You know what to do, so why aren’t you doing it? (New Year, New View- Week 5)
Ok, it’s mid April when I’m writing this and I’ll fess up- this blog was supposed to be published a couple of weeks ago as part of the New Year, New View 6 week series (sorry if you’ve been waiting). This part felt hard to pull together because it’s all about ascertaining the “how” of achieving what you want- and golly gosh working out (and doing) the “how” is especially hard for ND peeps.
You’ve got the Key, You’ve got the Secret
I have always found Neurodivergent creative people to be highly insightful and knowledgeable about themselves- we sometimes just need that missing piece to help push us into action. And that missing piece is really just understanding that you need more support with executing things... and when you put that in place, it helps. I used to look at neurotypical people and wonder: how are they doing that? (eg. life) I’d feel baffled by their energy, their commitment, their consistency, their (seeming) unquestioning nature… and I’d think I was just doing it wrong or didn’t get the memo on how to do life somehow.
Being creative and then later diagnosed neurodivergent made me realise how all the advice I’d been absorbing about productivity and motivation didn’t work for me because it wasn’t meant for me. I wasn’t wrong, the system was wrong (Eg. IF YOU WANTED IT ENOUGH YOU’D SHOW UP AND KEEP SHOWING UP!) fyi this couldn’t be further from the truth for ADHDer’s.
Anecdote time:
I remember visiting my GP years before diagnosis because I was struggling to maintain a consistent routine and wanted so badly to feel on top of things (and thought there was something wrong with me)- I was a gigging musician and a single parent at the time and my GP said- “Oh come on, what are you worrying about? You’re creative, you’re supposed to be a bit chaotic- that’s ok!” I came away thinking, Wow, that didn’t help me at all because I knew I was creative AND wanted to have some structure, routine and feel able to get things done as well.
Now it makes sense of course, I was presenting as neurodivergent, probably AuDHD, I was asking for help and my GP didn’t get it. So just to be clear I am neither advocating that a strict routine or absolute chaos is best- I’m developing a path that acknowledges our mutable natures whilst giving a guiding scaffold for forward movement. K?
I’ll have what she’s having
I get asked all the time: “What is your system?- I need the right system!” because ND people often feel like they are missing something and want to establish the perfect structure, the routine- THE THING that will FINALLY work for them FOREVER! While I have tools that I have developed which work for me and others- I am conscious that we are and should be skeptical of anyone who says they have the perfect system. My point is, no one has all the answers for you, in reality, your “how” will be a combination of many things and different from someone else’s. And what worked last week won’t work the same way next month- them’s the facts!
There are literally thousands of productivity systems out there but what I’m working on is specifically made for neurodivergent creatives with flexibility over interpretation and implementation with space to move away and come back to whatever parts serve you. I’ve used my background as a trained Occupational therapist, my Masters research and years of feedback from my Accountability membership (The AMP Club) to create something which will help you design and live the balanced creative life you want.
Ok, after that err advertorial… back to The How! So you know what you want but how will you actually get there? We might actually be really great at planning and working out a method- some ADHDers are incredibly meticulous planners- BUT we might still not be able to execute what we know we need to do. Imagine knowing what you want and even knowing how to get to your dreams and STILL not being able to make yourself do it- devastating, no?
What is “How” anyway?
It means knowing what you want to do and knowing what the component parts are but it also means knowing yourself, your creative work, what time, resources, environments and contexts you work best in and have to work with.
That’s why it is hard to establish what “how” looks like because it’s complicated and for a system to work and be sustained (and fyi “how” is a system) it needs to be rooted in your unique reality.
The Toppest top-tip I can give you right now is to tell you:
Stop waiting for:
The right skills
The right time
The right people
The right energy
The right version of yourself
and work with where you are NOW.
Because, if you want to get philosophical about it, now is all you ever have- right? Gross… but true!
If you wait to be intrinsically motivated (and to be able to stay motivated) when you are in fact, a creative, fluctuating, divergent, emotional human being- !newsflash!- you will be waiting forever and the world will never get to enjoy your unique creativity.
If you come you will have it.
Traditional productivity methods might demand consistent motivation in order to show up but instead we choose task containers and repeatable rhythms to get us to a place where we don’t need to be motivated because the structure carries us.
Try this:
Make it Real- root what you want in where you are now
Make it Small- the 1st step, 5 minutes, one teeny tiny act
Make it Supported- who needs motivation? get structure!
Week 5 gives you some guidance on suggested daily/ weekly/ monthly rhythms and structures which can be the thing you have been looking for- and the whole point of it is to make your own.
If you’d like to know more, feel free to download Week 5 of The Unencumbered You Workbook (while it’s available) below.
And if you’re interested in coaching with me or joining The AMP Club and you’d like to explore your “how”, get in touch!
