Everything Suddenly Made Sense — with Linja Reid

Hello — this one is for every woman who built a life on being organised and never asked why. Linja Reid worked out she was ADHD in her late 30s, after her son’s diagnosis, a misdiagnosis maze, and one question from her psychologist that undid the whole story: but why are you organised? We talk about what changes when you finally have the answer — at home, in her bookkeeping business, and in how she talks to her kids about their brains.

Episode Highlights

• – The parent-teacher interview that started everything — a chaotic desk, five lost lunchboxes in a week, and a son who suddenly made sense (approx. 06:00)
• – “But why are you organised?” — the screening question that turned Linja’s super-competence into recognition (approx. 09:00)
• – The misdiagnosis maze: long COVID, Hashimoto’s, POTS — and the exhaustion that was ADHD burnout all along (approx. 15:00)
• – Her daughter’s assessment being dismissed — “shows zero signs” — and what masking at nine years old actually looks like (approx. 29:00)
• – Burning down the BAS-agent box: building a bookkeeping practice where clients brain-dump first, regulate second, and do the numbers together — without shame (approx. 32:00)
• – Melatonin, capacity, and teaching two ten-year-olds to understand their own regulation (approx. 48:00)

Memorable Moments

“I’d spent most of my adult life going, why does this seem so hard for me? Everybody else just seems to be able to do this stuff really easily.” — Linja

“And so I said yes. And she said, but why are you organised?” — Linja

“The biggest surprise I had was the compassion. Yeah, life is harder for you. But you’ve still been able to get where you are.” — Linja

About Linja

Linja Reid — After her ADHD diagnosis in her late 30s, Linja started seeing her life — and her business — through a completely different lens. What had felt like personal failure was unmet support. As the founder of The Connected Bookkeeper and a registered BAS Agent, she now helps overwhelmed women in business understand their numbers without shame — built on compassion, nervous-system safety, and systems that work for real brains.

Links & Resources

• Guest Instagram: @theconnectedbookkeeper
• Guest Website: https://www.theconnectedbookkeeper.com.au
• Also mentioned: Zones of Regulation (the school curriculum Linja’s kids use).

Listen + Subscribe

• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-being-me/id1516970986
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4RLYE5TA3ZsCtuAF8otRQ0

Connect With Us

• Instagram: @betterbeingme_bbme
• Website: https://betterbeingme.com.au
• BBMe Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1FwjxRf5Km/
• Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-being-me/id1516970986

Something to Sit With

Where in your life are you “organised” — and what would happen if the calendar, the lists, and the systems disappeared for a week? Notice whether your organisation is preference, or scaffolding holding the whole thing up.

Linja said the biggest surprise of diagnosis was compassion for herself. If you knew the answer — whatever it turned out to be — what would you stop blaming yourself for?

Ready to understand how your brain actually works?

The ND Life Alignment Quiz takes about 10 minutes and gives you a personalised picture of where you are right now — across the areas that matter most for neurodivergent women.

Take the quiz → https://go.betterbeingme.com.au/ndquiz-landing

Go forth, be awesome.

— Joanne