Scene from this Moment: I'm kneeling next to my bed, my upper body draped across it for support. In between my forearms is Ghibli, happy, curled up, and purring. He's biscuiting tiny scratches onto my skin. It's sweet and painful. I'm here because sitting in the recliner chair I often work in has become uncomfortable. I get antsy. Wiggling. Adjusting. It keeps me from focusing. So, here I am, trying to find just enough comfort that I can ignore what isn't, and focus. At least, Ghibli is content. He's laser-focused on his nap.
Yesterday afternoon, I had been painting for a while when I suddenly realized I was hungry. I went for the easiest thing I could find in the fridge, a slice of Swiss cheese. I took a bite and was grabbing a paper towel when I noticed dishes that needed to be put away.
Couple o' hours later, I was taking my evening multivitamins with juice, and I found my remaining snack cheese. Now curling at the edges and sad, it sat perched on top of a mirin bottle (where I had carefully balanced it to keep it safely away from the dirty dishes). I showed it to Paul, and we laughed at my ADHDness. (thanks, Brain!😅)
Fast forward a couple more hours, and I'm closing up the kitchen for the night, when I spot my juice glass. It's sitting on the kitchen island, still 1/2 full with juice, right where I set it down to show Paul my cheese-topped mirin bottle.
Yeesh. This is normal for me. I'm thinking about how to kindly keep myself more corralled and less of an accident victim to my ADHD brain. As I work to build my art business, create and achieve goals, and find a grounded, healthy, and balanced place to work from - this is something I need to take into account.
What I've found so far:
⏲️Focus timers – Hank Green (you know him?) released, this week, a little productivity timer app. I thought I'd try it.. And, so far, it's been fun. It's simple in a perfect kind of way – just a timer with a cute lil bean friend who knits while you work (a sort of virtual body doubling --> more on that in a sec). It has an option for unobtrusive (to my ear) looping music to play while your timer is ticking down. (My current timer, coincidentally, dinged as I was writing this. Setting it for another 20 mins...)
The app also has the advantage of not trying to slurp up personal data (thanks, Hank!). For me, timers can and should be less about forcing disciplined structure and more like a much-needed friendly little bell that says,
‘Hey there, babe, just checking in on ya —are we still painting, or are we deep into Google researching what the emotional meaning of blue versus brown is and how that meaning has changed over the centuries?'
👩🏼🤝👩🏽Body-doubling – I never knew this was a thing until recently. It can be super supportive to work alongside someone, even if you aren't working together. Looking back, I can see it now. For example, when I was in high school, I struggled with Algebra. I hated doing the homework and was convinced that I couldn't do it. But when Mom would sit at the kitchen table with me, it turned out that the help I needed wasn't math tutoring. It was her, just being there, next to me. Suddenly, the frustratingly unsolvable made sense. I could figure it out! (Thanks, Mom!🥰)
☕🖌️✨Rituals - Discovering rituals that I enjoy helps me overcome task initiation avoidance and dread. Little things that have worked for me:
- Lighting a candle
- Preparing myself a cup of coffee, tea, or (recently) chia drinks
- Arranging/organizing my environment: setting up my easel, paint, brushes, and surrounding workspace
- Pulling my apron on and tying it around my waist before the cats decide to attack the dangling straps.
- Putting on my headphones. Queueing up music or a podcast to listen to while I work.
There are so many more mini rituals that could be done in place of, or stacked with these. They might evolve and change over time. But, for me, they offer structure without rigidity (which is a negative trigger for me), predictability with creativity, and they tap into a sense of meaning-making.
...uh-oh, I'm uncomfortable again. I'd better wrap this up before I lose all focus. 😉
Wrapping Up
Whether you work with a brain that doesn’t always feel like it’s on your side — or not — I’d love to know:
What helps you stay focused or begin again when the doing gets hard?
What tiny rituals or accidental strategies have you discovered that work?
You can hit reply (if you're reading this from the newsletter), or leave a comment (if you’re visiting from the blog). I read every one, and your insights might help spark something for someone else, too.
If you enjoyed this post and want to help support my creative work, here are a few simple ways that really make a difference (Thank you!) :
🌱 Share this post or forward the newsletter to a friend who might relate.
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Thanks for being here. Thanks for reading. You help make the art (and the focus) possible. ✨
❤️ Janece
PS - Thank you to those of you who reached out to me after my last newsletter. Knowing that you are out there with me – it helps a lot. Finding ways to be connected during difficult times is hard - but realizing we have community that understands is worth it. Don't hesitate to drop me a line.
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