Using AI for ADHD With Lindsay Scola

The Anxious Achiever

Morra Aarons-Mele

Careers, Management, Mental Health, Business, Health & Fitness

4.7 • 600 Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What happens when a late ADHD diagnosis meets the powerful potential of AI? Writer, strategist, and sleep coach Lindsay Scola joins Morra to share how she uses AI as a personal productivity partner to manage ADHD challenges, perfectionism, and executive dysfunction—while preserving creativity and rest. Diagnosed with ADHD at 41, Lindsay discovered that AI could act as an accountability buddy, thought partner, and creativity booster. From using AI to overcome the dread of the blank page to automating follow-up emails, Lindsay shares practical ways she leverages AI without losing her humanity. Buy Lindsay’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/AI-ADHD-Practical-Starting-Finishing-ebook/dp/B0F5T9QKMH Listen to our interview about the stimulant shortage, narcolepsy and ADHD: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ritalin-and-adderall-shortage-and-how-it-impacts-work/id1480904163?i=1000611595946 Key Themes: AI as an ADHD Copilot: Lindsay explains how AI helps her manage executive dysfunction, tackle writing tasks, and avoid the overwhelm of perfectionism while maintaining her unique voice. Reducing Shame and Preserving Brain Space: Using AI for small but stressful tasks frees up cognitive space, letting her focus on big ideas and creative work without getting stuck in spirals of self-criticism. Permission to Play: Lindsay urges people with ADHD to experiment with AI and other tools to find what actually works for their brains instead of following rigid systems that suppress creativity. Scheduling for Neurodivergent Brains: From building “dopamine deadlines” to respecting personal circadian rhythms, Lindsay shares how she structures her week to maximize focus while honoring energy dips. AI for Burnout and Loneliness: We discuss how AI can help solo workers feel less isolated and provide accountability without judgment, acting like a team member who says, “let’s keep going.” Timestamps: 03:28 ADHD, Midlife, and AI Solutions 08:13 Balancing Perfection and Completion 11:07 Childhood Injustice and Self-Awareness 18:30 Optimize Productivity by Time Awareness 19:37 Embrace Napping for Productivity 25:40 AI-Assisted Writing for Quick Posts 29:06 Podcasting Inspiration for Writing Newsletter 32:32 Flexible Time Management Strategy 35:50 Improvised Charging Solution

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today we have Lindsay Scola who's going to talk to us about using AI for ADHD.
0:14.3	It is a super helpful kind of idea sparking conversation.
0:19.5	And in one of my favorite books, the adult ADHD toolkit,
0:24.5	the authors suggest that if you have a super novelty seeking brain, you really practice
0:30.5	seeking enough manufacturing enough motivation to get a task done. Right. And this is
0:36.5	defining the task in very specific
0:39.2	behavioral terms to make it doable they write, and most importantly, nailing that first step.
0:45.7	And so what Lindsay shares is how AI can really help us all along the way, but nail that
0:52.6	important first step when you're feeling a bit overwhelmed
0:56.3	or like you just can't get through a task. So it's a great conversation. Enjoy.
1:02.4	What inspired you to write AI for ADHD? Well, having the cute little ADHD brain that I do,
1:10.0	I wrote an Instagram post in November of like three ways I'm using Chad GBT.
1:15.1	And someone was like, I could read a whole book on this.
1:17.7	So having ADHD, I was like, I should write a whole book on this.
1:20.9	That's the best idea ever.
1:22.7	Oh my God.
1:23.4	And as we know, with people with ADHD, you can have a to do list list that looks like, schedule a dentist appointment, buy eggs, write a book, learn Japanese. And they all have the same equal importance and need to be done right now. So, you know, I am like a newer ADHD diagnosis. I got diagnosed at 41, but also am somebody who learns by teaching. And so as I was
1:47.7	breaking down things into analogies that my brain could understand about what executive dysfunction
1:52.6	really meant, I wanted to share it with us. And so the book breaks down into the first chapter
1:57.7	is what is executive dysfunction and why, why is it challenging, but why do we also
2:03.2	have these superpowers? The second chapter is what is AI and how do you use it? Then it gets
2:08.3	progressive into how you use it in day-to-day activities, how you use it for writing, and then
	...

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