Livia Farkas, Author at Weirdly Successful

In her free time, she enjoys stickers & planners, crochet & roller skates, and running around with her pet bunny Rumi.

Building Weirdly Successful’s Knowledge Systems

Livia is the architect behind Weirdly Successful’s knowledge infrastructure — creating the systems that help late-identified neurodivergent adults make sense of their experiences and find language for what they’ve always felt.

She created The Neurodivergent Glossary, an ever-growing encyclopaedia of neurodivergence-related terms designed to help people find answers using everyday words for their experiences—not medical jargon they haven’t yet learned. She also designed the content architecture that powers the entire website: a system that organises content by what someone is experiencing (focus, hearing, time), where they are in their journey (exploring, seeking diagnosis, recently diagnosed), and what they need to know (definitions, validation, practical strategies).

Currently, Livia is building the Weirdly Successful Learning Community: a custom-built peer support platform designed from the ground up for neurodivergent brains. Every element, from the onboarding process to the reaction buttons, has been designed to balance ADHD and Autistic accessibility needs.

Specialist Subjects

Neurodivergent adaptations for life and work · Dismantling harmful self-beliefs
Promoting self-compassion
Creating a life without the hustle

Background: 15 Years in Adult Education

Livia’s neurodivergent-focused work builds on 15 years as a productivity and lifestyle educator in Hungary, where she developed the frameworks, techniques, and teaching approach she now adapts for English-speaking neurodivergent audiences.

Book

That Traffic Light’s Not Getting Any Greener! (XXI. Század Kiadó, 2013; ISBN: 9786155373022) — National bestseller in Hungary, shortlisted for the Libri Golden Book Awards.

Publications

Éva Magazin (2014–2020), HVG Psychology (2019), Glamour (2019), Forbes Hungary (2017), Marie Claire Hungary (2013), Elle Hungary (2013), Cosmopolitan Hungary (2013)

TV & Radio

Livia has appeared as a productivity and lifestyle expert on Hungarian national television, including recurring segments on RTL Klub’s morning programme and appearances on TV2 and Duna World. She has been interviewed on Kossuth Rádió (Hungarian public radio), Klubrádió, and Jazzy.

Talks & Appearances

Livia has spoken at universities including the University of Debrecen, ELTE, Corvinus University, and the Balassi Institute; at professional conferences including the Mfor Marketing Conference, Digital Divas Conference, and Evolution Social Media Conference; and at a Google Ground roundtable on women in business. Her 2013 book tour included venues across Hungary and a reader meetup in London.

Awards

HVG GoldenBlog, Audience Award for urban:eve blog (2011, won)
Cosmopolitan Digital Divas, “Best Blog Design” (2012, won)
Glamour Women of The Year Hungary, “Blogger of the Year” (2014, nominated)

Latest from Livia

References

1↑ Son, H. M., Calub, C. A., Fan, B., Dixon, J. F., Rezaei, S., Borden, J., Schweitzer, J. B., & Liu, X. (2024). A quantitative analysis of fidgeting in ADHD and its relation to performance and sustained attention on a cognitive task. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, 1394096.

2↑ Andrade, J. (2010). What does doodling do? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24*(1), 100–106.

3↑ Arnsten, A. F. T., & Pliszka, S. R. (2011). Catecholamine influences on prefrontal cortical function: Relevance to treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and related disorders. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 99*(2), 211–216.

4↑ Schweitzer, J. B. (2024, October 30). Does fidgeting help people with ADHD focus? UC Davis Health.

5↑ Fernandez, J., Waldie, K., & Holdsworth, S. (2021, March 22). Bioengineers show that fidgeting might help us concentrate. U niversity of Auckland.

6↑ Farley, J., Risko, E. F., & Kingstone, A. (2013). Everyday attention and lecture retention: the effects of time, fidgeting, and mind wandering. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 619.

7↑ Rapport, M. D., Bolden, J., Kofler, M. J., Sarver, D. E., Raiker, J. S., & Alderson, R. M. (2009). Hyperactivity in boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a ubiquitous core symptom or manifestation of working memory deficits?. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 37(4), 521–534.

Glossary Entry

fidgeting

Fidgeting involves small, often unconscious movements—bouncing your leg, tapping your fingers, clicking a pen, doodling, twirling your hair. These movements help regulate focus and discharge energy, particularly for people with ADHD. Fidgeting provides the sensory input your brain needs to stay alert and engaged, especially during tasks that don't provide enough stimulation on their own. It's …

Explainer

“Why do people fidget when they are hyperactive?”

Fidgeting serves as an involuntary mechanism for self-regulating attention and enhancing alertness, especially during tasks perceived as cognitively demanding (hard to do) or monotonous (i.e. boring and repetitive).

Article

How To Make Your Life Neurodivergent-friendly

You've tried all the ADHD tips online, but nothing seems to stick. That's because neurodivergent brains don't come with universal solutions—what helps one person might not work for you at all. Here's how to discover your specific adaptations and create a life that actually works for YOUR brain. Explore your needs, what environments you work best in, what overwhelms you, and what helps you …

Explainer

“Don’t people grow out of ADHD?”

People don't grow out of ADHD. Symptoms change from external hyperactivity to internal restlessness, and life transitions often unmask previously hidden ADHD.

Explainer

“Doesn’t ADHD mostly affect boys?”

Girls with ADHD are real and underdiagnosed. Population studies show similar rates to boys, but referral bias and different presentations keep girls invisible. ADHD doesn't discriminate by gender, but diagnostic bias does—people socialized as girls face 4+ year delays in diagnosis.

Explainer

“Does ADHD mean you’re always hyperactive?”

One aspect of ADHD is difficulties in the brain's impulse self-regulation systems, which in childhood can manifest as movement that's deemed excessive, but this is neither required for ADHD nor the whole story of what hyperactivity means.

Explainer

“Is ADHD just about not being able to pay attention?”

Attention is only one possible component of ADHD. We now also understand attention to be variable in ADHD, with a difficulty for the brain to self-regulate attention.

Explainer

“Is ADHD caused by trauma?”

While ADHD correlates with a higher number of adverse childhood experiences, hundreds of studies show that traumatic experiences are not a causative factor - if anything, it’s the other way around.

Glossary Entry

justice sensitivity

Justice sensitivity is the heightened awareness of rule violations and inconsistencies, paired with an intense emotional and physiological response. For many neurodivergent people, fairness and consistency function as essential navigational tools when you can't reliably read social cues or predict what will happen next. When rules are applied inconsistently or stated expectations don't match …

Explainer

“Will I still be myself after an ADHD / Autism diagnosis?”

You won't lose yourself - in fact, most people find the opposite happens. As you gain clarity and self-compassion, drop the shame around your struggles, and learn to unmask more, you might discover you're more yourself than ever before. You'll finally get to meet the version of yourself that isn't constantly performing, compensating, or apologising for existing.

Explainer

“I don’t want to become my label and use my neurodivergence as an excuse”

If you're worried about this, you're already not that person. Asking for accommodations (like quiet spaces, reminders, breaks) is self-care and self-advocacy. The difference between advocating for your needs and being manipulative comes down to respect: are you communicating your limits while taking responsibility, or are you demanding others tolerate harmful behaviour?

Explainer

“Why get an ADHD / autism diagnosis just to get a label?”

Whether you like it or not, you already have labels — lazy, scatterbrain, weird, messy — given to you by others. You have probably internalised many of them over the decades, too. The difference with a diagnosis is that this label is one you choose for yourself based on understanding, and not a mean, untrue one imposed on you out of frustration or judgment.