I’ve just finished 4 weeks of ADHD psychoeducation sessions that I was given access to following my ADHD diagnosis. These sessions were delivered in the format of weekly 1 and a half hour webinars, designed to improve understanding of ADHD after receiving a diagnosis later in life and most likely having an unclear perspective of how it truly presents itself and how to work with it, rather than against it!
I learnt a fair bit in these sessions and felt immensely validated. A lot of what was shared, I already knew, however this provided reassurance that the methods I’ve put in place, are deeply beneficial to my working practice! So I’d like to share a few of them here, as I’m very anti gatekeeping, and I’ve recognised that it’s very common that neurodivergent people find themselves working as a freelancer like myself, rather than within a company.
Create a structured environment:
• Establish routines and consistent schedules. Predictability helps individuals with ADHD manage their time and tasks.
• Use visual cues, reminders, and calendars to keep track of important events.
Break tasks into smaller steps:
• Large tasks can be overwhelming. Help break them down into smaller, manageable steps.
• Celebrate progress along the way to boost motivation, and make it INTERESTING, providing novelty makes tasks easier!
Encourage healthy habits:
• Prioritise regular sleep patterns. Adequate rest improves focus and overall wellbeing.
• Promote a balanced diet, regular exercise, and social interactions that feed you!
Working for yourself is great for so many reasons, but it can also be really really shit too. The lack of community can make you feel really lonely, isolated, and unsupported. You can miss out on opportunities and inspiration that comes with working as a team. You can’t spread responsibility, instead you have the weight of it all on you own shoulders. Of course you can bounce ideas and share your struggles with family and friends, and I think for most people this is predominantly dumped on their romantic partner… but it’s not the same as having someone to listen and give advice that really understands the industry. So I’ve found, one of the best ways I’ve been able to overcome many of the issues around working for myself, is to nourish your connections with people who work in the industry.
As I went down the fairly traditional route into my creative career and attended university, I’m really lucky that I was easily able to form connections with like-minded people, however I know this isn’t the case for everyone! I also made friends with other freelance creatives later in life separate from education, (online and through market stalls) so despite it being harder, I know it’s possible, and the inside knowledge and validation I’ve gained from these friendships has been an invaluable asset to my career and general mental health!
I’d say the MOST beneficial choice I’ve made as a creative freelancer and actually stuck to (for I think around 5 years?!) has been weekly accountability calls with my dear friend and fellow illustrator Imogen.
Imogen and I met at Arts University Bournemouth where we both studied illustration. We loosely came up with idea during lockdown (as we graduated uni in 2020) to have a weekly call with one another to simply to keep in touch with the huge distance between us (Scarborough to Bristol), talk about our creative process, and hold one another accountable on the tasks we set ourselves the week prior. I don’t think either of us anticipated that 5 years later we’d still be doing it, but we both recognise it to be so incredibly helpful, so why would we stop?!
I’ve tried a whole bunch of different motivation techniques and organizational apps with varying levels of success as I often get overwhelmed. I’ve found for me, often simplistic is best. - Along with the phone calls with Imogen, the most beneficial tools to productivity are Google Calendar (despite being and iPhone user as they were so late to the party with introducing colour coded elements and better view to see everything all at once), and a really basic notebook that I think I was gifted years ago, that breaks tasks down and asks you to choose 3 top priorities, which for me forces me to group things together into more manageable chunks, rather than trying to do everything all at once!
