TEN CHAPTERS. OPEN ANYWHERE.
A field manual for adults with ADHD who are tired of being told to just try harder.
Built For Chaos is made to be entered sideways. Open at the problem. Try one small move. Come back when the day calls for something different.
Second edition out November 20, 2026 · Paperback · Hardcover · Kindle · Pre-order the Kindle edition
LOOK BEFORE YOU BUY
Ten chapters, nine 10-Minute Wins, fourteen worksheets, and eight Go-Bag cards. These are actual pages from the redesigned interior. Tap one to get a closer look.
THE FRAMEWORK BEHIND THE TOOLS
Human AF connects the tools in Built For Chaos: Notice, Normalize, Name, Narrow, Nudge, and Nurture. Use the same six steps for everyday tasks, relationships, work, and finding a way back.
Narrow plans the next few moves. Nudge makes the first one.
Work on your patterns and systems over days and weeks. The chapters show how, with a Run the Method example at the end of Chapters 1 through 9.
When you’re stuck right now, use the Go-Bag card to name what’s happening, plan the next few moves, and make the first one.
THE CONTENTS
Start with the problem in front of you. There’s no prize for reading in order.
Why the repeated system failure was not a character verdict.
A plain-language operating manual for attention, time, energy, and motivation.
Drop the rules that depend on shame and perfect consistency.
Use the Three Pile System, add fuel to a task, and find the first ugly move when you still can’t start.
Track the energy state you actually have instead of scheduling the imaginary one.
Use repair scripts, text versions, and Quick Texts for everyday misses. Own the impact and offer a concrete fix.
Assess whether a work environment supports, strains, or fights your brain.
Recognize a rough stretch, use your support plan, and follow Coming Back Online when it’s time to return.
Build a life that can bend, reset, and adapt without starting from zero.
Eight reference cards, including Quick Texts, plus Your First Week With This Book to help you put the tools to work.
A section for the people in your corner, with ways to offer support while keeping everyone’s needs in view. Pages 189-192.
WHEN YOU NEED SOMETHING SPECIFIC
Chapter 6 includes text versions of relationship scripts and Quick Texts for everyday misses. The Go-Bag keeps nine short texts within reach for late replies, forgotten plans, and coming back after going quiet. Pages 111-115 and 188.
Get Quick Texts in the free Go-BagComing Back Online gives you a re-entry order in Chapter 8. Your First Week With This Book turns the tools into a small plan: prepare your support card, notice your energy, sort a list, and find one pattern. Pages 155-156 and 176.
There’s a section written for you. Find practical ways to support a partner, colleague, or someone you teach, without becoming their calendar or manager. Pages 189-192.
FROM A READER
This is a wonderful resource for anyone navigating ADHD, or for anyone who wants to better understand and support people with ADHD. As an educator, I see many students facing the challenges described in this book, and before discovering it, I wasn’t always sure what strategies to recommend or how best to help. Now, I have a resource I can point students toward while also expanding my own understanding of ADHD.
If you’re an educator, parent, or leader who wants to help people with ADHD thrive, this is an insightful, practical read worth passing along to the people with ADHD in your life!
Associate Professor of Management and Organizations, Eller College of Management, University of Arizona. Co-author of Leading for Wellness.
KEEP A WAY BACK WITHIN REACH
Pick the format you’ll actually reach for. Paperback, Hardcover, and Kindle are available on Amazon.
Choose your copy on AmazonWatch the book filmTHE DIGITAL COLLECTION
Standalone downloads for task initiation, triage, and restarting. Use them with or without the book.
Start a task
12-card deck. 4-page PDF, plus 13 phone lock screens.
For when you know exactly what to do and can't make yourself do it.
Ask for a check-in
23-page prompt pack. PDF, plus a plain text file.
For when you need something to check on you and there's nobody to ask.
Sort the list
6-page printable. Letter size.
For the list with fourteen items where every one arrives at the same volume.
Reset the workday
5-page printable. Letter size.
For the workday that was already sideways by nine in the morning.
THE COMPLETE COLLECTION
$19.95 for the bundle. $31.80 purchased separately.
Get the complete collection