We talked before about how introverts struggle to find the right words because of short-term vs long-term memory.

I want to go a step deeper and show you how I have been able to write more while fighting off a lot of introverted/ADHD tendencies.

Let’s break it down into two categories for the sake of structuring this exercise: Writers vs Storytellers. 

Writers use words.

Storytellers can use lots of senses.

Many authors struggle with writing, which requires a lot of discipline to build those muscles. 

That’s why editors exist.

I personally have a 5th-grade understanding of grammar, but I’m decent at the formatting part of writing. Maybe you are a grammar scientist. 

The challenge with writing for people with ADHD is that you are limited to the thought right in front of you and you can’t jump around as much. This will often leave you with half-finished sentences on the page or an abandoned essay altogether.

This newsletter has been one huge help, and I’ve been able to develop this system to improve the quality and process of my writing:

Brain Dump

• Get all of my ideas and thoughts out of my head onto paper so I can visualize them.
• This is usually a voice recording while I walk or drive.

Reorganize Thoughts

• Group similar thoughts together.
• This is where I break all the directions down into different docs.

Expand on Topics

• Does this make sense? Can I explain more? Will people know what I was trying to say?
• This is where I ask a lot of questions about my thoughts and/or statements.

Research claims/ hypothesis

See if there are already studies or thoughts so I’m not reinventing the wheel.

This is where I look for studies that have been done to support or refute my claims.

Outline

Organize my thoughts and the research I found in a logical thought process.

This is where I use my writing like I’m in high school and state a concrete detail followed by commentary.

Elaborate

This is where the story comes together. How can I put the science, and my points together to make it interesting and still express my voice and message clearly?

This process gives me permission to write freely instead of focusing on one complete thought at a time.

This can also help me go deeper into certain ideas or research I might not have discovered if I “stayed on track”. 

Science has proved that writing can greatly improve your mental and physical health reducing anxiety, regulating moods, lowering blood pressure, decreased stress, among many others. 

There is a social benefit to all of this as well. You will be able to form stronger opinions and be much more interested in the conversation. In a podcast world where everyone is inundated with the latest research and theories, it’s nice to have built and educated perspective on information overload.

By the time you do this, your mind will be lighter, you’ll have learned something, and now have something interesting to contribute to the conversation.

Sorry for all the bad grammar. Talk next week.