I became a paid subscriber just so that I could comment and THANK YOU for this post. I was diagnosed with ADHD at 38, and am still figuring out my relationship to the world. With all of the ADHD research I've done since then, I have never read anything THIS helpful. The sitting weird, the bursts of productivity, the maximalism, the leaning in to sensory overwhelm... I have never felt so seen. And then you gave actual actionable advice about those elements, specifically. Mind. Blown.
Bizarrely, I was planning that, in 2024, I was going to continue forcing myself to write "500 words a day", figurative rain or shine, and win the race by taking it "slow and steady". When you called out both of these phrases and dismissed them as unhelpful, I felt an enormous surge of freedom and, for the first time in years, hope.
So thank you. Thank you for writing this, and for being willing to share your experience so that weird internet randos like me can feel less alone, feel seen, and feel like we're not massive failures who can't do anything "right." Love & warmth from South Dakota.
Thank you for writing this. So many of the challenges are familiar and that's reassuring, but so often we ADHDers commiserate without sharing our workarounds. I'm going to give some of these a try. If I don't get lost on the way to the bathroom later I'll put together some of the things that have worked for me, too.
After a couple of years of reading stuff on the Internet and wondering, these 2 newsletters prompted me to *finally* book an appt with a psychiatrist and get tested for ADHD. If I don't actually have it, I have something adjacent lol. I use the project management program Asana to give myself a deadline for literally everything—work tasks, writing tasks (revise chapter 12, fact-check tarot scene, etc), personal tasks (do laundry, buy hair ties, etc.) If it's not on my one big digital to-do list with a due date, it does not get done.
I've long suspected I have ADHD but have been reluctant to "admit" it or get a formal diagnosis-- simply b/c I have so many other health issues-- I didn't need another. But every single thing you wrote about your experience rings 1000% true for me! It really made me feel so much less alone and also hopeful that someone as successful as you struggles with these same things. There may be hope for me yet!! (and hope for the YA novel I've been working on for YEARS-- as you possibly may recall). Thank you!!!
Nov 28, 2023·edited Nov 28, 2023Liked by Rebecca Makkai
Siamese twins born two decades apart. Working on fear of pilots, but the 90 lb goldie resting on one foot with "Kashmir" playing, and the right foot wrapped around the chair leg, is working. 1040s are always late as it is too late for an ADHD diagnosis. So. MFA application is due 12/18. Goodreads vote completed after forgotten password fix. Thomas the Tank Engine? I think I can. Truly, eerily, helpful.
Deadlines, give me deadlines! If I know someone is expecting to read five or ten pages of something I've promised, it will get written. If I'm doing it 'just' for me, then maybe it's time to re-read Terry Pratchett or something.
I do so much of my writing in the shower, in my head. Can’t watch TV without drawing, crocheting, Googling something. Also never wrote a college paper earlier than the night before it was due, I love a hard deadline. I find the Pomodoro method helpful-writing in 25 minute bursts with 5 minute breaks in between to do all the things that distract and take me away from writing-scrolling IG, unloading the dishwasher, etc. There’s an app.
I think a big thing for me is the hotel room and the time to let my hyperfocus kick in. I wrote most of my dissertation in a cabin in the woods in about two weeks. I can not work as well at home. There is too much stuff to do at home. I know I need to budget for alternative working spaces, ideally several days in a row when I have nothing else to do but work, if I'm ever going to finish a novel.
As a [writer], I'm lost in discovery, easily distracted, and perpetually looking for someone or something to guide me and/or reign me in (Deadlines! Compatriots! Oddball challenges!). As a [coach to other writers] I am attentive, creative, generous, but also know how to crack a whip. Why can't I do for myself what I do for others? As a result, I have been attempting to go full "Robert Ledru" and neatly separate my personalities so that my detective self (writing coach) can bring to justice my crime-ing self (writer). Thank you for all of these helps!
This is not the answer for everyone, but...I've found some marijuana strains that are as effective for me as my prescribed meds, actually better since they don't mess with my sleep. Current fave is Creative Sativa (pre rolls) by Lowell Smokes. Three hits of the joint, headphones on, legs crossed in comfy big chair, large glass of cold water...guaranteed productivity for a few hours😊
How many people are just now, after reading these two newsletters, realizing that they have ADHD? 🙋🏻♀️
Sorry about the tax forms .....
I became a paid subscriber just so that I could comment and THANK YOU for this post. I was diagnosed with ADHD at 38, and am still figuring out my relationship to the world. With all of the ADHD research I've done since then, I have never read anything THIS helpful. The sitting weird, the bursts of productivity, the maximalism, the leaning in to sensory overwhelm... I have never felt so seen. And then you gave actual actionable advice about those elements, specifically. Mind. Blown.
Bizarrely, I was planning that, in 2024, I was going to continue forcing myself to write "500 words a day", figurative rain or shine, and win the race by taking it "slow and steady". When you called out both of these phrases and dismissed them as unhelpful, I felt an enormous surge of freedom and, for the first time in years, hope.
So thank you. Thank you for writing this, and for being willing to share your experience so that weird internet randos like me can feel less alone, feel seen, and feel like we're not massive failures who can't do anything "right." Love & warmth from South Dakota.
I sweahtagahd, you're in my brain. These tips feel like damn cheat codes.
So FINE, I will talk to my doctor about ADHD meds and regular vitamin B shots.
Gah! Taking a shower is SO boring.
Thank you for writing this. So many of the challenges are familiar and that's reassuring, but so often we ADHDers commiserate without sharing our workarounds. I'm going to give some of these a try. If I don't get lost on the way to the bathroom later I'll put together some of the things that have worked for me, too.
After a couple of years of reading stuff on the Internet and wondering, these 2 newsletters prompted me to *finally* book an appt with a psychiatrist and get tested for ADHD. If I don't actually have it, I have something adjacent lol. I use the project management program Asana to give myself a deadline for literally everything—work tasks, writing tasks (revise chapter 12, fact-check tarot scene, etc), personal tasks (do laundry, buy hair ties, etc.) If it's not on my one big digital to-do list with a due date, it does not get done.
I've long suspected I have ADHD but have been reluctant to "admit" it or get a formal diagnosis-- simply b/c I have so many other health issues-- I didn't need another. But every single thing you wrote about your experience rings 1000% true for me! It really made me feel so much less alone and also hopeful that someone as successful as you struggles with these same things. There may be hope for me yet!! (and hope for the YA novel I've been working on for YEARS-- as you possibly may recall). Thank you!!!
Siamese twins born two decades apart. Working on fear of pilots, but the 90 lb goldie resting on one foot with "Kashmir" playing, and the right foot wrapped around the chair leg, is working. 1040s are always late as it is too late for an ADHD diagnosis. So. MFA application is due 12/18. Goodreads vote completed after forgotten password fix. Thomas the Tank Engine? I think I can. Truly, eerily, helpful.
Deadlines, give me deadlines! If I know someone is expecting to read five or ten pages of something I've promised, it will get written. If I'm doing it 'just' for me, then maybe it's time to re-read Terry Pratchett or something.
I am on the verge of tears. Thank you for helping me feel less hopeless.
I do so much of my writing in the shower, in my head. Can’t watch TV without drawing, crocheting, Googling something. Also never wrote a college paper earlier than the night before it was due, I love a hard deadline. I find the Pomodoro method helpful-writing in 25 minute bursts with 5 minute breaks in between to do all the things that distract and take me away from writing-scrolling IG, unloading the dishwasher, etc. There’s an app.
I think a big thing for me is the hotel room and the time to let my hyperfocus kick in. I wrote most of my dissertation in a cabin in the woods in about two weeks. I can not work as well at home. There is too much stuff to do at home. I know I need to budget for alternative working spaces, ideally several days in a row when I have nothing else to do but work, if I'm ever going to finish a novel.
As a [writer], I'm lost in discovery, easily distracted, and perpetually looking for someone or something to guide me and/or reign me in (Deadlines! Compatriots! Oddball challenges!). As a [coach to other writers] I am attentive, creative, generous, but also know how to crack a whip. Why can't I do for myself what I do for others? As a result, I have been attempting to go full "Robert Ledru" and neatly separate my personalities so that my detective self (writing coach) can bring to justice my crime-ing self (writer). Thank you for all of these helps!
i'm just like you, i realize after reading this, but i don't have ADHD as far as i know. hmmm ...
This is not the answer for everyone, but...I've found some marijuana strains that are as effective for me as my prescribed meds, actually better since they don't mess with my sleep. Current fave is Creative Sativa (pre rolls) by Lowell Smokes. Three hits of the joint, headphones on, legs crossed in comfy big chair, large glass of cold water...guaranteed productivity for a few hours😊