I’m so incredibly far from this level of self actualization that it scares me. I think it’s mostly the ADHD traits that make habit formation difficult: I’m usually stuck fighting for the bottom of my Maslows pyramid
I read a quote recently that said that great things don’t just happen, they’re the accumulation of consistent daily efforts.
I really want to make a publish a game after ~20 years of making (the majority of some) games as a hobby.
My route there, as someone who also has a hard time forming habits, is to really push to do _anything_ to further my game every single day.
That might be just sketching a mechanic in my notebook, or starting the MC’s character model, or even just emailing my game dev friends asking for feedback.
My hope is that the accumulation of these daily acts will get me there. It may take longer than others who can stay focused for more than 30 mins at a time, and that’s ok.
This is my path and my game.
I have experience with programming and audio so the only thing I’m missing is art skills. So my routine is 30 minutes of programming and 30 minutes of art practice per day. It seems to be working so far.
The idea of your "future self" is actually what helped me improve my ability to form habits.
"If I do X, Y, Z, today, then tomorrow I only have to do A and I have all this free time. Let me be miserable today so I don't have to be stressed tomorrow and I can do anything I want."
It allowed me to unleash my ADHD and kind of embrace it almost on alternating days.
One of Hal Hershfield's talk's had mentioned that we always imagine our "Future Self" will be less busy than we are today, so we won't over extend ourselves today, because tomorrow you'll be less stressed. But this isn't usually the case.
For example: You won't have any more ability to make it to the bank tomorrow, than you do today. So if you do it today, tomorrow you won't even have to think about it. Your ADHD is less likely to fire off with all the other things you "have to do". If you only have one task, you can kind of just do it.
This has been a game changer mentality for my executive function disorder.
I assumed this was depression, and after some questions, the doctor insisted that it wasn't depression and asked if I had been diagnosed with ADHD in the past.
Then, he asked me to try Wellbutrin as an off-label use for ADHD, which dramatically changed my ability to function. I have since stopped taking it as I have a lot of systems in place that help with my executive function, but I still feel that taking it would make my EFD better.
The feeling of "depression" has since subsided, but I do still suffer from brain fog frequently when I get overwhelmed with scheduling or tasks I deem "insignificant" that I need to do, such as:
Send a short email. Deposit a check. Put gas in the car. Send that Mutual NDA.
But large tasks like:
Run a 5k every day. Study a language for an hour. Design that app flow. Help a friend develop a business plan Organize and event for 50 people that serves dinner
are typically easy.
It's really the small tasks that break my brain. Big easy are fun and enjoyable because there's a tangible outcome, but small tasks that should be easy but have some sort of barrier just break me.