ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka · Tracy Otsuka

EP. 378: Tech is Stealing Your Attention. This Gives It Back with Dr. Nodira Khoussainova

April 1, 2026·1 hr 6 min·5 clips

Dr. Khoussainova's co-founder says Focus Space is 'rebuilding our karma' after years at Twitter optimizing engagement metrics.

1. ADHD for Smart Ass Women host Tracy Otsuka interviews Dr. Nodira Khoussainova about Focus Space, a facilitated body-doubling platform designed to help people with ADHD and other focus challenges accomplish intentional deep work. 2. Dr. Khoussainova is CEO and co-founder of Focus Space, a former co-founder at Streamlit (a widely used AI developer tool), and previously led the experimentation team at Twitter for six years; she holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Washington. 3. The episode's core question is whether a platform purpose-built by a former attention-economy engineer can reverse the focus damage that social media and Slack-driven work culture have created — especially for neurodivergent users. 4. Dr. Khoussainova was born in Uzbekistan, moved to the US at age six, grew up mostly in New Zealand, and found a rulebook loophole to begin university at 14 after deciding she wanted to study computer science. 5. She graduated her undergraduate degree at 16 or 17 and began a PhD at the University of Washington after cold-emailing top professors, including the author of her favourite database textbook, and applying after the application deadline. 6. Her ADHD symptoms went undetected through structured schooling because external accountability from parents, teachers, and school systems masked the underlying pattern; she also attributes sustained masking to the demands of adapting as an immigrant across three countries. 7. The PhD was the first environment without that scaffolding: Dr. Khoussainova describes a single hyperfocus weekend that produced a third of her thesis, followed by extended periods of paralysis involving scrolling Craigslist and online shopping — before social media existed. 8. Kathleen Nadeau's research on PhD candidates who reach 'ABD' (all but dissertation) status resonated with Dr. Khoussainova as a pattern consistent with undiagnosed ADHD in high performers who lose structure at dissertation stage. 9. At Twitter, Dr. Khoussainova led experimentation on the trends team: designing A/B tests on 1% cohorts of users to measure whether algorithm changes increased time-on-platform — the standard metric for ad-revenue-driven apps. 10. Her co-founder Justin, her first boss at Twitter and now Focus Space's CTO, framed their new venture as 'rebuilding karma' for years spent engineering systems that kept people scrolling rather than focusing. 11. Focus Space began as an in-person one-on-one service in San Francisco and Oakland before moving online; Dr. Khoussainova describes it as deliberately building the 'maximum viable product' — the best version of the experience — rather than the minimum. 12. The platform differentiates from Focusmate's one-on-one model by deploying expert hosts who facilitate group body-doubling sessions with icebreakers, community building, and structured check-ins, creating a psychologically safe environment that Focusmate users reported missing 10% of the time. 13. Co-founder Alexis Hope added a 'joy' dimension that Dr. Khoussainova says was missing from her systems-engineering approach: joy defined not as passive positivity but as 'the capacity to act' and feel engaged enough to move through difficulty. 14. Dr. Christine Lee, described as a procrastination coach and friend of Tracy Otsuka, is cited for the principle 'in order to do well, you need to feel good' — consistent with Focus Space's prioritisation of emotional state as fuel for task initiation. 15. Body doubling works via two research-backed mechanisms: mirroring, where being surrounded by focused people makes starting easier, and accountability appointments, with research suggesting a goal with a set time and place is 90% more likely to be accomplished. 16. The five-goal daily cap emerged from Dr. Khoussainova personally texting 20-30 entrepreneurs to check in at 6pm, then 4pm, discovering the problem was never capacity but a lack of morning clarity about what a successful day looked like. 17. The episode is conducted as a candid interview with Tracy Otsuka asking probing childhood and diagnostic questions; Dr. Khoussainova responds reflectively and with evident self-discovery in real time, including acknowledging she has not been formally diagnosed. 18. Tracy breaks her usual rule of interviewing only diagnosed women, noting this is the second consecutive episode where she chose to proceed with an undiagnosed guest who strongly identifies with the ADHD experience. 19. People who manage ADHD without formal diagnosis, entrepreneurs who struggle with end-of-day overwhelm, or anyone building productivity habits around neurodivergent work patterns would find this useful. 20. Listeners expecting a clinical ADHD discussion or practical step-by-step system rather than a founder's personal journey and product backstory may find the format too conversational.

As heard by us

ADHD coaching that pairs encouragement with concrete support.

The piece treats ADHD less as a flaw than as a mismatch between people and the systems around them. Tracy Otsuka broadens the usual celebrity list by naming women and other high achievers, and the mention of 43% of people with ADHD being in excellent mental health keeps the…

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When your focus keeps slipping, this episode offers a sturdier way back.

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