Whole-Brain Living: Aligning Left & Right Brain Thinking for ADHD

ADHD minds are often misunderstood. We are told to focus, organise, and prioritise, but rarely are we taught how to work with our brains rather than against them.

Approaches which focus on “managing your ADHD” or “reducing your symptoms” lean heavily on left-brain thinking and external systems: linear planning, time management and accountability. This feels unnatural, exhausting, and ineffective in the long term because it relies on willpower.

What if, instead of trying to force yourself into a left-brained system, you learned to integrate both hemispheres of your brain: honouring the structured, logical aspects and the creative, intuitive ways your mind naturally works?

Left & Right Brain Thinking: Why Balance Matters

Neuroscientist Iain McGilchrist describes the two hemispheres of the brain as having distinct yet complementary roles:

• The left hemisphere focuses on details, structure, categorisation, and linear sequences. It helps us analyse, label, and break things down into parts: all useful for organising thoughts and actions. The concept of clock time lives in our left hemisphere, which compares all our present experience to the past and imagines how they will pan out into the future.

• The right hemisphere seeks to understand the whole picture, including wider context, relationships, and meaning. It helps us connect ideas, think intuitively, and tap into creativity and emotion. The right hemisphere is all about the present moment, and is about timelessness and space rather than clock time.

Most Western productivity models and even some ADHD coaching rely on left-brain processes: task lists, scheduling, and trying to “manage” time. But when we ignore the right brain, we disconnect from intuition, creativity, and the sense of deeper meaning that connects us to our WHY.

The key to thriving with ADHD isn’t about choosing one way of thinking: it’s about integrating both, allowing for structure and flow, planning and intuition, clock time and soul time.

Rethinking Time: Chronos, Kairos & Aeon

What if the ADHD challenge of "time blindness" is only a one-dimensional way of thinking about time?

The ancient Greeks had three different concepts of time, and as divergent & creative thinkers and intuitive, we can thrive only when we honour all three kinds of time: Chronos, Kairos & Aeon - rather than forcing ourselves into a rigid, Chronos-only schedule.

1️⃣ Chronos (Clock Time) – This is the measurable, linear time we structure our lives around: deadlines, calendars, with seconds, minutes and hours ticking away. Whilst it is necessary to be able to do Chronos in the world we live in, too much time spent in Chronos alone can feel suffocating. And for ADHD minds that struggle with linear structures, the joy can easily get sucked out of life if we live only in Chronos and everything becomes about willpower and perseverance.

2️⃣ Kairos (Opportune Time) – This is the time of presence, intuition, and flow. It’s when you get lost in a deep conversation with a friend, a creative project, or an exciting new idea. Kairos can’t be forced or scheduled. It emerges when we create space for curiosity, engagement and being fully present. It’s also the time of synchronicities and the right time for things to happen: this is why we often wait for the stars to align before we can start something. And when we wait for the right time, change can happen effortlessly.

3️⃣ Aeon (Timelessness & Deep Meaning) – This is Soul Time - a sense of deep connection to something greater than yourself. It might be found in meditation, nature, deep conversations, or moments of inspiration. Aeon time is often neglected in a world obsessed with productivity, yet it is essential for a sense of purpose and long-term fulfilment.

Balancing Time for an ADHD-Friendly Life

Western society, most productivity methods and ADHD coaching focus almost entirely on Chronos time. We are constantly told to block and track our time, optimise our calendars, and be consistent with our routines. But when we neglect to include Kairos and Aeon time, we lose our joy, curiosity, and deep engagement with life.

To truly align with our brains and thrive, we need to:
✅ Use Chronos to provide flexible structure - and make sure we turn up to meetings or on the school run on time - but not let it dominate our life.
✅ Honour Kairos by making space for flow, curiosity, and deep focus.
✅ Invite Aeon into our lives by creating moments of stillness, reflection, and connection with something bigger than us.

WayPower is about redefining time and honouring whole-brain living, so that we can work with our natural rhythms rather than constantly battling against them.

WayPower: A New Path to Flourishing

If you’ve ever felt frustrated by rigid productivity methods or overwhelmed by time management approaches that don’t fit, you’re not alone. The answer isn’t forcing yourself into even more structure, it’s learning how to integrate your unique way of being in the world.

By embracing whole-brain living and making space for the different kinds of time, you can begin to trust your own rhythms, follow what feels meaningful, and create a life that works for YOU.