Hello, I'm Amy
I provide personalized Agile coaching at the intersection of business and life. I work with all kinds of people, but specialize in entrepreneurs, freelancers, and other "nontraditionally employed"neurodivergent individuals.
I began offering this service after receiving my own diagnosis and realizing I'd been (successfully) using Agile to manage my own unruly mind for decades. Keep reading to learn more about Agile and how it can be applied to ADHD
What is Agile?
Agile derives its name from its core strength: adaptability. Specifically, Agile allows a person to successfully pursue their goal despite uncertainty, interruptions, and changing circumstances. Agile - in one form or another - is the primary approach used to produce products and launch businesses in the technology industry today …and has been for the past ten years, because it works.
Agile emerged during the late 1990's and became popular due to advances in technology and communication that sped up the rate of change in the world and made such circumstances more common.
The magical thing about Agile is it’s basically the scientific method, customized to your situation, with nested iterations (loops). The point is to slice the uncertain future into manageable pieces, figure out what’s going to help you, and then zero in on your strong points so that you can get as far as you can with the resources you have (whatever they may be). Your resources may be physical, emotional, practical, or social; but they all follow more or less the same rules of consumption, and so can be worked with in more or less the same way.
What is ADHD?
ADHD is a neurological variance which impacts the parts of the brain that help us plan, focus on, and execute tasks. While ADHD confers certain advantages (such as tenacity, multi-tasking, and creative problem-solving) it can also create difficulty with executive functions such as goal-setting, planning, prioritization, task initiation, focus, emotional regulation and working memory.
What is Working Memory?
Working memory is a special type of short-term memory that allows us to work with information without losing track of what we're doing. ADHD impairs working memory, making it difficult to remember the necessary information long enough to complete a task, or participate in conversations.
What makes Agile ideally suited for ADHD-affected adults?
Agile was designed to require as little working memory and general executive function as possible in order to free up such resources for other tasks. Also - while not designed for ADHD per se - it WAS designed for the degree of uncertainty and interruption typical of life with ADHD. Here are a few examples of what applied Agile methodology looks like for ADHD:
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Agile integrates rhythmic self-correction - The “inspect and adapt” approach so characteristic of Agile was designed to catch the kinds of omissions and mistakes typical of living with ADHD. These cycles serve to constantly scan for impediments to productivity and opportunities for improvement.
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Agile teaches better estimation - which ADHD sufferers tend to be particularly bad at. The cyclical predict-execute-and-review process provides the necessary feedback for developing this skill, and the experimental structure of Agile facilitates the evolution of a personalized framework to substitute for the NT executive function.
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Automation & Delegation - Agile practice emphasizes delegating human work (especially anything boring or repetitive) to automated processes whenever possible. Password managers, automated payments, and other forms of personal automation are immensely helpful in offloading executive function tasks to more reliable substitutes
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Simplification - Agile is largely about the process of breaking down big, uncertain, complicated things into smaller, manageable, simpler things; focusing/solving each one, and then putting the solutions together to achieve a complete whole.
I have 15 years of experience in the field (mostly at tech companies). My approach is direct, practical, and action oriented.
Amy has been tremendously helpful with improving my workflow and productivity. I’ve made significant progress on personal goals and learned a lot about how much work I can realistically expect myself to do. I would recommend Amy without reservation.
Elizabeth Bales
“Amy is a sincere, earnest and insightful coach. She’s always been able to generate intuitive, complex responses to my questions. As an independent, successful entrepreneur for over a decade, I’m not a quick “follower” and need a solutions-oriented perspective."
Jennifer Cheng
When you get to connect with her, you'll discover an amazing, broad-minded, and detail oriented person. I strongly endorse Amy and would welcome the opportunity to work with her again.
Nicholas Macauley