind.
“Externalization” helps with this. It’s the practice of getting your thoughts out of your head, and into a container where you can work with them.
The classic form of externalization is a To Do list. Or yeah, a planner. But as you probably know as an ADHD woman, lists and planners often don’t work for us!
Good news is, there are many other ways to externalize.
- You can journal.
- You can have a conversation with a friend and ask them to reflect it back to you.
- You can leave yourself a voice memo and listen back to it.
- You can draw a picture.
- You can set a timer (this externalizes time).
- You can post something on a bulletin board.
- You can write something on a Post-it note and stick it to your wall.
- We can write something on a whiteboard
- You can add something to a calendar.
- You can tell it to your VA/assistant/OBM
- You can leave a voicemail memo for your virtual assistant.
- You can send a text.
- You can send an email.
- You can tell Alexa to do something.
- You can dictate a voice note or an email or a text or to do list into your phone.
Once your thoughts are out in front of you, you’re much more likely to be able to distinguish what’s important. When you KNOW what’s important, you’re way more likely to get traction on it! You can concentrate your efforts on what really matters.
This way reduces the feeling of being frozen in a loop of thinkingthinkingthinking and never actually TAKING ACTION on what’s important to you.
No more spinning your wheels.
No more being frozen looking at your phone.
No more panicky wondering about what to do first.
If you want to create an externalization practice, here are some good questions to get you started:
- Start noticing ways you’re already externalizing. Do you use a timer? Keep a calendar? Have a to-do list? Make a grocery list? Use post-its? This will help you identify what types of externalization you are generally already comfortable with.
- Ask yourself, how can I extrapolate this form of externalization to other parts of my life where I need help?
An important caveat:
It’s one thing for me to describe generally what kinds of systems and supports you need, as an ADHD woman. It’s another thing for you to actually APPLY these ideas to your very specific situation!
One-on-one ADHD coaching is a great way to build a custom Externalization practice. And to build systems for everything else in your life that tends to fall apart because ADHD.
If you’re considering starting coaching with me in Q1 2025, you need to get on my waitlist now. I’ll be opening 1-1 enrollment for TWO WEEKS ONLY in January. And the people on my waitlist will get perks, discounts, and bonuses I’m not sharing anywhere else!
Hop on that waitlist right here.
Big Hug,
Emma