July update

career news, executive function coaching, and a poem

Hi everyone,

Are you hanging in? What does that even mean anymore? What’s top of mind? Tell us all in a comment.

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Personal (career) news!

I have been applying to jobs and researching public grad schools in NYC (aka CUNY), because……

*drum roll please*

I have decided that I want to become a therapist!

Yes! It’s very exciting! Everything that I’m interested in¹ seems to intersect with therapy or have the potential to inform a meaningful, versatile, and integrated therapy practice. If you are a therapist or have related training, let me know! I would love to talk.

In the meantime, I am looking for additional part-time work that will sustain me while I apply to programs and get myself (financially, mentally, emotionally) ready to be in school mode next fall. Here’s my LinkedIn 😎, in case you have a job/gig in mind!

On that note…

I’m taking new executive function coaching clients! Here’s my coaching profile. I work with roughly all ages (tween to adult). If you’re not sure about getting started but want support, feel free to shoot me a note.

• Great candidates for EF coaching are anyone who is struggling with:

  • time management

  • organizational systems (or lack of systems) at work or at home

  • routines

  • attention

  • procrastination

  • frequent frustration or challenges with coping skills

  • starting and/or following through with tasks

  • goal setting and/or planning

• Sessions are ~1 hour/week either virtually or in-person to start. They can be short-term, longterm/ongoing, or an occasional check in when needed.

• Coaching is different from therapy. It’s a collaborative problem-solving process that uses concrete strategies to help you ease the challenges of daily life. For example, you may talk to your therapist about what keeps you up at night, but you can work with a coach to develop and practice a realistic sleep routine.² As your coach, I’ll introduce and help you refine tools that you practice and report back on. Unlike a therapist, a coach is not a clinician (unless that person has specific licenses in therapy, psychiatry, etc).³

• You do not need a diagnosis to seek out coaching, just a willingness to learn and try out some new strategies.

I’m really passionate about coaching! I think it’s an incredible support system for anyone who is struggling to self-motivate or self-regulate, for whatever reason.

I firmly reject the idea that executive function coaching is exclusively to help people be more productive at work or to help neurodivergent people “perform” like they are neurotypical. We all have things we want to do, and a lot of us didn’t learn approaches that worked for our brain when we were growing up. You deserve to achieve your goals, no matter how big or small.

Some examples of worthwhile non-”professional” executive function goals include:

• building a healthier relationship with your phone or screens

• learning how to carve out time to be silly and creative

• figuring out when/how you’ll get groceries/do laundry/*insert annoying chore here*

I will stop myself from writing more on this topic… but do consider it! Or share this with a friend/family member/coworker who may be interested!

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It’s an enormous privilege to have the stability, resources, and safety to pursue the work that I want to do. Each day, my mind goes bounces around from job applications and budgeting to silly stuff like Love Island⁴ to texting loved ones to feeding myself to the fascist reality of our country.

I hope to attend the first National Solidarity Jericho Walk on Thursday, 7/17.

I frequently think of this poem by Ilya Kaminsky, whose family sought asylum when he was a child. It introduces Deaf Republic, the poetic narrative that follows. EDIT: This book came out in 2019, when I first read it. It is particularly relevant today.

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”We Lived Happily during the War” by Ilya Kaminsky

And when they bombed other people's houses, we

protested
but not enough, we opposed them but not

enough. I was
in my bed, around my bed America

was falling: invisible house by invisible house by invisible house—

I took a chair outside and watched the sun.

In the sixth month
of a disastrous reign in the house of money

in the street of money in the city of money in the country of money,
our great country of money, we (forgive us)

lived happily during the war.

You can listen to this poem read by (and additional context/reflection provided by) Pádraig Ó Tuama on Poetry Unbound. I highly recommend it.

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No “I LOVE THIS STUFF” section today, because I don’t feel like it.

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Lastly, Wilson looking deeply at you.

Until next time, I love you.

— hb

1. My enduring interests include but are not limited to: working with kids, family/interpersonal dynamics, learning, neurodivergence, disability, executive function, queerness/identity/intersectionality, relationships, holistic wellness, mindfulness, movement, burnout, play, reflective practices, creative practices, art, anti-oppressive practices and movements, rest, self care…. etc. etc. etc.

2. Yes, sometimes therapists help you with building routines and habits/other executive function skills, but not always.

3. Note: I do not (currently) have any licenses! Check back with me in a few years. Currently, I have a wealth of practice teaching/training, researching executive function, learning, and neurodivergence, and tools provided by Connect to Learn (the company I work for).

4. Amaya Papaya <3