Living with a Whirlwind Mind

How I Have Always created Systems to deal with My Combo-Type ADHD

This will be a longer blog post because, as a neurodivergent educator and photographer, I am super passionate about this topic and helping people function better in this neurotypical world. And if you know me, you know that brevity has never been my strong suit. So, buckle up and enjoy the ride, or browse the carefully titled headings to find the information that works for your needs. I hope this provides you with insight into the ADHD mind.

I remember always buzzing as a kid. I was as quiet about it as I could manage, at first, because as a girl, I wasn’t allowed to be disruptive, and I was taught to internalize my neurodiversity. But, I was always buzzing inside. To the outside world, I was a flighty daydreamer that never lived up to my potential. I was a smart, inquisitive child, but school just wasn’t my jam until much later in my academic career.

As I got older, I couldn’t keep the buzzing at bay. I was mouthy, I laughed too much, too hard, too loud, and for too long. I talked too much. I didn’t stay on point. I was constantly in trouble and would get kicked out of class for the silliest, uncontrollable behaviors, but if I was interested in a topic, I was the most meticulous work horse you have ever seen. This drove everyone around me crazy, especially my teachers. And in the 80s and 90s, we didn’t have the diagnosis to guide and direct behavior or the support system to learn how to interact with a neurotypical world.

So, how did I learn to function with my crazy brain? I developed systems that I live by to this day. And because I functioned so well with my systems in place, I became an ADHD super teacher helping kids hone and develop the systems that worked for them and their buzzy brains. As a family and senior photographer based in the Seattle area, I use my super, buzzy brain during each photo session as well, guiding, directing, posing, playing, joking, and having fun.

How ADHD Has the Potential to Stop Me

You know that idea that you can make something a habit in 21 days? That’s not true for people with ADHD. I figured out long ago that nothing is a habit for me, and everything I do is a task that needs a checklist (either mental or physical). Brushing my teeth? Task. Exercising? Task. Remembering to eat or eating right? Task. Cleaning? Task. Even things that I have trained my brain to do habitually for months on end with dedicated practice and forethought can go by the wayside like they never existed if I get in any way derailed. And I get derailed often.

Procrastination

One of my most toxic traits is procrastination. Over the years, I have convinced myself that I work better under pressure. Sound familiar? Sound like the excuse your teenager gives you? It’s true. We convince ourselves that we do our best work under extreme pressure. It’s because it creates an artificial dopamine high, and we thrive on those rushes that feel like an adrenaline spike, even when we know they are bad for us. So, I put off tasks that can easily be completed today until the last possible moment. The more mundane the task, the longer it’s put off.

As s school-aged child and college student, this task-avoidance behavior was consistently used for writing. I was good at writing, but I had no interest in it, so I put it off for as long as I could. Sometimes, term papers wouldn’t be completed until the night before they were due, even if I had known about them for months. Was this painful, absolutely, but I couldn’t be convinced that planning and prioritizing would yield the same results. I was a prodigious savant, and last-minute papers displayed my brilliance better than weeks of planning ever did (or at least, that’s what I would tell myself). I still procrastinate on low-dopamine tasks like cleaning and laundry, but not on writing because I have systems in place to prevent that.

Energy ebbs and flows

If you know someone with ADHD, perhaps you’ve noticed that they are high energy one moment and really lethargic the next. These energy ebbs and flows have plagued my life since I was a teenager. When I was a kid, I just took a nap and was back to buzzing in no time. Even as a teenager, I took daily naps so that I could continue to function at a breakneck pace. Nowadays, I recognize my energy ebbs and flows and use them to my advantage. When I have a burst of energy, I can push out content like nobody’s business. Earlier this year, on one such energy burst, I drafted 14 blog posts with photos and content outlines. When I am on a burst, I am unstoppable.

But when I am on an ebb, I am immoveable, and those inevitable crashes often occur after an extreme flow or burst state. Often times, when my output is great, my recuperation needs are equal or greater to the output. I will go days where I can barely function because I pushed my flow state to the brink. So, what do I do to compensate for such unstable energy? I batch create and schedule. Those 14 blog posts will keep me up-to-date on blogging for 6 months. They will also keep me flush with social media content for just as long, because each blog post is 5 or more Instagram and Facebook posts, stories, or reels. I have learned how to turn something that used to plague me into something that works in my benefit as an adult and a business owner.

How ADHD is My Super Power:

Scheduling

Raise your hand if you were ever told the following phrase growing up, or if you are guilty of using this phrase with your child: “If your head wasn’t attached to your body, you would lose it!” It always brings up the poem The Loser by Shel Silverstein to me because the accompanying illustration of a boy sitting on his own head speaks to my soul. That was me! That is me still! I was the kid that would have lost her head if it wasn’t attached to my body. And that has to do with working memory.

Working memory is the part of the brain that turns plans into action. ADHD can negatively impact working memory, and the working memory of someone with severe ADHD depends on how invested they are or aren’t in the task. So, I have learned to schedule my life in several locations. Scheduling out appointments, photography sessions, what I am going to do that day, what I am making for dinner for the week, etc. is a must. I schedule not only my content, but my entire life, and keeping a schedule in several places saves me every time. If it’s not important to me or it’s too far in advance, I will not remember…anything. So, I keep two physical calendars (personal | business), and two digital calendars (personal | business). I write everything down. I have to. If I don’t write it down, it will not be transferred out of my working memory into action. I just won’t get it done. And I keep notepads and pens in every room for when ideas or inspiration strike me, because again, if I don’t write it down, I will not remember, and my beautiful ideas will poof away never to be heard from again.

Planning

I also create a plan and stick to it. If I don’t, then I swirl out of control or find more interesting things things to focus on. I plan and prioritize what I am going to do every week on Sunday. I do a different task for my business each day intermingled with what needs the most attention in my personal life (like grocery shopping lists and meal plans, sporting events, and drama classes). This allows me to focus on what actually needs to get done, and routinizes my tasks making them almost a habit (but remember, they aren’t habits, they are tasks).

For example, I write blog posts every Monday. I don’t post every Monday (sometimes I post on Tuesday), but I write every Monday. I also write my newsletters when I complete my blog posts. I have class on Tuesdays. I schedule out the week’s worth of social media posts (except stories) on Wednesdays. This way, if a low energy day strikes, I have content already pushed out. This has saved me so many times, and it prevents me from procrastinating, which allows me to spend more quality time with my family. I force myself to sit down for two hour chunks and complete each task so that I don’t get caught in the procrastination spiral of yesteryear (because I am not actually a prodigious savant).

These Systems are Imperative for my Business

So, how does this knowledge help my business? Because creating art is a high-dopamine activity for me, the activities that draw the art to me are worthy of care and planning. I get such a rush and so much joy working with families and high school seniors. I leave sessions with a rush that I can only compare to a runner’s high. So, because I get such a rush from the doing, I translate that into the harder things like marketing, blogging, working on my social media profile so it gets high engagement. These are the things that are fed by the rush of working in person with my clients. So, although writing, marketing, and social media are low-dopamine tasks in my mind, the fact that they bring my ideal clients makes them worth doing and worth doing well.

My ADHD also allows me to recognize when children are bored or not having fun at a session. Because of this ability to be highly in tune to mood shifts, I can quickly pivot and turn a situation that could be problematic into a situation that becomes joyful and fun for every family member. After all, I want my family and senior photo sessions to be fun first and foremost. So there you have it. My buzzy brain has the potential to stop me every day, but because I have developed systems, I am able to turn my brain into a super power. Does any of this resonate with you personally or can you see similarities like this in your child? My hope is that this content helps you to understand yourself or your people better. I hope it did. Let me know how this blog impacted you in the comments below.

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