Just a last minute invitation

Anyone want to "body double" with me?

ADHD impacts me in a lot of interesting ways;

• a lack of forethought means I struggle to plan in advance, but am spontaneous and can get a lot done very quickly

• a lack of sensing time passing means I’m often late to scheduled events, but can achieve “flow” state more easily

• a lack of object permanence means I forget things (and people, and projects, and commitments) unless they are in front of my face in some way, but…okay, so I don’t quite have a positive spin on that one just yet…

My point is that as much as I feel a desire to write and publish on substack, I struggle with planning and sticking to a publishing schedule, realizing how much time has passed since I last published something, and sometimes just plain forget it even exists. *sigh*

On top of that, I have a hard time with the balancing act of intrinsic motivation and demand avoidance - of wanting to do something, until I feel required to (usually by my own brain adding unnecessary pressure or expectations).

I’ve tried many systems, calendars, reminders, stickynotes, alarms, etc… and nothing has really been helpful so far. I don’t mean to bore you with endless complaining, it’s just in my nature to provide some context first so you understand why I am doing something…that something being that I want to try an experiment, a little way to connect and gather with other ADHD creators on Substack while hopefully, just maybe, getting some shit done.

I’ve attended a virtual “body-doubling” session before, and honestly, aside from the distracting noises from people leaving their microphones on, it went really well. I was focused, motivated, and there’s something to be said about the feeling of working towards a goal within community (even if it’s not a shared goal), you’re working with others to do something, to make a difference in some way. That sense of camaraderie is something I think some part of me intrinsically craves.

Which brings me to the actual point of today’s not-quite-a-letter…

You are hereby invited to attend a virtual gathering TODAY (at 12pm PST) on Zoom to meet with me and get shit done. BYOP (bring you’re own project), fidget toys, and focus music, while sitting on camera with other humans (or just me) who also want to get things done (which is what body-doubling essentially is if you haven’t figured it out by now).

The session will last 40 minutes (the longest uninterupted stretch of time a free Zoom account allows for) the first 5 minutes being a teensy intro from me and space for anyone to add in the chat what they’ll be working on, then the last 5 minutes will be time to announce how far you got in the chat - if you feel like it - and celebrate each other for showing up and putting in some solid effort. Which leaves us with 30 minutes of sheer focus time - not too short, not too long.

Interested? Leave a comment below or reply to this email if you’re subscribed to my letters, and I’ll find a way to send you the ZOOM invite link.

Hope to see you there :)

(if this was too last minute for you, that’s okay - I intend to start hosting these gatherings on a weekly basis, so there’s always next time… and I’ll probably send out a reminder earlier in the week so we all don’t forget)