A 53 year-old, who used to have elementary teachers wall me in (physically and other ways) so I could focus and not distract the class. Also very successful in domains where I chose to apply myself. I have a formal diagnosis, and recognize ADHD is a positive trait when you understand and how to use it. Don't guess, get a formal diagnosis. :) Anxiety is commonly misdiagnosed as ADHD. Most of the first third of your talk is suited for anxiety...boosting self-confidence, self-soothing, etc. One reason why _everyone_ bogs down is when they are learning to master a new skill. Learning involves re-wiring the brain, which just as with weight lifting causes fatigue. The mind finds something else to do when it is overfatigued. ADHDers are over-fatigued faster, at least initially. Creating is also mentally taxing. It used to take me all day to write 1,000 words, and put a book together. Six books in, I don't have that problem. I usually have an 80 percent ready draft in the first iteration, 95 percent in the second, and 100 percent when I use ProWriting Aid to find the grammar I missed. I have a friend who can pound out 10,000 words per day, and she finishes a book in a week. I'm down to about 2,000 (when I write), usually in an hour to 90 minutes. In her case, she was a journalist who spent decades writing to a deadline and building those skills. In my case, I have a full-time job that emotionally taxes me, which leaves me depleted. No fuel in the tank. But when I have fuel, I'm consistently 10,000+ words per week with a finished novel in two months (with a full time job). Yes, I have a formal ADHD diagnosis. And it does affect aspects of my life. I've learned to manage sans drugs.
I think my biggest problem is that I find it difficult to get things done without a deadline, and since writing is a personal hobby, there’s nothing ‘forcing’ me to sit down and write
I've found the thing that gave me the most consistency with my writing was to open the Google doc that has the novel in it at the start of every day, and leave it open all day if possible. It's a great ritual for conjuring up 'the mood' to start writing, especially for those of us with ADHD who are very visual-oriented. On the days I don't do this, I won't write at all because there's too much 'starting friction' and the project is too out-of-sight-out-of-mind.
That's a great idea. I've done that too. Lowering the bar for entry, and removing even the obstacle of having to find and open the file. But you're also hacking your mind, because as soon as you see your writing, your mind goes to work on it. :) good tip!
Thank you for sharing this. It gave me so much insight into how I’m operating with ADHD and how I can improve those operations. I am working on getting my sleep schedule back in order, making journaling a regular, if not daily habit and scheduling my day to get things done without procrastination and burning myself out. My main challenge right now is making decisions on the schedule; of what times and days I do certain things, since it’s all up to me and not based on someone else’s needs. I’m sure the more I plan my schedule and journal, the more I’ll synchronize my life with my body. And what you said about listening to your mind and body through journaling, and how that will help you trust yourself throughout the day, that resonated with me so much. I recently understood how disconnected my authentic self is from my physical self, so journaling, therapy and meditation are important to reconnecting my internal world to my external world.
I'm so glad it was helpful! thanks for sharing your thoughts here. I hope you see success, or find a better balance. come back and let us know how you get along!
Something that has helped me, is keeping a little notebook and scribbling in it through my day job. I'll write out questions about the story in general or about the current chapter I'm working on. Or I'll even try out bits of dialogue. Then bring that back to my morning writing work. Also I've found the cheaper the notebook the better (nice expensive journal type books expect too much perfection from me. I have a stack of Moleskine notebooks that just don't get written in! 😅)
That's really smart! I did that, too, with tons of little notebooks and bits of paper. Then I tried Evernote. These days, I live in Google Keep, and can tag them according to project. If I max one out, start a new one! I can talk-to-text, which is really helpful. And then the upside is that it's all easy to copy out and exit. I've written entire short stories in it because it's such a simple app, and I can pull it up on desktop later.
Thanks. Trying to impliment your advices. Having ADhD, it's still farstrating. Nice to know you straggle with it too and aventually found your litle triks to overcome the hurdels and contribure to mankind and yourself.
😂❤thank you sm for this. I had to get out of my last house for mould too. Anyway. ADHD is there with me since as long as I can remember. With deadlines... as a writer i had blocks and this video is helping a lot. Thank u sm
@@legendfiction thanks again! I'm kind of struggling these days and probably will till this deadline wraps up. But your videos have been genuinely helpful. Back in college and at my last job I had a lot of structure sort of imposed that lent itself to a productive writing output. These days I'm mostly left to myself so finding a balanced writing process this time around is proving more challenging than I anticipated. Mostly struggling to turn writing habits and research habits into productivity so this can become a career rather than relying on the ol' ADHD mania of hYperFocuSing mY waY tO ART. Like, after a certain age that just doesnt seem like a sustainable lifestyle where all nighters and 22 hour stretches are punctuated by burnout sessions lol. Anyway, thanks again!
As for writing... I've been writing since 2001-ish. Unless you count writing in high school, then 1996. Most of my writing from 2001 has been centered around turn-based collaborative writing, with where from one to several partners all taking stories. Each one brought a character into a scene, each with their own goals. Sometimes they're working together, sometimes against each other. Or working on tandem goals. Each one is a main character for their story, and we all build off of each other. It's very fun, and it can become very immersive and emotional. There've been times I couldn't see the screen to type, but I could still carry on, touch typing. I've gotten so lost in a scene and character that It took someone yelling at me to get my attention. I would typically do this 8 to 16 hours a day. Any free time I had. None of it was publishable. It all belonged to other intellectual properties and franchises. (Star Wars, Star Trek, Blizzard, etc) In the last five to ten years I've wanted to go for publication. Which means my own intellectual properties. And it also means generally writing solo. Writing alone. And that is far more difficult. Y'see, I'd grown accustomed to constant feedback from my peers. I'd know if something was good. Or bad. I'd know if people were interested, hanging on to the RP (role-play) writing. Or if they were bored and checked out. I knew what storylines people were invested in. I don't get any of that alone. I feel like I'm performing for an empty room. I'm talking to voicemail. I'm screaming into the void and there isn't even an echo back. There's none of that creative friction and feedback, so I'm fumbling around blindly. Even if logically I know people should like a thing or enjoy something... I still have no way of knowing, or feeling that out. It doesn't help that all my life I've been told I'm weird, I'm odd, I'm eccentric. I'm stupid. I'm crazy. I'm psycho. (Weird/odd/eccentric, maybe.) I test as some of the rarest personality types. So I *know* I'm weird. Or unusual. Stuff that I might like or enjoy or think is cool? Probably nobody else will. And if nobody likes the work enough to be interested? I starve. I'd do it anyway.
I hope to learn more about your work. I get your journey. I grew up writing and brainstorming with super close friends, and then moved away from them all. Been isolated for a decade, until I started this channel. Here's to the weird ones, the square pegs, who think different. 🍻
Okay, so something that might help you with staying focused is to have something sweet to drink as you go. It's not a reward. It's fuel. Let me explain. The brain uses glucose as fuel. We burn a lot of it when we're being creative. The ADHD brain runs harder, burns MORE fuel, but also does a lot more. It's a Ferrari. Some of the foremost researchers and neuroscientists on ADHD recommend it. Have something that you *sip* not guzzle. The idea is to keep your glucose level raised so that your brain runs more efficiently for longer. The other thing you can do is start taking L-Tyrosine supplements. L-Tyrosine is an amino acid and is a precursor for the manufacture of dopamine. The ADHD brain is dopamine starved from low production. Dopamine is responsible for pleasure, enjoyment, and focus. With L-Tyrosine in your system you will produce more dopamine, all the good stuff your brain craves, but without overdoing it. Both of these things are mega-helpful for me. The first helps my mental endurance. The latter helps my focus but it also has lifted me out of a really bad spot. My mental health has improved in leaps and bounds. It's given me back energy and focus. I'm slowly expanding the supplements I take, as I want time to observe the effects of each. I'm also looking at diet changes. For example, research suggest that protein also helps with ADHD focus. I haven't found anything conclusive in my own life yet, but i do notice I feel a decreased inclination toward snacking. And I feel like I do focus more/better/longer. I simply haven't started testing it yet. Exercise is another thing that tends to help ADHD. We need to move our bodies, expend that extra energy but in a regulatory way. Often going for walks stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers anxiety and also provides some mood boosting effects. Going for a once or twice a day can do a lot. Supposedly. I'm kind of a shut-in right now. But I used to walk at least 6 miles a day, sometimes upwards of 10 miles. used to train martial arts 10+ hours a week, walked and biked everywhere. I was very sharp and very focused, even with ADHD back in those days. (I was also younger too. I'm 40 now, but I can tell a difference when I've been active.) Anyway, I hope these little bits might help some folks wrestling with their ADHD, especially among us writers. Big love for everybody.
Wow, it seems like this works differently for different people. I just finished watching a list of tips that says you aren't supposed to "Pavlov" yourself. No offense to you, though; if it works, it works.
The reasoning in the other video was that reinforcing writing with outside rewards trains your brain to seek those rewards rather than the writing itself. I...don't really think it's an "either or" thing, though. Sometimes writing is a treat, other times it's a chore, so whatever routine probably isn't a one-size-fits-all, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work for some, or even most people some, or even most of the time. As for the other video, I think it was called "what not to do as a writer if you have ADHD or autism" or something like that.
Actually trying to overcome these struggles atm. For now writing each weekend in the bath is the best choice for me, because our neighbours are reaaally really rude and walk loudly and generally just don't care to pay attention that there's someone else living besides them. So I'm mostly living on the verge of a meltdown most of the time. Bath is really the only place I feel calm and safe. So until we have a new house (we're getting close), I just write my stories at least once or twice a week while in bath. Good for spoiling yourself in general, haha!😅🩵
A 53 year-old, who used to have elementary teachers wall me in (physically and other ways) so I could focus and not distract the class. Also very successful in domains where I chose to apply myself. I have a formal diagnosis, and recognize ADHD is a positive trait when you understand and how to use it. Don't guess, get a formal diagnosis. :)
Anxiety is commonly misdiagnosed as ADHD. Most of the first third of your talk is suited for anxiety...boosting self-confidence, self-soothing, etc.
One reason why _everyone_ bogs down is when they are learning to master a new skill. Learning involves re-wiring the brain, which just as with weight lifting causes fatigue. The mind finds something else to do when it is overfatigued. ADHDers are over-fatigued faster, at least initially. Creating is also mentally taxing. It used to take me all day to write 1,000 words, and put a book together. Six books in, I don't have that problem. I usually have an 80 percent ready draft in the first iteration, 95 percent in the second, and 100 percent when I use ProWriting Aid to find the grammar I missed.
I have a friend who can pound out 10,000 words per day, and she finishes a book in a week. I'm down to about 2,000 (when I write), usually in an hour to 90 minutes. In her case, she was a journalist who spent decades writing to a deadline and building those skills. In my case, I have a full-time job that emotionally taxes me, which leaves me depleted. No fuel in the tank. But when I have fuel, I'm consistently 10,000+ words per week with a finished novel in two months (with a full time job).
Yes, I have a formal ADHD diagnosis. And it does affect aspects of my life. I've learned to manage sans drugs.
Thanks for this! This is all extremely helpful. Pinning it!
I think my biggest problem is that I find it difficult to get things done without a deadline, and since writing is a personal hobby, there’s nothing ‘forcing’ me to sit down and write
I've found the thing that gave me the most consistency with my writing was to open the Google doc that has the novel in it at the start of every day, and leave it open all day if possible. It's a great ritual for conjuring up 'the mood' to start writing, especially for those of us with ADHD who are very visual-oriented. On the days I don't do this, I won't write at all because there's too much 'starting friction' and the project is too out-of-sight-out-of-mind.
That's a great idea. I've done that too. Lowering the bar for entry, and removing even the obstacle of having to find and open the file. But you're also hacking your mind, because as soon as you see your writing, your mind goes to work on it. :) good tip!
Just found your channel from the Obsidian template you shared. Keep it up. I enjoy your perspective.
Thanks friend! Good to meet you :) What is it about the message that resonates with you?
Thank you for sharing this. It gave me so much insight into how I’m operating with ADHD and how I can improve those operations.
I am working on getting my sleep schedule back in order, making journaling a regular, if not daily habit and scheduling my day to get things done without procrastination and burning myself out. My main challenge right now is making decisions on the schedule; of what times and days I do certain things, since it’s all up to me and not based on someone else’s needs.
I’m sure the more I plan my schedule and journal, the more I’ll synchronize my life with my body.
And what you said about listening to your mind and body through journaling, and how that will help you trust yourself throughout the day, that resonated with me so much. I recently understood how disconnected my authentic self is from my physical self, so journaling, therapy and meditation are important to reconnecting my internal world to my external world.
I'm so glad it was helpful! thanks for sharing your thoughts here. I hope you see success, or find a better balance. come back and let us know how you get along!
Something that has helped me, is keeping a little notebook and scribbling in it through my day job. I'll write out questions about the story in general or about the current chapter I'm working on. Or I'll even try out bits of dialogue. Then bring that back to my morning writing work. Also I've found the cheaper the notebook the better (nice expensive journal type books expect too much perfection from me. I have a stack of Moleskine notebooks that just don't get written in! 😅)
That's really smart! I did that, too, with tons of little notebooks and bits of paper. Then I tried Evernote. These days, I live in Google Keep, and can tag them according to project. If I max one out, start a new one! I can talk-to-text, which is really helpful. And then the upside is that it's all easy to copy out and exit. I've written entire short stories in it because it's such a simple app, and I can pull it up on desktop later.
Thank you for this video. It really resonated with me.
I'm very glad it it :) thanks for chiming in, and happy writing!
Thanks. Trying to impliment your advices. Having ADhD, it's still farstrating. Nice to know you straggle with it too and aventually found your litle triks to overcome the hurdels and contribure to mankind and yourself.
Thanks for your note! Hope you're doing ok with it all. :)
😂❤thank you sm for this. I had to get out of my last house for mould too. Anyway. ADHD is there with me since as long as I can remember. With deadlines... as a writer i had blocks and this video is helping a lot. Thank u sm
I'm really happy it is helpful! sorry about your mold issue, those are never fun. hope you're doing ok these days!
@@legendfiction thanks again! I'm kind of struggling these days and probably will till this deadline wraps up. But your videos have been genuinely helpful. Back in college and at my last job I had a lot of structure sort of imposed that lent itself to a productive writing output. These days I'm mostly left to myself so finding a balanced writing process this time around is proving more challenging than I anticipated. Mostly struggling to turn writing habits and research habits into productivity so this can become a career rather than relying on the ol' ADHD mania of hYperFocuSing mY waY tO ART. Like, after a certain age that just doesnt seem like a sustainable lifestyle where all nighters and 22 hour stretches are punctuated by burnout sessions lol. Anyway, thanks again!
amazing :) wishing you the best, and hope we stay in touch. keep it up!
@@legendfiction thanks! You have a new subscriber now ^_^
As for writing... I've been writing since 2001-ish. Unless you count writing in high school, then 1996. Most of my writing from 2001 has been centered around turn-based collaborative writing, with where from one to several partners all taking stories. Each one brought a character into a scene, each with their own goals. Sometimes they're working together, sometimes against each other. Or working on tandem goals. Each one is a main character for their story, and we all build off of each other. It's very fun, and it can become very immersive and emotional. There've been times I couldn't see the screen to type, but I could still carry on, touch typing. I've gotten so lost in a scene and character that It took someone yelling at me to get my attention. I would typically do this 8 to 16 hours a day. Any free time I had.
None of it was publishable. It all belonged to other intellectual properties and franchises. (Star Wars, Star Trek, Blizzard, etc)
In the last five to ten years I've wanted to go for publication. Which means my own intellectual properties. And it also means generally writing solo. Writing alone.
And that is far more difficult.
Y'see, I'd grown accustomed to constant feedback from my peers. I'd know if something was good. Or bad. I'd know if people were interested, hanging on to the RP (role-play) writing. Or if they were bored and checked out. I knew what storylines people were invested in.
I don't get any of that alone. I feel like I'm performing for an empty room. I'm talking to voicemail. I'm screaming into the void and there isn't even an echo back. There's none of that creative friction and feedback, so I'm fumbling around blindly. Even if logically I know people should like a thing or enjoy something... I still have no way of knowing, or feeling that out.
It doesn't help that all my life I've been told I'm weird, I'm odd, I'm eccentric. I'm stupid. I'm crazy. I'm psycho. (Weird/odd/eccentric, maybe.) I test as some of the rarest personality types. So I *know* I'm weird. Or unusual. Stuff that I might like or enjoy or think is cool? Probably nobody else will.
And if nobody likes the work enough to be interested? I starve. I'd do it anyway.
Wow... first I have to say, you have an amazing writing style. Feels effortless and human. Just brilliant flow of thought.
I hope to learn more about your work. I get your journey. I grew up writing and brainstorming with super close friends, and then moved away from them all. Been isolated for a decade, until I started this channel.
Here's to the weird ones, the square pegs, who think different. 🍻
This was really helpful! Thanks for this! 👍🏼
I'm very glad! Thanks for stopping by1!
Okay, so something that might help you with staying focused is to have something sweet to drink as you go. It's not a reward. It's fuel. Let me explain. The brain uses glucose as fuel. We burn a lot of it when we're being creative. The ADHD brain runs harder, burns MORE fuel, but also does a lot more. It's a Ferrari. Some of the foremost researchers and neuroscientists on ADHD recommend it. Have something that you *sip* not guzzle. The idea is to keep your glucose level raised so that your brain runs more efficiently for longer.
The other thing you can do is start taking L-Tyrosine supplements. L-Tyrosine is an amino acid and is a precursor for the manufacture of dopamine. The ADHD brain is dopamine starved from low production. Dopamine is responsible for pleasure, enjoyment, and focus. With L-Tyrosine in your system you will produce more dopamine, all the good stuff your brain craves, but without overdoing it.
Both of these things are mega-helpful for me. The first helps my mental endurance. The latter helps my focus but it also has lifted me out of a really bad spot. My mental health has improved in leaps and bounds. It's given me back energy and focus.
I'm slowly expanding the supplements I take, as I want time to observe the effects of each. I'm also looking at diet changes. For example, research suggest that protein also helps with ADHD focus. I haven't found anything conclusive in my own life yet, but i do notice I feel a decreased inclination toward snacking. And I feel like I do focus more/better/longer. I simply haven't started testing it yet.
Exercise is another thing that tends to help ADHD. We need to move our bodies, expend that extra energy but in a regulatory way. Often going for walks stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers anxiety and also provides some mood boosting effects. Going for a once or twice a day can do a lot. Supposedly. I'm kind of a shut-in right now. But I used to walk at least 6 miles a day, sometimes upwards of 10 miles. used to train martial arts 10+ hours a week, walked and biked everywhere. I was very sharp and very focused, even with ADHD back in those days. (I was also younger too. I'm 40 now, but I can tell a difference when I've been active.)
Anyway, I hope these little bits might help some folks wrestling with their ADHD, especially among us writers. Big love for everybody.
These are super helpful! And yes, food is fuel. What an awesome comment.
Wow, it seems like this works differently for different people. I just finished watching a list of tips that says you aren't supposed to "Pavlov" yourself. No offense to you, though; if it works, it works.
Im really intrigued to hear more. :)
The reasoning in the other video was that reinforcing writing with outside rewards trains your brain to seek those rewards rather than the writing itself.
I...don't really think it's an "either or" thing, though. Sometimes writing is a treat, other times it's a chore, so whatever routine probably isn't a one-size-fits-all, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work for some, or even most people some, or even most of the time.
As for the other video, I think it was called "what not to do as a writer if you have ADHD or autism" or something like that.
Actually trying to overcome these struggles atm. For now writing each weekend in the bath is the best choice for me, because our neighbours are reaaally really rude and walk loudly and generally just don't care to pay attention that there's someone else living besides them. So I'm mostly living on the verge of a meltdown most of the time. Bath is really the only place I feel calm and safe. So until we have a new house (we're getting close), I just write my stories at least once or twice a week while in bath. Good for spoiling yourself in general, haha!😅🩵
good for you :) that sounds like a tough situation. I hope you can keep carving out these spaces for yourself. :)