Are there any players here with ADHD that might have some advice on how to get in a habit to practice and anything else that becomes harder than it has to be when you have ADHD? And maybe some good places/videos to follow along with?
Are there any players here with ADHD that might have some advice on how to get in a habit to practice and anything else that becomes harder than it has to be when you have ADHD? And maybe some good places/videos to follow along with?
100%. Reduce the friction between you and sitting down with the guitar. That’s the golden ticket to actually doing something with it. If there is any friction at all between me and my hobbies I just end up not doing them so I have at least one of my guitars (in the case) within reach in my office/studio at all times and all that is required to jam is to open the case, plug it in and flip a switch.
Same goes for my sim racing hobby. It used to take me a solid 10 minutes to get everything set up and logged in before I’d be on track and I’d inevitably be fiddling with something annoying and distracting about my setup. It really prevented me from enjoying it as much as I wanted. I realized this and started saving money. Once I had enough, I bought a permanent cockpit (nothing fancy) for my racing peripherals and a second monitor so that all I need to do is sit in the drivers seat and boot up the game. As a result, I enjoy doing laps way more often now.
Guitar is amazing. It’s a hobby you can keep with you for your entire life. I strongly recommend creating a mini-habit about it. Don’t need to set any lofty goals or anything. Just commit to chillin’ with your guitar in your hands every day or so. You’ll find that some days you have a strong urge to dive in and learn stuff and others you’ll just wanna noodle around. Just enjoy the instrument in any way you can whenever you can and don’t put any pressure on it.
I 100% agree too. Reduce start up friction. You should allot physical space for the person you want to be. You want to sleep and practice hygiene so you allocate physical space for their paraphernalia, beds, bathroom and such. If you want to see yourself as a guitar player then you should allocate a designated area for it. It took my brain a while to shift from the mind set of my academic years where I would shy away from my interests because I needed to focus. If I could go back I might would go about it differently. There is something to be said for leaning into distractions. Being flippant and quick to change projects can be a boon if you cultivate your projects and space. Constantly let yourself be pulled between all these interests in your space. Don’t feel guilty about putting something down for awhile. This will lead you to actually not finishing things. Embrace it. Make your incomplete projects look aesthetic by organizing their spaces so that you can return to it easily and/or it looks somewhat presentable and leave it out. Let people ask about it. You can have unfinished projects out without being unclean. Rethink what a decoration is in your space. And if something does tend to fall to the wayside get rid of it.