Last weekend I attended Shift Happens — a summit focused on navigating life transitions while living with ADHD. One of the ideas that stood out to me was something called an evidence bank.
At first I thought about how most of us already have something similar in a resume. A resume is a record of what you have done, your experience, your accomplishments, and the things you can point to as proof of your work. It usually exists for situations where someone else is evaluating you, like job applications or promotions or external opportunities.
When you are no longer in a role where you are regularly updating something like that, or when you are building something on your own without a system requiring updates, that record starts to fade in a practical way. There are still accomplishments, progress, and work being done, but it is not all being collected in one place anymore.
An evidence bank is a way to bring that back together. It is a personal record of what you have done, what you have handled, what you have learned, and what you have contributed over time. That can include finished projects, problems you worked through, feedback you received, or situations you got through that were difficult at the time.
It works a lot like a resume, except it is not written for anyone else. It is something you can return to when your memory or your current headspace is not giving you the full picture of your own track record.
When things feel overwhelming or when imposter syndrome shows up, it becomes easy to focus only on what is still left to do or what did not go the way you expected. In those moments it is also easy to lose sight of what you have already done.
For people with ADHD this can show up more often because there is not always a built-in system that tracks progress in a consistent way. It also applies more broadly to anyone who is building something independently or moving through periods of stress where everything feels like too much at once.
Sometimes the people closest to you can remember your strengths and accomplishments more clearly than you can in those moments. An evidence bank can also include that perspective, so you have a more complete picture of your own history to come back to when you need it.
If you want to start building one, I put together a simple evidence bank template you can download and use. It is meant to be a starting point — something low effort that helps you get things out of your head and into one place. Click here to access your free Personal Evidence File!
If you would like some support building your own evidence bank, or would like someone to help you sort through your accomplishments, recognize strengths you might be overlooking, or figure out what belongs in it, I also offer one-on-one coaching. My goals are to help you recognize and advocate for your own value. While I am still building out a more formal coaching system, you are always welcome to reach out through my contact page if this is something you would like to work on together.
Whether you build an evidence bank on your own or with someone else’s support, I hope you will give yourself permission to keep one. Memory isn’t always available when we need it most, especially when we’re overwhelmed, discouraged, or questioning ourselves. That doesn’t change what you’ve accomplished. It only changes how easy it is to remember.
You are more than your hardest day, your latest setback, or the thoughts that show up when your confidence is low. Give yourself something real to come back to. One day, your evidence bank may become the reminder that helps you see yourself a little more clearly.
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