Season 8, Episode 4: Get Sh*t Done Panel Discussion

Well heck, we think we’ve outdone ourselves on this one.

This episode is an extra special BUMPER episode, by which we mean it’s a solid 2 hours long and full of epicness!

Don’t worry, you don’t have to listen to it all in one sitting (we’re ADHD, we get it). But we do think it’s worth listening to when you get the chance because we dig in with four of our previous guests who are all neurodivergent to figure out how it is they manage to get sh*t done, in spite of their neurospiciness.

This is one episode you’ll want to take notes from!

We’ve structured it so that we ask a question, our panellists answer it (always in the same order to attempt to reduce the chaos a bit), and then we have a bit of a chat about what they all said before moving onto the next question.

As always, it’s wild but magic how different our varying neurospicy approaches are, and we’re pretty sure there’s something in here for everyone!

(Re-) Introducing our panellists

We won’t spoil the surprises (because they all had absolutely brilliant answers to all our questions), but we figured as they’re from across our whole back catalogue, we’d introduce our guests again so you know who you’re hearing from.

In the order they are in each section of the podcast, here they are in their own words, along with links so you can get more of them in your life!

Elinor Trier (also known as Zuzu)

“I’m a neuroqueer, Audi HD, artist, writer, podcaster, YouTuber and founder of both Elinor Trier Studio and Zuzu’s Haus of Cats. I create artwork that celebrates otherness, paintings, prints and other creative bits and bobs that remind you that you’re not the odd one out, you’re one of a kind.

I make colourful, vibrant, joyful art for those of us who feel out of step with the world, particularly focusing on the neurodivergent experience. You’ll find my pieces in private collections worldwide and I’ve been featured in multiple publications and podcasts talking about my creative practice and neurodivergence advocacy.”

zuzushausofcats.com

Jenn Hume

“I run Hell Yeah Tech. I work with solo and micro business owners, especially the ones who are low on energy, short on time and done with hustle culture. I help them untangle their systems, streamline their processes and give them an actual plan that feels doable and not soul sucking.

My clients are often working with scrappy DIY setups that need organizing, not shaming. I don’t do the hands on implementation, but I do make sure that they’ve got the tools, the clarity and the confidence to get stuff done without burning out. I’m basically a business’s tech therapist, but with fewer tissues and more Trello.”

hellyeahtech.com

Samantha de Mattos

“What I do currently is research. So I’m doing my masters intending to lead straight onto PhD and I’m researching where the struggles are for people with ADHD and autism in the workplace and then also where they thrive in the workplace. It’s generally focused around traditional employment because the idea is to create some sort of well researched workshop to be able to give to workplaces so they can make the changes in order to be more accessible for people with ADHD and autism.

My thoughts are we need to take the pressure off people with ADHD and autism to fit into more boxes, which of course is already a struggle, and actually make it so the workplaces themselves do the changing. You know, we as a society have created work, so therefore work should fit around us and not the other way around. And with this whole area of research, I’m actually building a business called Fluent Sapiens, which is all about teaching both people and workplaces more about how to thrive being a human. So working with us and you’ll become Fluent in Homo sapiens. I was really proud of that name and I’ve got all the handles for it, so it’s ready to go.

What I used to do was a lot of ADHD coaching. I also did a lot of creative work in making tools to help people with ADHD, that’s what I was doing when you guys interviewed me last. What I’m doing now sprung out from that because a lot of people with ADHD struggle to be able to work and therefore they don’t have money and therefore they struggle to be able to access things like ADHD coaching. That in itself is a problem that I felt like I really wanted to delve into and help solve. So yeah, that’s what I’m doing right now.

fluentsapiens.com (coming soon but get on the list, and in the meantime find Samantha on LinkedIn)

Sarah Sovereign

I’m a therapist offering neurodivergent counselling across BC (Canada) virtually and in person. I’m also a visual artist in Chilliwack, creating beautiful, weird images that delve into themes like grief, illness, joy and memory. I’m a person with a late ADHD diagnosis.

I actually realised that I had ADHD when I was reading about it in school. I’ve spent much of my life feeling like something wasn’t quite right, trying to hack a system that ultimately wasn’t really built for me. Recognising that I had ADHD was so validating and so helpful. It gave me a better understanding of my needs and why I struggled in some areas more than others. It gave me space for deeper self compassion and understanding as well as way better tools to navigate all of it.

In my counselling work, I offer support for neurodivergent folks, those navigating grief and loss, and creatives exploring their practice. My connection to creativity has helped me make sense of the world and my own experiences in it, and so starting my own practice under the name the Creative Counselor really felt right.

My photo work, when I’m not collaboratively throwing someone into a lake or covering people in flowers out in the woods, consists of a lot of photo essays and projects. For example, in 2018, a friend and I did a 24 hour portrait project where we photographed a person an hour for 24 hours and then posted the images live. This project was amazing until about 2am when we were both so tired and so cold and wondering how one day could possibly be as long as that felt. In 2021, we did a similar style project, although this one was over a week and created 24 photo essays exploring local stories during 2020. I’ve now run four 24 Stories projects in Chilliwack, which means 96 narratives of individuals in our community. There’s something so beautiful about telling stories in this way, from a grandmother baking with her granddaughter, a tattoo artist in her studio, Dragon Boaters, to a man who adopted a street cat when he was lonely during COVID and so much more.

sarahsovereign.com

What we asked

We asked three questions which we felt would be useful around the topic of getting shit done as a neurospicy human. Here’s what we asked:

Q1: Would you describe yourself as a planner or do you work on instinct or intuition? Tell us why and how that works for you.

Q2: What’s your go to strategy to get something done when you really don’t want to or are struggling to do it?

Q3: What are your top three recommendations for tech systems or techniques that could help?

There are SO MANY juicy bits and gold nuggets in the answers that we can’t squidge them into the show notes – but listen in, even if it takes you a few sessions to get through the whole 2 hours. (Or perhaps stick the episode on while you do housework and then it’ll whizz past AND you’ll get some boring shit done!)

Get more everyone in your life

Everyone’s details are linked in their introductions above, and we’ve recently been asked to also include our own details on the show notes so people can find us (hurrah!) so here we are, too!