Mother Plus Podcast
This is the podcast for "too much" moms who feel like they are failing at motherhood and don't want to fail anymore. Your hosts, Stacey Hutson and Stephanie Sprenger, two ADHD moms of four girls ages 4-18, most definitely don't have it all figured out. But we know one thing for sure: understanding our brains is the key to enjoying our motherhood, and our SELVES again.
Here, we are brutally honest about our ADHD motherhoods (the missed Spirit Weeks, the mountains of laundry, the nostalgia for our old "fun" pre-mom selves) so you know you're not the only one struggling.
When we don't know the answers, or aren't qualified to give them, we bring on the experts. Mental health therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, women's doctors -- we want to learn from them all. Because we believe once you know how to work WITH your ADHD brain rather than against it, it changes everything.
You found your people. We're them. And you're ours. Let's figure this out together.
*To Join the ADHD Mom's Club so we can hang out, visit: https://www.motherplusser.com/ADHD-mom-club-waitlist**
Mother Plus Podcast
#159: How to Finish a Big Project (Like Writing A Book) with ADHD
Steph sits down with writer, academic, and fellow ADHD-er Wendy Robinson to talk about how she wrote an entire novel in six months—while working full time and managing ADHD. This is a must-listen whether you're a writer, a creative, or just someone juggling a big project with a neurodivergent brain. Spoiler: it’s not about willpower—it’s about systems, self-compassion, and knowing your brain.
- Wendy wrote her novel in 6 months (!), thanks to structure, support, and knowing what works for her ADHD brain.
- They talk about the real executive functioning challenges that come with ADHD and how women especially are impacted.
- Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) is real and so relatable—especially when launching creative work into the world.
- Steph and Wendy bond over the “good girl” ADHD diagnosis story—how so many women go undiagnosed because they weren’t disruptive, just “daydreamy” and perfectionistic.
- Wendy shares her systems for getting big projects done: think writing retreats, body doubling at coffee shops, and her trusty “go bag.”
- The Parking Lot and Forward Only strategies are game-changers for staying focused and avoiding perfection paralysis.
- Why many ADHD women procrastinate by being too productive—but only for other people.
- Writing accountability groups are magic. External motivation > internal guilt.
- How Wendy redefined success: It’s not about the book deal. It’s about keeping promises to yourself and finishing the damn manuscript.
- Substack, querying, and how to cope when rejection stings like a wasp.
- “You don’t have to do it. But you’ll regret it if you don’t.” —On choosing your pain and finishing creative work.
🧠 Quote of the Episode:
“You’re seeing the scaffolding, not the reason the scaffolding is there.” — Wendy, on why high-functioning ADHD can still be deeply challenging.
Wendy Robinson is a writer and higher ed nerd. In addition to working on a novel, she writes personal essays about parenting, life as a woman in middle age, pop culture, and more at her Substack Open Water (https://wendyrobinson.substack.com/). - She also writes about all things higher education with a focus on the college admissions and financial aid processes to help parents of high school students feel less stressed at her other Substack, College Sanity (https://collegesanity.substack.com/).
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