No. 1 - In Motion

Before we get started, let me take a moment to thank you for signing up and joining me on this adventure, !

I’m thrilled to have your support. As many with ADHD can attest, getting started is often monumentally difficult, but once we get moving, that momentum can be a very powerful force. So, once again, thank you for showing up and adding to that momentum.

This inaugural issue marks a significant milestone.

It’s the culmination of over a year’s worth of contemplation, a period characterized by the all-too-familiar dance with procrastination that many of us with ADHD know. This delay, while frustrating, also reflects the internal battles we face—between confidence in our expertise and the shadows of impostor syndrome that loom large.

However, the past couple of months have been transformative. I’ve tapped into newly discovered resilience, pushing past anxiety and self-doubt to bring this newsletter to life.

It’s all the more rewarding knowing you’re reading along now!

Each issue of this newsletter is crafted with intention, aiming to provide you with a mix of content that is both relevant and engaging. In this issue, you’ll find a summary of what I hope to deliver within each section as a precursor to the content in that space. To ensure you can easily navigate to the sections that interest you most, I’m adopting a consistent format.

Think of this as your modern-day newspaper, where you always know exactly where to find your favorite pieces, be it the latest in tech, or insights into neurodiversity. This consistency is one of the measures I intend to adhere to in order to reduce the cognitive load for my fellow *ADHDers.

*Please see this page on inclusive language for my thoughts on the use of particular terms in the realm of ADHD and neurodiversity.

Featured Article

Each week, I’ll share a condensed article on a topic that’s recently piqued my interest. These pieces are designed to be skimmable, providing you with a snapshot before diving deeper into the subject through blog posts or future video content.

This Week in Tech

This section aims to keep you informed of the latest tech developments. This is an incredibly vast topic, so my focus will be mainly on the tools I use daily, and recommend to my clients (especially those with ADHD).

The Airtable Corner

• Airtable introduces AI features for paid users. Users can now summarize, categorize, translate, and format data.

  • These features aim to boost productivity and collaboration.

  • The cost is an additional $6 per seat per month, with a free trial available.

• AI integration for productivity. Airtable joins companies like Microsoft and Google in using AI to help users save time and work effectively.

  • Generative AI is particularly useful for summarizing and creating content.

• Airtable’s AI models. Enterprise users can select between OpenAI (GPT-3.5 and GPT-4) and Anthropic’s Claude model. More options are planned.

AI Evolution: This Week’s Highlights and Trends

Open Source AI Initiatives

• Efforts to democratize AI technology through open-source initiatives are gaining momentum. Companies like Google, Intel, and Qualcomm are working to make the AI sector less dependent on Nvidia by building an open-source suite of software. This move aims to promote productivity and choice in hardware, potentially accelerating innovation and reducing costs for businesses leveraging AI. 1 2

• I’ve been working on writing an article on how small businesses can benefit from leveraging Local LLMs like Ollama and Jan. The short version is that they run locally, so they’re almost free to use, and they’re offline, so all your information stays private. More on this coming soon!

Embracing Neurodiversity

In this section, I aim to cover something (a topic, strategy, or concept) that is particularly applicable to the neurodivergent individuals in the readership. As with all segments in this first issue, this is a bit of an experiment. Please let me know if you enjoy the following format and would like to see more of it, or if it’s destined to be a member of the one-time-experiment club.

Neurodiverse Navigations: Workplace Communication

Good workplace communication can be challenging for anyone to get right, regardless of neurodiversity. By understanding and implementing strategies that cater to both neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals, we can create a smoother, more inclusive work environment.

Let’s take a look at some practical tips that help promote mutual understanding.

Avoiding Assumptions

• Mutual Understanding: Avoid assumptions about communication styles, whether you are neurotypical or neurodivergent. Understand that language can be perceived differently, and clear communication is key.

• Balanced Approach: Confirm communication preferences with colleagues, whether you prefer email, verbal instructions, or another method.

Clarity is Key

• Clear Communication: Use direct and clear language. This helps avoid misunderstandings that can arise from sarcasm or vague expressions, particularly important for those who take language literally.

• Consistent Scenario: When discussing accommodations or preferences, be specific. This aids in supporting diverse executive functioning needs across the team.

Embracing Flexibility

• Adaptive Communication: Acknowledge that communication preferences can change due to various factors, including environmental sensitivities.

• Shared Tip: Openly communicate how your interaction preferences might vary from day to day, fostering an environment of adaptability and understanding.

Direct and Open Queries

• Effective Communication: Whether neurotypical or neurodivergent, encourage direct questions about preferences to foster a deeper understanding of each other’s needs.

• Inclusive Practice: In meetings, prompt everyone to ask questions, ensuring that the needs of all, including those with differences in processing abstract concepts, are addressed.

Leveraging Supportive Resources

• Resource Utilization: Make use of available job coaching, mentoring, or assistance programs to support diverse work styles.

• Inclusive Suggestion: Investigate workplace tools or programs that support a broad spectrum of neurodiverse needs, encouraging openness and support for all.

Educating and Advocating

• Awareness and Understanding: Share knowledge about neurodiversity inclusively, highlighting the unique strengths and challenges of diverse communication styles.

• Collaborative Method: Organize or participate in workshops that educate about neurodiversity, aiming to reduce misunderstandings and build a more inclusive culture.

Fostering an Inclusive Culture

• Collective Action for Inclusivity: Promote practices that adapt to the communication needs of all team members.

• Cohesive Example: Encourage regular team discussions where everyone can express their communication preferences and contribute to workflow improvements.

By adopting some of these balanced strategies, we can begin to enhance our communication and comfort in the workplace. An inclusive work culture not only benefits individuals but also fosters a collaborative and understanding environment for all.

AI Corner: The Weekly Prompt

Get your prompt library ready for incoming goodies. Over the next year, I aim to equip you with a collection of prompts that will set you ahead of the pack and keep you there!

Most of these prompts are exclusively available to newsletter subscribers, so please, keep them secret, keep them safe. 🧙🏻

Summarize Key Discussion Points

This is an extremely helpful prompt when you need to summarize client meeting notes. I find that adding the estimated time stamps for discussion points can be helpful for longer recordings. If you want to refer to the audio recording, you have a general idea of what time to scrub to for a more in-depth review of that discussion point.

<instructions>
- Please search the attached {transcript} and provide a summary of the key discussion points
- Provide an estimated time stamp for each
</instructions>

<transcript>
*Replace this text by pasting in a plain-text copy of your transcript.*
</transcript>

Preferred AI: I prefer to use it with Anthropic’s Claude AI, but it also works with ChatGPT 4.
Additional Recommendations: If using it with ChatGPT, I would suggest clearing your custom instructions. They sometimes steer the context a bit too much and shift the focus away from the “key” discussion points.

I will be creating a reference page on LearnWith.cc with how-to guides for things like “How to Clear Your Custom Instructions,” which should help introduce some new concepts and guidance and make this Weekly Prompt section a little more useful for those new to working with these tools.

Journey Behind the Screens: A Solopreneur’s Diary

Each week, I will include a couple of key points of interest regarding the development of LearnWith.cc, struggles I’ve encountered, the things have have blocked me from making progress, as well as the wins I’ve had.

This week is a great place to start since I get to share my first Founder Journal entry from a high point.

The past week has been remarkably productive, and I feel like I’ve made some very tangible progress on things that have been on my to-do list for ages!

• I put together a template and checklist to follow for webinar creation, effectively giving myself a ⎋blueprint in order to outline events quickly and stress-free.

• I created another important template and system as well. One for handling newsletter creation!

• I also signed up to Beehiiv. It’s not my first time setting up something like this, but it is the first time I’ve done it for myself. There are lots of moving parts with any system like this. You need to figure out all your design templates, the technical issues of where your mail is sent from (DNS configuration stuff), and any landing pages you might need to direct people to.

• I had the opportunity to speak with a couple of interesting folks in the neurodivergent community about automation and with some folks in automation circles about neurodivergence. It’s all about building bridges! 💪

• Finally, I onboarded a client for April, leaving me with an almost full schedule for the month ahead.

This is a great segue to my closing thoughts…

Let’s Connect: Open Doors for April

If you’d like to work together in April, I strongly encourage you to get in touch as soon as possible! As one of the inaugural newsletter readers, you’ll benefit from a one-time deal: a free one-hour consultation.

I have limited time left on my calendar, but I would love to hear from you about your own automation struggles, anywhere you might need advice on process optimization, or what I can do to help you boost your revenue with business automation.

Just reply to this email, and I’ll be happy to set something up.

Finally, for those eagle-eyed readers who noticed the following symbol above: ⎋ If this is a topic you’re interested in and would like to explore it further, let me know by replying to this email, and I’ll write something up in a future issue!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first issue of “The Newsletter”, and I look forward to you joining me again next week. I’ll be streamlining each section a bit more and leaving out all the preamble so you can get right to the good stuff.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! 🫶

Chris Cameron