An interview with DeShawn Wert, coach, of YourADHDAnswers.com
A school teacher and administrator of over twenty-five years, DeShawn Wert made the choice to start helping those parents and children with ADHD through coaching. Motivating and inspiring, DeShawn presents her outlook on living with ADHD while running her business, scheduling clients, optimizing her time, and more. A huge proponent of being true to oneself, she provides advice and enthusiasm towards the goal of finding what each person is best at.
About DeShawn:
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DeShawn worked as a school teacher for over twenty-five years and as a school administrator for another five.
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She has been coaching for the past two years, after working towards it for the past four.
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She runs the website YourADDAnswers.com
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DeShawn is an advocate for the upcoming ACO (ADHD Coaches Organization) Conference, scheduled for May 1–3, 2015.
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During her education, she was trained through Jodi Sleeper-Triplett, an expert in the field
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DeShawn is from Sweetser, Indiana
Working with ADHD:
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DeShawn used to adhere to the strategy of “stay longer and work harder”.
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However, when a health issue came up that prevented her from working as long as she was before, she had to reevaluate how she went about her work.
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It’s important to know what one is and is not good at.
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She learned to delegate based off of figuring out which tasks weren’t worth her time and then passing those off to people who were more skilled and could accomplish them faster.
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Eric: Certain tasks are labeled as within his “green” or “red” zones, with red zones including tasks that are really challenging and tedious to complete. Red zone tasks for Eric include paperwork, handling mail, managing billing, and more.
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DeShawn’s “red zones” include many tasks related to computer technology alongside many of the same paperwork-related tasks Eric mentioned.
Productivity:
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DeShawn’s smartphone is a huge aid. The accessibility of her calendar, to-do lists, and the ability to quickly search for information helps her tremendously.
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She, like Eric, calls her smartphone her “external brain”.
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Recommending the Google suite of products, DeShawn mentions the convenience of being able to access most of her documents via quick keyword searches. Searching this way means she doesn’t need to worry about remembering which file is within which folder.
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Eric recommends tagging documents with groups of keywords to make easier the decision of where to categorize them – just add tags for any and all categories you can think of.
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Dates, times, and keywords within documents are usually what DeShawn uses as her search criteria.
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DeShawn uses a monthly planner to keep track of longer goals.
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Due to “horrible time blindness”, she uses timers while coaching, since she often becomes very involved with her patients’ guidance and can lose track of time.
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Eric realized that he was capturing a lot of information, but not processing it. Now he makes sure to deal with his inbox on a daily basis in order to minimize the time and pain associated with it.
Business:
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DeShawn mainly uses PayPal for her billing, though she likes to handle the invoices manually.
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She’s more cognizant of the details associated with her business and clients when she handles some of the paperwork manually. If the material becomes too far out-of-mind and out-of-sight, she might lose track of it.
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Her coaching is provided both in person and virtually; some of her clients are international.
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There’s a conflict some have between being very passionate about helping people, providing good value, and making sure clients all receive the same time for their money.
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It can be hard when you’re passionate about helping people to know what acceptable parameters are.
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It’s a business, so you must be mindful of your time and make sure everyone receives the same amount of time for their money.
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Eric was never given classes about business or practice management while training to become a licensed clinical social worker.
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Eric: it’s a disservice to our clients if we’re struggling to run our business. Coaches in that position won’t be able to be as attentive to their clients.
Being Oneself:
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DeShawn: People with ADHD sometimes try so hard to live in a world that’s not built for them. “Build it yourself, people!”
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Eric has a placard in his home that reads “Masquerading as normal day after day is exhausting.”
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While being yourself, you accomplish so much more.
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Entrepreneurship is a good track for people with ADHD, but it does mean you’ll have to learn to ask for help and to delegate tasks.
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DeShawn: “You don’t have to be a well-rounded individual to get through this world.” “When you know what you want and how your brain functions, you’ll get there.”
Products Mentioned:
ACO Conference:
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The ACO Conference is scheduled for May 1–3, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. More information can be found here: http://www.adhdcoaches.org/
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A codega – a medieval lantern-holding guide – is the mascot for the ACO conference.
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It’s about lighting the way for clients and helping people understand what ADHD is.
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Topics covered will also include growing one’s business with ADHD and those related to the entrepreneurial brain.
Random Question Round:
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If you could invent something, what would it be?
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If ADHD was a superhero, what would their name be?
The ACO Conference is scheduled for May 1–3, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. More information can be found here: http://www.adhdcoaches.org/
Find and Contact DeShawn Wert:
Other information:
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If you want you hear your question or comment on a future episode, go to erictivers.com/adhdrewired and look for the comment form, or click on the yellow button for either “Be a Guest” or “Record your question”.
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If you’re interested in being a part of the next ADHD reWired accountability group, please visit EricTivers.com/CoachingreWired
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Are you looking for a coach? You can schedule a free 20-minute consultation with Eric. Go to erictivers.com and click the blue “Schedule an Appointment” button
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Northern Illinois chapter of CHADD
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Third Monday of every month at 6:45 PM
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Grayslake, Illinois
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(CHADD does not endorse this podcast)
