#003 — Embracing ADHD in Entrepreneurship with Kristina Proctor

Melanie Branch: Hello and welcome to Trailblazers Rising, where we are sharing strategy, strategies and stories of standout neuro-spicy entrepreneurs. I would like to welcome to the stage today my wonderful friend Kristina Proctor, also known as KTina to most of us in the neuro-spicy world. Um, so welcome KTina, thank you for being here.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah, I'm excited to be here

Melanie Branch: and I love your blazer.

Kristina Proctor: Yes, I ...

Melanie Branch: For those of you that don't know, KTina's a blazer girl.

Kristina Proctor: I am definitely 100% a blazer girl. Yeah.

Melanie Branch: Absolutely. So we will dive right in so that we can help our friends on the interwebs scale beyond limits. So first and foremost, can you spill the beans about your journey to becoming an entrepreneur?

And don't spare any of the juicy details we want it all.

Kristina Proctor: That sounds good. Yeah, so my journey of becoming an entrepreneur, it starts from when I was a kid, I would buy how to manage your money and how to start a business books for kids, like back when I was nine, I remember buying my first one as well as checking 'em out from the library.

Like I am that person. I've always felt called to entrepreneurship, owning my own business and having that autonomy. And I eventually, you know, landed in corporate America as one does after college and just never felt quite right. And of course I was, uh, diagnosed with ADHD later in life. I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was in high school, though, so learning about accommodations and how to help my brain was something that I was introduced to in high school.

Um, but ADHD getting, getting diagnosed in my mid thirties was like a huge curve ball, and it was incredible to learn that, I think the statistic is like, ADHD years have a 300% higher likelihood of becoming an entrepreneur. Um, and so it's one of those things where as I went through my life and had drastic life changes, including a divorce, um, I went through a preventative mastectomy with reconstruction.

I went through a whole life change and decided, and my father died. And when I was, so I have had all these feelings about being an entrepreneur and wanting to work for myself, employ other people. That's also something that I've always wanted to do and treat them with dignity and respect and pay them well.

That's always something that I've felt called to do and really change the world in a way that I can, and I'm able to. And what ended up happening and what kicked me in the butt, so to speak, to go and do it, was that my father died and I wasn't particularly close to him. He died in November, 2021 and, what ended up happening is that he got diagnosed with cancer and died two weeks later.

Um, it was a very painful death for him, unfortunately, and I was by his bedside for two weeks until he died. And the thing about my dad is that he was one of those people that you get a job. You pay your bills, you do all the work so that you can retire, so then you can do the things that you wanna do.

So you follow the protocol. Like he's very much regimented in that way. Uh, I, he also was ADHD and he felt like, you know, I'm doing these things so I can do the things I wanna do. And he retired and he did part-time contract work for his company, and then he was cutting that off. And then he was diagnosed with cancer.

So guess what? He did not get to do. Any of the things that he had been planning on hiking the Appalachian Trail, he was in training to do that. He was doing all of these things for himself because he had done all of the right things and he died. So what that taught me is that it's tomorrow isn't guaranteed.

And if I want to spend time with my kiddo and spend time with people that I love doing things that I enjoy, now is the time for me to step out. And do what I've always felt called to do. So my entrepreneurial journey has these relationship aspects to it as well as a calling. And one of the greatest things is that I have an amazing network of people that have been supporting me through this process, including you,

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: Melanie.

Melanie Branch: Yeah. What a good segue. You're such an angel.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah.

Melanie Branch: So you and I have worked together in my one-on-one coaching program.

Kristina Proctor: Yes.

Melanie Branch: And we worked very extensively on energy management and time management.

Kristina Proctor: Yes.

Melanie Branch: Because you and I are very similar in the sense that our energy fluctuates, um, predictably and unpredictably all at the same time.

Kristina Proctor: Mm-hmm.

Melanie Branch: I don't know what that word is, but we know we can figure it out to a certain extent, but we can still expect to wake up on a random Thursday and feel like we got hit by a ton of bricks.

Kristina Proctor: That's right.

Melanie Branch: And are gonna have to change everything on our schedule that we thought we were gonna be able to do.

Kristina Proctor: Yes.

Melanie Branch: So what would you say has been the most beneficial tool or resource or system or strategy for time and energy management?

Kristina Proctor: One of the best tools for time management and energy management is essentially the same thing, which was identifying the tasks that I'm able to do when I'm low energy. And identifying the tasks that I'm able to do when I'm high energy. And as an ADHD coach, I do this with my clients and I had never set aside the time to address that with myself to the level that you and I were able to do that.

So, and what that looks like for me, and what you elevated for me is that when I'm in low energy, I was doing administrative tasks, I was creating content in Canva. I was writing copy thing, not necessarily writing copy, but I was going through the things like logging hours and doing the back office work and the administrative type tasks that when I'm high energy, that is the worst thing for me to be working on because I wanna be focused on creative strategy and deep thinking work.

And when I'm low energy, I need to just move stuff around and make sure that my ducks are in a row, my finances are done, talking with my accountant. And there was one specific week where my energy was really like I was working for my couch. Which again, is something that you encouraged, like work in a place where you can, what does that look like for you?

And so my couch is a chaise lounge and I work from there. I need to have my feet up. I need to have my laptop on my lap. And have one screen so it's not overwhelming. And I, you were like, okay, so what did you, how was your week? And I went through all the things that I had done, and then I compared it to what I had set out to do, what we had talked about the week prior.

And I was like, oh, I didn't get any of those things done. And you're like, time out.

Melanie Branch: I thought you were playing a joke on me that day. Literally, so everybody in the audience understands, I want everybody to be clear as an ADHD autist, an energy healer, psycho intuitive, all of these things that I am, I get on the horn with a video messaging app and say, how was your week?

It's, and it's Sunday, la blah, la la. What are we up to? What are we doing? You literally messaged me back and we're like, Oh, you know, I really haven't done much. I, you know, I just did this and this and this, and this, and this, and this and this, and I, I was in my bed and I went, I gotta go back and watch the last. Didn't she just say she didn't do a lot?

Kristina Proctor: Right? Yeah. Yeah, cuz I was comparing it to where I thought I had, I had set goals when I was in high energy. Right. Which we all do. And we think like, oh, I can be in this head space for the next two weeks, it'll be great.

Melanie Branch: Totally.

Kristina Proctor: And that's not what, and that's not what happened. And now I'm okay with that.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: Because I have my goals mapped out and I, it's okay for me to put a bookmark in them for a moment and say like, my energy is low and I can still move my business forward with these types of tasks. And when my energy, by resting, my energy went back up faster and I kept my business moving forward and I picked up right where I left off.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: And because of routines and processes that you and I talked about when it comes to content creation and low energy content, high energy content, I was able to not really miss a beat when it came to my audience and my clients.

Melanie Branch: Yeah. Yep. So you are an ADHD coach for corporate women, right?

Kristina Proctor: Yeah.

Melanie Branch: Women that work for corporations or other people, not necessarily entrepreneurs. Whereas I work exclusively with entrepreneurs because.

Kristina Proctor: That's right.

Melanie Branch: Uh, I, I can't be told what to do and I like to work with people that are the same way. So what would you.

Kristina Proctor: Fair.

Melanie Branch: What would you recommend for a, a woman with ADHD that is in the corporate world and is struggling, doesn't know what accommodations they need, anything like that.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah.

Melanie Branch: Where do you suggest they start?

Kristina Proctor: So I, while I always want to look and see how you can ask for accommodations at work, what I recommend is taking a step back and thinking about accommodations you can make at home first, because if you are using all of your executive functioning to get to work, It doesn't matter what accommodations you successfully get at work.

So I would recommend thinking through where are your friction points in the morning? What do you have routines in the evening? Because a good morning is really all about the evening routine and getting yourself helping yourself. You know, how can you, uh, support yourself in success in the following morning?

And that doesn't necessarily only look like getting a good night's sleep. It's, you know, figuring out what you need in the evening to wind your brain down.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: And understanding that there are gonna be some nights that are really difficult. High energy, low energy impacts that. And so I would really focus on starting at home and in your own personal space, thinking about accommodations for sensory needs.

Food, high energy, low energy and routines, and then we can go and say like, what would it look like at work? What would be considered reasonable potentially to your size of employer? And thinking about ways that you can support yourself first at work, and then ask for formal accommodations.

Melanie Branch: Yes. Because when you say friction points.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah.

Melanie Branch: And I will give the example that has rocked my world that you gave me. Um, you have decided to put the shoes and the socks by the front door shoes and the socks by the front door. And listen, as a mother of boys, as a mother of boys, my husband is in the Navy. He has gone half of the time. All I saw in my brain when you rocked me with that was.

All of the times that I would try to be getting the shoes and socks on my kids, and they didn't even have the socks. So you're, you're there, you're at the door and you're like, you don't even have any socks. Go to your room and get your socks. Right.

Kristina Proctor: Right.

Melanie Branch: Why do we not just put the socks with the shoes?

Kristina Proctor: Yes, exactly. Yeah. Yeah, and those are the types of accommodations that we don't think about because we're, and I was guilty of this too. I was creating my home after my divorce. I was trying to figure out how to, how to make it mine, and I was so focused on how everybody else said your home should be.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: I was then I started to finally think about what I needed and what my kid needed. To support our own needs at home. And a friction point in the morning for us was socks every time. And we roughly, when it comes to like athletic socks, we're roughly the same size now. And so I was like, I went on TikTok and I even asked on TikTok for people to stitch with me, what are some ways that you support your ADHD at home?

And one of the things that people said was, socks with the shoes by the door, hampers over here. Hampers are not, you know, just in a room, they're in the bathroom and in the hallway because when you come in and you're stinky and you're just doing whatever. So thinking through things like that, and for us it has been a win because in the mornings getting out the door to school sometimes, like we can visually see that we're out of socks.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: You know, and so like being like, okay, I need to do the laundry, versus like, my kiddo being in their room, would we need to be leaving? And them being like, there's no socks. And.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: So now I know cuz I also reach for the same socks. So yeah, accommodations like that. We don't have to get fancy, we don't have to get expensive.

Focusing on how you can support yourself in very simple ways.

Melanie Branch: 100%. So since you are one of the OG founding members of the Neuro-Spicy Academy, uh, where I am the second in command and the, uh, success coach, right. What would you say, um, is been the most impactful resource.

Kristina Proctor: I, I dropped my fidget on the floor.

Melanie Branch: Uh oh. You can pick it up. That's fine. Nobody will tell on you. Um, well, first and foremost, why did you join?

Kristina Proctor: Yes.

Melanie Branch: And what has been the most impactful, uh, beneficial part for your business?

Kristina Proctor: I joined the Neuro-Spicy Academy to be with other entrepreneurs that also have ADHD and neuro-spicy brains. We function differently.

We have different needs and A, that is okay. And B, it is super fun to be around other people that understand energy management challenges. So we have similar challenges and opportunities. Um, and it's really amazing to be a part of it, a part of the Neuro-Spicy Academy. And I will say one of my favorite things about being a part of the Neuro-Spicy Academy is Gather Town.

Being able to join in the virtual campus, meet somebody at the library or the cafeteria, and a video pops up and you're able to co-work with them, to brainstorm with them. Sometimes I sit there silently for an hour and then we'll, talk about our businesses and get ideas from each other and support, you know, uh, support is a big thing cuz the entrepreneurial journey can be very lonely sometimes.

And if you're not surrounded by people that support you and understand those challenges, it can really make you doubt yourself. And I've been very fortunate where I've found a community who people are like, it's okay to take a break. You're having a day take, take a break and pick it up tomorrow. And that is so powerful.

I'm getting chills thinking about it and so empowering.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: So that is those, that is the key benefit for me for the Neuro-Spicy Academy when it comes to the social part.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: So the other part that I will say that I love about the Neuro-Spicy Academy is the interaction that I get to have with you and Christina.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: With the blue hair and, because things like our Miro boards, we can collaborate, we can brainstorm on the fly and we can troubleshoot. And y'all understand the neuro-spicy brain of like what it looks like to pivot and to be able to ask the questions like, are you pivoting because you want something new?

Or are you pivoting because it makes sense? And talking those things through in a respectful, kind, neuro-spicy friendly way. And so having access to the teachers who are there also in entrepreneurship. And using tools that really fit with the neuro-spicy brain, like the Miro boards.

Melanie Branch: Yeah. Yeah. We've really, uh, pivoted our own marketing at the Neuro-Spicy Academy to emphasize that you're getting daily access to expert coaches.

Right. So, Everything else that's out there on the market, A, does not cater to, and is designed for a neurodivergent person.

Kristina Proctor: Mm-hmm.

Melanie Branch: So every coaching experience that my clients have had, or our members of the Neuro-Spicy Academy have had. They have had to take the knowledge that they've gained and the stuff that they've learned and rework it and reformulate it into something that's gonna actually be actionable for them and

Kristina Proctor: Exactly.

Melanie Branch: Work for their brain and their body. And we don't do that, the neuro-spicy, we design it for it to work. Right. So it is.

Kristina Proctor: Mm-hmm.

Melanie Branch: We welcome everyone, but we cater to neurodivergent business owners and.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah.

Melanie Branch: It's different than any mastermind or group coaching that you're going to sign up for, because it's literally like having two pricey.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah. Yeah..

Melanie Branch: Um, well, three because we have Victoria as well who's focused on team building. You have Christina who is focused on, uh, business design, and you have me that is focused on the mindset of how we get it all done. And how we make it work without burnout and frustration. So literally, it is daily access via our Gather Town virtual campus and via our Slack channel of, and the messages that we get all, all, all day.

Hey, um, I'm having a trouble with GoHighLevel doing this, this, this, and this. Hey, I'm gonna beyond this afternoon from two to seven, la, la, la, la, la. Let's talk about it then. Um.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah.

Melanie Branch: Like it's, it literally is having very expert coaches. At the finger's distance.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah. And sometimes those hours vary of course.

And they're entrepreneurial hours. So like sometimes we are, and everybody's in different time zones, which is also kind of nice because there's typically somebody always there to co-work with.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: And sometimes I've worked. On Saturday nights until the evening.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: Because our juices were flowing and let's go.

And that's one of the really cool things, and I think it's really important to talk about mindset, business design, and team building, because I'm not gonna be able to receive feedback and be productive in my business if my mindset is really poor in those moments. So having that support like you, Melanie, get me kind of in that right head space.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: And so I can move on to the business design and be be there with it, with the right mindset and with the, seeing the opportunity is a key point I think entrepreneurs leave by the wayside as like a woowoo. Like I don't need to get into that language. And in reality, it's like one of the most empowering and important parts, like being able to, being able to be with yourself in the right mindset when you're working on your business is so critical.

And what sets you apart from being successful and then going back into a corporate world or whatever world you were in before.

Melanie Branch: Now I know you understand the value of working with a coach because when I found you and we started talking.

Kristina Proctor: Mm-hmm.

Melanie Branch: And, uh, I, didn't I reach out to you for research? I always reach out to people.

Kristina Proctor: You did, yeah. You were doing

Melanie Branch: Always learning.

Kristina Proctor: I'm.

Melanie Branch: Always like, hey, I have this idea and I, I know you can help me with it. Come help me with it.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah.

Melanie Branch: And we talked and I got your input on my research and you said, I really, really like you, but I'm working with another coach.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah.

Melanie Branch: And I said, oh, how's that going?

And no shade to the other coach, but it wasn't exactly what you were hoping for. And it was a very, um, cookie cutter approach.

Kristina Proctor: Hmm.

Melanie Branch: So what would you say as an ADHD coach, cuz everybody listening?

Kristina Proctor: Yeah.

Melanie Branch: She is an ADHD coach. So she has ADHD and she works with people who have ADHD. That's what it is.

And she works with women in the corporate world.

Kristina Proctor: Right.

Melanie Branch: And you have invested in your own success in your own business by hiring coaches.

Kristina Proctor: Mm-hmm.

Melanie Branch: What would you say to somebody out there who is on the fence and doesn't know whether they need to invest in a coach or not?

Kristina Proctor: Hmm. And that has ADHD?

Melanie Branch: Well, yeah, I don't talk to people who don't.

Kristina Proctor: Or just in general? Oh, that's fair. That's fair. Ok. No, that's a really good point. And so I would say if you're ready, you know you're ready to invest in a coach when what you're doing is not working and you're ready to make movement and aren't sure where or how, and you're just, you're ready to go.

And you really need guidance and support on moving forward because there are tons of people who are, have great ideas, who have the capital, or maybe they don't have the capital yet, um, to move their business in the direction that they wanna go. And really what they need is some accountability and support and mindset work.

Um, along with processes and systems, and that's really where coaches shine, including you, Melanie, thinking about the processes and systems of like what we put into place. Um, and it's, it's not so much like you, you're telling me what I needed to do specifically. It's talking through high level what I need.

And you helping me figure out what that means to me on a daily basis, because that looks different for everybody. So the cookie cutter goes out the door, you still have a formula. And I'm empowered to use the tools that I have access to, to make things work for me.

Melanie Branch: You're so well spoken. I just love hanging out with you.

I have to tell you. Um, so. What was the most surprising thing that you discovered about being an entrepreneur? Something that may have come outta left field, may have taken you by surprise or is a very big, impactful thing that nobody warned you about? Because there's a lot that I haven't, I've encountered been like, why doesn't anybody tell you about this?

What is.

Kristina Proctor: So.

Melanie Branch: Why do people talk about this?

Kristina Proctor: So all I heard about being an entrepreneur is that it was lonely. Is that it is challenging, is that it is. You doubt yourself all the time, which isn't, you know that's true. Those things are true and I freaking love it. Like I have days where I had, I have hard days.

Melanie Branch: Mm-hmm.

Kristina Proctor: I don't know where the next check is gonna come all the time. I don't always know how somebody's interaction is going to be or if they're gonna have a challenge with a service provider that I recommend, and I love every moment of it. So what I didn't hear enough was, How great it is and how empowering it is and how entrepreneurship can really change your brain.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: To be to, and for me as an ADHD-er entrepreneurship really allowed me to shine because I am problem solving. I am putting puzzles together, I am creating, and I am empowering other people. And creating a community that makes sense for me versus trying to fit in one that was pre-made and behaving in a way that I am told is professional.

So those are things that people didn't talk about, how amazing it would be.

Melanie Branch: Yeah. Yeah, I remember when I decided to quit my muggle job, that's what we call it, the Neuro-Spicy academy.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah. The muggle job.

Melanie Branch: Quit my muggle job of five plus years at a very busy restaurant, which shall not be named, um, and go full-time with my business.

And I remember so many people saying to me, aren't you afraid of failing?

Kristina Proctor: Mm-hmm.

Melanie Branch: And I literally had this feeling, it's hard to describe. It was, it's like my whole being. Knew that there was no other option. So it was like.

Kristina Proctor: Right.

Melanie Branch: Failure is not an option. It's not even something to worry about because I know as long as I can do what I want to do, right?

Kristina Proctor: Mm-hmm.

Melanie Branch: As long as I'm allowed to impact the community.

Kristina Proctor: Mm-hmm.

Melanie Branch: That I am building and help.

Kristina Proctor: Right.

Melanie Branch: The clients that are aligned with me, failure wasn't even something to think about.

Kristina Proctor: That's right. Yeah. And that's, that's very similar to like, to my story with my dad.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: So I'm not afraid of failing. Would I go back to having a full-time job reporting to somebody if I needed to?

Sure I would. I like how you're shaking your head no. At the end of the day, absolutely not. However, you know, I've got a kid in Morgan, you know, it's life and I do whatever I need to do to prevent that from happening.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: Like I feel empowered enough to say, absolutely not. I don't wanna do that because this, what I've been able to create is so precious.

To be able to spend time with my child, to honor my ADHD needs to financially be in such a better place that I have been ever in my life and working the least I ever have in my professional career.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: And that's something that people. Who don't understand this will be like, oh, that must be nice. Oh, that must be privileged. Yeah. And I totally did work.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: A ton while I was having my full-time job and my muggle job and launching my business. Yeah, I was working a lot and that set me, and it was a very short period of time where I was sprinting and it was really hard. But once, and I will say once I broke away from it, my muggle job, I've been thriving ever since.

Melanie Branch: Yeah. Yep. My FYP recently. Um, cuz we know how much I love TikTok. My FYP recently has, um, had a lot of, um, Oh, I just totally derailed. I totally derailed. What was I just gonna say? God damn ADHD. It's had so many people, like, um, Mel Robbins. Oh.

Kristina Proctor: Mm-hmm.

Melanie Branch: Mel Robbins, and then other, you know, I don't know. Do we call 'em self helper? Anyway.

Kristina Proctor: I don't know what we call 'em.

Melanie Branch: They like dabble because Mel Robbins is now exploring her ADHD, if you follow her on TikTok or whatnot.

Kristina Proctor: Oh.

Melanie Branch: But I keep seeing a lot of these, these very influential people talking about not only mindset, but. Who you have around you.

Kristina Proctor: Yes.

Melanie Branch: Directly impacts how you behave.

And it always brings me back to the idea of. The, the matador, the person down there in the arena on the stage fighting the bull, cannot hear. And even if they could, wouldn't care.

Kristina Proctor: That's right.

Melanie Branch: What the people in the nosebleed section are saying. Right?

Kristina Proctor: Right.

Melanie Branch: You don't ask for directions from someone who's never been where you're going.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And that goes back to the Neuro-Spicy Academy, having that support of people. Who understand what it is like to be in the trenches and understands what it's like to be neuro-spicy with rejection sensitivity, with high energy, low energy days. And to be able to have that community in one space together is invaluable.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: And so having the right people around you, I'm very lucky. Where I in, in real life, IRL I do have female entrepreneurs. Who are around me, who that support me, who check in with me, who I check in with. And there are days I looked at one of 'em, I was like, have you dealt with X, Y, and Z? And they're like, yeah, like every month.

And I'm like, okay. And it had to do with like money coming in and out and an accountant and being confused about protocol with taxes and they're like Uhhuh. And being able to have that community is so amazing.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: For success. Yeah.

Melanie Branch: Absolutely. All right, so before I have you plug your spot and explain to everybody how they can find out about you and, and work with you and follow you and all that, I want to do my little lightning round, ADHD questions.

Kristina Proctor: Okay. Go.

Melanie Branch: First and foremost, what's your favorite social media platform?

Kristina Proctor: TikTok, duh.

Melanie Branch: What's the most recent rabbit hole you've gone down?

Kristina Proctor: Uh, behavioral economics.

Melanie Branch: Oh, teach us, learn us something.

Kristina Proctor: Well, I mean, it's economics about supply and demand and it's economics is more than that. And the reality, you can't just take the data hard numbers.

You also have to take, it's about like the heat people's purchasing power and behavior and how people are feeling in confidence in markets. And that impacts your understanding and forecasting of economics.

Melanie Branch: Mm-hmm. I saw a TikTok that said, what are some, um, it, it was like running around asking people in this business something, I think it was marketing related, um, recession stuff.

And one of them is that cardboard goes down because people are ordering less from Amazon.

Kristina Proctor: Well, and it's like, there's, there's the lipstick, lipstick index too.

Melanie Branch: Yeah. The lipstick index. That's what it is.

Kristina Proctor: As well as underwear.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: So like men's underwear. Like, they will wear them longer if they're in a recession.

And we all, I mean, men's stereotypically already don't replace their underwear very often.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: And so they go even longer. Lipstick sales are different though. Be go up because that's considered a, um, something luxury. What is the word? Affordable, afford affordable luxury.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: So that's one thing that they can, they can have makeup wise that they feel like completes their face.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah.

Melanie Branch: And it's not like a huge investment. Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: Exactly.

Melanie Branch: All right. Um, what is your emotional support show?

Kristina Proctor: Emotional support show right now? Is friends.

Melanie Branch: Okay. What is it? Ha, what has it been?

Kristina Proctor: Uh, Big Bang Theory has been an emotional support show as well as, um, Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Melanie Branch: I wanna get into that show so bad and it just hasn't happened yet.

Kristina Proctor: And that's okay. That's okay.

Melanie Branch: It will, when it's meant to.

Kristina Proctor: It took me a minute to get into it and now I'm like, I love you. And I, it's, it's, It's an acquired taste and sometimes it takes a while.

Melanie Branch: I love all the actors Charlie Day or whatever it is. Everything he's in.

Kristina Proctor: Oh my gosh.

Melanie Branch: Makes me cry laughing.

Kristina Proctor: Well he is, it's so crazy cuz he is like one of the most talented on that show.

Melanie Branch: Oh yeah.

Kristina Proctor: And the character Dennis in real life, like he is a Juilliard graduate, like classically trained everything and Charlie like is not, and Charlie Day can play like a gazillion instruments and sing and like, it's just incredible.

Melanie Branch: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. His, the part in that he plays in, um, horrible bosses where he's stuck in the car waiting for him, and he is accidentally gotten into all the.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah.

Melanie Branch: And he's just going back and forth and sharing. That's not my name, that's not my, I, I literally, every time I watch that movie, I rewind that part over and over and over again because I get such a good laugh. So, yeah. Yeah. Okay. I agree with you there. Um, okay, well, it's a little late in the day, so this is not a very good question.

Um, but have you consumed any water today?

Kristina Proctor: Yes.

Melanie Branch: Do you wanna share your emotional support cup with us?

Kristina Proctor: Uh, they're in the wash, so I've been reusing this.

Melanie Branch: You know, the holistic person in me doesn't like that you're drinking out of that plastic, but we can talk about it later.

And the last one.

Kristina Proctor: I, I use a, a high metal cup because it's fun and it feels good on my, on my hands. Um, and it's cool. Exactly. It's similar to that. And then I use a silicone straw that is softer to drink out of, and I can drink out of the corner of my mouth.

Melanie Branch: Yeah.

Kristina Proctor: Which is easier. And I can bite down on it exactly with my teeth if I'm feeling like, and it doesn't like ruin the straw.

So that's usually what I. I'm drinking out of. This was a temporary fix.

Melanie Branch: You're washing them. That's maybe, that's my question. When was the last time you washed your emotional support cup?

Kristina Proctor: Today.

Melanie Branch: Don't ask my answer's not good. Alright. And then the last one, what is your current dopamine snack?

Kristina Proctor: My current dopamine snack, hang on.

Melanie Branch: She's got it right here.

Kristina Proctor: It's chocolate. Um, yeah, it's around Easter time usually. I'm not a huge sweets person. I'm more of a, a pretzel or chips, like something that has a crunch to it. I've talked with Melanie about this before with you about this before carrots. Are really big for me. I have this phobia of people hearing me, hearing me chew, and I don't like to hear myself chew, so I don't like to do it when I'm like talking with people.

Um, but it's usually like pretzels or carrot sticks. I will eat an entire small bag of carrots just as a snack, but the past couple of days, it's been Easter. Chocolate.

Melanie Branch: You know, as a, as a ADHD autist with misophonia, I can say that the pop, Oh no, my who, the pop of a carrot, somebody eating it.

Kristina Proctor: Mm-hmm.

Melanie Branch: Does not bother me. But the sound of you drinking water and it's swishing around in your mouth and the gulp down. Oh my God. I could just.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah.

Melanie Branch: Just, that's the absolute worst, so, no, I love that.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah.

Melanie Branch: And I, I hope for all of us neuro-spicys that we can adopt such a healthy dopamine snack. At some point in our lives for some period of time.

So now is the most fun part for everybody where I want you to plug your spot, tell my audience, uh, where they can find you, how you can help them, what your current offers are. Go ham, tell us everything.

Kristina Proctor: Yeah. So you can follow me on TikTok or Instagram. The handle is the same both. And that is @adhdcoachktina.

Um, and really what I focus on is helping ADHD-ers who are in the corporate world learn to work with their ADHD and not against it to stop and prevent burnout. And so really, um, if you're looking to level up your career, To figure out what your next career move is, uh, looking to move into entrepreneurship or explore what that can look like.

That is definitely something that I have a passion. I'm working with a client right now who's making that pivot. Um, and part of my opportunities to work with me are, I do have one-on-ones that you can book with me if you're not sure. And you can find that information on any, on the link in my TikTok or Instagram.

Um, so I do one-on-one hour, one-on-one one hour consultations. Um, I also have a three month container that we focus on three different phases. One is foundations. We're setting up routines, systems and essentially putting out fires. So we do that in month one and phase one, phase two is all about, uh, goal setting.

Timing. Um, implementing and advocating for yourself and learning about advocating and accommodations. And then the final month is really where the rubber meets the road. And working with your accommodations, uh, elevating to that next phase of your goals and holding yourself accountable and learning to see what is working and what is not, and what pivoting looks like when you realize that something may you thought could work for you isn't, and not beating ourselves up.

And learning to pivot. And so those are the ways that you can. You can work with me. And then, oh, the final third one is I do have a monthly membership, which includes weekly coaching, uh, weekly group coaching and co-working time, which is a lot of fun because I have co-working during the workday so you can log on, have somebody else to work with, and it's, we go, we log on, we say what we're gonna work on, we go on mute.

And uh, so it's essentially body doubling parallel play, and it's helpful for ADHD-ers because having somebody else present, not necessarily working with you, but present in the room with you even virtually helps you do your task that you might be putting off. So I have daytime as well as evening and weekend spots.

So people log on during the day sometimes and do work for their muggle job and sometimes on the weekend log on and do laundry that they've been putting off for weeks. Um, So yeah, those are the three different ways. My group coaching container, one hour one-on-ones as well as the monthly, uh, membership too.

Melanie Branch: Excellent. Well, Kristina Proctor, Ktina, @adhdcoachktina on Socials, TikTok and Instagram. Thank you so much for being here on Trailblazers Rising, and um, thank you to all of the listeners. We love you all so much.