Recently, we've seen an increasing number of people in our community mentioning how Craft has helped them stay on top of their ADHD. We got in touch with a few of them to hear more about their experience and get some top tips for anyone else using Craft with ADHD.
6 tips for harnessing your ADHD with Craft
- Personalize your Craft
- Use Daily Notes to record what you’ve achieved
- Create a dashboard (using Cards)
- Give distractions 5 mins of attention
- Make your Craft different
- Add notes anywhere, anytime
Keep reading to see how to put them into action.
Paula - Freelance Copywriter/SEO specialist
How does ADHD impact you?
I struggle with time-keeping, remembering events and to-dos etc. I can be quite impulsive so I’m trying to find a way to stay on top of everything. I have a lot of ideas and often feel overwhelmed and even incapacitated by them all. I’m starting to build structure and routines for myself as a strategy to cope.
There are days that I’m full of energy and can work really hard, but there are other days where I can’t focus and it’s difficult to do anything at all. It’s days like this that I can feel very insecure and be hard on myself.
I used to work in digital marketing but I lost my job during the pandemic. It’s been hard for me to transition to being self-employed because I prefer it when somebody tells me what to do. I need the structure - but that’s why Craft has been useful for keeping myself accountable.
What’s your advice for using Craft to manage ADHD?
1. Make it your own
I’ve tried a lot of different apps - some were too complicated and some were simply boring. It’s important to me that an app doesn’t feel boring or I won’t stick with it long enough. Craft, though, just clicked for me. It’s both simple yet very customizable so I can really make it my own.
2. Use Daily Notes to look back on what you’ve done
I use the Daily Note almost as a chronicle for my day. I have a list of outcomes and reminders that I want to get out of each day. Looking back at what I’ve accomplished each day makes me feel better whenever I’m being too hard on myself.
3. Create a homepage/dashboard using cards
I’ve also built a homepage which is separated into several cards, each representing a different area. There’s one called Learn More which is for capturing things that I see on the internet that interest me. I have Sparks which is where I collect all the different ideas I have - from blog posts to business ideas.
The homepage gives some structure to my impulses and it helps me deal with all the thoughts/ideas I have. This ensures my ideas don't get lost and gives me a space where I can continue developing them if I want.
Doug - Video Producer at Craft
How does ADHD impact you?
I have a diagnosis of ADHD and autism. The main characteristic for me comes down to paying attention. I have to use a lot of energy to pay attention to something, so it exhausts me. If I’m doing a task, the likelihood is that 20 minutes in I’ll need to do another task or else my attention will be on something else.
Another thing to mention are these bursts of energy where you just really want to do something. I’ve always found that those bursts of energy are really useful tools if you listen to them.
But they’re really difficult, for example, in a corporate environment, where there’s a certain way that things should be done that maybe isn't aligned to the way you'd like to do things.
What’s your advice for using Craft to manage ADHD?
1. Give your distractions 5 minutes of attention
What often happens is I’ll be doing a task and suddenly, at the back of my mind, I start thinking of an idea for something else. The thing is, I’ve discovered that unless I’ve satisfied that secondary thought it will continue distracting me and keep me from doing the task at hand.
That’s where the Daily Notes come in… one of the best ways to get rid of distraction is to give it five minutes of attention. So when an idea comes to mind I simply start doodling about it in my Daily Note before coming back to the original task.
2. Make your Craft stand out
My ADHD also shows up as a certain rebelliousness - I like being able to do something in my own way and don't like fitting into the templates of others. So, Craft gives me loads of ways to put my personal touch on the things I'm working on to make it stand out.
3. Add notes from anywhere
When I get distracted during the day, sometimes I just need to get outside and take a walk. Having Craft on my phone means I can capture ideas that might come to me while I’m on the move. But this actually works both ways. In the evening, I might have a new video idea while watching TV. Craft allows me to capture those ideas quickly and easily to a place I know I can pick them up the next time I’m at work.
October is ADHD awareness month. Got tips for how you’ve used Craft to help support your ADHD? Share your tips with us in the community.
