Hmm Collection

In recent years, mainly since the pandemic began and I have had an increased workload due to grad school and additional duties at both of my jobs, I have been focusing more on my environment and how I can make it work to the it’s fullest capacity. One reason for this would be the purchase of my first house, and finally having a place that I can call my own and make it be exactly what I want it to be. Another reason would be the fact that the last few years have been very difficult as work goes, and I am coming to terms with the fact that I am not a super human individual that can do everything all the time like my peers. I am just an artist and teacher who has ADHD, and have developed coping strategies my entire life to function at the level of my peers. I have chosen to dive into how the ADHD affects my life and my environment in recent weeks thanks to the panic created from being chronically overburdened and knowing that the end in sight is not near enough.

I have a need to move around, and sitting still for prolonged periods of time at a computer or a desk leaves my brain screaming. For this reason I don’t necessarily have a single location that I do my work in. Due to my nomadic approach to accomplishing my work I have choices about the space I could write about here, but I have chosen to select some common objects that appear in all the spaces I unpack my work into.

1: The Surface Typically each space I choose to work in needs to have a flat, semi-uncluttered space to work in. If the space does not possess this first criterion, it can’t be used as a work space. I cannot bring myself to function in a space that does not have space for me to spread out materials.

2: The Organizer A blank empty surface is always nerve-wracking to most people, and to my ADHD mind it is a playground for possibilities that typically leads to choice paralysis. The organizer helps keep track of the overarching ideas and goals, and allows me to look ahead and look back. It helps with the ADHD time blindness that disappears the past and future into nothingness. This is different than the To-Do List.

3: The To-Do List The organizer does a great job of collecting the big plan, but staring at an entire storyboard or script for a play makes it really hard to see the individual details. The To-Do list is a small curated list of things that need done in the space of the most immediate and important variety. Items here are typically crossed off to allow a sense of completion in small doses peppered throughout the working time. If everything is accomplished (emphasis on the IF) more can be added from the organizer.

4: The Book (scratchpad/sketchbook) This is where I show my work. It is often times easier for me to physically write/draw/scribble something out than to picture abstract concepts in my mind or on the computer. The book can sometimes double as the organizer and to-do list if a bullet journal is used, though often times they are separate things so they can be spread out. Object (/concept?) permanence is difficult for me if I can’t see it, so I prefer to spread things out visually than to flip between pages.

5: Lighting (with variations) I have noticed something about every place that I work in, and that is that lighting is a key feature for my productivity. I am lucky enough in my new house to have large windows with sheer curtains that the past owner left behind, and this provides a great filtered light for me to get work done. It isn’t too harsh or too dim. However, depending on time of day or direction I am facing I need some options for variations of the lighting. Sometimes this comes by way of an additional desk lamp, freestanding lamp, overhead light, and sometimes just wearing a hoodie to block out additional light in my eyes I don’t want. The work typically calls for a different brightness, color, or direction depending on what is to be done. This does also partly tie in to number 7, The Ambience, but it is kept separate because it serves a more different function than just mood in a space.

6: The Device It’s hard to get away from technological devices these days, and all of my working spaces are no exception. Most of the time this is a laptop or a desktop computer, but sometimes a cell phone or a tablet will work. The device, like most technology, is multipurpose. Ideally it would serve the purpose of researching information or images and contacting others for work related purposes. In ADHD world, it also becomes a distraction that can either serve or hinder functioning in the work space. Typically multipurpose devices have notifications that are specifically meant to pull your attention and keep your engagement on them. Often times I find that I need to change settings to disallow push notifications, move the placement of icons to avoid enticement of “more interesting” activities, and clear the digital “work surface” of extraneous things to accomplish more work. Setting different devices for different purposes has also helped make things easier. For example, the home laptop is for working on grad school and personal projects and the school provided laptop is only for school related work, and the old tablet is only for playing YouTube videos while I work out or work on physical tasks. The distractions the device provides can be helpful in breaking up the monotony of multiple tasks if a timer is set for short pomodoro periods.

7: The Ambiance Making the space enjoyable is another key physical characteristic of the work space that keeps me productive. This could take the form of a comfy chair, a window to look out, a mug of tea, a comfy piece of clothing, and the like. If the space is too bland or too overwhelming it is very difficult to accomplish anything due to either lack of visual interest or too much.

8: The Tools Depending on what I will be attempting to accomplish, I may move to a different location to get myself in the right mindset for the work. This heavily relies on the tools that should be present in the space and how quickly I can get to use them. This goes along with Adam Savage’s idea of First Order Retrievability; essentially you shouldn’t have to move something out of the way or walk far to get something you will need more often. The tools in the space are arranged in a way that they will more likely be easily accessed so that when the work begins, there are fewer remaining stumbling blocks in the way.

9: The WIPs (Works in Progress) Similar to the To-Do List, the WIPs are the physical items that need completed. This might take the form of painting canvases, a shelf that needs repaired, a stack of papers to be graded, and the list goes on. If these are in a stack to be completed in order, I typically “tap” each layer so that it sits a different direction than the above and below layers so I have a visual cue to how many things exist in the stack. IF this is done on a digital device, I am transitioning to a list of shortcuts added to the desktop that will be deleted once the files are completed.

10: “The Pile” The bane of all ADHDer’s existence. This is the work forgotten, the “I’ll do it tomorrow” that never comes, and the “I don’t know what to do with this but it’s probably important” things. Typically this is placed in a location that can quickly become “out of sight, out of mind” when I begin focusing on the other work in the space. It is an effort, but I am making time to go through these piles in a semi-frequent fashion to ensure that no pile gets too big, or that things that need reorganized or discarded are taken care of in a timely fashion.

Of these 10 objects in each collection, I think the one that has become my most favorite for obvious reasons is The Device. However, the one that I am always falling back on is The Book. These items have been the ones that keep me on track the most and provide a source of dopamine as I continue the work. Whether by allowing me a brief distraction between tasks or allowing me to create something to help me on my way to a completed task, they create small moments that break up the larger daunting task of completing the work.

The object in these collections that I found to be the most surprising was The Ambiance. Often times when I think about the work that has to get done, it becomes an all-consuming thing that takes all of my focus. The Ambience has been something that I have had present in all working spaces though I often forget to utilize it. The hoodie may sit on the back of the chair until I realize it is slightly cold, and then it is donned. The candle and the tea are present or at the very least nearby, but often times they are neglected. I think as more work is accomplished and habits are built, The Ambiance may become a more prevalent piece of the tasks to be done.

I have found the act of collecting items to arrange in these different spaces was similar to how I have observed the spaces in the past because I had to actively think about the similarities of the different spaces to find the 10 items. It ended up similar to an eye-spy activity. It differed in the respect that some of these items are put away to clear off the space, and some items travel nomadically with me through the different workspaces (laptops, for example). I often carry an EDC (Every Day Carry) kit in my pockets that also contains variations of these ten objects, so that I am never without what I need to accomplish what will need done in the day. I have always had an interest in collecting items and creating kits, and for this exercise it was no exception. I think the kit interest has been due to the fact that I do move around often, and if the items are not present in the current kit/workspace then they will most likely be forgotten and the work will suffer for it. This definitely springs from the ADHD, which will be an ever-present 11th conceptual item in all of the working spaces that I find myself in.

#environment #studio #adhd