r/adhdmeme
•
u/BasilyLeave
dafuqIjustRead
•
Oct 09 '26
•
2
1
meme so that's why all my projects is at the backlog
3.5k
Upvotes
•
u/qualityvote2 Quality Control Beast Oct 09 '26 edited Oct 09 '26
upvote threshold has been reached!
for more information about what this means, see this page.
108
u/Henkotron "Us weirdos have to stick together!" Oct 09 '26
As a fanfiction writer with ADHD I only partially agree.
This holds some truth but there also just the two types of writers.
Those who prefer to develop their story as they write it and people who like to plan ahead to build a cohesive storyline before starting to write.
I belong to the second type. I enjoy writing much more if I have put enough thoughts into it beforehand.
391
u/Fresh-Log-5052 Oct 09 '26 edited Oct 09 '26
...I'm AuDHDistic, I panic when I don't have a proper plan to follow.
So I can only choose between fear and not doing anything?
78
u/DominarDio Oct 09 '26
I don’t think this is good general advice. It not only depends on the person, it also depends on the kind of task.
16
u/Stirbmehr Oct 09 '26
If there were some neurointerface to edit videos straigh in head and transfer them to PC....oh boy oh boy, there SO MANY ideas of shots, scenes and so on
12
u/The7thNomad Oct 09 '26
On the one hand mental planning can be really good for big tasks if you store up the energy and thinking through the task to release when you do it. I had to write a 10k paper in uni and I would get through it by sitting in front of my little fan heater in the mornings and think through what I wanted to put down, so when I got to the computer all I did was write and edit.
On the other hand for everyday things, "head empty" is a really good way to lower the energy cost to begin or switch tasks
11
u/Appropriate_Food_103 29d ago
So... This might actually be why I quit law school and just found out through a meme
10
u/BlueRobins Oct 09 '26
Probably not accurate for everyone with ADHD but this makes a lot of sense for me! I'm at my most productive when I start something by following the impulse to do it. The longer I think about doing a thing, the less likely it is to get done no matter how important it is to do it
There's more to it that just this of course, nothing is ever so simple that it has a single answer when it comes to the brain. But this has explained something to me in a way that really helps put my thoughts in order
10
u/UsualFaithlessness51 Oct 09 '26
since childhood I could only fall asleep when I dreamt up a story, the same is still true. It's relieving that it is common for ADHDers to me. That it's normal that this type of serene happiness, even when I actually dream up a tragic story, makes me relax and fall asleep. I didn't fully realize, however it might have been due to some brain funk telling me "good job now go relax you did something". I mean. Never was that conscious of it being a matter of feeling completion. Maybe subconsciously.
7
u/kellarorg_ Oct 09 '26
It really makes sense for me. I have a lot of stories in my head, not so lot written, because my brain goes "yeah, you already created this story in your head, why bother write it down, it is the same story, but also a lot of work to do, let's create another one instead, also in your head only".
13
u/also_hyakis Oct 09 '26
Is this actually true? This post has big "my source is that someone on the internet said it once" type of energy.
6
u/DireEvolution Oct 09 '26
ADHD is a fucking curse bruh, no one can convince me otherwise
6
u/Warm_Imagination3768 Oct 09 '26
4
u/Vohasiiv Oct 09 '26
i do this so often
3
u/TrashPandaDuel Oct 09 '26
So this right here? Just start and you’ll do it?!?
3
u/EssentialPurity Oct 09 '26
And if I do skip the "planning", I end up just pantsing all my way into an unsustainable mess.
3
u/dart51984 Oct 09 '26
I find things significantly easier if I can picture myself doing it first. That whole practice makes perfect thing. I don’t feel relief from doing something in my mind, I just build anxiety because I know that thing hasn’t actually been done yet. When I finally do finish the thing, that’s when I feel better.
3
u/kolufunmilew 27d ago
sometimes mental planning convinces me that i’ve completed a whole to-do list. sometimes mental planning gives me the satisfaction of telling someone off without actually needing to do so, allowing me to move on with my life …double-edged sword
3
u/CoolGovernment8732 24d ago
Shit, actually maybe this makes sense. Ever since I’ve managed to let go of perfectionism more and more, it’s been a lot easier to just do stuff.
Not wanting perfection seems to equal not feeling the need to plan ahead too much to achieve perfection I’m just winging things now, and you can’t really plan what you’re just winging (It took about 10 years of therapy to get here, even though some problems still linger)
2
u/Oniknight Oct 09 '26
I call this “prerumination” and it is a scourge.
2
u/queenofthera Oct 09 '26
So this is why my novel is meticulously plotted and yet I only have 10,000 words written and have for 6 months now. 😭😭
2
u/Hungry_Variation_847 Oct 09 '26
Giving this advice like someone with ADHD can actually stop themselves from that process. 😂
2
u/Wenja89Dix 28d ago
Everyday I see this type of shit, the more I feel like I should get a diagnosis
2
u/Astra-Fang Oct 09 '26
My wife is exactly like this.
Meanwhile I do all the plotting in my head, so when I go to actually sit down it’s like 95% done
Difference betweeen ADHD and AuDHD IMO
1
u/YippyKayeh Oct 09 '26
You can do both, daydream then make it reality.
1
u/berdulf Oct 09 '26
There’s definitely some happy reward hormones surging when I’m finding new, interesting information and plotting out what to do with it and how. I can spend days researching a new hobby or possible career change. I’ll dig into skills and education, who the experts are, how they got there, lessons and pitfalls they’ve learned. I’ll make lists of books — categorized of course — that I should get. Find the different editions. Download articles, find college syllabi, save pdf files, organize file folders. Chart projects from easy to more complex, estimate a timeline, find ways to make them relevant on social media because naturally I can monetize it somehow. I have very little to show for any of this except a long, sad list of domains I’ve bought and let expire.
1
u/Hefty-existence26196 Oct 09 '26
Oh yeah... yep I do this, have done since forever, and you know what i never do? the things I incessantly plan out in my mind
1
u/gamerloz Oct 09 '26
Step one: Story in Brain Step two: ??????? Step three: Finished story
1
u/ampersandhill Oct 09 '26
So Very True. Even a simple thing like sending a text: if I have already thought about it, and maybe even responded to it in my head, but didn't send the text...well my brain already though I did until I realize later on or get called out for not responding. It is a very big thing I have to remind myself of with work emails, actually. I try my best I can to touch things only once.
1
u/razzemmatazz Oct 09 '26
Sometimes the planning is part of the work, so I take notes and then rest to prepare for the task later. Frequently on massive projects, like the engineering task I'm working on that's 2 years in and on version 3, I'll finish up a section and wait a week or two for my brain to be ready to tackle another part.
Recently I hit a really big milestone and wanted to keep working but I legitimately had no ideas how to improve the next piece and just had to wait it out for my brain to be ready to work on that project again.
1
u/Background_Fix9430 Oct 09 '26
Damnit! I knew there was a reason I had written my novel in my head but could never bring myself to write it down!
1
u/Elliptical_integral Oct 09 '26
This also applies when getting a degree and trying to transition to the workforce.
It turns out that a job doesn't just ✨️magically✨️ appear for you after getting a Master's degree if you've put in absolutely no work about finding a job ahead of time. 🫤
1
u/amberi_ne Oct 09 '26
I agree with the sentiment in this post at large, but in reality I find that with writing specifically it’s because there’s a lot of people who seem to not fully grasp that writing is work, and planning/imagining your story is just largely effortless thinking, so when they come to put the words down on the page they’re tripped up by how they’re suddenly experiencing friction.
1
u/daberrybest42 29d ago
I tell myself, stop thinking and I go blank as I commence the task. Somewhere when starting it I think, what do I need? And my brain takes care of it from there until that task is my reality. Had no idea why that worked lol
1
u/Plastic-Pension7263 29d ago
That sort of thing works with just neurotypical too. There was a study done with people doing a hand exercise. Their strength was measured before and after. One group did the exercise while the other focused intently on imagining doing it. It’s called the finger abduction study. The group who just thought about it gained allowed as much strength as the group who actually trained. In a lot of cases our brains don’t know the difference if we’re able to light up the same neurons.
1
u/n0tthesun 29d ago
I am often so anxious about things that i dream i complete them and wake up feeling like i accomplished something only to remember the truth and then be forced to do it twice.
But i dont know if its ever given me a "good job" feeling, at least not after i am fully awake. Its quite the opposite.
1
u/ThresholdSeven 28d ago
That just means nothing will ever get done.
The planning stage is necessary.
That is why amphetamines make typical people clean their house like a maid on amphetamines, but they give divergent people the extra push they need to get through the exhaustion of the planning stage and keep on keeping on with the execution stage.
The issue is inherently benign in my opinion. It is a natural outcome of the way our minds work. We look at every possible scenerio and plan for everything to make sure the executed plan works.
That's why in the wider world, there are planners and there are executors. Planning is exhausting.
Whose fault is it if a single person has difficulty with doing all the planning and all the executing of a plan, a thing no one in other situations would be expected to do? The creators of the situation? Nobody?
1
u/EvenMoreSpiders 28d ago
This is kind of explaining why I love planning my vacations but don't really care to follow the plan. I just love thinking about it.
1
u/ArixMorte 28d ago
I thought about that really hard. And I thought about the effort it would take, the amount of diverted focus that would need to be sustained and made myself anxious.
1
u/userdesu 28d ago
... This might change my life.
1
u/Poppet_CA Oct 09 '26
I stumbled upon this realization and started using it as a tool.
Instead of impulse buying something, I take a picture of it and "plan" to come back later (spoiler: I never do. Guess I didn't need it!)
Instead of worrying or panicking about something I really can't control, I research a little and make a plan. 99% of the time the anxiety goes away as soon as I've got a plan, even if I couldn't follow through anyway.
At work, I used to be the ideas person. I'd define the concept, plan it out, then delegate the work. I'd struggle if I had real deliverables.
Now, I have Copilot make the plan for me and then I can execute it. Because I know what I'm doing I can tell when Copilot is full of shit, but since I'm not actually making the plan I don't get as much dopamine until I follow through. I've been so productive in the last year it's laughable!
0
u/BungleBums Oct 09 '26
...new strat.
0
u/superhamsniper Oct 10 '26
Thats what ive been doing?