7 Game-Changing Tips & Tools for Writing with ADHD
Overcoming Challenges and Enhancing Your Unique Voice
Being a creative person in any discipline can be tricky when also struggling with the unique set of challenges that comes with ADHD. But just because it’s difficult, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible and, in fact, it can even work to your advantage.
You may not even have an official ADHD diagnosis, but if any of the following scenarios resonate with you, then this article will help you:
You flit from task to task, starting lots of projects but rarely, if ever, finish them.
Technology and the internet is like a siren call you can’t resist.
Thinking of how much work is involved in a project, especially a long one like a novel, is completely overwhelming and you have no idea where to start.
Forget what you were doing or where you were up to if something interrupts you (like a phone call you can’t ignore).
Often can’t think of a word that’s on the tip of your tongue.
Generally chaotic and disorganised, both in your environment and in whatever you’re trying to do.
Feel called out yet? I know I sure do! I’m 37 and have only recently learned that I’ve probably had ADHD my whole life. At first I dismissed the suggestion - I was a good student, nearly all A’s and B’s in school (though significantly lower if I didn’t like the subject, hint hint past self), I had a good attendance record, and was generally considered to be well behaved.
But what I didn’t realise is that the definition of ADHD had expanded beyond the stereotype that I knew and was especially different for girls. When I started researching more into how ADHD presented in girls, and especially into inattentive ADHD, suddenly a lot of things started making sense.
I’ve since put in a lot of practices that have really helped me manage my wacky brain and still be as creative as possible, which is what I’ll be sharing in this article.
What is ADHD?
ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a particularly common neurodivergence, though some specialists have suggested it should be renamed to Attention Disorder. It is typically diagnosed in childhood, but it can sometimes be overlooked, especially in young girls who might show different signs. It is only in recent years are we discovering that a girl who is ditzy and air-headed may actually have a brain that simply works differently.
There are three ways ADHD is displayed:
a predominantly hyperactive and/or impulsive presentation,
a predominantly inattentive presentation, or
a combined presentation.
Predominantly hyperactive and/or impulsive presentation was originally thought to be the only way ADHD manifests; it’s the stereotypical boy who can’t sit still and is always disruptive in class. This person is forever fidgeting, they’re unable to keep quiet when playing, talk too much, and often interrupts others.
Predominantly inattentive presentation is now recognised as part of ADHD but originally it was seen only as a moral or behaviour failing of the child. This person is often making careless mistakes, misplacing items that they use all the time, has trouble organising tasks, avoids activities that involve sustained mental energy, and forgets daily tasks like chores or keeping appointments.
Finally, combined presentation is when a person has a combination of both inattentive and hyperactivity symptoms.
Personally, I meet the predominantly inattentive presentation.
I cannot count the number of times I lose my phone in a single day (fitbit’s find my phone function has been a godsend!).
I was always told that I would score better on tests if I just took my time and was more careful (I was being careful!).
I drove my dance coach to distraction with my inability to memorise routines. What she couldn’t understand was that it was impossible for me to remember them until the routine entered my long-term memory. Once that happened it was like a light switch turned on and I could perform them flawlessly. In fact even now, over twenty years later, I still remember some parts of the routine when the song comes on the radio.
And talking? When did I stop? I have one particular memory of my year 5 teacher separating my friend and I to opposite sides of the classroom in the hope that would stop us from talking. It didn’t work. She decided that it was less disruptive to just let us sit together.
And then there were the research assignments I did in high school. I loved them, so I always scored well, but the feedback always included some form of ‘chaotic’ and ‘disorganised’.
So obvious in hindsight, but at the time I just thought I was air headed and forgetful and that’s what other people told me too.
When ADHD Meets Creativity
Research has shown there to be a higher proportion of creatives among those with ADHD than those without it, so go us!
Creativity has three main brain states, or cognitions:
Divergent thinking
Conceptual expansion
Overcoming knowledge constraints
Divergent thinking is the ability to think of many ideas from the same starting point. In other words, brainstorming.
Conceptual expansion is the ability to stretch the boundaries of a concept.
One interesting study asked participants to create a completely alien fruit. While both groups of participants included elements such as seeds and a stem - consistent elements that define what a ‘fruit’ is - the group with ADHD were more likely to include completely unrelated parts such as biological elements (like antennae), inorganic elements (like a hammer), or unconventional elements (like making the fruit poisonous).
Overcoming knowledge constraints is the ability to think past what you already know. If someone is lacking in the ability to overcome their prior knowledge, they can become fixated on what already exists and be unable to come up with something new.
I’ve always been creative. I learned to read and write at such a young age that I don’t actually remember learning and, if you believe my mum, I was telling stories even before I picked up a pencil. The fact that people with ADHD are often more creative than those without was particularly interesting to me.
Helpful Tools
Before I learned about ADHD, my writing schedule and output was chaotic at best, or non-existent at worst. Here’s a confession: I’ve never finished a long piece of fiction. Short stories, sure, and once for my final university assignment I finished a 10,000 word piece. But oh my gosh was that like pulling teeth! I had to force myself to sit down and work on it long after my interest in the project had waned!
Things have definitely improved since then, however. I still haven’t finished a novel manuscript, but I’m a lot closer now than I’ve ever been at over 34,000 words and completely outlined from start to finish. I actually have hope that this will be the one! I’ll finish this one!
In addition to my fiction writing I’ve also started this here substack and that has required not only focused work, but organised planning as well, all things I generally struggle with. How do I do it? With these tricks and tools!
Break Down Tasks - Goblin Tools
One thing people with ADHD struggle with is breaking down tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks. I wish this existed when I was studying! Even now, if I manage to break a task down, sometimes I don’t break them into small enough steps and end up overwhelmed anyway. And I tell you, there’s nothing more demoralising than having already broken something down and still not being able to do the thing!
So, introducing Goblin Tools (https://goblin.tools/). Goblin Tools is either free on the website, or a small cost (less than $5) on Android or iOS. Personally, I just use the website. It’s actually a group of tools that can help with all aspects of life.
Formaliser: This rewrites something you’ve written to match a set tone (more professional, less snarky, more passionate, etc).
Judge: Similar to the Formaliser, this is to do with analysing your writing. In this case it will tell you how your writing comes across (is it professional, is it waffling too much, etc).
Professor: A better form of google! Type in your question, and it will give you an explanation along with an example to help you understand.
Consultant: Ask a question, get a list of pros and cons, with a summary of advice.
Chef: Give a list of ingredients (what you have in the fridge at the moment, or what needs to be used up tonight) and it will give you a meal plan.
The next three tools are specifically useful for writers.
Compiler: Brain dump all your thoughts and it will turn it into a list of actionable tasks.
Estimator: Tell it what you need to do, and it will give an estimation on how long it will take.
Magic To Do: This is where the magic is. Give it a task, and it will break it down into much more manageable sub tasks. Each of those sub tasks,can be broken down again into more sub tasks. And again and again, until you get to a point that’s manageable for you.
As you can see with the above screenshot, I said I needed to write an article about ADHD and creative writing. It broke it down into steps I could follow. I broke the first step down further.
Keep Track of Tasks - Notion
Notion is actually a very robust program that can be used for a number of different things. The way I use it is both as a to do list, and to write these articles in.
By creating a database and using the Board view, you can create a to do list where you drag each item to various states. If you’ve ever worked corporate, and especially IT, you’re probably used to using the board view.
It starts off with just the statuses “To Do”, “Working”, and “Done” but you can add as many headings under each of them as you wish. The way I have it set up is under the “To Do” heading, I have a separate heading for each category of work. For example, I have “Stand Alone Articles” which covers articles like this one (posted every Thursday), then “Save the Cat Breakdown Series” which is for all the articles for that series (posted every Sunday), and “Admin To Do” which is for things that need to be done that don’t neatly fall into either of those categories, like research, unspecified reading, engaging with Substack’s notes, and so on.
The Working status then has the same headings, so when I’m working on something, like this article, I move it from the To Do “Stand Alone Articles” to the Working “Stand Alone Articles”.
And finally the Done section, I’ve tweaked a bit as well. I get a little dopamine hit for realising how much work I’ve actually gotten done in a day, so I have “Done Today” where I move things to that I’ve finished, and then “Done” which is where I move them to the next day.
I am using the free version of Notion, but if you pay for it you can automate things a lot more and there are a few other tools like AI that unlock when you pay for the program.
When it comes to writing, Notion has pages that nest inside each other to create the file structure that works for you (or none if you prefer). I could just write directly into the page, but after working in IT, I do not trust my computer to never fail and cause me to lose all my work. Consequently, I prefer to have my work backed up to the cloud wherever possible. Notion allows this in that you can embed a google docs page. This means I’m essentially working with Google Docs, all my articles are saved to Google Docs, but I can write or edit them within the Notion program.
This keeps everything in one place and also helps with cutting out internet distractions, which we’ll go into more detail soon.
Tracking Your Time - Pomodoro
Pomodoro has been a literal godsend for my productivity. It’s a productivity technique that intersperses periods of activity and work with short periods of breaks and a timer is used to dictate it (Pomodoro is the name of a kitchen timer in Italy, which is where the technique gets its name).
I use a 25 minute work period followed by a 5 minute break period. I find this length of time fits my flitting brain perfectly. If you are able to focus for longer you could try the 50 minute work, 10 minute break set up.
But you absolutely must stop and take a break when that timer is up.
It is the short break that refreshes your brain and allows you to focus for the next 25 minutes. It feels pretty unnatural at first, but you do get used to it and the amount of work and focus I’ve been able to achieve by using it is by far above what I was able to achieve just by attempting to focus non-stop on a project. By using pomodoro I’ve been able to hit my 5 hours a day goal more often than not.
During the work sessions, I’m not allowed to look at my phone or answer any text messages or anything. I am only working. After all, it’s only 25 minutes and practically everything can wait for that long before I get to it. Then, during the 5 minute break, I can answer messages, browse facebook, watch some youtube, stretch and get a fresh coffee or bathroom break and so on. I find this helps with my phone addiction too since I can still look at my phone, just the timer stops me getting lost in it.
You can use a simple timer on your phone for this, but I like to find a good youtube video to combine the music and the timers. My current favourite is a youtube channel called The Sherry Formula. Here’s the one I’ve been using for the past week. (https://youtu.be/mXtFUUiuPiU?si=9x4l0wHkqPc6h_XZ) The lofi beats are great for my focus, the video is there but not distracting, the timer is useful to see at a glance how much time I have left, and I use the video length to count how long I’ve been working.
Reverse Pomodoro
Sometimes, even if I’m using the Pomodoro technique, I’m too tired or distracted to focus for those 25 minute stretches. That’s when I’ll give the reverse pomodoro technique a try.
Reverse pomodoro is exactly as it sounds. Instead of 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of break, try 25 minutes of break followed by 5 minutes of work. This way you’re still making progress on your project, so the day isn’t a complete wipe, but you’re taking into account your mental energy of the day.
Feel free to tweak the times however you like. One example I found is using a scaling method.
Sprint 1: 5 minute work, 25 minute break
Sprint 2: 10 minute work, 20 minute break
Sprint 3: 15 minute work, 15 minute break
Sprint 4: 20 minute work, 10 minute break
Sprint 5: 25 minute work, 5 minute break
This could work, as by starting with a longer break, your brain gets more dopamine and so is better able to manage the increasing work times.
Alternatively, if knowing you won't have to work as long for the next sprint helps, try reversing the above scaling method.
Trigger Your Brain for Writing
Getting into the mood for writing is one of the hardest parts of being a writer regardless of whether you have ADHD or not. There’s no set tool for this, but instead it’s all about creating your ideal workspace.
Environment
I need to trick my brain into saying it’s time for writing. I do that by using the five senses.
For sight I use Notion.
Notion is offline so I don’t have a million tabs open and, even though I’m technically writing into a web page on Google Docs, without having the tab open I’m not tempted to go elsewhere.
I try to keep my desk relatively clear, especially in front of my monitor and in my line of sight, so I’m not distracted by any clutter.
I also separate where I do specific work tasks. For non-fiction writing, I’m on my desktop. For fiction writing, I’m in a different room on my laptop.
For sound I listen to music.
What music works for you is highly subjective. For me, it needs to have no lyrics (if there are words going into my head, then different words can’t come out; I can only focus on one line of conversation at a time) and it needs to be something I don’t recognise from a movie or or tv show (otherwise I sit there daydreaming and imagining the movie). So I tend to listen to a lot of lofi beats or maybe some synthwave. The music blocks out distracting noise around me like cars, or neighbours talking, or dogs barking. But if you’re distracted by all kinds of music and sound, invest in a great set of ear plugs. Sometimes I’ll use them instead and they are also great for productivity.
For smell I light some incense.
Again, this is highly subjective; what smells you like is probably different from me. But I like either woody smells, or smells like vanilla. Light a candle, light some incense, or spray on some perfume, but whatever it is, use the same thing every time. The smell centre in the brain is located very close to where memories are stored which is why smells bring on the most powerful memories. Utilise it for your writing!
For touch I make sure I’m comfortable.
I have a good computer chair with back support, my desk is set up perfectly for ergonomics (even if I often don’t sit particularly ergonomically, I can easily do so if I get sore), if it’s cold I have a blanket and if it’s hot I have the fan. When it’s not summer I actually love having a fluffy lap blanket as the tactile sensation of the fluff is particularly soothing. Sometimes I’ll also have a little stuffed toy sitting on my lap.
Finally, for taste I always have a coffee on my desk.
If it runs out I use my breaks to make a new one. Now, I drink a lot of coffee, but this may not work for everyone. A favourite tea, or even just a bottle of water can work. Just like smell though, try and make sure it’s the same for each session.
Time
People with ADHD struggle with time, specifically time blindness, which is not noticing how much time has passed, or forgetting appointments or responsibilities.
Work out how much time you want to spend writing. For example, I aim for five hours of work. Now that’s not just for writing. It also covers planning, organising, editing, recording, and publishing. And it includes both fiction and non-fiction writing.
Then choose how you want to assign that time. For some people, having a set writing time helps them. For others it’s too rigid and doesn’t work. There’s no right answer, though I can share what I do.
With the goal of working for five hours, after getting up and going about my morning routine, I’ll head downstairs to start work at around 10am. Sometimes I’ll be able to work solidly for five hours (using pomodoro and stopping for a break for lunch). Other days, I’m too distracted and that five hours will stretch into eight or nine when I count all the breaks I have in between.
It’s important to try and hit your goals, but also to acknowledge that some days are going to be better than others. Sometimes you’ll keep being interrupted in a way you can’t control (family or pets or other real life obligations). And other times you’re just tired.
If you don’t hit your goal today, remember that tomorrow is a new day with a fresh opportunity to try again.
Variety is the Spice of Life
Make sure you have a variety of tasks you can complete. I have a good half a dozen articles I could work on, my novel, a page of short story competitions I can write for, and admin tasks that are all included in my work time. Chances are I’ll end up hyper-fixating on one of them, but what that may be will vary greatly depending on the day.
I do have set publication dates set for this substack. Otherwise I would drive readers mad with my inconsistency. But I try and make sure I have a backlog of articles written so that there is very little I need to do to make sure they’re in a publishable state on the due day. This means I can flit around and focus on whatever takes my fancy.
Make use of the To Do board in Notion to keep track of all the things that need doing and use due dates if that helps (it stresses me out so I tend not to do them much).
Turn It All Off
When you’re writing, turn off all spelling and grammar checkers. I don’t know about you, but that little red wriggly line is incredibly distracting when I’m trying to just get the words down! I absolutely must go back and fix it to clear it and it gnaws at me until I do! And then when I’ve done that, it’s broken my train of thought and it takes that little bit longer to get back into the flow again.
If that’s you as well, turn off spell checker! You don’t need it while you’re just writing anyway. What’s important is getting the words down. You can turn it back on when it’s time to edit, but not before.
If the siren call of the internet is too hard for you to resist, even with all the above tools in place, then turn it off. Go offline or, even more, go old school and write by hand. Remember that thing we used to do in school? Yeah, go back to that! Sure, it’s slower and messier, but it blocks all access (stay tuned for an article about Writing by Hand in the Age of Typing). Put your phone into aeroplane mode and use downloaded music and the timer app.
Dump that Brain
My final tool is having either a file on your computer or a page in your notebook specifically for brain dumping. Whenever I’m in the middle of a task, if I get the random thought of “Oh, I should do this”, I’ll write it down in my brain dump file, then get back to my work. This way I’ve attended to what popped into my mind, and written it down so I don’t rely on my atrocious memory.
Depending on what it is, I’ll either see to it during a break, or after I’ve finished with the task I’m currently working on.
Whew! That turned out to be significantly longer than I expected it to, and that’s even after editing it down to make it more concise! But if you made it this far, I hope it helped and has given you a few new tools and strategies to try to manage your ADHD and to live your best writing life!
References
Elmaghraby, R. & Garayalde, S. (2002). What is ADHD?. American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved 18 February 2025 https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/adhd/what-is-adhd
White, H. (2019). The creativity of ADHD: more insights on a positive side of a ‘disorder’. Scientific American. Retrieved 18 February 2025 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-creativity-of-adhd/
Yassin, F. (2023). ADHD superpowers: hyperfocus, creativity, and intuition. The Wave Clinic. Retrieved 18 February 2025 https://thewaveclinic.com/blog/adhd-superpowers-hyperfocus-creativity-intuition/
Good article! Thanks for posting.
This was an interesting article on writing from a different perspective to those of a 'straight' writer or one without ADHD or other issues. Thanks for the information. It can be used in many more aspects of life than just writing.