Ditching The Neurotypical Rulebook To Get My Life Together
Shayonee, an AuDHD freelance content writer and a wordsmith with a touch of whimsy, is embracing her neurodivergence and writes for India Autism Center
Once, I ritualistically searched for the perfect planner, convinced it would bring order to my life and increase my productivity.
Because all the advice suggested planning your life is the key to cracking the code.
But the advice wasn’t meant for me! The diktats came from neuro conforming folks — people who don’t have to struggle with task initiation, executive function, and time blindness.
It is only after I found out I was #AuDHD did I understand why I failed to put all the advice to practice.
As a kid, I would religiously make timetables to study. Because that’s what we are supposed to do, right? While it pleased my parents, what they found hilarious was my concept of time — I would attempt to study English from 8–9 AM and immediately want to switch over to Hindi from 9–10 AM.
The concept of time has always been a bit fuzzy for me — I cannot correctly gauge how long it would take for me to do something. As a result, I fail to come up with a realistic schedule or even stick to one.
‘Make a list and complete the most difficult task first. That’s your motivation to go on’, said one of my supervisors at work.
Except I can’t ‘start’ anything unless the ‘interest center’ of my brain lights up?
If the task at hand doesn’t sound interesting, my brain refuses to give the right command: ‘important’’ doesn’t automatically get translated to ‘urgent’.
Facing consequences for not completing tasks on time also fails to evoke motivation in me.
So, the metaphorical carrot could be dangling all day long, but I may not even start walking towards the finish line.
For most of my life, I have blamed myself for failing to put all the advice to work, no matter how hard I tried. Now I have understood navigating my neurodivergent brain is going to be an ongoing journey of trial and error.
Occasionally, starting my day involves watching videos on YouTube about my current special interest, — a practice many productivity gurus would disapprove of — to get my brain interested.
But hey, when our brains are wired differently, why should there be a blanket advice applicable to all?
