Do you get those days too? You think back over the past day, week or month and realize you’ve been slacking off. But no longer! So you make a decision: from now on, you’re going to be disciplined. No more Mx Nice Person, it’s time to really put the thumbscrews on so you can make progress on that text. Sadly, that’s not really how your brain works, though, so before you know it you’re back where you started. In this post, I’ll tell you how to create ADHD writing motivation WITHOUT discipline. Because you really don’t need to try harder, you just need strategies that work with your ADHD brain.
What I’m about to share with you are some of the foundational principles that top experts (and I!) will explore in an upcoming event specifically designed for ADHDers like you who have to or want to write.
Let’s dive in!
The trap of discipline: Why your ADHD brain resists "trying harder"
So, you think a lack of discipline is the problem?
As an ADHD writing coach, I hear this all the time. But as I often say, as ADHDers, we have a strongly developed “inner rebel”. And this rebel comes out every time we try to give ourselves too much rigid discipline and structure. Your brain will start to rebel, leading to failure and, if you push too long, burn out.
You’ve tried the “discipline” approach before, and it never really stuck, did it? It might have worked for a day or two, but you’ve always ended up back with the shame, guilt, and sense of failure that you were trying to resolve. What’s more, it will have drained your energy and caused you to ignore your body’s and brain’s needs.
So why not try another way?
Working with your brain
We ADHDers spend so much of our time and energy feeling guilty for not being different. We don’t fit with the standard picture of what productive writing looks like, so we must be doing it wrong. And this shame and guilt cause procrastination and resistance and might even lead to writer’s block and burn-out.
What if, instead, you learn how to manage your brain and give it exactly what it needs to be productive? Rather than fighting it, why not figure out what it requires, what would make it do better? To me, that sounds like the logical solution, even if it might seem like you’re “giving in.” In fact, I believe that making peace with your brain is where true freedom and motivation come from.
So, what could working with your brain look like? Here are a few ways to start:
Focus fluctuations
Understand that hyperfocus is real and will always come back — but so do those days when you can barely string two words together on the page. Plan for these fluctuations in focus, rather than expecting yourself to always work at 100% efficiency. This way, you are no longer setting yourself up for failure and disappointment, but instead create space for the reality that your focus will always fluctuate.
Novelty seeking is a strength
Accept that your brain loves novelty and give it a variety of tasks to work on. Don’t tell yourself you’re not allowed to play with a new idea until you finished your old one. Lean into this need for novelty and embrace it. This will allow you to always find your work exciting, allowing you to create motivation without discipline.
Rest as a productivity tool
You don’t need to “earn” rest. Your body and brain need it to function. Give yourself breaks and rest when you need it, without guilt. It’s the most guaranteed way to set yourself up for success, as you’ll give your brain what it needs to perform later.
Key takeaways
Working with your brain is NOT about lowering your standards, and it’s not about giving up on your ambitions. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s accepting the reality you’re living with and figuring out how to function within it. And I think that’s a lot more productive (ha!) than sitting around wishing you were different.
In fact, the idea of making peace with your brain and understanding its needs is SO key to being productive with ADHD in a sustainable way, that it will be one of the main themes in the talks our incredible speakers (and me!) will give during the Basecamp to Brilliance summit – an event designed specifically for ADHD writers and academics like you. We’ll show you exactly how to implement these and many more strategies so you can thrive.
Click the button below to learn more!
How to summon motivation without discipline
Now that we have friends with our ADHD brains and decided to work with them instead of against them, locking them behind the bars of discipline doesn’t seem to be the right approach anymore, does it? But just writing only when you feel like it doesn’t quite cut it either, especially if you have to write for a living. Which begs the question: how do you summon motivation WITHOUT discipline?
Well, what if trying to force yourself to write, you entice yourself to write instead? What if you make writing interesting, attractive, appealing and exciting? Then, it won’t be so hard anymore to get yourself to do it. If you manage to make writing enjoyable, you don’t have to force yourself anymore. You’ll be intrinsically motivated instead.
Here are some of my favorite “summoning” strategies.
Sensory seduction
One way to summon motivation without discipline is to make your writing environment and practice enjoyable for yourself. Go through the senses and ask yourself how you can provide yourself with something interesting for each. What will you look at, what will you hear, taste, smell and feel?
My writer coaching clients have come up with some great ideas. They use special teas, weighted plushies, binaural beats, aroma diffusers and curated desktop backgrounds to make writing a wonderful experience. In fact, you could say that they’re seducing themselves into writing every day!
Play & novelty
Despite popular belief, ADHDers aren’t motivated by discipline, punishments, or threats. Instead, we’re motivated by interest, novelty, challenge (play), and urgency. Knowing this, it makes a lot more sense to try to access motivation without discipline! If you want to learn more, read my blogpost about how a writer increased her productivity through play.
Or, watch this video to learn more about the sources of motivation with ADHD:
Key takeaways
By making your writing enjoyable and fun, by using sensory seduction or playfulness, you can start summoning motivation without discipline. From being a chore, writing becomes an activity you’re naturally drawn to which helps you create more constant progress rather than the stops and starts of the discipline approach.
If you want to dive even deeper into working with your brain for motivation and productivity, make sure to join our conference, the Basecamp to Brilliance summit, this year. You can sign up now to be eligible for the Early Bird discount!
Final points on motivation without discipline
Motivation without discipline is not only possible for ADHD brains… Working with your brain and enticing it to do the work you want it to do is the only way to build motivation in a sustainable way. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you just need to force yourself into it to fix all your issues. Instead, befriend your brain and work with it to produce all the required motivation without discipline you need to get your work done.
If you want to dive deeper into ways to work with your ADHD brain to achieve your writing goals, the Basecamp to Brilliance summit is going to be perfect for you! Make sure to sign up now, so you’ll be the first to know when the special Early Bird tickets go live!
Talk to you soon!
– Susanne
