What I’ve Learned as a Freelance Writer With ADHD

My Successes, Setbacks, and Story as a Freelance Writer With ADHD

I, like any person diagnosed with some form of ADHD, live in a world filled with distractions. When I sit down to work at the beginning of the day, there’s a lot that needs to be done before I can actually get anything done. There’s checking every social media account, walking over to my couch to sit and play the three songs I know by memory on my ukulele, walking back over to my laptop to browse Medium stories, checking social media again, and getting up to brew a pot of coffee only to forget I brewed it.

The hardest part of the dance I do to get prepared to write is that, many days, it feels like I have to sit and wait for motivation to fall into my lap. As a freelance writer, time is of the essence and I don’t have the time to just sit and wait to feel prepared before taking on the tasks of the day. Deadlines land upon my head one by one and while I revel in the fact that my freelancing business is becoming more successful with each passing month, sometimes I feel crushed by the weight of it all. Sometimes my ADHD is a strength and, all too often, it can feel like a crushing weakness when it comes to my role as a freelance writer.