the ADHD barista

22, barista, auDHDer, & university student. this blog is all about support and non-toxic positivity, coupled with a sip of coffee or two!

[theadhdbarista]

hello and welcome to my blog!

i'm a 22 year old barista and university student. follow for coffee, motivation, and a splash of non-toxic positivity. below are some links i personally find helpful, if you'd like them.

free bionic reading

autistic guide to apply for jobs

a masterpost of coping skills

dbt skills

poems about hope and holding on

bad thoughts walkthrough

links for getting through a bad time

more links for getting through a bad time

cheat sheets for everything

[vanessas-bookereport]

one thing that so many students forget is that, a win is a win. if you planned on doing english homework but instead you finished your history essay, celebrate that, don’t be upset taht you didn’t sick to your plan, at least you got SOMETHING DONE. a win is a fucking win and don’t let anyone tell you different.

[theadhdbarista]

it's been a while! i've been hard at work trying to finish up my degree.

this little booth in the library has been my favorite spot to sit between shifts and lectures.

[theadhdbarista]

Midweek Checkpoint!

Hi there, fellow Tumblr user! It's Wednesday. How are you doing? You're halfway through this calendar week.

Feel free to ramble in the comments or tags (or inbox) about your week. Alternatively, share a fun fact or infodump on the current topic taking up space in your brain.

You've got this! I believe in you.

[theadhdbarista]

Music Monday!

Music is super important for so many people. Feel free to reblog and share what music you listen to when you're working, studying, or otherwise just getting things done!

No judgment here, only tunes. Let's share what we're looping and hopefully find something new to power through the week with!

[theadhdbarista]

Hello there! I took a bit of a break for the holidays and to give myself space to work. I look forward to this year and the posts I'll be writing!

I already have a few ideas. I hope you're all doing well!

[theadhdbarista]

[ID: A whiteboard with days of the week on it. 2-3 events are scheduled for each day except Sunday, all color coded.]

20 hour workweek and the last full week of fall classes.

next week starts exams and final projects.

but hey, by the end of it all, i'll have my CPCU 520 and my property/casualty producer license.

i've worked really hard this semester and discovered all sorts of fulfilling things. maybe i'll do a reflection on it?

regardless, please enjoy my aesthetically-pleasing whiteboard.

[sunflorally]

you don’t talk too much. you aren’t too loud. you aren’t too needy. you aren’t too sensitive. you aren’t too this, or that. you aren’t too much anything. you will never be too much: you are you, and you are allowed to take up space. you are allowed to exist however you choose.

[3l1zathoughts]

[theadhdbarista]

[ID: A banner hanging off a bridge. In bold text, it reads "every version of you deserves to be loved".]

[theadhdbarista]

November can be a very hard month.

Remember that you're still worth all the love in the world even if your brain says otherwise. Even if you're struggling for whatever reason, you are still worthy of good things. You are important and cherished. Things are awful right now, but that doesn't mean that YOU are awful.

My little sister used to say, "The day may suck, but you don't." I live by that the best I can.

Things will be okay again someday. I promise. I hope something makes you smile this week. 💚☕️

[theadhdbarista]

Your Interests Are Valid, Too

Let's talk about interests for a moment. Specifically, let's talk about ADHD interests. As ADHDers, we sometimes experience what are referred to as "hyperfixations", or those interests that are extremely intense and consuming for a while but then fade out of our lives for seemingly no reason at all.

For some ADHDers, this can be a really discouraging trait. I'm definitely a person who used to get very upset with myself over it. If I can't hold onto a hobby and I know it'll be gone soon, what's the point in being excited about it?

It gets really frustrating to deal with. And honestly, the horrible things I used to tell myself over it were extremely damaging to my mental health overall. However, after spending a lot of time working through it, I've realized all that shame isn't going to change the way my brain works.

All it does is make me miserable! It sucks out all the joy and excitement from my life. Here's what I learned, a little wisdom I'd like to impart upon the reader.

My interests are still valid and so are yours. They may be drastically different by next week, but that's not inherently a bad thing. It's certainly infuriating for some of us - don't get me wrong.

But our brains need novelty. Our brains need a surge of things that are new to get through life without being bored. Have you ever noticed that rearranging your desk suddenly makes writing that economics paper a task that's actually possible, or that buying a new sponge gets you up to clean your sink, or that getting really invested in a new show makes you motivated to create art? The thing that those situations have in common is that something is new.

We simply don't get motivated the same way neurotypical people do. Novelty is one way that many ADHDers overcome their executive dysfunction. It lets our brains do something!

And then that new thing gets old. It's no longer new, so we move on to something else. It doesn't make us any less deserving of excitement, no matter WHAT neurotypicals want to tell us (and what we internalize from that).

What I'm getting at here is that you're allowed to be excited about that show. You're allowed to reorganize your computer as often as you want. You're allowed to loop that new song 60 times in a row. You deserve to live your life in a way that brings you joy and fulfillment, not in a way that someone else thinks you should. It's okay to be interested in things.

If you've got no one to be excited with, my askbox is open. I would love to hear about whatever you're interested in right now. You deserve enthusiasm, my friend.

I wish you a wonderful week. Remember, you are valid and loved just as you are!

[queer-disaster-academic]

maybe the true purgatory was actually waiting for the 2pm appointments we had along the way

[theadhdbarista]

And this, folks, is precisely why I prefer opening shifts/morning classes/getting breakfast with people. It's hard to get up early, but it's even MORE hard to free myself from Waiting Mode™️. I'll take the lesser of two evils.

[theadhdbarista]

Want cold brew at home?

Hey everyone! It's me again. Once upon a time, I discovered the smooth taste of cold brew... and was hooked INSTANTLY. While I'm a barista and could easily just get it at work, sometimes I want it at home too.

After several months of experimenting, I've finally found a way to make it at home with no fancy equipment and minimal mess to clean up. This method is dorm friendly, too, for any university students out there!

All you'll need is a pitcher or other container, paper coffee filters, a measuring scoop, coffee grounds of your choice, tiny rubber bands, a sink, and a fridge.

You can adjust the size of the recipe to suit how much cold brew you'll need. This is what I use to best fit my needs and schedule!

First, set out four of your coffee filters. Put 1/4 cup (or 25 grams, for the metric users out there) grounds into each filter. Twist closed and tie off with rubber bands.

Next, put them into your pitcher tie-side up. It's not that important if they're tie-side up, but it does make the cleanup a little easier.

Carefully add 2 cups (or about half a liter) of room-temperature water. Put the lid on your pitcher. Leave it alone on your counter for 10 hours.

After 10 hours, move the pitcher to your fridge. Leave it in the fridge for anywhere from 8-14 hours depending on how strong you want it to be. DO NOT leave it for longer than 14 hours! It will turn bitter!

Remove from your fridge when the time is up. Take out the filters and throw them away. If there were any mishaps or stray grounds, strain the brew through a cheesecloth/fine mesh strainer/whatever you've got.

The final step is to add in anywhere from 1 to 1.5 cups (237 - 355 ml) COLD water and mix. You can always add more water if it's too strong for you!

Congratulations! You now have homemade cold brew that didn't require a French press. Store in the fridge for up to 7 days.

[theadhdbarista]

Simple is fine, too.

If you're anything like me, you like to be perfect. You like to do things to completion or do things "the best" way. In terms of coffee, this often means that I want to make myself a perfect latte every time I get up in the morning. I used to get really furious with myself when that didn't happen. I mean, I'm a barista. I'm on my way to work, for crying out loud! Why can't I just make my latte at home?!

In terms of executive functioning... that's a lot of steps. I've got to turn on my espresso machine, pour the grounds, tamp them, steam the milk...

It takes a bit of time. But more importantly, it creates more for me to do. It creates more dishes, more expectations... It takes up more energy.

Sometimes, I only have "instant coffee" levels of energy and executive functioning. All I'm able to do is pour the stuff into water, stir it, and hope it's decent.

Sometimes, I only have "pot of coffee" levels of energy and executive functioning. I can turn on a machine, pour some grounds, and pour some water. I can then pour the coffee into a mug and add some cream.

And sometimes, I have "fancy latte" levels of energy and executive functioning. I can break out the espresso machine and pull out all the stops to make a beautiful, delicious treat for myself.

More often than not, though, I'm going to be at one of the lower two levels. See, as ADHDers, we lack a lot of the executive functioning that neurotypicals have. No matter how early we get up or how much we desperately want that latte, it's just not gonna happen for us.

And that's okay. That's how our brains work.

I stopped bullying myself for just "not trying hard enough" a while ago. I started accepting my "instant coffee" days as part of my life that isn't necessarily good or bad, it just is.

I accepted it. I bought some instant coffee. And would you guess what happened? I have coffee every morning before work. I have the caffeine that I know my brain needs instead of skipping it altogether because I couldn't make a latte at ridiculous 'o clock. I start my day with my coffee rather than upset with myself over trying to get my brain to work like a neurotypical person's.

The same goes for other aspects of life, too. Whether it's art, writing, cooking, or cleaning, sometimes the easier option is all you can manage. Sometimes simple is okay too. Something's better than nothing and perfection is impossible.

I hope you treat yourself kindly this weekend.

[theadhdbarista]

hello everyone! i've not been here in quite a while. as you may be able to see, i've overhauled this blog to suit the person i've become since last year.

i hope you follow along. i plan to post about coffee, genuine positivity (not the toxic kind), and neurodiversity. i'm currently writing a book as well amongst my work and my studies, so stay tuned as it slowly but surely gets done! i'll slowly be sifting through all of my old posts to make sure they are archived elsewhere if they don't fit here or that they stay here if they do.

thank you for your support!