Female artists and ADHD, how to achieve 1+1>2 (Part 1)

Hi, I'm zuzu, an illustrator. For a long time, I have known that I have a small problem: whenever I want to start painting, I always dawdle and spend a long time preparing: find out the paint tube, fill the washing pen holder, and arrange the large and small tools and tea, running around panting, finally sat down, hey, something is still missing! In addition, I often lose everything, even lose the same item many times. I always feel that time is not enough, I am late, and my friends around me say that I am a person who is frizzy and has no sense of time...

Do you often have similar troubles? If so, you are probably, like me, already aware of your own ADHD symptoms and the challenges it presents. The daily tasks of many creative workers are not only to respond to the requirements of design/writing/illustration, but also often need to manage energy, take care of emotional health and so on. Today I want to talk to you about some methods that I have figured out since I was doing illustration work. They helped me magnify the potential benefits of ADHD instead of allowing ADHD to trap me in anxiety.

Disclaimer: The following mentioned only represent the effective methods that I have practiced, and may not apply to everyone. If there are symptoms that cannot be checked and resolved by self-examination, please do not hesitate to seek the help of professional psychological counselors. Now let's get to the point.

First, observe and record yourself.

ADHD has always been far away from me. Because of the nature of my work, I am very familiar with the characteristics of ADHD children, so I never doubted myself. Until one day, I saw this Ted Talk . From the experience told by the speaker, I saw myself, because I made exactly the same mistake, so I immediately left a message in my Discord art group:

In the next few months, I took the initiative to contact colleagues with relevant assessment resources, and started regular consultations with my family doctor. After living with self-doubt for more than 20 years, I finally took the first step. This diagnosis process made me reflect that women should stop blaming themselves, because the surrounding environment is always looking for evidence that you are not good enough. Since I was a child, I probably ignored my own needs at work because I was a girl and was expected to be more diligent and diligent. Can I try to speak out when I need it? Reminiscent of the experience of this illustrator also resonated deeply with me. Have you ever recorded your menstrual cycle and mood, energy, regularly analyze these records and adjust your state according to it? I used to be very irritable with PMS every month. After doing some homework and recording, I began to understand my energy law and cycle, instead of being caught off guard every month to find out, oh, I am not lazy, It turned out that I wronged myself. At the end of the article, I will also attach a link to the free monthly tracker🔗

Second, simplify life and work processes.

Simplification is of great significance to A star people. We tend to get excited about a lot of things because of our short attention spans, and we often burn ourselves out when making to-do lists. Therefore, when formulating a task list, simplifying the number of tasks can well reduce the resistance to task execution. Don't be greedy for more, less is more. Xiangyou Chabao once sent a toot saying, if I could "only" do three things this week, which three would they be? If you could only do one thing, which one would it be? It's easier to help the brain reduce the things it's dealing with to a few things than to tackle a long list.

What if there is still so much left to do and need to do? Build a small refrigerator of ideas and put them aside temporarily. It can be a notion page or a small physical jar, and open it as a treasure chest. When I draw illustrations, I often have a lot of themes that I want to express, but it is easy to burn out when I exhaust my energy to draw at once, so the idea of forming such a system and starting to write also comes from this refrigerator.

Observing your own work habits and processes is an important step when it comes to creating. In the procrastination problem I mentioned at the beginning, I tried to make a list of items, and prepared materials according to the list while listening to music every time, so that the brain would consume less before officially starting to work. In addition, only doing the parts you like is also a way to simplify. If the process of hand drawing is tedious, it is easier to pick up the iPad to draw, and it is also a good tool to keep creating.

At the same time, simplifying the flow of life can make things more organized. For example, I will fasten the key chain on the waist of my trousers as shown in the picture, so that it is not easy to lose the key. Air tags, capsule coffee (or better, the best espresso cometeer) and other products are also the life of A-star people. A good helper, it can make the mind less anxious in the busy morning. It is also very beneficial to clear things in your mind regularly, such as building your own notion system, or completing the brain dump in the morning page. If you feel resistant to some social situations, you can just say no. If socializing can be simplified and only socialize with people you like, for those who do creative work, socializing will become a kind of nourishment instead of consumption. On the contrary, simplification can contribute to the rich and colorful spiritual life of A star people.

Third, adapt to your own way of working. The way most artists think is very visual. Compared with many strategies on the market that teach time management or teach you how to get more done in less time, we need to spend more time to figure out our goals and visualize it. We will feel bored or overwhelmed faster than people with the same work experience, and building a vision board is a good process of focusing. Visual reminders can be very helpful for ADHD.

Fourth, built in buffer, that is, rest! When I read The 4 Hours Workweek, I realized one point: mini retirement, if you can do what you want every weekend, why wait until retirement? Star A people are used to burning out their energy for a short time, but after the small universe is burned, it needs more cooling time than ordinary people, and the burnout frequency will be faster than others. Sometimes when we do time management, we tend to think that there are 5 hours between item 1 and item 2, so we must be able to complete the tasks that can usually be done in one hour, right? But in fact, energy often does not depend on your will. Star A people need to pay more attention to your energy level, lie down in time, rest, and adjust.

Fifth, mood management based on acceptance and encouragement. Catch the little things you did well, brag about yourself, and make yourself feel good. Wear more pajamas and make your environment comfortable. Find an accountability partner as your own community, and create with other people who face similar problems. For example, when writing this article, I found it difficult to separate because there were too many points listed, so I asked friends who love writing Consulting opinions are also encouraged by positive feedback. By planting trees clockwise, you can see more progress when you look back, and reduce anxiety caused by the countdown mode.

Sixth, let the closest people know and communicate. In the family, women usually take on more housework than men, and these labors are not necessarily physical. My family cooks a lot, and I do more shopping. So my communication method is open and honest. If there is something in the house that he notices that needs to be added, please add it to the shopping cart by yourself, or write it on the magnet of the refrigerator like me. In this way, I can plan more overall and avoid being frequently deprived of attention by small tasks.

One final tip is to go with ADHD's love of novelty and stimulate the nerves of your brain by breaking your habits from time to time. If you can't concentrate at the table, try drawing in different corners of the house, or just go out with a pen and paper. Coming and going freely can help you regain some sense of control. The new environment brings new visual and sensory experiences, which can improve anxiety and stress, and have positive stimulation for creativity and concentration. Also, I highly recommend trying some meditation or relaxation exercises to help manage mood and anxiety. With practice, I am slowly learning to live with ADHD and become a peaceful A star person.

Thank you for reading this, I wonder if you will gain some confidence in facing ADHD after reading it. I used to think that ADHD was just a fashionable label, and it didn’t really change anything if you put it on; but in the process of identifying this label, if you have the opportunity to know yourself more and bring you more mental health resources, Then this is not a label, but a starting point to understand yourself and help yourself. Don't be afraid to let others know about one of your qualities, you are very interesting and attractive when you have them.

How do you make peace with ADHD symptoms? If you have any tips, or if the above suggestions are helpful to you, please leave a message to tell me your thoughts, and you are welcome to ask more questions, which may be the topic of my next article.

You can also find me here: Ko-fi the Mammoth on Instagram

Further reading:

How to Restrain Women from Writing

Essentialism

How to Build a Second Brain

Draw Stronger

Passion Planner Free Monthly Tracker