Mind Material

I’m always reading the latest research on positive psychology, neuroscience, and neurodiversity, and I love sharing these resources with my community, via my newsletter and blog.



Understanding the Turbo Thinker© Executive Brain: Insights from an Executive Assistant

As a Turbo Thinker© executive and coach, I have the pleasure of working with an amazing executive assistant (thanks Handed by Hayden) who understands neurodiversity. When I asked about their experiences supporting executives over the years, hoping to avoid common pitfalls, their observations struck a deep chord. Most challenges they described relate directly to patterns we Turbo Thinkers© often face. Below are their insights, gathered from 15 years in direct support roles, followed by my perspective as both a Turbo Thinker© and an ADHD coach.

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What Supports Do Turbo Thinkers© Need at Work?

As a coach for Turbo Thinkers©, I often see clients struggling to ask for what they need at work. Let me share Sarah's story - it might sound familiar.

Through our coaching process, we discovered what Sarah's brain needed to succeed. What does our unique brain need to succeed? How can we ask for that support? How might reviewing our history of success help us find the courage to take risks? What possibilities open up when we know, deep down, that we'll be okay?

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A Turbo Thinker's© Journey: From Overwhelm to Empowerment

Through coaching, I gained clarity on my core values and purpose. I defined my vision and confidently embraced how my brain worked best. I learned to communicate and advocate for my own needs, finally experiencing the calm, consistency, and contentment I'd been seeking.

This transformative journey inspired me to become an executive coach specializing in Turbo Thinkers©. Now, I help others who are where I once was — overwhelmed, stressed, and unsure why.

As Turbo Thinkers©, we have incredible strengths. But sometimes, we need a guide to help us harness these unique qualities. How might your life change if you learned to prioritize your needs? What dreams could you achieve if you understood and embraced your Turbo Thinker© mind?

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Anchored Yet Free: A Turbo Thinker's© Guide to Letting Go

A recent yoga class got me thinking about belief systems and our Turbo Thinking© brains. What do we always carry? What physical objects do we deem essential?

Sometimes, we might feel like we're blowing in the wind. What do we grasp onto? Is it something we truly need, or does it stem from fear or resistance? As Turbo Thinkers©, Our ability to make unique connections is our strength.

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The Turbo Thinker's© Competitive Edge: Cultivating Irreplaceable Skills for Career Advancement

A close friend shared that she has decided to go back to graduate school and was awarded a scholarship to Tulane School of Social Work, a decision driven by the foresight that her job as a graphic designer was being replaced by the rapid advances in AI." There will always be a need for mental health support, and I value the human connection," she explained. I could not agree with her more! And, as a fellow Turbo Thinker©, I see how her strengths make her well-suited for her newly chosen career. As an executive coach specializing in high-achieving professionals, what unique qualities do we Turbo Thinkers© possess that can't be replicated by machines?

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From Summer Haze to Fall Focus: Turbo Thinker© Tips for Seasonal Transitions

For many of us, Labor Day marks the start of a new year and season. New school years begin, fall activities kick off, and social calendars fill up. Before we know it, we're either overextending ourselves or doing nothing at all.

To navigate this transition successfully, I've developed a framework based on three key questions.

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Confronting Imposter Syndrome with a Turbo Brain

Overcome imposter syndrome with proven strategies. Explore the roots of self-doubt and learn practical techniques to build authentic confidence. Discover how to reframe failures as learning opportunities, embrace your strengths, and accept compliments gracefully. Engage in interactive exercises designed to shift your perspective and boost self-esteem. Perfect for high-achievers and "Turbo Thinkers" struggling with feelings of inadequacy despite external success. This workshop provides tools to cultivate a growth mindset, recognize your true worth, and create a supportive environment for yourself and others. Learn to leverage your unique gifts, drive innovation, and build a stronger professional identity. Join us to transform your self-perception, enhance your career, and unlock your full potential. Say goodbye to imposter syndrome and hello to a more confident, authentic you.

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Swimming Against the Current: A Turbo Thinker's© Guide to Mindful Productivity

Discover how Turbo Thinkers© can leverage mindfulness for enhanced productivity and well-being. Learn to harness neurodiversity, challenge assumptions, and embrace uncertainty using Dr. Ellen Langer's research. Explore practical strategies to reframe challenges, shift perspectives, and actively notice new things. Unlock your potential for creativity, focus, and intentional living in this guide to mindful productivity for neurodiverse individuals.

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Composing a Life: How Turbo Thinkers Can Embrace a Jazz Mindset

Last week, while visiting the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), I was immediately captivated by the exhibit "John Scott: Blues Poem for the Urban Landscape" in the Great Hall. Scott's monumental woodcut prints, which capture the very soul of New Orleans, confronted me in a stimulating and thought-provoking way. As I studied his work, I couldn't help but notice how his creative process embodied the concept of "spherical thinking," a non-linear approach to simultaneously looking at the past, present, and future. This idea resonated with me as a Turbo Thinker, and I began to see parallels between Scott's artistic mindset and the way our minds work.

To create each print, Scott carved into the surface of large sheets of plywood with a power saw and routing tools, creating lines and forms that are impressionistic yet visually imposing. The composite nature of these prints exemplifies Scott's jazz-inspired explorations of spherical thinking. Like a jazz musician, Scott improvised, riffed, and layered elements to create a cohesive whole that tells a story — in this case, the story of New Orleans.

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How Do You Define Executive Function?

Every brain develops in its own unique way. Executive function skills develop throughout childhood, usually with metacognition as the last in early adulthood, but so many factors come into play including genetics and environmental factors.

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Turbo Thinkers©, Mindset Shifts Adela Baker Turbo Thinkers©, Mindset Shifts Adela Baker

Collaborate, Delegate, Automate, or Eliminate

As Turbo Thinkers©️, we have a tendency to overcomplicate things. Our ideas grow larger and larger, and our to-do list becomes longer and longer. Our minds race ahead with countless possibilities, both positive, leading to Fantasyland, and negative, delving into The Dark Side. Furthermore, we often believe that we must execute every step on our own, thinking that anything less would be considered cheating. But how true is that?

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Rallying for Resilience

What if we shifted from believing we have fixed brain traits to focusing on dynamic processes that lead to growth and development? What if we moved from labeling people with generic terms like ADHD and instead focused on specific conditions unique to each individual? What if we explored the protective factors of resilience to embrace and build upon our strengths?

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Mindset Shifts Adela Baker Mindset Shifts Adela Baker

Reframing the Unknown

Most of my clients have achieved incredible success. Although the outside world sees them as high achievers, they often suffer from imposter syndrome. They feel that they do not deserve success because either it came too easily, “by sheer luck” they would say, or because they have masked the inordinate amount of effort, discomfort and even pain they endured to get there.

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Mindset Shifts, Turbo Thinkers© Adela Baker Mindset Shifts, Turbo Thinkers© Adela Baker

Why a Growth Mindset is Necessary for Turbo Thinkers©

Woe is me, I have ADHD. I get it. Yes it’s hard... and? You've done hard things before. You can do them again. Yes. You may, at times, have been driven by the fear of consequence. But, if you think back to your most meaningful accomplishments, they were most likely driven by genuine interest and curiosity. Turbo Thinkers thrive on novelty, fun, and intrinsic motivation. They are turned on by just the right amount of challenge combined with a sense of intrigue.

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