I’m a mother with a full-time job, and I’m an energetic creator. I even have ADHD. That mixture of things could make getting stuff accomplished… sophisticated.
However with the assistance of (many) helpful techniques, techniques, and instruments, I really feel as if I’ve made juggling all that with my neurodivergent mind an entire lot smoother. It’s definitely not simple, but it surely’s very, very doable.
I’ve been actively rising an viewers on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok for a couple of years now. I’ve round 20K followers throughout all platforms, and I’ve even been capable of monetize my work.
Now, persistently creating content material when it’s not your full-time gig can take a whole lot of time, vitality, and focus for most people.
Including a layer of neurodivergence into the combo could make it rather less simple.
I’ve needed to construct techniques that move with me, quite than making an attempt to squish my excitable ADHD mind right into a inflexible, run-of-the-mill productiveness system.
Earlier than we dig in, a fast word: I’m not a medical skilled, and it’s all the time greatest to hunt assist from a professional if you happen to’re actually struggling. In reality, I extremely suggest it.
Additionally, this isn’t a groundbreaking productiveness masterclass. These techniques assist me transfer from “it is a nice content material thought — oh, I’ve to scrub the oven — did I bear in mind to ship that e-mail?” to truly hitting publish.
In the event you’re a creator with ADHD, I hope this provides you a couple of instruments to strive. Or possibly even the arrogance to take step one.
My (ADHD) origin story
To clarify my course of, I assumed it might be useful to share extra about my particular model of ADHD, too. There actually is a spectrum relating to the way in which it presents, and no two ADHDers suppose or behave the identical manner.
Like many ladies, my ADHD flew underneath the radar for years. I used to be identified at round 17. It occurred when my mother and father, very eager for me to comply with a extra conventional profession path, took me to a psychiatrist for psychometric testing.
Other than confirming that, no, I used to be not a fantastic match for a profession in accounting (thanks, doc), he identified me with ADHD.
I bear in mind him being fairly stunned I’d not been identified earlier than — and that I had a reasonably good educational file.
On the time, I assumed he will need to have misdiagnosed me. My reference level for ADHD was, like most individuals’s, the hyperactive boy in main faculty who incessantly derailed the category.
How may I, the straight-A drama child who had actually by no means been despatched to detention, have the identical factor as him?
Positive, I handled focus points, impulsivity, perfectionism, and hyper-fixations — however don’t all teenage ladies?
Nicely, it’s been (cough) virtually 20 years since then, and I’ve realized quite a bit about my neurodivergence. Most significantly:
The psychiatrist was proper.It may be the identical on paper, however I don’t actually have the identical situation because the hyperactive child in my grade 7 homeroom class. My ADHD, like most girls’s, manifests fairly in a different way.My educational file — very similar to working life right now — was simply advantageous as a result of I leaned closely on techniques.
(I’ve quite a bit to say about #2, however I’m going to place a pin in that for now — that’s not why you clicked on this text, is it? If you wish to chat, significantly, come discover me on Threads!)
#3 is what I need to get into on this article. The techniques I’ve come to acknowledge and refine over time have helped me work properly in my 9-to-5 (principally!) and even construct and nurture an viewers on social media.
Right here’s what works for me.
My ADHD-approved creator system
1. ‘Accomplished is best than excellent’
ADHD and perfectionism usually go hand in hand.
We see one million methods one thing may very well be higher, so we maintain tinkering… and tinkering… Or we abandon our work fully as a result of it’s not excellent, so what’s the level, even?
To keep away from spiralling down both of those paths, I stay by the mantra, ‘Accomplished is best than excellent.’
That may manifest in actual life in many alternative methods. Typically, it means setting a time restrict on how lengthy I’ll spend modifying a video or rewriting a textual content put up. Different occasions, it’s hitting “publish” even once I really feel just like the content material is ‘advantageous’ quite than distinctive.
An enormous turning level for me was really this video by Ali Abdaal about his high suggestions for beginning on YouTube. (I’ve discovered a lot of it applies to any kind of content material creation.)
I discovered that my need for perfection in my content material was principally what individuals who already knew me had been going to consider it — my pals, my household, previous classmates. If my content material was not excellent, absolutely they might discover me ridiculous? What enterprise did I’ve being a creator if my content material wasn’t as distinctive as, properly, somebody like Ali?
However Ali spoke on to this worry of judgment within the video. “Nobody cares,” he says. “Once I began on YouTube, I used to be afraid individuals had been going to say dangerous issues about it, that folks had been going to guage me.”
“After which I began making movies, and I noticed nobody cares. Individuals are busy with their very own lives, they’re doing their very own stuff, they don’t give a flying toss whether or not or not I’ve a YouTube channel.”
Whenever you actually give it some thought, that’s true. And isn’t it fairly liberating?
One other fact that helps me maintain that need for absolute perfection with each put up at bay: you’re not going to get higher till you get suggestions out of your viewers. Meaning likes, feedback, views, shares — and to get these, you’ve obtained to hit publish. Perfection isn’t the aim — publishing is.
So, in some ways, chasing perfection really requires placing issues out into the world that aren’t ‘excellent.’
2. Write every little thing down the second inspiration strikes
Let me let you know one thing about ADHD of us — we’re glorious at developing with new concepts.
Genius strikes us usually, and it’s normally within the oddest of locations. My pingpong ball mind tends to be most energetic within the health club, on walks, whereas working errands, and cooking dinner.
If I don’t seize these concepts instantly, they’re gone.
That’s the place Buffer’s Create House is available in. I’ve the app on my telephone, and a tab can be open on my desktop browser. I’ve constructed the behavior of getting every little thing down as quickly because it pops into my head.
Here is a peek at my Create House in Buffer:
Typically it’s a totally fleshed-out idea. Others, it’s a three-word phrase. Both manner, it will get a Create House card, and I’ll come again to it when I’ve the time to truly sit with it.
Which brings me to my subsequent level.
3. Mind dump now, create later
It’s all very properly jotting down concepts as quickly as they pop up. However generally it’s greatest simply to set them down and stroll away.
I discover stepping away when inspiration isn’t flowing simply as vital for ADHDers.
“There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein,” Ernest Hemingway supposedly as soon as mentioned. (It’s doubtless a misattributed quote, however I adore it anyway.)
That is precisely what it seems like when I attempt to pressure creativity. And I don’t need to ‘bleed’ for my content material.
Prior to now, I’ve spent hours on ideas, opening the vein time and again. But it surely’s a waste of my time once I’m not in the fitting headspace for it. I’m a reasonably time-strapped individual and will spend these treasured hours elsewhere.
Positive, I don’t have the luxurious of with the ability to do that with all my work, however I all the time take this method with my very own content material. It’s not my full-time work, and I’ve the area to be versatile there. Making an attempt to pressure myself into that headspace is a surefire recipe for placing me off creating content material fully.
This doesn’t simply apply to the second I save the concept, both. I’ll incessantly have time blocked out to create content material (extra on this under) and sit all the way down to work on a selected thought and… crickets. Typically leaping to a different put up thought works. Typically I’ve to step away totally.
And that’s completely advantageous.
4. Batch content material creation with themed time blocks
I touched on the concept of getting content material creation time blocked out in my calendar — groundbreaking, I do know. However there’s extra!
I wish to ‘theme’ these blocks, so I’m not leaping between writing, filming, and modifying. Switching between duties is likely one of the quickest methods for me to lose focus. For instance, I’ll find yourself leaping straight into filming earlier than having correctly scripted one thing, solely to comprehend I didn’t fairly say what I meant to say… and should restart the method from scratch.
So once I’m in “creation mode,” I do one sort of content material at a time. One time block may be for writing LinkedIn posts. One other = filming movies. Subsequent week’s block = modifying.
Right here’s a have a look at how I’ve mapped out some duties for this week:
4. Use instruments to assist me keep organized (and get a dopamine hit)
In the event you’ve spent greater than half-hour in my firm, I’ve little doubt instructed you about my new favourite productiveness device. I really like them, and they’re a HUGE purpose I’m comparatively organized and get stuff accomplished. (Right here’s a listing of my favourite productiveness instruments, by the way in which!)
For me, there are two causes they work so properly.
They assist me clear my mind of all of the important stuff, decreasing the sensation of overwhelm and stopping me from forgetting these duties. My mind is for creativity and problem-solving — it’s not for long-term storage.They gamify my productiveness.
Let me elaborate. Individuals with ADHD sometimes have decrease ranges of dopamine or variations in how dopamine capabilities within the mind.
Duties which can be boring or repetitive can really feel impossibly laborious. They don’t set off sufficient of a dopamine reward to carry consideration — which is the place my device stack is available in.
I take a look at a great deal of instruments, however I’ve discovered those that stick are those who give me a bit sense of satisfaction for finishing a job. My favorites proper now are:
Todoist: My common catch-all for duties. Every little thing from ‘E-book dentist’ to ‘Write ADHD creator article’ goes right here, first. Todoist has a ‘Karma’ factors system, earned whenever you full duties.Akiflow: My job consolidator. It connects my work and private calendars, together with flagged emails, Slack messages, and extra. I can color-code completely every little thing, which I discover important for making sense of issues.Buffer: My content material second mind and cheerleader. Together with storing and scheduling all my content material, Buffer’s Streaks function retains monitor of what number of weeks I’ve shared posts on social media. I’m on week 38 now! And there may be completely no manner I’m going to lose that streak.
5. Use focus timers to get into move
Talking of visually interesting instruments — have you ever ever tried a spotlight timer?
Whether or not it’s a YouTube video, an app, and even an egg timer, setting a timer for a selected job is an excellent method to decrease distractions.
I’ve discovered that utilizing timers like this creates a little bit of a boundary to maintain me from switching. “I’ve set 45 minutes for this merchandise. The timer is working, I can’t do anything.”
In fact, my choice is to make use of apps for this — there are a great deal of tremendous visually interesting ones which can be sensible at gamifying your work. My favorites proper now are:
Focus Traveller: Turns Pomodoros into a bit RPG journey (you actually go on a digital mountaineering journey when you work).Bento Focus: An app designed explicitly for ADHDers that forces you to cut back your unending job listing to 3 gadgets per day. From there, you enter estimated occasions for every merchandise and begin the timer.
My ADHD mind loves novelty and visible suggestions, and these apps give me each.
Even a primary timer works if you happen to don’t need the bells and whistles. The hot button is making a container for deep focus. It’s a reminder that you just don’t have to do every little thing without delay.
6. I’ve a working atmosphere set for my senses
Working in a relaxed, clear atmosphere is a non-negotiable for me to get something accomplished. I realized early on in my ADHD journey that having area like this, one devoted to work, is likely one of the best methods to cue my mind that “that is focus time now.”
When every little thing round me feels calm and intentional, it helps me lock in.
In recent times (thanks, distant work!) I’ve been capable of take this a step additional, tapping into particular senses to assist me activate ‘work’ mode.
Sight: The clear, cozy atmosphere.Sound: I really like lo-fi or ambient sounds on YouTube or the main focus music app, mind.fm.Odor: I take advantage of a diffuser and important oils in my workplace that I activate every time I have to get into deep focus mode. There’s no science behind which scents I take advantage of, although — I’ve chosen a few smells I like, and have these on repeat.Contact: My mechanical keyboard is the very best for creating text-based content material. The suggestions from the keys, together with the pebbly sound, makes me really feel like I’m creating one thing tangible, quite than simply phrases on a display screen.Style: Espresso? (OK, that’s extra in regards to the caffeine and fewer in regards to the sense, however even simply the scent of espresso helps!).
7. Separate “creation mode” from “consumption mode”
One of many greatest boundaries to truly making content material is the social media platforms themselves.
I’ll open TikTok to seize a trending audio, discover inspiration for a reel, or really put up content material — and instantly, two hours have handed, and I’ve nothing to point out for my time.
I do know this isn’t a uniquely ADHD factor, although ADHD positively amplifies it. The dopamine surge of ‘subsequent put up, subsequent video’ is hard to tug away from.
To guard my focus, I mentally cut up my time into “creation mode” and “consumption mode.”
Creation mode = Occurs in Buffer. I don’t even have to open Instagram, LinkedIn, or TikTok to create a put up. I can write captions, schedule posts, and overview analytics with out having to open Instagram or TikTok in any respect — which suggests I’m not by chance getting sucked into the feed once I meant to be productive.Consumption mode = It is a free-time exercise that I attempt to be actually intentional about. As a creator, that is one thing I have to do to remain on high of developments and discover inspiration, so it’s not one thing I really feel responsible about. But it surely actually helps to enter the scroll with this mindset.
What actually helps is utilizing Buffer as a separate area for content material creation. It’s a small shift, but it surely makes a large distinction in how a lot I really create vs. simply eager about creating.
The half the place I let you know you’re doing simply advantageous
Hey. 👋 From one ADHDer to a different — you don’t want to vary your mind to be productive and profitable.
Whether or not that’s creating content material or one thing else, the truth that you’re actively making an attempt means you’re doing greater than most.
As you may doubtless inform from all the above, my ADHD technique is leaning in quite than combating in opposition to. Creating content material with ADHD isn’t about forcing your self to be hyper-productive or disciplined.
It’s about designing techniques that work for a way your mind naturally operates — and letting go of the concept that it is advisable be completely constant, targeted, or polished.
I’ve discovered that a bit construction and a whole lot of self-compassion go a great distance.
And if you happen to’re studying this whereas procrastinating in your subsequent put up? Take this as your signal to open up your Create House and jot one thing down — even when it’s messy.
