Crafting an ADHD-friendly Writing Practice

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

“Consistency is key”

“Write everyday at the same time”

“Set a specific word count goal for each session and don’t stop until you hit it”

“Eat the Frog” (do the hardest thing first)

If you’ve spent time in writing communities you’ve probably heard the above tips lauded as best practices. None of these suggestions are necessarily bad, and for many they might be profoundly helpful. After all, best practices are often identified as such because they work well for the masses.

It’s important to remember though, that best practices are usually designed in a vacuum. They don’t take into account unique circumstances, and they definitely aren’t crafted for brains that diverge from the norm. ADHDers often struggle with consistency, monotony and task initiation. Strategies that focus on these areas that are weaker for us may feel overwhelming or inaccessible.

So what are some writing strategies that take into account our differently wired brains? I’ve shared a few below but would love to hear from the community in the comments about what has worked best for you.

Create a routine but make it flexible

ADHDers tend to be sprinters and not marathoners. We can often fly through our work when the conditions are right, but then we need time and space to recover. Knowing this, it might be better to explore writing routines that aren’t overly strict. Setting aside longer time blocks a few times a week rather than shorter daily blocks works well for many ADHDers.

Avoid hyperfocus hangovers

Even though many of us enjoy the feeling of a long, locked in writing session, especially when we are hyper focused, we must be mindful of the downsides of this intense state. If you have ever finished a writing session with a pounding headache from dehydration, a backache from sitting too long, or intense hanger, then you might know what I’m talking about. While we can handle these types of experiences occasionally, ignoring our physical needs too often can lead to increased feelings of stress around our writing or even burnout. Start each writing session prepared with nutrient dense snacks nearby and a large glass of water. Set a timer for breaks where you do a quick self check-in to make sure you aren’t ignoring your biological needs.

Mix up your environment when you start to feel stale

ADHD brains thrive on novelty and interest. Changing up our environment often can help our brains feel more activated and creative. Create a list of coffee shops or public spaces you’d like to write and allow yourself to look forward to the change of pace. Writing in public environments also has the added benefit of gentle accountability. Seeing others around us working can help us get moving on our own projects.

Set a goal and track your progress

While rigid daily word counts might cause our ADHD brain to rebel, we can set flexible goals that motivate us to keep going and account for our fluctuating focus and capacity. When I was writing my book I entered my total word count goal into a word tracker app and calculated roughly how many words per week I needed to write to finish on time. It became a challenge to “beat the clock” and many days I wrote much more than what was required. This approach also allowed for less pressure on the days my brain was struggling to get started. It was also a great reward at the end of each session to enter my words written and watch my needed word count dwindle.

Finish each writing session by identifying when the next session will take place and what the first step of that session will be.

Task initiation is a challenge for ADHDers and one way we can make things a little easier is by removing barriers ahead of time. By ending each writing session by identifying when we will write next and an idea about what we want to write about, it can help make getting started again a little less intimidating. Remember, you are allowed to write whenever time and inspiration allows, but by having times identified, you won’t always be waiting for inspiration to pay a visit.

Crafting a writing practice with ADHD might seem impossible at times but when we focus on staying persistent over consistency, we can begin finding a rhythm that plays to our ADHD strengths and honors our creativity.

Notes from Jesse

One important thing to keep in mind with these strategies (and any others you try) is that they might work amazingly for you one time, and then completely fail to help you the next. That’s okay! Seriously, never feel bad or blame yourself when a strategy stops working for you or fails to work in the first place. Our ADHD brains are motivated by novelty so it’s no surprise that we’ll likely never find that “perfect strategy” that always works. Instead, your goal should be to find something that helps motivate you right now. And when that strategy stops working, just move onto the next.

It helps if you keep some sort of “strategy playbook” so you can quickly refer to a list of strategies (like the ones in this article) the next time you’re stuck.