Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here.
March 16, 2026
What if the problem was never that you were bad at learning, but that no one ever taught you how to learn in a way that fits your brain?
Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer is the founder of Awakened Learning, bestselling author of Feel Good Learning and Raising Well Learners, and a learning strategist who helps students, families, educators, and leaders build systems that work in real life.
Her work began with bright students who were struggling, not because they lacked ability, but because they lacked the right support. Over time, she realized that study skills alone were too narrow. What people really need are learning strategies that take attention, memory, time, well-being, and emotional capacity into account.
In this episode, Tracy and Deena talk about why sleep matters for learning, how chunking tasks can reduce overwhelm, why learning styles are a myth, and how tools like NotebookLM, Magic To Do, and ChatGPT’s study mode can support ADHD brains.
If learning has ever felt harder than it should, this conversation is a reminder that struggling does not mean you are not smart. It may simply mean you have not been taught in a way that fits your brain.
“Holistic learning strategies honor that we’re bodies first, needing rest, sleep, movement, nourishment, hydration, community, and support, along with skills that help us function well.”
- Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer
“There is nothing better for a beautiful ADHD brain than protected, nourishing sleep. It restores focus and helps us think more creatively.”
- Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer
“We make it startable, doable, finishable, sustainable. That's the premise.”
-- Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer
"Never try to do the whole of anything overwhelming in one go. Trying to do it all at once is often what stops us in our tracks."
-- Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer
"We can’t manage time. We can align what needs to get done with the time we actually have, then calibrate and sequence from there."
- Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer
"Invisible labor is the unseen, unnamed, unrecognized effort of being a person, especially the cost of getting yourself to a professional space before you even arrive."
- Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer
- Tracy opens by explaining the podcast usually features women with ADHD but introduces Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer, who does not have ADHD
- Deena shares her background in education and working with students on learning strategies, attention, and energy management
- Discussion begins on how traditional productivity expectations clash with how many people actually learn and function
[22:30 – 42:00] Rethinking Study Habits and Sustainable Learning
- Deena explains holistic learning strategies that include sleep, movement, nutrition, and community alongside academic work
- Conversation about why last-minute cramming and all-night studying may work short term but undermine real learning
- Deena challenges common student habits like rewriting notes and passive review as ineffective study methods
[42:00 – 01:13:36] Teaching Life Skills Instead of Burnout Culture
- Tracy and Deena discuss how academic pressure and unrealistic expectations create stress, exhaustion, and burnout for students
- Deena argues that time management, focus, and energy regulation should be taught directly in schools and teacher training
- Conversation expands to the broader problem of adults feeling overwhelmed and why education should teach sustainable life skills
ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.
That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here
- Website: awakenedlearning.ca
- LinkedIn: deenakarashaffer
- Instagram: @awakenedlearning
- YouTube: @awakenedlearning