Hello Brains & Hearts! 

What an absolute DOOZY this month has been!

Between toddler emergency room visits, plugging away at Book #2, and making new videos, there’s been no time for anything else.

But to everyone who reached out with quotes for the new book, or sent kind words on Instagram when my kid was in the hospital, thank you so so much! Those quarters of encouragement mean a lot to me. 

Speaking of Book #2, I need to get back to that! But if you’d like some creative ways to exercise that aren’t completely soul-crushing, then this month’s Info Dump will be worth the read. :)

Ways to Exercise (That Don’t Crush Your Soul)

Exercise. Yup. It’s one polarizing word in the ADHD community. Some of us cringe at the mere mention of it, while others LOVE it! And the fact it’s good for our brains and bodies does little to motivate us to do it (even if we wish it would).

A few weeks ago, I made a video on How To Exercise When You Have ADHD (click here to watch it). The big takeaway? The best exercise is the one you'll do!

So. My team asked our community how to make movement less soul-crushing when you know you need to exercise, but it feels boring or dreadful to you (click here to read all the insightful answers here!)

While we’d love to include every single one, we narrowed it down to some of the most unexpected ideas for you here! 

Make it novel and FUN!

We can be really good at thinking on the fly, so why not turn that into movement AND something fun? How? By improv acting! It can be as physical or as gentle as you need. And playing with big emotional reactions can make for a fun, surprisingly active workout! For the roleplayers out there, you can do an improv scene as one of your favorite original characters! Are they riding their horse up to a castle? Or maybe they’re defending themselves from a sudden ambush! 😦

If you’d prefer something simpler, might I suggest a mini-trampoline? They’re compact enough to use indoors (as long as you have the space) and can be a lot of fun to bounce on! Hop on your mini indoor “rebounder” for a few minutes in the morning, or between work tasks… or while watching a YouTube video! Next thing you know you can cross “exercise” off your to-do list (though maybe not if your toddler is finally napping at last 😅)! If you like larger trampoline options but don’t have one at home… see if your city has a trampoline park! 

Hack Your Hyperfocus and Curiosity

If you need a little problem-solving with your physical movement, look no further than bouldering. There’s also the added benefit of it pulling your entire focus into the present. One Brain described it as "solving puzzles with your body"  as you try to figure out the way up!

Or if you’d like to learn more about an area, one Brain shared that they walk through local parks specifically looking for memorial benches with brass plaques on them. When they find one, they pull out their phone and Google the person memorialized to learn about their life story while walking down the path or in a simple circle on the park lawn. It’s a dash of local history research with a walk sprinkled in! (Because walking absolutely counts as exercise.)

Make Exercise a "Side-Dish"

If adding exercise to your day feels like too much – this is a stealthy way to get it in. Karate chops air Make movement a side dish to things you're already doing!

One Brain suggested doing chores inefficiently. Yes. You definitely just read that right. They say the little extra steps and walking back and forth add up! And honestly, they might be onto something here. Imagine putting a basket of laundry away one piece of clothing at a time. Or unloading the dishwasher one plate at a time. You'll be doing chores longer, sure, but if that doesn't bother you, why not? It's like a full workout without ever having to drive to the gym.

Or, what about Mop-skating?

What’s that, you ask? One Brain said they despise mopping. To make matters worse, they had a crummy old mop, so they decided to be the mop themselves. What they did was put plush microfiber mop “slippers” on their feet and skate around their kitchen floors. It got their heart rate up, cleaned the floor, and sounds way more fun than pushing around a regular old mop!

But What if This is Still Too Much?

Hi Brains! J2 here, dropping a little side note for those of us who read this and thought, “Well that sounds lovely, but I can’t do any of this.” That was me. I’ve been dealing with health issues that have caused severe exercise intolerance. Every time I stand up, my heart rate shoots through the roof, but I still need to exercise to take care of my body. So what do you do when regular forms of exercise (even super fun-sounding ones) aren’t accessible? You modify and find whatever works for you. Listen to your body.

Right now, for me, I have to exercise lying down very slowly. It’s still too hard and a total bore, so I jazz it up and entertain myself by shamelessly scrolling through ridiculous funny TikTok videos. There’s nothing like a deep belly laugh to make exercise more tolerable…and it’s a pretty good ab workout too!

(While I won’t be presenting or attending these conferences this year, we thought it’d be helpful to get them on your radar!)

CADDAC's 18th Annual ADHD Conference | October 24–25​, 2026Scarborough, ON, Canada — https://caddac.ca​

CADDAC's annual conference is officially on the calendar, and its keynote speakers have been announced! This is a fantastic opportunity to connect with leading ADHD experts and hundreds of members of Canada's ADHD community. Keep an eye on their website as more details get released!

UKAAN Conference 2026 | November 9–11, 2026 London, United Kingdom — https://www.ukaan.org/ 

This conference will be hosted by the UK Adult ADHD Network at the Royal College of Physicians. This three-day conference focuses on adult ADHD care, research, and clinical best practices. It's a top-tier gathering for psychiatrists, researchers, and service leaders aiming to improve access and care standards across the UK and Europe.

2026 International Conference on ADHD | December 3–5, 2026 Baltimore, Maryland, USA — https://www.theadhdconference.org/

Co-hosted by CHADD, ADDA, and ACO, this is the world's largest (and longest-standing) multidisciplinary gathering on ADHD. It’s intended for adults with ADHD, clinicians, researchers, coaches, and families and is often described as an ADHD Family reunion. 

What To Do When You Need To Start, But Can’t

Click here to watch this month’s featured video!