Episodes

  • A Wandering Mind's Moral Approach

    A Wandering Mind's Moral Approach

    · Rhythms of Focus

    What if your struggles with focus weren’t a moral failing, but simply a different rhythm—one that can be guided with care rather than shame? In this episode of *Rhythms of Focus*, we explore the well-worn path of self-blame that so many adults with ADHD and wandering minds know all too well. Together, we’ll consider how we can fall into the trap of “trying harder”, and how discover how agency and the practice of caring for our Future Selves can transform the way you organize your days.

    Key takeaways

    - Recognize how leveraging shame and self-criticism only deepens the cycle of overwhelm and guilt

    - Begin building a foundation of trust in your own rhythms, making it easier to release shame-based strategies and foster agency

    This episode also features an original piano composition, “Folktale.”

    Subscribe for more compassionate strategies for wandering minds, and visit rhythmsoffocus.com for resources and inspiration.

    Keywords

    #ADHD #WanderingMinds #MindfulProductivity #SelfCompassion #Agency #GentleFocus #CreativeRhythms #LetGoOfShame #TaskManagement #PianoMeditation

    Transcript"Maybe I was born lazy." "Maybe I just need to try harder. "

    Despite your best efforts, another deadline slipping by and a familiar wave of guilt and shame rolls in. Some of us double down, hoping that shame will help us do better next time, creating this ever- worsening cycle.

    But couldn't there be a better organizing force?

    The Cycle of Self-Blame and "Trying Harder"

     As wandering minds, we often consider our troubles moral in nature. Maybe we were somehow born lazy.

    If we could only muster more willpower discipline, we'd be fine. Holding things in mind harder, trying one list after the next, creating this sea of post-it notes blaring reminders in a barely balanced set of files on the desktop-- all have this way of collapsing into piles of incomplete projects and missed opportunities, each resonating more shame.

    Just trying harder is like someone who's nearsighted is trying to see better by wanting to. It doesn't work and often leaves the ceiling worse, like squinting until we get headaches.

    Often the world around us doesn't recognize this sense we have of this Magnified Now that I described earlier in this series. They never experience what that could possibly mean-- this Magnified Now. And they view these collisions and misplacements that we get into as motivationally- based.

    The conclusion is that we are morally flawed. We hear some version of,

    "If you really cared, you wouldn't forget!"

    We hear that from others, and as we internalize it, we hear it from ourselves.

    And so once again, we muster up the courage and try again.

    With every error, we yell louder. Not only through self recrimination, but in the seas of sticky notes and the reminders and how we write our tasks and where we write them and demands and all caps and bold and saying, "Do homework!" "Write the report!" "Do the thing!" as well as the angry questions that follow, like

    "Why can't you just do it?"

    Maybe if we yelled at ourselves enough, that'll fix the problem.

    Leveraging Shame

    In other words, we leverage shame.

    The trouble is it can work.

    For example, let's say you miss an appointment. "Well, next week I shouldn't miss that appointment because I'm going to feel bad enough to remember." But let's say you missed that one. "Well, now I'm just gonna feel worse and that'll do it."

    And now if it works well, you've just reinforced that you just needed to feel bad enough.

    The trouble is that leveraging shame beyond the major pain it inflict on ourselves, injures us further. We now not only have feelings of guilt and shame, but also this constant worry of gathering more...

  • A Wandering Mind's Paradox of Potential

    A Wandering Mind's Paradox of Potential

    · Rhythms of Focus

    In this episode of Rhythms of Focus, we explore the paradoxical power and challenge of living with a wandering mind, whether of ADHD or otherwise.

    Ever notice how, when the winds are right, you can ride a wave of creativity and clarity—only to later find yourself scattered, lost, or exhausted when the tide shifts?

    In this episode, we’ll consider the troubles of even describing what is happening. While diagnoses can help, they can hinder has well.

    We’ll consider why “just try harder” and rigid productivity hacks often fail wandering minds—and what actually works instead

    This episode features an original piano composition, “Bunnies on the March.”

    Subscribe for more and visit rhythmsoffocus.com for resources designed for ADHD and wandering minds.

    Keywords

    #ADHD #WanderingMinds #FocusRhythms #Agency #Mindfulness #SelfCompassion #GentleProductivity #Creativity #FlowState #Neurodiversity

    Transcript

     When conditions are right, we're sailing strong, getting more done in a shorter time than most. Ideas click. Insights seem obvious, if not simple.

    In diving deep, the world fades away and this inner critic mercifully loosens its grip.

    We are creative.

    Feeling that free flow. We might wonder, why can't we just be here all the time?

     As I described in the opening, when conditions are right, we're sailing strong, and we can wonder why can't we always be here? The trouble is, conditions are ephemeral, a mysterious muse drifting off far sooner than we'd want.

    Trying to hold on beyond its natural end, creates tension, exhaustion, and a blindness to other matters.

    ... Into Scatter

    We can fall into scatter. Maybe we walk into a room forgetting why we went there in the first place. Maybe we need so many reminders to navigate our day that they blend into the background, leaving us lost once again.

    Losing things, forgetting things, struggling to engage, buried under feelings of "I don't want to", and we sigh:

    "I'll do it later."

    Maybe we even vaguely believe ourselves despite the repeated failures to fulfill that promise. So we plot some path forward with whatever we have at hand. Maybe deadlines will work, maybe following the moments whims will work, but there are no control levers to either one.

    Due dates and interests exist without our input. Neither can they be faked. As painful as they are, they may seem to be our only tools, but their faults and pains leave us wondering,

    "Why can't I just,..."A Paradox of Potential

    There's a paradox of potential. We're told we're smart. We might even suspect it ourselves, but how can that possibly be true, especially when we cannot bring ourselves, our minds to a place to do a thing that feels important. That disconnect between perceived potential and the realization of that potential creates a powerfully painful point for the wandering mind.

    Minds wander for some more so than others. Some season, some days, some hours more than others, sometimes well beyond some threshold where it can become quite difficult to navigate the day, running in fits and starts, excelling than crashing.

    The struggles that come with a wandering mind go beyond a simple trouble of focus. How do we explain to someone, anyone, others, or ourselves that we can do this, but not that, focus here, but not there, now, but not then?

    "What's wrong with you? Why can't you just get started?"

    Well we've already been going through enough, we've got enough going on, enough troubles trying to move forward, keeping up with responsibilities desperately searching for a moment of joy and relief where we can, having to explain how our mind wanders is just one more difficult task on the pile.

    Beyond Labels

    Some people get a...

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  • From Force to Flow with a

    From Force to Flow with a "Visit"

    · Rhythms of Focus

    What do you do when you struggle to engage? In this episode of Rhythms of Focus, we explore how wandering minds-especially those with ADHD-can find a gentler, more sustainable path to meaningful productivity.

    We'll explore a "Visit" as a unit of work, a simple, agency-enhancing practice that transforms focus from a battle into a series of mindful, approachable steps.

    In this episode, you’ll learn:

    - Why honoring your mind’s natural rhythms can unlock creativity and reduce overwhelm

    - How the “visit” approach helps you engage with work through curiosity, not force

    - Practical ways to build momentum and agency-one gentle step at a time

    Key takeaways:

    - Try a “visit”: Show up for a task, even for just a deep breath, and decide your next step from there

    - Use rhythm, not rigidity: Let daily, mindful visits build sustainable progress

    Plus, enjoy a piano performance of Beethoven's Sonata number 14, second movement, a result of a series of visits.

    Subscribe for more at rhythmsoffocus.com

    Links

    ‱ Waves of Focus: Guiding the Wandering Mind

    Keywords

    #ADHD #WanderingMinds #MindfulProductivity #Agency #GentleFocus #CreativeMomentum #VisitMethod #Neurodiversity #RhythmOverRigidity #SelfCompassion

    Transcript

    Is a wandering mind really about a lack of discipline? What if it's instead more about being deeply attuned to the present moment, experiencing The Now with vivid intensity? When we see it that way, we might be more inclined to honor our mind's, natural rhythms rather than fight them. We might then be able to connect with a kinder, more effective approach to guiding our focus.

    One tool that I suggest in helping to do this is called a Visit.

    The Now and the Not Now

    Today's episode begins with a common joke in the ADHD community. It goes something like this. There are only two forms of time, the Now and the Not Now. That's the joke. I do think it's funny. This exists and everything else doesn't.

    But this insight, captures really the deepest truth of the issue at hand.

    This is the source of the river, the beginning of the story for many wandering minds. We have this magnified view of the present moment, the Now vivid, urgent, demanding attention. Meanwhile, this Not Now, whether it's next week's deadline or tomorrow's grocery list or something that's off in the past, these can feel mythical.

    Magnified Awareness

    Imagine looking through a magnifying lens. At its center, everything is vivid and detailed, but then the edges blur into this obscurity. This magnified mind works similarly, not in space though, but in awareness. We amplify the Now, making it rich and intense. While the Not Now --future plans, past commitments, meanings outside of our current awareness-- these fade into this distant haze.

    This heightened focus can be both a gift and a challenge. On the one hand, it allows for deep engagement and creativity. While on the other, it can make navigating daily life feel overwhelming. Imagine walking around with magnifying lenses over your eyes all day.

    This magnified awareness can be the centerpiece of a wandering mind's beauties and troubles.

    There are many ways that a magnified awareness can lead to so much of what we see, and I'm sure I'll get into several of these in future episodes. For the moment though, I'd like to highlight that our emotions themselves are huge. The emotions of worry of, "I don't wanna" of, "I'd really rather do that"- all of them in this massive size- become consuming.

    They become our worlds. The feeling of working against them, such as when some important task is projecting dread, or even the difficulty of transition from one state...

  • A Wandering Mind's Struggles with Success

    A Wandering Mind's Struggles with Success

    · Rhythms of Focus
    Summary

    In this episode of Rhythms of Focus, we explore the hidden struggles behind the appearance of success. Many people believe that achieving a goal—whether it’s landing a job, excelling in school, or maintaining relationships—will bring relief. Yet, even after “making it,” the challenges often persist in subtler and more exhausting ways. We delve into the pressures of maintaining the veneer of success, the misunderstandings neurodivergent individuals face, and the relentless mental gymnastics required to stay afloat.

    We discuss how wandering minds can embrace their unique rhythms instead of hiding them. You’ll learn practical strategies, including a simple exercise to support your thoughts during conversations, reclaim agency in relationships, and lighten the invisible weights of daily maintenance.

    This episode is an invitation to rethink success and discover ways to navigate life with greater ease and authenticity.

    Timestamps

    00:00 A Wandering Mind's Struggles with Success

    00:24 The Veneer of Success

    02:29 The Pressure to Perform

    04:16 The Burden of Misinterpretation

    06:06 A Simple Exercise: Supporting Your Wandering Mind

    08:12 Lifting Unnecessary Weights

    08:36 Risk

    09:28 Rolling Clouds

    Keywords

    #ADHDstruggles

    #WanderingMind

    #SuccessPressure

    #FocusChallenges

    #Neurodivergence

    #ProductivityTips

    #SelfCompassion

    #CreativityAndGrowth

    #MentalHealthSupport

    #RhythmsOfFocus

    #ADHD

    Transcript

     Do you ever find yourself sitting in a meeting with no idea of what's going on? You might wonder, do these people know what they're even talking about? It seems like they're responding to each other. Why am I not getting it?

    So then you nod politely and try to figure out what's going on later.

    Later comes and you need to be doing something else. And meanwhile, you've just received two calls, five emails, and they all need responses, too.

    The Veneer of Success

    It can be a terrible struggle to just make it, to get a job, to do well at school, to maintain a relationship or something similar. If I could only just get there, things will be so much better. And then for many of you who do appear to have made it, the pain doesn't let up. It only changes.

    You've got a job, you show up to work. Maybe even on time, people seem to think that you know what you're doing, but inside, sometimes it feels like the seams are barely being held together. Your mind continues to race just as it ever has. You've, uh, set a hundred timers and think, wait, is this the one that I should be paying attention to? And maybe blow this one off and keep doing what you're doing. Or maybe you're in a meeting and someone adds a thought and your mind goes somewhere else.

    The Pressure to Perform

    Boredom will swallow you at any moment, and you catch yourself tapping your foot again and No, no, I gotta stop and maybe I'm bugging other people. Or maybe that's just not the sense of what's going on. Or maybe it's just me or I don't know.

    "I wonder if these people know what they're talking about?" While you're sitting in the meeting.

    It seems like other people are responding. You clearly know what's going on. Why am I not getting it? So then you nod politely and try to figure out what's going on later. Later comes and you need to be doing something else. And meanwhile, you've just received two calls, five emails, and they all need responses, too.

    And then you decide, okay, I'll stay late again. The thing is, is that you do have strengths, so you maybe decide to rely on that part of your mind that runs fast, that part of you, that can get a ton done under a lot of pressure, but now you're chronically under pressure and it's exhausting and above all, you don't wanna look incompetent.

    You want to keep that veneer of success. It means...

  • Work, Play, and the Wandering Mind

    Work, Play, and the Wandering Mind

    · Rhythms of Focus
    Summary

    In this episode of "Rhythms of Focus," we explore the intricate relationship between work, play, and the wandering mind. We consider how an overabundance of creativity can lead to focus challenges, and consider a fresh perspective on productivity that embraces playfulness.

    Key takeaways

    1. The struggles of a wandering mind often stem from an overabundance of creativity.

    2. Mastery and meaningful work develop from guided play.

    3. Success is a continuously shifting flow of question, movement, discovery, and curiosity.

    Dr. Dini challenges the cultural divide between work and play, encouraging listeners to find strength in their union. He emphasizes the importance of organizing and developing processes that honor individual creativity and work styles. The episode concludes with a musical piece composed by Dr. Dini, illustrating the ephemeral nature of creative work.

    Time Stamps

    00:00 Work, Play, and the Wandering Mind

    02:24 The Seriousness of Play

    03:43 Guiding Play Into Meaningful Work

    04:18 The Cultural Divide Between Work and Play

    04:51 A Seinfeld Lesson: The Cost of Disconnected Work

    06:50 Flow as Success: A New Definition of Work

    07:46 The Individual Spirit: Organizing Without Stifling Creativity

    09:34 One Approach in Guiding Play Into Mastery

    Keywords

    #ADHDCreativity #GuidedPlay #MeaningfulWork #ProductivityMindset #WorkPlayBalance #WanderingMind #CreativeFlow #MasteryJourney #FocusChallenges #NeurodivergentThinking

    Transcript

     Sometimes work is simply a drudgery.

    There's no getting around it. But I do wonder how often that sense might also come from how we're defining work. Maybe more to the point how we define our success in doing it. Maybe we use these external benchmarks of achieving some score or some milestone and the like.

    And certainly these can be important, vital, even. But I also wonder, could we be leaving out something even more vital, something that connects to us. Could we instead look at it this way? That success instead is a continuously shifting flow where that nameless wordless spirit of question and movement, discovery and curiosity offers something to the world, which then that world in turn supports us in our paths of maturing that spirit.

    I like that definition of work.

    The Seriousness of Play

    I want to start by sharing a quote.

     "Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play." Hericlitus, 535 to 475 bc. Now, I don't know anything about this guy, but I really do like that quote.

    Now, how does this relate to a wandering mind, like ADHD, among others?

    One view I like to take is that the struggles of a wandering mind can come from an overabundance of creativity.

    Right? That spirit of creativity. And the soul of it itself is play, is it not? It's where creativity flows within and through.

    It's when that flow becomes over abundant that we can struggle with how we relate to the worlds that we're in. One moment we can be deeply engaged, thrilled to be there, and other moments were overwhelmed, jumping from one thing to the next, never fully catching anything, forgetting, losing things, trying to figure out what the next deadline is.

    The boundaries can just somehow become too porous to hold on to anything. It's hard. And then we crash, exhausted, unable to engage much at all, let alone deal with those things that feel that might be important, but somehow continue to elude our attention.

    Guiding Play Into Meaningful Work

    We can't really tell play what to do. Meanwhile, it's a powerful force. So the importance of figuring out ways to guide it within us, I think is there. I like to think of things in this almost positive way however-- that there's this playful, creative force that we're...

  • Hello, Fellow Wandering Mind!

    Hello, Fellow Wandering Mind!

    · Rhythms of Focus
    S01E01 - Rhythms of Focus: Hello, Fellow Wandering Mind!Summary

    In this episode, we explore the concept of a 'Wandering Mind' as an alternative to the medicalized term ADHD, delving into its multifaceted nature encompassing both challenges and beauties. Through personal anecdotes and professional insights, the speaker discusses how societal perceptions often simplify complex symptoms, and advocates for recognizing the meaningful aspects of neurodivergent experiences. The episode promises a journey into understanding how a wandering mind can navigate life, find focus through passion and mastery, and culminates with a musical piece titled 'Belly' that illustrates this path.

    Key Points

    1. Considering the Wandering Mind

    The episode introduces the concept of the "Wandering Mind" as a compassionate, non-pathologizing view of mind. This term emphasizes the universality of mind-wandering and its potential for creativity and connection, rather than framing it as a medicalized problem, while acknowledging thresholds beyond which can be debilitating.

    2. Rhythms of Focus and Meaningful Engagement

    Focus is presented not as a binary state but as a rhythm that can be orchestrated throughout the day. By balancing engagement and rest, and seeking meaningful connections, individuals can create paths that feel alive and true to their inner selves.

    3. Mastery Through Guided Play

    The episode highlights the importance of guided play in developing mastery and meaningful work. By connecting with passions and engaging in small, manageable steps, listeners are encouraged to transform frustration into growth and creativity.

    00:00 The Power of Words and Identity

    02:35 Embracing the Wandering Mind

    04:35 The Beauty in Wandering, Nature and Neurodivergence

    06:04 Orchestrating Our Days

    07:16 The Path of Mastery and Passion

    08:23 Music as a Personal Journey & and Invite to Reflect


    Transcript The Power of Words and Identity

    ADHD is a powerful term. It has its strengths, but the word also has its share of troubles. I like the phrase "Wandering Mind" because it helps distance us from that medicalized view. Certainly it's poetic, but it still carries that sense of trouble that we have, but it also opens us up to the beauties of this way of being.

     ADHD is a powerful term. All words are powerful, but this one in particular has caught my eye. We can hold on to these ideas, these words as a part of our identity. It can be a shorthand for this mixed set of symptoms, behaviors, and the like.

    We can joke with it, we can cry with it, we can yell at others, don't understand us, and point to various people in lab coats and say, "Hey, look. It's a real thing." We can use it as a shield, even use it against ourselves. We could also use it to support ourselves, have conversations with it, connect, understand things we didn't understand before.

    Most any diagnosis, particularly in the mental health field, can have these characteristics. But what is it?

    Embracing the Wandering Mind

    While I do diagnose ADHD, I treat and prescribe around it. I've also grown to use the words "Wandering Mind." Now, why would I go and do that?

    Well, first of all, it's not medical. There's nothing good or bad about it. Second, everyone's mind wanders, some certainly more than others, some at different times of life, some at different times of day, sometimes particularly after a stressful event.

    You see, there are many ways to arrive at a wandering mind.

    I remember one of my first days as a doctor, this young intern, a nurse, had approached me to tell me that a patient that was now in my care had a fever of 101. Could I give them this order to prescribe something to break

  • Rhythms of Focus: for Wandering Minds, ADHD, and Beyond - Trailer

    Rhythms of Focus: for Wandering Minds, ADHD, and Beyond - Trailer

    · Rhythms of Focus

    Rhythms of Focus is a mindfulness-based productivity podcast for adults with wandering minds, ADHD, and beyond who seek a gentler approach to mastery and meaningful work. Host Dr. Kourosh Dini, psychiatrist and pianist, explores how to engage a wandering mind as a creative asset through the spirit of play.

    Unlike conventional productivity advice, each 15-minute episode provides practical strategies that enhance rather than diminish your sense of agency.

    Each episode concludes with a related piano composition to inspire deeper connection.

    Whether you deal with ADHD, anxiety, neurodivergence, or a simply a bold creative spirit, consider a more authentic approach to engaging the world, a more meaningful productivity that can grow through rhythm and not force.

    New episodes released every Thursday.