More Tips For Freelancers With ADHD
Three ways to maintain forward momentum when you don’t feel like it.
Three ways to maintain forward momentum when you don’t feel like it.
I’ve been freelancing in the publishing industry for over 20 years now, but it’s only been within the past year that I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD.
I’m 55. What the heck?
The revelation has rocked me as I’ve looked at past behaviors and have seen how undiagnosed ADHD helped certain things play out. One of those things was amassing a bunch of strategies for coping with ADHD while maintaining a successful freelance career.
I’m proof it’s possible. Sure, some mistakes were made along the way. That’s bound to have in over 20 years. But mistakes lead to lessons, and lessons (successfully learned) make for a more robust freelance career.
I’ve already presented one piece on strategies for freelancers with (and without) ADHD. As promised, here are some more things you can try to make your freelance routine stronger.
Add Music
Music is a good way to add some background noise that may not get in the way of your ability to focus.
Hear me out.
Many of us have trouble working in total silence for an extended period. But it’s also very easy to have the wrong kind of noise in the background. TV or other video add visual distraction to work. Podcasts and audiobooks often require you to divide your attention too much.
Music played at a low volume doesn’t necessarily require much attention. It’s present but not intrusive.
In fact, music has been shown to help people — particularly those with ADHD — to concentrate. You may forget what you’ve listened to, but your focus on the work at hand should improve.
Experiment to see what works for you best. I was surprised to discover that I found much classical music too distracting, but punk rock worked pretty well. As does bluegrass and indie pop.
For you, it could be entirely different genres.
The point is, find some music. Whether via speaker or headphones, play it low and see how that affects your focus.
I bet it helps.
Change Your Setting
I have a nice home office where I spend a lot of time.
Maybe too much time.
I don’t know what it is. Sometimes I just don’t want to be there. This results in me then resenting the work I have to do.
But the work has to be done. My big stack of bills says so.
When I find myself in this situation, I try one of three things.
I move to the living room couch. I keep the TV off, play some music, and try working from there instead of my home office. So long as no one else is home or using the living room, moving to the couch does the trick.
Except when it doesn’t. Strategy number two is heading out to the library.
My local library has great little work areas, free WiFi, good lighting, and power. I put some headphones on and can often get several hours of work done with this setting change.
And if the library isn’t doing it for me, my third option is the old coffee shop cliche.
There’s a reason you find so many people with laptops at the local coffee shop. It’s a way to work with little interruption while, at the same time, not being alone. It’s privacy in public — if that makes any sense. It might take a few tries to find the coffee shop with the right atmosphere for you, but when you find it, it can be golden.
What’s not to like? Coffee, snacks, light jazz, a quiet hum of other people working?
Admittedly, this advice all depends on living somewhere with a nearby library or coffee shop. It also assumes you live in a home where you have the option to switch rooms to work in.
My specific examples are more suggestions based on my personal experience. The point of the advice is to try and change your setting if you find where you’re working now is not helping your productivity.
Breaking Down Tasks
This technique shows up in a lot of articles about improving productivity. It even has a name.
Chunking.
Essentially, you take a large task and break it into smaller chunks. Then you attack each smaller, more manageable chunk one at a time and reward yourself as you progress.
For example, a large part of my freelancing is putting together books for publication. I start with text and some graphic files and finish with a wholly formatted and laid out book.
There are a lot of steps in this process, from fixing style issues, making formatting consistent and logical, adjusting photos and graphs for press, laying out text into chapters, inserting graphics, fixing footnotes, applying headers and footers, designing a front cover, creating a full cover spread, turning in proof copies, making adjustments requested by author and publisher, then collecting everything together for the printer.
It’s a lot of steps to take in all at once. To make the project less daunting, I draw up a list of each step so I can then get that sweet little dopamine release that comes with checking off each step.
I may even reward myself after specific tasks. If I have to tweak 50 photographs for press, I may reward myself with an hour of mindless TV. Or, if I’ve just finished and sent off a possible cover layout, I may give myself 10 minutes of free Instagram scrolling.
Big jobs can be intimidating. Breaking them down into small chunks makes them more manageable. Checking off each small step gives you a real sense of accomplishment. And rewarding yourself gives you something to look forward to.
What Are Your Tricks?
I know I can’t be the only one.
The prevalence of adult ADHD is around 5% of the population or so. With so many people adopting freelance work these days, it only stands to reason there are many, many other ADHD freelancers out there.
If you’re one of the proud few… what are your experiences and suggestions?
We’re all in this together.
About John Teehan
John lives in Rhode Island with his wife, son, and cat. He specializes in tech, health, business, parenting, pop culture, and gaming. Visit wordsbyjohn.net for more info and rates. Twitter: @WordsByJohn2.
Do you like poetry, short fiction, and general oddities? Check out my new book, Life Among Psychopaths: an unexpected potpourri, now available on Amazon.