Also a corollary to this, which for me at least is very important: it’s not about “tricking” yourself. It’s about keeping your bargains.
Tell yourself that you don’t have to write the whole scene, you just have to write one sentence, and then see how you feel. And if, having written that one sentence, you feel that you cannot write any more... you get to stop.
Tell yourself that you don’t have to empty the dishwasher, you just have to open it, and see how you feel. And if you feel that you can’t do any more, don’t.
Because the thing is, for me at least, a big part of executive dysfunction is the struggle to start, and once I have started, often it suddenly turns out oh, actually, I can empty the dishwasher. I can write the scene. No big deal.
But the bargain with myself to make that start only works if I know it’s not a trick. If I know that the offer to stop once I’ve done that one thing is genuine. Because I can’t, fundamentally, trick myself. And the part of me that struggles with things like this is often, fundamentally, very child-like - sulky, obstinate, over-dramatic, emotional - I don’t wanna, you can’t make me - and it is very easy to lose its trust. And ADHD already gives me enough reasons not to trust myself without adding more.
So I don’t think of it as “tricking” myself. I think of it as asking an open, honest question - performing a basic test - “is the problem here that I can’t get started? Let’s find out, let’s just do this one thing. Come on, sweetie, just write the one sentence. How do you feel now? You want to stop? Okay, let’s get you some juice then. We can try again another time.”
