Sam was a 40-year-old lawyer who suspected he had ADHD. He had several professional degrees. He was clearly exceptional.
When we met, I saw a diligent and hardworking professional who wanted to learn how to manage himself confidently. He wanted to be on track for partnership and was keenly aware that being strategic and intentional with his time would be essential assets.
Sam struggled to get started on tasks in a timely way. He preferred to address ‘urgencies’ in favour of planning. But he recognized that being proactive would allow him to get more done, more consistently. He wanted to be responsive to his clients and to his mentors, but his reactive style frequently left him feeling behind.
Sam was brilliant in the heat of a crisis. But he found it very difficult to estimate time.
To become proactive, he needed a better sense of what time actually meant. He began to track his actions until he gained a better sense of time.
He challenged his overfocus on solutions and began to focus instead on his process for how he worked. He began to focus less on whether a task was done and focused more on how he was working.
Each of our sessions resulted in new strategies that he experimented with in the coming week. He was diligent about sharing with me what he noticed was working about his new strategies, and asking for help when he needed it.
As Sam explored these new ways of working, older memories began to surface. Shame from not being like others and guilt about underperforming chased his heels. And he was willing to acknowledge all of it. This mattered. You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge.
He was brave and committed. He learned to spot these stories and reframe them. The stories took a backseat to new strategic ways of working.
Sam’s big breakthrough came when he discovered the brain-based capacity known as meta-cognition. Meta-cognition is the awareness of one’s thinking and using it to direct actions. He was fascinated by the power of thoughts to mobilize behaviour. For Sam, the questions he could ask himself became the source of everything proactive!
He asked himself:
In six months of coaching, Sam’s task paralysis was reduced by 50%. He was organized and he planned ahead – big picture and weekly. He knew how to listen to the parts of himself that were helpful, and reframe what was not helpful.
He was enjoying his work, the increased time with his family, and the agency he came to rely on.
Sam shared with me that planning, something he’d actively avoided in the past, had become the access to the real version of himself.
Isn’t that everything?!?
Struggling with procrastination, time management, or staying ahead of your responsibilities? Through personalized ADHD and executive coaching, Lynda Hoffman helps you develop practical strategies to improve your focus, plan with confidence, and take meaningful steps toward your professional goals.