Tips for Freelancers with ADD
As someone with ADD I need certain systems in place to keep myself focused in the studio. And yes, I do have medication to help as well, but I still find it important to do these things otherwise I definitely do not get the same amount of stuff done.
1) Do Not Disturb: I am part of several group messages, manage a few social media accounts, and receive several emails a day so my phone is consistently buzzing and it takes me out of the zone really fast. Especially if I look at the notifications and actually open the phone. So as soon as I get in to the studio I turn Do Not Disturb on. In my phone I am able to set custom Do Not Disturb settings so I have one for work that allows specific people to contact me if they need to, but for the most part my phone stays quiet. There is something about opening that phone that just immediately takes me out of the work or creative headspace and it can take me a while to get back to it.
2) On that note, I have a physical planner. I need a space where my daily tasks, meetings, events, etc are written down. For me, if it's not in my planner it doesn't exist in my mind and it won't happen unless someone reminds me about it. I have a physical planner instead of using one on my phone or relying exclusively on my Google Calendar because that requires me to go in to my phone which of course can lead me to getting distracted and opening other apps. Personally I love this planner because it has a section for your monthly plans, goals, projects, and notes, a weekly section to help you manage what needs to get done in general that week, along with habits you want to track, and sections to help you maintain that ever elusive work-life balance. It then goes in to break things down on the day by day level and each weekly section ends with a review of the week. This has helped me stay organized and has helped me increase my productivity by having it all laid out for me in these detailed and broad strokes.
3) Getting distracted by the need to eat drives me nutty sometimes so I keep an assortment of snacks in my studio. I try to keep the snacks to healthy things that can help support my energy levels and brain activity, but I definitely have my guilty pleasures mixed in there too! Having something I can grab to help me reach a good stopping point before I take my lunch break has been really helpful!
4) TAKE BREAKS. Ears and brains get tired and they will struggle to listen in the fine detail that we often need when working with audio. I make sure to take a lunch break and a break to get some exercise or physical activity into my day so that my mind and ears get a break and a chance to reset. I also know that it is important to take time away from the studio for a social life, to go out and have adventures that feed my creativity, to go to art exhibits, plays, concerts, festivals, and just hang out with friends around a fire pit. Getting out of the studio is massively important to maintaining inspiration and creative energy. It will also prevent burnout. I also heard from a composer interviewed on Dr Garrett Hope's fantastic podcast The Portfolio Composer talk about how she finds it important to take a couple days off, or even a fully vacation away, from the studio after finishing a big project so that her brain can fully reset and relax before jumping in to the next thing. I have also started this practice and it found it to be enormously beneficial.
5) Meditation is something that I do find really beneficial when I remember to do it. For me meditation doesn't always mean sitting still. Sometimes I meditation while moving my body through a yoga flow, walking mindfully, or even while making myself dinner. It is about being mindful in the moment and allowing that stillness to wash over you while you tap in to your breathing. It also isn't about forcing your mind to be blank. The best tip I got when learning meditation is that during meditation and mindfulness exercises you are there observing your thoughts, but not getting caught up in them. A great analogy is to imagine you are sitting by a highway watching the cars go by. You can identify the cars, maybe you can see where they came from or where they are going, but you don't run in to traffic and try to stop them or get carried away by them. Just observe them. Notice them and let the flow of traffic just keep going smoothly on. Sometimes, at the end of the day, I imagine my mind to be a big messy desk with lots of folders and papers sitting on it that represent what happened in my day or what thoughts are really heavy on my mind and I imagine putting them away in a file cabinet. Not forgotten, but acknowledged and organized to come back to later when it is time to work on them.
6) Sometimes it is harder for me to focus because there may be background noise distracting me, or I just don't feel connected enough to what I'm working on. I have a really nice pair of isolation headphones that submerges me into what I am working on and it helps so much to keep me in the zone with what I'm doing.
7) It is ok to walk away! Sometimes when I have been really stuck on something and just can't focus on it, I take it as a sign that I need to walk away and let the project simmer on my back burners. Usually after I've taken a day or two off I'm able to come back with fresh ears and am able to see and hear the next steps. Sometimes things need to marinate a bit.
So these are the things that help me stay focused and productive. But everyone has different methods that work for them! If you have additional tips that work for you share in the comments below!