Tips for artists with ADHD
(Mind that I received my diagnosis last summer, so I’m still learning to improve my life around that awareness, but that’s what worked for me so far):
TO FOCUS:
It’s not like we are unable to focus, it’s just that we are unable to focus on one thing at a time, especially if it’s the sort of thing that doesn’t keep our mind fully engaged. Rather than “a mess” think that we are natural multitaskers!
To be able to keep working on one thing for longer, engage different parts of your brain. Combine senses.
If I want to work on a piece for longer periods of time without wandering off to tumblr or youtube every two minutes, I usually listen to something on the background.
NOT MUSIC! Music engages hearing, but not active cognitive processes. It just blends into the background at some point.
Audiobooks, podcast, podfics, your class recordings… Anything that requires concentration while you mindlessly color or clean your lineart.
In fact, this applies to more than just art. AUDIOBOOKS ARE FUCKING AMAZING. I can’t focus on a movie so I didn’t bother with getting Netflix, but I did get Storytel. Best investment ever. But really, there’s plenty of free apps out there like ivoox or art19 for podcasts. And royalty-free audiobook apps.
Srsly. Cleaning, walking, drawing, etc. Any activity that previously I wasn’t able to keep up, now I CAN. Because my brain is engaged by the book, while my body is engaged by something else. It’s a fucking miracle.
TO AVOID DAMAGE FROM HYPERFIXATING:
This is admittedly, my weak spot. I still do it but here it goes…
TEAR DROPS. Take care of ur eyes, fam.
Set an alarm or a timer every 15-20 min if you are using an audio app. When you hear it/the audio stops playing (it may take you a bit to notice, it’s ok, you will eventually) take a moment to check your body. Is any part of your body in pain/discomfort? Do you need to pee? Stretch? Take a couple gulps of water. What time is it? Maybe it’s around lunch/dinner time? Eat a piece of fruit… Then go back to work. Repeat.
Alarms just… alarms.
TO ORGANIZE YOUR BRAIN:
The downside of having so much at the same time on our minds - we need a physical outlet to organize ourselves and not suffer a shutdown from overload. Now, I know making to-do lists can be depressing if you never manage to complete them.
Trick: don’t make to-do lists. Make “order” lists. On paper is great, but I recommend google keep because it’s easy to sync and to move around the check lines. Just write down everything that comes to mind in reference to a project or a task. Every single thing. Get it out there put it into words. Once you got it, organize it. That way you will know what you need to do first and in what order. Take out the unnecessary parts, mark the “maybes”, break it into parts…
Once you’ve got the outline of your work, it’s much easier to start and keep going.
I hope this helps! ♥ Please, add to this post so we can learn from each other.
