ADHD gal navigates a 100 Day Project

Dear reader,

I read somewhere that instead of adding your achievements to your Instagram bio, one must hint at an ongoing story. It tickles people to know that they aren’t following a successful person who has been there and done that, but someone who is striving, hanging in there, trying to achieve something that they may or may not get.

This felt like a writing craft tip, not just a social media trick (I’ve realized there is a yummy overlap between the two).

It also felt like…um..my LIFE. I don’t have a success story, a prize, a fancy post, a book to pin on my profile yet, that instantly proves my worth. I have the only thing I have, i.e. I’M TRYING. My current biggest achievement is this: I haven’t given up on words and their power to do more than what my body or mind are otherwise capable of.

And so I leapt at this advice and changed my bio to this:

I loved the suspense of it. How can an ADHD person do something for 100 days straight? It was the perfect cliffhanger. Will she succeed? Will she fail? Will she drop out like always?

I don’t have an ADHD coach, but I suspect that if I did, they would warn me against such a project. They would ask me to do a 3 day project instead. To be realistic. But what is ADHD if not Ambition Despite Heartbreaks and Disasters?

When it comes to crafting suspense in books and movies, authors and show runners know the way the story ends. Here, I was as much in the unknown as people who were reading my work, and people who were actively supporting me - my friends and my partner. None of us knew if I’ll ever complete the 100 day project. I still don’t, considering I’m on day 80, and 20 days is a lifetime in ADHD world.

But because of my ADHD, or the divergent thinking it enables, I have a thousand ideas bursting out of me at all times. I have enough material - published, complete, incomplete, or just a seed - to last me for 500 days.

Because of my ADHD, or the protection from knowledge constraints it provides, I didn’t know that majority of the people who participate in the 100 Day Project are visual artists. My silly brain loved the curvaceous number 100 so much, I wanted to commit to it and put a ring on it.

Because of my ADHD, or the conceptual expansion it fosters, I have constantly reimagined the project’s manifestations. From Instagram, I took it to Substack, LinkedIn, and now, CoCreateClub Discord. For the first 60 days, I posted poems, essay-carousels, and reels. Now I’m posting these letters, small notes, incomplete drafts.

Because of my ADHD, or the rejection sensitivity it is tightly linked to, well this one really sucks, and I felt terribly hurt when I was heavily criticized for my Day 47 post. But because I was aware about how long it takes me to recover from such a creative injury (very, very long) I was able to pivot and change the project to something gentler, without completely stopping or giving up.

I can do things like the 100 Day Project, not despite ADHD, but because of it. ADHD is my companion in this and all adventures. It is not the villain, it is my sidekick. I love the suspense of will I succeed or will I fail, but if I see myself differently because of any creative project, I’d say I have succeeded plenty, what do you think?

What is something that you thought was holding you back, but actually helps you do amazing things? Do write to me, in a reply to this email or as a comment on this post.

I have a feeling most of us are living in suspense -whether we are worthy or not, and most of us need the spoiler: YOU ARE!

Love,

Raju