Jacqueline Sinfield Articles

Top Tips for Beating Procrastination when You have ADHD - Click To Read Article
Procrastination is one of the biggest complaints people with ADHD experience. There are many reasons why people procrastinate and sometimes procrastination can even be useful. However, usually procrastination doesn’t make you feel good. You feel lazy, unproductive and the thought of the unfinished task looms heavily on your mind, spoiling any enjoyment doing other activities.

Tax Session - Click To Read Article
We are coming to the end of tax session here in Canada. It can be a stressful and anxious time, as people with ADHD usually don’t enjoy the tasks associated with taxes. Sitting down, concentrating, organizing documentation and doing mundane tasks through the year, such as opening the mail and filing paperwork when it arrives. These tasks are often thought of as boring and mundane. Even if your intentions are really good, there never seems to be enough time to do them.

Positive ADHD Traits - Click To Read Article
Just like adults who don’t have ADHD, not all people with ADHD have the same talents and strengths. However, there are a group of positive talents that are often seen in people with ADHD and below are five of them. Give yourself credit for the things you do well. This in turn will boast your confidence and self-esteem.

Practicing Assertiveness - Click To Read Article
Very early Sunday morning I was waiting in line at Montreal’s airport. Despite the early hour, the airport was crowded and the lines at each of the security points were the longest I had ever seen them. People were patiently waiting; however there was an older gentleman who became quite distressed as he realized he would miss his flight due to the slow movement of the line. He attracted the attention of one of the officials, however they merely shrugged unhelpfully. Then two European men in their mid 30’s went to the aid of the older man, they asked all the people in the queue ahead of him would they mind if he jumped ahead of them to catch his flight. Of course no one minded and the man went quickly through security.

How to Make Your Home a Safe Haven - Click To Read Article
Our home is our safe haven from the rest of the world. This is more important than ever if you are an adult with ADHD. Home isn’t just a place to store belongings and carry out functional activities such as sleeping, eating and bathing. It is where we are soothed and calmed when we are stressed or upset. It is where we regroup and get centered for the next day.

How to Turn a Ho Hum Day into a Great Day - Click To Read Article
A client was sitting on the sofa in my office the other day and used a great expression to describe days that are rather blah. She called them “Ho Hum” days. A Ho Hum Day is when you have done everything that is expected of you, but nothing that really makes you feel, “Wow, that was a GREAT day,” and feel good about yourself.

Impossible Achievements - Click To Read Article
Last weekend, I did something that I thought was impossible. I broke a piece of wood into two pieces with my bare hand. I was in total shock afterward, but a good kind of shock. Breaking that wood was such a stretch for me that afterward, my mind started to play tricks on me. I wondered if I did really do it. Luck for me, there was a room full of people watching me and could verify that I did actually do it. AND I have the piece of wood to prove it!

Healthy Diet - Click To Read Article
There is a direct link between the food we consume and the effectiveness of how the brain operates. A healthy diet with the right sort of foods can help to minimize the negative effects of ADHD. In contrast, an unhealthy diet including fast food and food packed with sugars and additives can exacerbate ADHD symptoms.

Forgiveness Technique - Click To Read Article
Adults with ADHD typically experience more criticism and “unpleasant” situations in their life than their non-ADHD peers. These experiences begin as a child, through teenage years and into adulthood. Not only are these experiences disagreeable at the time, but also the memories of these situations can still affect you years after it occurred. A memory can pop up into your mind while you are driving along, or in the supermarket line. What “Mrs. Smith” said about your Maths when you were eight years old, or the nasty comment Susy (your last, but only girlfriend) said about you.

Groundhog Day - Click To Read Article
February 2nd is Groundhog Day. The tradition is that if the groundhog sees his shadows, there will be six more weeks of winter.

Decisions - Click To Read Article
People with ADHD often fall into two camps. Those who make decisions very quickly and those who can’t make a decision without lots of mental anguish. If you fall into the latter group, here are five tips to help make decisions easily and with confidence.

ADHD and the Environment - Click To Read Article
People with ADHD are usually so focused on getting through the day and staying on top of life, that they barely have time to think beyond their to-do list, let alone the planet. Time is often one of the biggest reasons people say they don’t do things they know to be green. However, it is possible to have ADHD, do things for the environment and even help your ADHD, all at the same time.

ADHD and Addiction - Click To Read Article
Adults with ADHD have almost triple the rate of addiction than that of adults without ADHD. Alcohol and marijuana are the most common substances used. Other types of addictions include nicotine, caffeine, sugar and street drugs.

Anti-Procrastination ACTION PLAN - Click To Read Article
Life is full of exciting choices. It’s easy to get distracted and do the fun, enjoyable tasks, and leave the boring or difficult ones for tomorrow. The problem is that every day there are new enjoyable things to do and tomorrow never comes.

5 Top Tips for Happy Holidays - Click To Read Article
From a distance, the holiday season looks great - full of warmth, laughter, cosy family time, beautiful decorations and delicious food. However, as an adult with ADHD, you know this time of year can be highly stressful. You have to coordinate and incorporate a lot of extra things into your already busy life. Keeping a tidy, clean house (for guests), money management (lots of extra expenses), planning ahead, organizing events and travel arrangements, managing your time and keeping in check perfectionist and procrastination tendencies could be a potential nightmare. But it doesn’t have the be. The key to enjoying the holidays is to find balance. Do enough so that you enjoy and celebrate the holidays, yet not TOO much that you are frazzled, burned out and in debt.

5 Lessons We Can Learn from Michael Phelps - Click To Read Article
23-year-old Michael Phelps is the record-breaking Olympic Swimming Champion. He is the first person to win eight gold medals in a single Olympics; the Beijing 2008 Olympics to be precise. Overall, he currently holds 16 Olympic medals; the other eight remaining are six gold and two bronze medals at Athens in 2004. What an inspiring and incredible achievement!

Depression and ADHD - Click To Read Article
Did you know that one out of four adults with ADHD suffer with depression? This is a higher rate than for the rest of the population. Depression can have a mysterious cloak around it, however, it helps to know that there are two types. “Primary Depression” is hereditary and you can feel depressed without there being a trigger or reason why you are depressed. “Secondary Depression” is the result of a trigger, perhaps because you are struggling with ADHD, repeatedly feeling like a failure despite great efforts to live up to society’s standards of what is “normal.”

Exercise and ADHD - Click To Read Article
To the average adult with ADHD exercise takes a back seat to almost all other activities. Work, family and friends, errands, sleep and even housework! These activities are important, however so is exercise. Exercise not only helps the longevity of your body, but it helps reduce some of the negative effects of ADHD too. For example, exercise improves your attention, mental focus, memory, mental stamina and allows you to expend pent up energy.

Improving Memory - Click To Read Article
Adults with ADD often complain of a poor short-term memory. Research has shown that there is a link between impaired memory and ADD. However, the good news is that your memory is not a stagnant commodity. Your memory can be improved no matter what your age, IQ or if you have ADD.

Nature Helps ADHD Symptoms - Click To Read Article
Researchers at the University of Illinois found that 20 minutes in nature (think green!) helped reduce unwanted ADHD symptoms among its participants. While this study was done with children, the researchers state that their findings also extend to ADHD adults and the non-ADHD population.

Housework and ADHD - Click To Read Article
When you have ADHD, one of the worst tasks imaginable is… housework. Not only is it boring and mundane, it also provides ample opportunity for procrastination and distraction to take place. What could be a two-hour cleaning spree could take all day. However, even though housework, such as cleaning and tidying, taking the trash out, etc. is not a pleasant prospect, it does need to be done, both from a health and safety standpoint, and for your mental and emotional well-being. You feel much better when you have a clean and tidy house. So how can you make it more interesting and even fun? Below is a winning formula!!!

Even ADHD Coaches Suffer with Clutter - Click To Read Article
When I moved homes in February, my home office set-up changed. While I have a great office to see my clients in, I also do a reasonable amount of work on my computer in my home office.

More on First Impressions - Click To Read Article
Last week’s article was about first impressions and how basic personal grooming and the taking care of the clothes you wear has a positive effect on the people you meet. This week’s article is also focused on creating a great first impression, however the emphasis is on your behavior. Here are the five top tips to creating a fabulous first impression:

Spontaneity - Click To Read Article
Adults with ADHD believe that they like to be spontaneous and creative. That is why habits are hard for them. However, I have found that when day-to-day tasks become habits, adults with ADHD thrive and there is more mental space and time to be creative.

Pets and ADHD - Click To Read Article
Having pets in your life when you have ADHD is very beneficial not only in reducing unwanted ADHD symptoms, but also for your overall physical health and happiness. While you may be thinking, “but I can barely take care of myself, let alone another living creature,” it has been my experience that adults with ADHD make fabulous pet owners. While they may struggle with the stresses of life, their pet’s health is never compromised. Far from it.

Human Connections - Click To Read Article
In order to lead a healthy, well balanced life, it is important to have some special people in your life. This makes you feel connected, loved, cared for and valued. We all need human connections to thrive and also to be the best we can be in this world. There are many qualities that make up a good friend. Here are three important ones:

Health Blitz - Click To Read Article
When you have ADHD, it is easy to forget that your ADHD is just one aspect of you. You spend so much mental energy thinking about how to manage your unwanted ADHD traits, you can forget that you are a whole person made up of many parts. We have lots of incredible body parts: eyes, ears, skeleton, etc. Each of which is nothing short of a miracle. All we have to do, once in awhile, is to get a check-up, so that our body can continue working miracles every day.

First Impressions - Click To Read Article
It is though that a “first impression” is created in three seconds. That is… one… two… three… impression created! In that tiny amount of time your appearance, body language, mannerisms and how you are dressed are all pieced together to form that impression. After that “first impression,” it can take hundreds of hours for the three second first impression to be changed. With odds like these, it’s important that that first impression is a good one.

Extraordinary Day - Click To Read Article
The other day a friend made an off-hand comment that made me laugh at first and then ponder. We had had a brief chat early in the day and then he said, “OK, you right the world and I will speak to you later.” There was something paradoxical and empowering about that comment. I would do something totally earth shattering during the day and then we would have another routine chat that evening. Rather like the line “Only got 4 minutes to save the world” from Madonna’s song “4 Minutes.” When I listen to that song, I think, “Well, if Madonna can save the world in four minutes, I can definitely accomplish everything on my to do list,” no matter how daunting it looks.

Celebrate Your Talents - Click To Read Article
As an adult with ADHD, it is very easy to focus on your weaknesses and areas “to be worked on.” So much thought can be given to these areas that it’s easy to forget about your talents. Many adults with ADHD are humble to a fault and dismiss their talents because they come so easily. Naturally, they don’t feel they can be proud of these traits, or that they aren’t valuable. Nothing could be further from the truth. When you notice what you are good at, you can spend more time utilizing your strengths and less time worrying about your weaknesses.

Celebrate Every Achievement - Click To Read Article
In her book My Stroke of Insight, the author and Harvard brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor documents her remarkable story. At the age of 37 years old, she suffered a stroke and then spent the next eight years making a full recovery. This involved learning to do the basics such as sit up in bed alone again, walk, talk, feed herself, drive, recall her memories, etc. The book is inspirational and also has some amazing pearls of wisdom. One of these pearls is how important it was for her to celebrate EVERY achievement no matter what the size. I found this attitude a wonderful one and would love all adults with ADHD to adopt too. She didn't say, "Oh, you can sit up on your own now, big deal, you could do that when you were one years old." That would have been discouraging after all her mental and physical effort it had taken. It would have als

An Organized Environment - Click To Read Article
Having an organized environment really helps adults with ADHD feel calm, focused and able to function at their peak. However, having ADHD also means achieving and maintaining an organized environment is really hard. One of the biggest challenges is the accumulation of clutter. In my book, Untapped Brilliance, I have a chapter about achieving a clean, tidy and organized environment and I am always interested to learn more about this subject so I can in turn pass the information on to my clients. It was with fascination that I read organization guru Julie Morgenstern’s book SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life: A Four-Step Guide to Getting Unstuck.

ADHD Study Tips - Click To Read Article
Studying when you have ADHD can be a frustrating experience. You try really hard, but you don't seem to get the results that reflect the amount of effort you put in. Even if you write a great paper, you might forget the deadline and lose marks because of that rather than the content of your work. You might find it difficult to pay attention during a lecture, or procrastinate over preparing for your exam and then study all night in order to know the information you need.


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