Curious minds

My name is Ben.

I have ADHD.

ADHD does not define me, but it does help describe me.

I was diagnosed at 39 after half a lifetime of frustration for me and many of the people around me.

I developed this site for adults with ADHD and the people in their lives to help you all get more out of your own lifetimes by sharing what I learned and continue to learn. I also invite you to share what you know, or need to know.

What I’m learning | Why this site | More about me

What I’m learning

Prescription drugs were helpful to me to calibrate my brain chemistry. I know they continue to be helpful, even necessary, for many others.I try to rely entirely on tools and tactics, including:

• making lists to keep track of what needs to be done
• bagging items to organize all the essentials of day to day life
• labeling to help make sure everything else goes where it should
• simplifying as many aspects of your life as you can
• avoiding doing that one more thing that leads to many more things
• exercising
• meditating
• monitoring medication
• taking vitamins
• sharing my story
• supporting one another
• claiming rather than shaming your condition

I used many of the tools and tactics above as coping mechanisms long before I knew I had ADHD. The core of the system is really as simple as keeping things simple, hence the title of the site, Bag It and Tag It – An Adult ADHD Survival Guide.

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Why this site

I hope you find tools here you can put to use right away, without reading an entire book or fumbling for solutions, like I did.

Most importantly, once you find some tools that work for you, I hope you will embrace more of the many gifts ADHD offers you or those you know who have ADHD, without diminishing ADHD’s real challenges.

For me, I credit my ADHD with giving me what I call WOW—a World Observed with Wonder. As I learn to navigate the linear world better, I get more and more WOW moments.

That is my greatest hope for you—less woe and more WOW.

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Personal info

I am a husband, a father of three, a son, a fundraiser, a gardener, a project manager, a beekeeper, a cook, an activist, a student, a teacher, an ever hungry learner.

I also have a son who grapples with ADHD. I hope to help him find an easier path.

I am from the Midwest, but live in beautiful Southeastern New England.

Most days, I still feel like I’m at least partly on vacation in this amazing coastal region, even if it’s just on the drive to and from work.

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