You're successful. But are you thriving, or masking what's going on underneath?
Masking and over-compensation carry a cost, and it is usually higher than anyone around you realises. Sustained long enough, that is the road to burnout. Some people glide; some look like they're gliding while their legs go like fury under the water. From the outside the two are identical, and only one of them is sustainable.
If the effort of everyday masking has started to weigh heavy and affect your productivity, that isn't laziness or a discipline problem. You're running an operating system that was never designed for the way your brain works. And you can't upgrade your software until you know how it runs now, and how you want it to run in future.
Who I work with
I work with professionals, executives and leaders. Driven, successful, intelligent and capable people running on years of masking and workarounds designed for neurotypical brains.
Nobody is successful by accident, and the things your brain does well are a large part of how you got here. They are just currently costing more to run than they need to.
If any of this sounds familiar:
Pressure is the only thing that reliably starts the work
You deliver brilliantly at the deadline, and you have stopped asking what it costs to work that way.
A new system every fortnight, because this one will stick
New routines and off-the-shelf tools work briefly, then you are back at square one.
You know exactly what to do, and cannot start
The gap between knowing what to do and doing it is not a discipline problem, and treating it as one has not helped.
The higher you climb, the less safe it feels to unmask
Seniority makes the mask heavier, and there is rarely anyone in the room you can take it off with.
None of this is a willpower problem. There is a reason it keeps happening. What is it?
Let's look under the bonnetYou are already running an operating system
Sit still. Stop interrupting. You are so bright, if only you would apply yourself. The feedback starts early, and it all teaches the same lesson: the way you naturally operate is not acceptable here.
So you adjust. You mask, you perform the version that gets approval, and you do it for long enough that it stops feeling like a choice. That version becomes the default your system boots into, and the story underneath it settles in too. That you are careless. Too much. Not really trying.
Those stories feel like facts because they came from people you trusted, early in life. Building deeper self-awareness is how you test them. Once a story starts to crack, a new perspective can emerge and make room for a way of living that is genuinely yours.
I use the operating system as an analogy deliberately. Think of executive function as your OS: the manager that decides what runs, what gets priority, and where your bandwidth goes. An ADHD brain often runs fast, and its OS works differently to a standard build.
Nobody hands you a manual for that. So your system took its settings from those early stories, from what got approval and what got corrected. It learned to run in whatever way was acceptable, and masking became a process that still runs constantly in the background, using valuable bandwidth. And because your OS was never a standard build, generic software rarely runs well on it.
Focus Lab isn't about replacing your system. It's a close look at how yours is configured right now, so you can start running it in a way that works for your brain. Nothing changes from a picture you can't see.
Awareness is the first step. Not knowledge. You already have that.
See what's actually running, before you change anything
It starts with what your brain already does exceptionally well, strengths and talents you have probably stopped noticing, because they come so easily to you.
Most people find this part surprising. Things written off as quirks, or compensated for so long you stopped seeing them, often turn out to be real cognitive strengths most people don't have.
Complete a confidential questionnaire in your own time, and I will build your profile from your answers and send it back within 48 hours. A clear picture of your current OS, and something solid to build on.
Your attention type, where friction shows up, how your brain operates day to day.
The hidden load masking places on your bandwidth, energy and cognition.
What your brain does exceptionally well, including capabilities you have undervalued.
When you are at your best, what depletes you, the conditions where you thrive.
Your priority areas for sustainable change.
Two ways to start building the life that fits your brain
Some people want to see their own picture first. Others would rather talk it through with me. There is no commitment either way.
The OS Discovery Profile
A standalone product you can buy today. Complete the confidential questionnaire in your own time across five dimensions, and I build and return your written profile within 48 hours. Yours to keep and use however you like, whether or not we ever work together.
The Chemistry Call
If you want to find out what a coaching partnership with me could look like, start with a free call. It is a conversation, not a sales call. We find out whether we work well together, and I will tell you honestly if I am not the right coach for you.
Coaching packages
Everyone coaching with me begins with the Strategy & Planning session, so we work from a shared plan with explicit goals. Packages can be paid upfront or in weekly instalments. The six- and twelve-session partnerships include your OS Profile, and if you have already bought yours, the £49 comes off either one.
Strategy & Planning Session
A deep dive into what brings you to coaching now, your ADHD journey, and the patterns getting in the way. You leave with a shared plan and a clear picture of how we will work.
Book nowSix-Session Partnership
Where the plan becomes real. Enough room to work properly into one or two specific challenges that are genuinely costing you.
The Focus Lab Signature Partnership
Deep, transformational work: building real awareness of how you work, and moving towards the life you want in a way that lasts.
Breakthrough Session
One focused hour for when something specific needs addressing, and soon. A decision, a deadline, a conversation you have been putting off. Buy a single session, or up to four as weekly instalments.
Book nowHow a coaching partnership works
The six- and twelve-session partnerships follow the same four stages.
We meet
A free 30-minute chemistry call. No obligation on either side.
We map your OS
Your OS Profile, then a 90-minute Strategy & Planning session where we agree the focus of our partnership.
We do the work
Regular 50-minute sessions across your partnership, with accountability built in and agreed with you.
We recalibrate
We check what is shifting and change direction whenever we need to.
I built Focus Lab to give others the support I couldn't find
For years I was a Principal Consultant in global strategy, working with C-suite leaders at some of the world's largest companies. I was good at it. I was also running on imposter syndrome, hyperfocusing on the wrong things, starting a new routine every fortnight, and needing a full day on the sofa to recover from a two-day trip. I knew exactly what needed doing and couldn't make myself do it.
At 46, my therapist suggested I be assessed for ADHD. When the diagnosis came, my whole history suddenly made sense.
Then in July 2024 I was diagnosed with cancer. It removed any patience I had left for building a life around the job. I started building one around my brain instead, and Focus Lab is the result.
What I loved most in consulting was the coaching: sitting with someone while they worked out what they actually wanted. Now I do that full time, with people carrying the kind of pressure I carried, and masking the way I masked.
If you have spent years being excellent at a version of yourself that was never sustainable, I understand that better than most.
A curious, rigorous, experimental space
Focus Lab is not a stack of generic planners or off-the-shelf tools. It is a formula built on ICF coaching principles, where we build self-awareness, deep understanding and lasting change.
I am not here to diagnose, treat or direct you. My work is to help you see your current Operating System clearly, and to build the structure and support that closes the gap between where you are and where you want to be, with you in the driver's seat.
If you are ready to understand yourself more deeply and make a shift towards the life you want, let's start building it together.
Jo
Trained through iACT Center's Advanced ADHD Life Coach programme (A-CALC), accredited by the International Coaching Federation. Graduating January 2027, on the pathway to both ICF ACC and PCC credentials.
I adhere to the International Coaching Federation's Code of Ethics and core competencies, and I am accountable to them.
What you bring to a session stays there. Every client signs an agreement setting out exactly how your information is handled.
Coaching is forward-looking and does not replace therapy or medical care. I will say so plainly if what you need sits outside my scope.
Questions people ask
Do I need a formal ADHD diagnosis?
No. Plenty of people I work with are self-identified, on a waiting list, or still working out what is going on. Coaching does not require a diagnosis, and I do not provide one.
Is this therapy?
No. Therapy generally works with the past. Coaching works with what's showing up now, and moves you forward from there. If what you need sits outside coaching, I will say so and help you find the right support.
What if I need to reschedule?
No problem. Just give me at least 24 hours' notice and we'll find another time. You can reschedule yourself through your client area.
What happens if I cancel with less than 24 hours' notice?
The session is counted as used. I hold that time exclusively for you, and late notice means it can't be offered to anyone else.
What if something urgent comes up?
Get in touch. Illness and emergencies happen, and I'd rather you told me than pushed through a session you're not present for.
What if I forget?
You'll get a reminder the day before your appointment with the meeting link. If you miss a session without notice, it's counted as used, but tell me if reminders aren't working for you and we'll set up something that does.
Can I cancel a package part-way through?
Yes. Let me know in writing, and your Coaching Agreement sets out exactly what happens to any sessions already paid for. If your circumstances have changed, talk to me first, as there may be a way to pause rather than stop.
Are sessions online?
Yes, all sessions are held by video, which means I work with clients internationally across a range of time zones.
Do you record sessions?
I use AI transcription so I can stay present with you rather than taking notes. You can opt out at any time, for any reason, and nothing changes about how we work.
How do I know if you are the right coach?
That is precisely what the free chemistry call is for. No obligation on either side, and I will tell you honestly if I am not the right fit.
What is ADHD?
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a recognised neurodevelopmental condition that affects executive functioning: the brain's capacity to regulate attention, impulse control, working memory and emotional response. Clinically, it presents in three ways: predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, or combined. Long associated with childhood, it's now well understood to persist into adulthood, and many people, particularly women, are not diagnosed until much later in life. It's rooted in differences in brain structure and in how the brain regulates dopamine and noradrenaline, which influence motivation, focus and reward.
Contrary to popular belief, ADHD isn't a deficit of attention. It's a difference in how attention gets regulated. Where some brains default to a single, steady focus, an ADHD brain runs more like several channels at once: quick to notice, quick to connect ideas, and easily pulled towards whatever feels most urgent, interesting or emotionally loaded in the moment. It shows up far more in executive function, in planning, prioritising, starting, finishing, regulating emotion and tracking time, than as a simple inability to concentrate.
In high-achieving people, it rarely looks like the stereotype of a fidgety child who can't sit still. More often, it looks like exceptional performance built on invisible effort: over-preparing to compensate for a memory that won't hold detail, running on adrenaline and deadlines, and masking overwhelm so well that even the people closest to you assume everything is under control. Many people are only diagnosed after years of visible success, sometimes not until their thirties, forties or later, because the compensating strategies worked, right up until they stopped.
What is ADHD life coaching?
Focus Lab ADHD life coaching isn't therapy, and it isn't a productivity system. It's a partnership, grounded in the International Coaching Federation (ICF) core competencies, and built around one thing: understanding how your brain actually works, and what it would look like to build your career and your life goals around that.
There's no diagnosing, no fixing, and no one-size-fits-all plan. Instead, you get a structured, confidential space to build deep self-awareness and clarity, to identify your blockers and your strengths, and to grow towards greater autonomy and confidence in your life.
Because you're supported as a whole person, not just the challenge in front of you right now, the change is far more likely to last, and the strategies you build are ones that work for your brain.