Don’t Let ADHD Hold You Back
In early 2016, I started my first blog. I’m obsessed with cats, so I created a blog about caring for pet cats. Unfortunately, I discovered the hard way that being passionate about a subject isn’t enough to guarantee success.
Yes, I abandoned my blog.
In 2018, I decided to try again. I had an amazing idea – a cooking blog for beginners! The potential was huge. Once again, this led to absolutely nothing.
I was getting discouraged, wondering why I just couldn’t stick with my projects. Why did I always get bored after a few months?
Worse, I spent way too much time rewriting my blog posts because I was never satisfied.
“I’m just not meant to be a writer,” I thought. Still, I envisioned myself as a wildly successful blogger, and I just couldn’t let go of this vision so easily.
Fast forward to 2020, when I decided to try again.
This time, I knew what had been holding me back – I received a diagnosis of ADHD. This was life-changing. All of a sudden, I understood why I do the things I do!
Armed with my new knowledge, I started my third blog. To my own surprise, I’ve been able to stick with it until now. So what changed exactly?
My mindset. I realized there’s nothing wrong with me. I learned all I could about ADHD and its challenges and used this knowledge to create solutions that work for me.
Today, I’m going to share with you my insights on the subject of ADHD and writing. I’ll start by discussing some of the unique struggles we have to deal with, then I’ll outline some of the strengths that can make us incredible writers. Finally, I’ll share a few tips that have helped me stick with my third (and current) blog.
Table of Contents
The ADHD Struggles that Hold Us Back
People with ADHD have some common struggles that can make it difficult to start or maintain a writing habit.
We tend to experience:
- Difficulty staying motivated
- Difficulty focusing our attention
- Lower self-confidence
- Anxiety
- Overwhelm
Because of this, many will never pursue their writing dreams. Indeed, it may seem like the above struggles are incompatible with a writing hobby or career.
Fortunately, these obstacles are far from impossible to overcome. With the right mindset and tools, you can become an excellent writer!
The ADHD Strengths that Make Us Magnetic
Before I share some tips that helped me finally stick with my blogging journey, I want to talk about a few strengths that can actually benefit your writing.
People with ADHD are known for:
- Their creativity
- Their unique outside-the-box thinking
- Their strong problem-solving skills
- Their intuition and powerful insights
- Their resilience
- Their bottomless curiosity
All of these strengths can help you bring something completely unique to the table. Fellow ADHDer and best-selling author Seth Godin is wildly successful because of his unconventional approach to marketing. He is also extremely prolific, with 19 international bestsellers and one of the most popular blogs in the world!
5 Tips to Help You Create and Maintain a Writing Habit
Below, I’m sharing some tips that helped me on my journey as a blogger with ADHD.
1 Start with a Brain Dump
Start each of your writing sessions with a brain dump. Use a notebook or a note-taking app and list every idea you have. Don’t worry about whether or not the idea is good or how you’re going to use it.
This helps clear your mind so you can focus on welcoming new ideas. A major manifestation of ADHD is working memory impairment, which means we forget things that are happening right now. If you don’t write down your ideas, they’ll stay at the forefront of your mind because your brain has gotten used to holding on to thoughts to avoid forgetting them.
The more of these thoughts occupy your mind, the less you’ll be able to focus. By writing down everything you can think of before you start, you’re giving yourself permission to let go and focus on new ideas.
2 Commit to 5 Minutes of Writing
With almost any task, including writing, the hardest part is getting started. Often, we feel overwhelmed. We don’t really know how to get started. We start doubting ourselves and procrastination sets in.
To overcome this, make a commitment to write for just 5 minutes. Set a timer to go off at the 5-minute mark, and know that you can stop after that, if you wish.
For those 5 minutes, your only focus is to write. If you’re not feeling inspired or don’t know where to start, jot down random thoughts. It doesn’t have to be good at all, the purpose of this is to overcome your mental block.
You’ll be surprised to see that once you start writing, you’ll turn off the timer and keep going, filled with ideas and inspiration.
3 Create an Environment that Works for You
ADHD often makes us hyper-aware of our surroundings. Your writing environment should be highly suited to your unique functional challenges.
In my case, I tend to get easily overwhelmed by clutter and sounds. Because of this, I make sure to maintain a clutter-free desk – everything has its place, and all the items I need are within reach.
The noise issue is harder to deal with. Since I don’t have a dedicated office space, I use active noise-cancelling Bluetooth earbuds with a white noise app (or instrumental music) and ask everyone else to be mindful of their noise level during my writing time. This generally works well.
The hyperactivity component of ADHD makes me a compulsive water drinker, so I always sit down with a large bottle of water before I start writing. This reduces the number of times I have to break my focus and run to the water dispenser.
It’s important to note that not everyone has the same needs when it comes to their environment, so it’s important to find what works for you.
4 Create Systems to Stay Organized
Creating systems helps mitigate many of the challenges brought on by ADHD. For example, have a system in place to record your ideas. One of the perks of ADHD is an endless supply of new ideas, but if you write them down in different places you risk not being able to find them when you need them.
Create a system to keep track of your important information so you don’t have to constantly look for it. If you’re a blogger, you’ll need easy access to things like your brand color codes, your author bio, your affiliate links and your social media login information. You can use a Trello board or something like a Google Doc.
Create some checklists that take you through your most common processes, such as publishing a blog post or submitting a manuscript.
Create a calendar with important dates so you never forget due dates and promotional activities.
The idea is to centralize everything so you know exactly where it is at all times.
5 Create an Accountability Routine
This always works for me – when someone expects me to deliver a certain result by a certain time, I get it done.
If you’re struggling with consistency as a writer, enlist the help of a partner, family member, friend or coach. Every so often, they can check in on you and make sure you’ve worked on reaching your goals.
For example, if you want to write one blog post per week, you can ask your accountability partner to sit with you or call you every Tuesday and briefly discuss your progress. The prospect of showing up to the meeting without the expected work is usually enough to motivate me.
Final Thoughts
If you haven’t taken the leap yet, there’s no better time than right now. If you’ve already tried creating a writing habit but are struggling to stay consistent, I encourage you to implement some of the tips I’ve outlined above and see if it helps.
The second most important thing to remember as a writer with additional challenges, whether it’s ADHD, mental health issues or a disability, is to find what works for you.
And what’s the most important thing, you ask?
Believing in yourself. Put yourself out there and be proud of the gifts you have to share with the world.
About The Author
Hi there! I’m Vicky, and I’m the girl behind the blog at The Female Solopreneur! After receiving my diagnosis of ADHD in 2020, I became passionate about helping other women navigate the challenges of building the business of their dreams while dealing with the effect of ADHD on their lives.
You can find out more about me and my work at thefemalesolopreneur.com, or you can follow my Facebook page for daily business tips and inspiration.