212: Building Your Business (And Life) Around Your ADHD Brain

Anna: 0:00

So I think we, as ADHD people, think like, oh, if we were just more organized, life would be easier, if we were just able to schedule things out better, life would be easier. And so we buy all these planners with all this wonderful intention around it and maybe we start it, and then we get distracted, something else happens it, and then we get distracted, something else happens. And so finding a way that works for your brain is kind of the planner that beats all planners.

Camille: 0:39

So you want to make an impact. You're thinking about starting a business, sharing your voice. How do women do it that handle motherhood, family and still chase after those dreams? We'll listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know this is Call Me CEO. Welcome back everyone to Call Me CEO. This is your host, camille Walker. If this is your first time, welcome. If this is not, welcome back. And thank you for supporting women building businesses and especially the stories of those women building businesses that are changing the waves of the way we are experiencing life, and one wave that is crashing into all of us is ADHD.

Camille: 1:19

Whether or not you've been clinically diagnosed with it, you probably have someone in your life who is affected by it, and, let's be honest, when we're scrolling through our phones, it feels like all of us have ADHD, because our attention span is pulled every which way, and so today we are speaking with Anna Burns, who is the CEO and owner of Anna Burns Wellness, but her focus is helping women entrepreneurs who struggle with ADHD. I have not technically been tested, but I feel like there are so many ways I could reduce distraction and, who knows, maybe I have it. Maybe you're listening right now and thinking maybe I have it. It's one of those things that has been very much flown through diagnosis after 2020. And there is a reason for that.

Camille: 2:06

If you've listened to this podcast for any time at all, I've had ADHD experts on this podcast who said one of the number one reasons why ADHD is being diagnosed more often now is because there wasn't a requirement of meeting a doctor in person to have to get that diagnosis done, where before there was. There are so many more ways for you to access the tests but also talk to professionals, whether it's through telehealth or other options like that. So this is not a diagnosis episode. You do not have to have ADHD to listen to this episode. We are talking about distraction, how to stay more organized and how to go beyond the planners and the post-its. So let's get started with Anna. Thank you so much for being on the podcast today.

Speaker 3: 2:53

Thanks so much for having me. I'm really excited to have this conversation.

Camille: 2:56

Yeah, I just saw your cat buddy in the background so cute. If you're watching and listening to this. You can see this on YouTube as well. If you are more of a play the video and listen kind of person, which sometimes I am, and I love having furry friends in the background, that's great. So tell us about you, anna. Tell us where you live, what got you interested in the world of ADHD and a little bit more about what makes you tick.

Anna: 3:22

Yeah, a little bit more about what makes you tick. Yeah, so I am a mom of a currently four-year-old boy and I live just outside of Boston, mass. My background is actually as a pelvic health physical therapist. That's how I was trained. I practiced for many years and then 2020 hit and so I went virtual and I never, ever in a million years, thought that I would own my own business, because I remember I would tell patients they'd be like, oh, you should totally go out on your own. And I'd be like, yeah, no, not going to do that, like I am not a business sense person, like I don't, I can't do that. And then you know, necessity hit and so in 2020, I started my virtual then PT business and gave birth to my son in May of 2020.

Anna: 4:14

It was a lot going on that year, a whole lot going on. I don't recommend it, but I remember at some point I had been meeting with my therapist virtually in person and then virtually for years, all throughout my pregnancy, throughout my delivery, and I remember, a couple years ago, just being like something isn't right, like I've been treated for depression, I've been treated for anxiety. I've been treated for depression. I've been treated for anxiety. I've been on meds. I am working so hard to get through my day that I feel like I should be feeling better by now and just even like those early days of starting the business and having my son, it was just like a slog to kind of get everything in order to get myself organized, to start things, to finish things. And so I started talking about that, not only to my therapist but my sister too, and she had been diagnosed late as well, after her son was diagnosed, and the more we talked, the more I was like this is the missing piece. And so it took a while to get an official diagnosis for many reasons. So my official diagnosis didn't come until almost a year ago.

Anna: 5:33

But I had been employing all the ADHD strategies, knowing that this was what was going on, but there were lots of barriers to me actually getting testing and medication treatment. So in that time I went from virtual physical therapist to coaching early on, like maternal coaching, and then, once I got my ADHD figured out, it was like, oh my gosh, that is what I want to be preaching to the heavens is that we are not. Those of us with ADHD are not like morally flawed, right? There's nothing wrong with us. There's nothing that we're bad at.

Anna: 6:11

We're like we're bad with organization. Are we lazy? Are we just messy? Do we forget things? All those years we spend shaming ourselves and then, once you realize how your brain works, then being able to make really small changes that make huge differences. And so I've been able, not only for myself but for my clients, make these small changes according to how the ADHD brain works, and it's making life so much easier in my business, in my home, for my clients. So that's the long of a short story in my home for my clients.

Camille: 6:48

So that's the long of a short story. Yeah, gosh, I love. I didn't even know that part of your story, that it was in 2020 that you kind of had that shift, but honestly, that's. I think a lot of us took had to re-examine, restructure our lives. A lot of people who were used to going to the nine to five. How to figure out schedules at home and doing at home business and under your own schedule is a whole new bag ball of wax, like you really have to have your own way of doing things or else you can't get it done. So I can imagine that that would have been a bit of a wake up call. To wait a minute. This, this, isn't working. I need to shift and figure out what is going on. So I love that you figured that out Now, taking steps back into that discovery of having ADHD, or guessing that you did. Now that you had the that diagnosis, what were some of those first steps that you that you employed in your own life that made a difference and made you feel empowered again?

Anna: 7:48

I think first of all, just the knowledge of how my brain works made me give myself so much more grace and made me forgive myself for all of the years and just showed myself so much more compassion, years and just showed myself so much more compassion so that in and of itself has taken up, it's taken away so much of the negativity of, you know, my day-to-day life. Right and so.

Camille: 8:14

I feel like it's just like this shame thing where women were already trying to do everything for everyone and if we can't, we're a failure. And with children with ADHD, you learn I've learned that it's your brain operates on a totally different clock system schedule, and it's. It's a superpower if you can understand those differences, and so I love that the education of this is erasing that, that idea of there's something wrong with me, because there's not, it's just different and understanding those differences.

Anna: 8:51

Exactly, and I think, letting go of that comparison of myself to other moms, other women, I might do something differently. I still get it done, but I do it in a way that makes me successful and doesn't burn me out, and so getting rid of that like you know, I have to do it the way everybody else does, and this is kind of the nice part of like starting your own business is like you get to do it the way you want to, and so kind of for me like harnessing my energy. And so kind of for me like harnessing my energy like when am I most focused? In my day Mornings. So I usually do all of my creation, my writing, interviews, that kind of thing, first thing in the morning, because that's when I'm really good, and then in my business, I know once the afternoon hits, I'm going to do less like heavy mental lifting right, and so being able to kind of create my hours, create my schedule around, that has been really helpful.

Anna: 9:50

Even things like saying, ok, I need a system for this also is really helpful. Being like, ok, I have a whiteboard in my dining room and I brain dump on it All the things that need to be done, like around the house or you know, not so much for work right now, but and so that way my husband can see it because I come up with so many things in my brain of things that like we need to do around the house, and if I don't share that with him, there's no chance that any of that's going to get done. Right.

Anna: 10:18

And so then he can kind of go and pick, pick off something that he can do and that kind of lightens the load as well. So just little tiny things that are, you know, that make a huge difference. You know that's that's really where those like, that's where you start. It's like where can you find those small little things? Because I think once you get a diagnosis, it can be overwhelming to kind of look and see what you know how hard we're working to get into, be like a neurotypical person, so really accepting and leaning into the ADHD and the ADHD brain and just being like, wow, brain. You were awesome for all those years of coping and figuring stuff out and problem solving and now it's my turn to do something good for you.

Camille: 11:07

Yeah, it's actually the fact that you said that leans me into my next question of is it something where you've had medication that has helped you now to navigate, or is it now that you have figured it out with your tips and tricks? You don't need that, I mean, I think that's very individual, but what was that like for you?

Anna: 11:26

Yeah, so I didn't. I didn't start medication or a medication that worked for me until this last February, so it hasn't even been a year yet. It does make a difference for me. But I also need all the systems in place and I need all the skills, because sometimes there are days that I don't want to take it, I forget to take it and you know, sometimes I've worked with many women who don't want to take medication for any number of reasons and you still have to have all of those skills and strategies and systems in place, regardless of whether you have the medication. Like the medication is something that may help with symptoms but at the same time, like it's not the only thing that works.

Camille: 12:11

Right, it's a tool, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to fix all the problems.

Camille: 12:18

I love that you take. The one thing that I really like that you said is taking the mental load and putting it in a public place. I think that this is something that applies to all of us where, especially as women sometimes being the captain of the ship, so to speak we know the running list of things that need to get done, of the kids activities, we know what homework assignments are coming up for the kids, we know what carpools are happening and it's interesting that you bring that up, because my husband hates honeydew lists Like I need you to do these things, but I like that you said putting it in a public place where anyone in the family could pitch in in some way, where maybe you're holding that mental load but once you put it down you write it down then it holds a space for it where you could then collaborate with the people around you and let them know what's going on and what needs doing, because they can't read our minds and, depending on if you're the captain of that ship, what is it that needs doing that you could let everyone else in on that secret, because really there is so much it's crazy right now we have in my home. I'm a mother of four. I have two teenagers and two small boys, so it's 16, 13, 10 and eight, and I'm now getting to the place where the wall calendar does not cover it.

Camille: 13:41

I have to do digital too, and so I created a family calendar where people who may be able to help with rides, and also my teenage kids, can see the list of the practices and the games, even just to know where the things are, and that mental load, because if you're not sharing it, how are they to know? And so I think that this applies both ways, where it's like putting into that system and like dumping it out in a place where, even for me, once I write it down, I can look back at it and be like, oh yeah, I have to do that thing.

Anna: 14:14

Sometimes I'll even forget, you know, to go back to that list brain space, because now you're not trying to keep all of it in your head. Yes, right, it's like, okay, it's written somewhere Fabulous, I don't have to try to keep remembering it in my head and keep it. You know, keep it going. So that can also helps to, just to you know, get some of that brain network freed up?

Camille: 14:37

Yes. So I am curious do you have any apps or paper calendar tactics? Or it's funny because, okay. So when we were talking, before we started recording, you have a free training that is coming up, called beyond planners and post-its. And I was laughing so hard because my sister we know she has ADHD and she and I have talked about creating planners for forever for people, for business owners, but also for mindfulness and and all the things, and she has bought eight planners and she sent me this video from TikTok. That said, as a clue for those with ADHD, it doesn't matter how many planners you get. The right planner is never going to be the answer to the question you're searching for. And we were laughing so hard because it was the very first list of like 50 that he shared on the video. So tell me a little bit about what you mean by that the perfect planner and post-its and also what tools we need to put in place beyond Sure.

Anna: 15:39

So I think, we, as ADHD people, think like, oh, if we were just more organized, life would be easier, if we were just able to schedule things out better, life would be easier. And so we buy all these planners with all this wonderful, you know intention around it, and maybe we start it and then we get distracted. Something else happens, and so finding a way that works for your brain is kind of the planner that beats all planners, and so, whether that is an Excel spreadsheet Monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday with your work schedule, that might be what works for you because you're in front of your computer. For me, I'm definitely a paper calendar person. If it's digital, it's not on my radar, and so for me, right now, I only have one kid, so we're still able to fit in the small boxes, and he's four, so we don't have that many activities. But that way I can look at it, I mean, yes, I have to have a digital calendar for work, right for appointments and meetings and all that kind of stuff, but in terms of how my family runs, like that's what I need to have and it's old school and I love it because that's my fail safe, I think.

Anna: 16:56

For you know, I think everyone tries to find the right planner and then, when they get it, they realize it doesn't work. And so trying to figure out what do you need in terms of getting organized? Do you need to know what you're doing when all the time? Do you need more of like a to-do list? Do you need something that is only a few hours of the day where you need to schedule your work stuff? So it's really looking at how your brain works. What do you want to get out of a planner and then creating that planner yourself, or just trying to figure out different ways, because I think buying all the planners there are some great ones out there, don't get me wrong. I love a good planner, but after a while, if you're not really attuned to how your brain works and why, you're just going to keep buying them, right, and then that's all. That's all kind of lost money.

Camille: 17:53

So yeah, do you have a favorite or do you make your own?

Anna: 17:58

I have both. So in I've used the or it's right here, my, my best self planner, so it's a blank planner, basically that's, I'll just kind of do a little quick thing. So I it's, it's undated, so I can just put whatever week it is, and then for me I just like, I like the visual of blocking out out this is when all these things are happening, so that I can visually go back and see okay, it seems like it's a busy week, but here are my times that I can do other stuff. I also like just doing kind of a similar thing on an Excel spreadsheet, like a Google sheet that I just made up, because sometimes that's just easier for me to follow, because it's always going to be electronically right there with me.

Camille: 18:43

Yeah, Kind of more at a glance. Yeah, I could talk planners and systems all day. This is something I coach with too, so I love creating systems and also delegation. One of the things that has really helped me is to have themed work days so I know what day of the week I'm working on what task and then also what days I can freely schedule a personal doctor's appointment, something for my kids. For me it's Mondays or Fridays and the middle of the week is more of like my quote work days. But what that helps me to do is so that if a friend says, hey, can you get together, when are you free, I can immediately say Mondays or Fridays are typically good, but then we can go back and forth and kind of look at it. Now, that is a bonus with you know, running a business from home and doing your own thing. But there's typically probably a time or two that you have some open space that you can keep available for those times that you want to schedule in. So I think that that's really cool that you have that where you can see it visually but also kind of have an idea of what will work for you based on your productivity, your availability, the age of your kids.

Camille: 19:54

Five years, 10 years ago, I had napping sleeping kids middle of the day. I was stuck in the house middle of the day. I couldn't get up and go. That's a very brand new thing for me from the past 20, 15 years. So all of us go through different pockets and changes and seasons, and that's okay.

Camille: 20:11

And I think what's really interesting too especially for my sister, because I talked to her quite a bit about this, and even my own children is sometimes systems can feel restrictive, and so I think it's important to think of it more as pockets of time, that you are your most productive and then also flexible, Because if you feel too rigid in your structure and in your planning, you may feel like I have no freedom especially for her she's a yellow and she's like I need to be free like I have no freedom, especially for her she's a yellow and she's like I need to be free, and I've had to. I've helped her actually with a lot of my system that make me feel more free, because I have those themed days and I feel like there is a little more wiggle room, if that makes sense.

Anna: 20:55

Yeah absolutely yeah, for me, I think, you know, mondays are my like social media, newsletter, blog writing days, and I know that that's where I can put that in right and then kind of as the week progresses, then I'm able to kind of work the other things around that. But I think, knowing you know, having those times and having those days, I think the thing about, too, about systems, is that a lot of times, especially with ADHD, we are trying to find the perfect one, and if it's not perfect and we can't do it perfectly, why even start, right? And so that's where a lot of us get stuck is like okay, well, I have to find just the right schedule, plan or tool whatever, or it's not worth it. And so I work a lot with my clients saying, hey, let's just try this system for a week and see how it goes, and if that doesn't work, we'll figure out what works and we'll try it again for the next week and we'll tweak and tweak and tweak, because I think we're always searching for the perfect solution, right.

Anna: 21:58

And I don't think that there is one, but that keeps us stuck a lot of times, because for us with ADHD, initiating tasks is really hard, and so if we already think we're going to fail at it, we just don't start. So now we're just right. So we're like we're. We're just staying disorganized and in the shame and guilt cycle because we haven't figured it out.

Camille: 22:21

I think that that's a really good point too. I have a child with ADHD, and that was a topic we talked about a lot, especially with kids and teenagers that idea of it's I can't remember what she called it exactly, but it's almost like being frozen in in the perfection cycle, and one of my favorite quotes is that the idea of perfection is the enemy of progress. You're never going to figure out what steps are going to work or the tiniest, tiniest baby step forward until you are okay with the idea that it's not perfect and that there will be failure, and that you're falling forward and that that's part of the process, and I think that that that's a life lesson. I think a lot of us can get tripped up in that, you know in many different ways looking for the perfect solution.

Camille: 23:09

One tool that's actually been really helpful for me that I'm trying brand new is magic mind, and they are actually a sponsor for this episode. It is a small shot, like drink that has no caffeine in it, but it's all using natural ingredients to help enhance your mental performance, and so what I love about this is that it's something you can take early in the morning, if that's your thing, or in the late afternoon slump, which has been more my approach, but it helps you to enhance your mind long-term. It is not a drug, it is not caffeine, it's all natural ingredients to help you feel more excited about your day and I can attest to this. It's already made a difference for me. I'm actually launching a new podcast in a few days with well, actually in about a week with my friend, and it's funny because I had this idea in the back of my mind and I don't know if it was kids going back to school, but also I was like wait, I've been drinking this magic mind only for three days and starting to notice a little bit more pep in my step with those ideas that I have stirring in the back of my mind. So give it a try.

Camille: 24:18

You can actually use my discount below and check it out at magicmindcom that's M-A-G-I-C-M-I-N-Dcom. I would love to hear what other approaches you've done that have helped you to be successful in your home. We've talked quite a bit about putting together the system of work a little bit. How does it affect your home life beyond the big calendar on the wall? What are some other things you've done to help systems? In your home. Yeah.

Anna: 24:47

So I'll take one example filing. I'm terrible at filing, I hate it. But everything comes in and it hits our kitchen island and then I can't cook on the kitchen island because it's full of stuff. So what I did was say I don't want to see it, but I don't want to go downstairs and file it right now because our filing cabinet is down here in the basement and we're up on the first floor and, like I said, out of sight, out of mind.

Anna: 25:10

So what I did is I took one of those three hanging like wall folders and put it inside the top of the basement stairs and one is for me, one is for my husband and one is for our son and I can just throw things in there that I know need to go file. I get filed but then I can just forget it or leave it until I'm at a point where I'm like, okay, I have an extra hour or 15 minutes while I'm waiting for something to finish. Now I can just blitz it. And that was it takes me, takes a lot of the shame and the guilt out of really not liking to file, like it's an easy thing to do but it's boring and ADHD minds really like shiny, exciting things.

Anna: 25:54

So, I usually actually save a lot of my filing for what's called body doubling sessions with my with my clients. So body doubling is something that's really helpful If you have something that you want to do that you just don't want to do, like something you have to do that you just don't want to do, or you're having a really hard time starting it or finishing it. So basically, it's getting someone else or some others, either virtually or in person, together and you are all working on something that you don't want to do, and so this can be things like folding laundry, it can be filing, it can be cleaning your bathroom, it can be any number of kind of mundane things that we know we need to do. It's more fun to do it with others and then, because you're either in the room or the virtual room, you're more likely to stay on task.

Camille: 26:42

I love that idea. It's great, it's so smart.

Anna: 26:46

Yeah, so it works really well for me with like home stuff, like oh, there's just a cabinet that I just need to go through and organize. If I need to do the filing, I will usually save that for those times that I do it where other people are also doing the thing and we can just, you know, sit and chat while we're doing all the things.

Camille: 27:06

Oh, that is awesome. It's funny that you say that because I think I've been doing that without knowing that is what I was doing. But mixing, I love talking. Obviously that's why I podcast and I love people, so that is obviously a very fun thing for me to do.

Camille: 27:21

And keeping up with my friends can be difficult unless I'm calling and talking with them while I do something that has to get done Right.

Camille: 27:29

And so what's funny is I have a best friend we were just talking about it this week and he said I've never been able to talk on the phone and work and get things done until I became friends with you and I would like get on the phone and just sit down.

Camille: 27:44

And he said and then I got on the phone with you and you'd be like, oh, I'm just meal prepping the kids' lunches, or I just got done doing the dishes, or I've been folding laundry while we talk. And he's like, wait, you got all of that done. When we've been talking this whole time I'm like, yeah, so now he does the same thing and anyway, it's one of my best friends. But I have never, never thought about like, okay, we're cleaning toilets, get on the phone, let's do it at the same time that it takes a lot of. I think that would be even more fun, you know, cause it's that drudgery of like oh, shoot the the toilets I have done laundry before where we're both doing laundry, but to purposefully do that how? That is such a good idea.

Anna: 28:25

It makes it more fun and it keeps you going and it probably gets it done a lot faster than in your mind. In your mind there is a giant, giant pile of laundry and that's going to take forever. I don't want to do that. But if we can find a way to make it fun, to make it interactive, then we're looking forward to doing that. We've got it done. We've got our social time. It makes things go faster, for sure.

Camille: 28:51

I love that. That is my favorite favorite that you've said body doubling. I've never thought of that. How has this affected your husband and his watching you go through this transition?

Anna: 29:02

Yeah, I think he understands more about ADHD and understands that I need to be asking for things in a different way than I ever have been, so he's been really good about that.

Anna: 29:19

He can laugh at me too, like the other day I was looking for my keys and they were in the front door from last night when I opened but I had my son and my hands were full, and then I just was putting my kid to bed and just shut the door Right and so like, yeah, he can laugh at me and not at me, but with me, sure, sure, instead of being, like you know, frustrated, like oh, she lost her keys again, like okay, no, this is what needs to happen.

Anna: 29:41

I think the other thing about having ADHD is that we have to be really good about being our own best advocates and asking for what we need, and so, you know, I might have my husband do something that I know I need to do, and I just really don't want to do it Like we had to. I don't know. We had some internet issues and for like the last three years I kid you not and I just did not want to call our internet service provider and last couple of weeks ago it got so bad that I was just like can you just please do this? And he had it done and this thing was like fixed within the next day, right. And so getting asking him to do the things that probably aren't going to bother him and aren't going to be taking him out of something else, like stuff like that can be really helpful. And just being like I really need help with this.

Anna: 30:33

you know, asking for help, delegating, saying hey, this is the way I need to do things because this is the way my brain works, yeah, so opening up that communication has been really important.

Camille: 30:40

I love that. I think that there and my spouse he's a CPA, financial guru house he's a cpa financial guru really loves charts. I don't. I am more. I would rather talk to someone for days than do that like I'm more you know and what.

Camille: 30:58

And what's interesting is, I think, as you were saying, that I was thinking it's like taking something that feels like your mountain and giving it to someone who it would be a molehill, where they're like oh, this is nothing, like this is not a big deal. I can handle this. But then understanding what those mountains are for you, and so sometimes I'll go to my husband and I'll say, okay, I have this coaching that I am launching in October and I was wondering if you could help me like reverse engineer it and split it up into smaller tasks with me, which is interesting, because this is something I do for other entrepreneurs too. But I almost feel like it's it's almost brain sharing, or you know how you're saying like body doubling, where it's like okay, let's sort this out together. I just need another brain on this with me so I can sort through the questions in my mind. And for him he's like oh yeah, no big deal, and pulls out a chart and like, puts together his little do-do-do and gets it all organized and listen.

Camille: 31:54

This is why having virtual assistants is transformative to my business and why many, many entrepreneurs that I talk to every single week are big time visionaries. They can make big ideas happen. They are in the movement of it. They can get the things done, but then, when it comes down to sending the newsletter, checking your email, making sure that your appointments are set and that you're ready to go, your travel is on queue all of those things those are tasks that you probably need to hire someone to help you with to keep your business growing, and so that's why I help entrepreneurs hire virtual assistants. If that's something you need help with, I can absolutely do that, and it has been life-changing for me.

Camille: 32:39

And even in the idea of like if I'm coming up with a social media plan for the week, it is so much more fun to do it with my virtual assistant than it is to sit down and do by myself, where I say, just give me a list of videos video like clips you need, and I will record them and send them, and for some reason, that is so much more manageable than me thinking, okay, I need to get a shot of me doing the dishes and I'm going to have this caption and then I'm going to do this thing with this music and even though I know all the pieces of the elements to make it a success, having someone else in line with me just takes away that mountain and it turns it into a mole hill, and so I love that you said that with your husband, because it's something for him that he's like oh yeah, that was we can do that in a day where, for you, you're like this could be months.

Camille: 33:27

That was we can do that in a day where for you. You're like this could be months.

Anna: 33:34

So that is awesome, yeah, absolutely. I think. I think being aware of how to delegate and what to delegate whether it's in your home, whether it's hiring a cleaning person, whether it is hiring someone to mow the grass or whatever, whatever those things are, if you are able in a place to be able to do that, huge, huge help. So now that's all not hanging over your head, right. And then in business, same thing. Like the other day, both my son and my husband were gone and I was like, oh my gosh, I have an hour, what should I do? And I got stuck in this like ADHD paralysis, where I had too many options, and so I just shut down and I spent that hour making a reel about ADHD paralysis that I know. Someone who's really good at it making reels could make it in five minutes, but I spent the hour trying to figure that all out and putting it together Right where you can say, hey, I need this done, but it takes more of my energy and effort than is reasonable for my time.

Camille: 34:34

Yeah, oh, that paralysis is so real, especially when you're I feel like there are days when our mind is more in the hunting and gathering ideas mode, and then days where we're like, no, I'm in the go mode of like doing the thing, and so often we get stuck in the research mode where we're like oh, but I need, I need to know a little bit more. I need to like make sure this is just the right music or I need to make sure I'm, I'm just just just so. But what I found more often than not is B minus work is better than nothing, and it's better than getting stuck in wondering if it's the right thing, because then you'll just never get it done. And so it's. It's being okay with doing it messy, and I've had to learn that over and over again.

Anna: 35:24

Yeah, I think and I talked to this a lot with my clients I don't, I don't know that this is just an ADHD thing, but I think that we know often, we know how to do a work and we know how to do F work, but that whole like C work, b minus, where it's like good enough, just is so uncomfortable and it's so.

Anna: 35:44

It's that perfectionism that keeps us, you know, trying to do a work all the time, and that's where we get burned out. Right, if we can just do it be minus work, it's going to be good enough, right, like if you have the product out there. You have, whatever you're working on is now out there and not stuck in your head with, okay, what should I wear, what should I do? And you know, I think for me, like, the more I do video, the more comfortable I am where I'm just like, okay, well, my hair's not great, but you know, whatever, let's just turn it on, and I don't care if I'm not wearing makeup, we'll just use this little happy, little pretty filter, done, right, and just just make it. I think that that's. That's a piece of it too.

Camille: 36:27

Absolutely Dang the video. You know it's interesting because I did. I started a blog with seven women, and that was years ago. That was in the dinosaur age of content creation and doing video was not a thing, and so I had partners at the time who were fantastic at creating better content than I could create. But when it over the years, it became, oh no, now I have to show my face every day and now I have to turn the camera on me. Now I have to speak a certain way and it no longer worked for them, which was interesting, and it was hard for me to lose that partner because they were the best one that I had.

Camille: 37:08

But what I also had to realize was there are strengths and weaknesses that we all have, and now that video is so predominantly a piece of social media growth, it doesn't mean that you can't find ways to be creative around B-roll. You don't have to talk face to camera If that is so uncomfortable that you could do voiceover. Start there, because I think a lot of times people think it's an all or nothing thing. But B-roll is where it's at right now, where you can just record yourself from a distance and then speak over top or even just overlay words. Some people do specific business growth without ever showing your face and, depending on what kind of business you have, that can work. But I think that that I'm grateful for that, that it doesn't mean that everyone has to talk face to camera, because I know that that is very uncomfortable and practice makes you better, no matter what. So start with whatever you can do and see how it feels Exactly, exactly. That's a very good point.

Camille: 38:11

Well, this has been so helpful and so much fun. I love hearing this discovery that you've had. I feel like all of these tips have been so helpful. Please tell our audience about what you have upcoming with your free training.

Anna: 38:25

Yeah, so I have every about once a quarter I do something called a free webinar, called Beyond Planners and Post-its. It's a busy mom's guide to building your life around your ADHD brain, and so that is then goes into my group coaching. I have a group coaching program called Joyful Juggling for ADHD Moms. So that's my group coaching container, and then I do one-on-one private coaching as well. So that's all kind of what I do.

Anna: 38:50

I've got a couple of resources for listeners. If you go to my website, annaburnswellnesscom, slash resources, I have a ultimate meal planning guide for ADHD moms, because all of those decisions are really really really hard, and so how can we do really really really hard? And so how can we do make as many decisions as possible ahead of time so that we're not in the last minute, overwhelm, witching hour, et cetera? So I've got that, and I've also got something on the Pomodoro method, which is a time management timer program where you do 25 minutes on a task and then five minutes rest, and so it goes into a lot more detail about how to make that work for you.

Camille: 39:31

That's perfect so many good resources and listen. If you are listening to this episode and heard something that was helpful for you, write it down in your notes, whether it is physical or in your digital notes app. I use my notes app all the time, but it's really important to categorize it, and one freebie that I want you all to know is that you can meet with me for free at a discovery call to see if hiring a virtual assistant is a good idea for you or if you need some more systems in place to make it happen. So thank you so much for coming and listening to this episode. Leave a rating and review so that other moms can listen and share and we can tackle this ADHD world together. Thank you so much for being here, Anna.

Speaker 3: 40:14

Oh, thank you so much for having me. This has been fun. We'll see you next time.

Camille: 40:18

Hey CEOs, thank you so much for spending your time with me. If you found this episode inspiring or helpful, please let me know in a comment. In a five-star review, you could have the chance of being a featured review on an upcoming episode. Continue the conversation on Instagram at callmeCEOPodcast, and remember you are the boss.