Intrinsic Motivation and Magical Unicorns

The art and science of time management.

David D. Nowell Ph.D.

This Is How You Can Finally Get Something Done

When you’re doing 8 or 9 things at once you’re a certain kind of powerful, but when you do just one thing for a focused period of time, you’re incredibly powerful.

Need to Make a Change? This Is How to Think About It.

Anywhere you jump in the vicious virtuous circle is okay, because each of these crucial practices reinforces the other.

Energy Drinks and ADHD

Does the recent Yale study suggest that energy drinks cause ADHD? Not at all. Are sugary drinks with lots of caffeine a wise choice for students (with or without ADHD)? No way.

How to Develop a Good Habit

A 3-step process: strategy to rule to habit.

Tips for the Non-ADD Partner

What I offer in this post are some tips for that non-ADD partner. Some interventions which might take a bit of the burden off your shoulders, allowing you to step back and breathe and notice what you really like about your partner with ADD/ADHD.

ADHD and Physical Exercise

The findings of this new research are consistent with previous studies indicating physical exercise is a reasonable addition to a robust treatment program.

How Exactly Did You Do That?

If I were playing you in a movie, could you give me enough specific behavioral information so that I could convincingly re-create your whole process?

Will Stimulant Medication Change My Experience of Happiness?

Does taking a dopamine agonist make a difference in my ability to feel happiness?

Diagnosing Toddlers with ADHD?

As outrageous as it is to consider "treating" ADHD in toddlers, it's equally galling to consider what this implies about our evaluation process.

ADHD and "Time Discrimination"

Differences of just milliseconds on time discrimination tasks among those with ADHD may have a "cascading effect" in the ability to manage time.

To Test or Not to Test: FDA Clears New ADHD Brainwave Screen

How might brainwave scans or other purported diagnostic tools improve upon the interview and clinical history for determining the presence and functional impact of ADHD?

Manage Procrastination With the Pomodoro Technique

It's a great feeling, when your head is full of 50 things that you could be doing right now, to know for certain that "I'm in exactly the right place and doing exactly the right thing right now."

Of Course French Kids Have ADHD

French kids, as well as children and adults from other nations, do in fact experience the functional (school, social, work, time-management) challenges of ADHD.

Students Inquire Regarding Procrastination

In the past several weeks I've received inquiries from two high school students, both preparing reports on the theme of procrastination. Here are the students' really good questions, along with my responses.

Don't Expect Me To Do What's Typical If I'm Not Neurotypical

What are you expecting your child or student with ADHD to do, right now, that’s harder than a “three out of ten?” And what strategies can you generate, right now, to make it less difficult for him or her, to increase the likelihood that he or she will demonstrate mastery?

Q: What does time feel like for people who don't have ADHD?

Time is not a "real thing" but rather an abstraction we use to describe the executive tasks of planning and sequencing as well as the felt experience of various units of time. What does time "feel like"?

Boundaries and Time Management

If we do the painful work of saying no to an opportunity or relationship or commitment right now, it frees us up to say yes to something even better which might be just around the corner!

Who Has Time to Meditate 5 Times a Day? You do, already!

Stopping throughout the day to ask, "Have I done the one most important thing today that will make the biggest advance towards my most important goal? Am I on target?"

Ask for What You Want

If you ask your family member with ADHD, in advance, with specific behavioral criteria, does it guarantee that you will get what you want? Nope. But it increases the likelihood, and it gives your partner a chance, a fighting chance, to “just barely meet threshold.”

Online Peer Support for Adult ADHD

ADD Coaching not in the budget right now? How about peer accountability? Learn how almost 7000 Reddit users are supporting each other for time and goal management.

The 3 Time Management Tips That Have Made the Biggest Differ

There are lots of great time-management strategies out there and finding the ones that work best for you is a fun and lifelong quest. I'll give you my Top 3!

Developing Patience: One 8-Year-Old's Recommendations

You can learn a lot about executive functioning by talking with someone who's in the early stages of mastering those important skills.

Procrastination and Dopamine Receptor Density

Our brains are wired for goal-visualization and sequencing and “stick-to-it-iveness.” But it’s not easy, and we’re surrounded by seductive distractions. So if you really want to support a student or family member with goal-managment challenges, do this.

Little Miss Pumpkin 1992

For the next week, you and I have to reign together.

The Shabbas Box

How one family uses an old shoe box to support positive behaviors at home.

What's Your "One Thing"?

The real problem with procrastination is that it can - if we let it - keep us from doing the "One Thing." That one decision or choice which, if we followed through, would make the biggest difference in our lives right now.

Do I "Wiki-Meet" Diagnostic Criteria for ADHD?

I read an article about ADHD and seem to have many of those symptoms. Does that mean that I have the disorder?

Pills and Skills: What Can We Do While We Wait Out the Stimulant Medication Shortage?

Stimulant therapies are among the best-researched treatments for ADD/ADHD. But with recent shortages of these medications, what else can we offer those who struggle with focus and concentration?

Dopamine and Circular Discussions of Dopamine and...

The logic in explanations I'm reading about dopamine and the human brain seem circular. Can you help?

The Ruination of the Likert Scale

The Likert Scale is one of the great tools of psychological and social science research. Save it from death by misuse!

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