How to Stick With and Master a Hobby When You Have ADHD
I have ADHD, and I have a million hobbies. I’m not unique in this. If you search for “ADHD hobbies” on most social media platforms, you’ll find a bunch of videos where neurodivergent folks share all of their started (and abandoned) creative pursuits. What sets me apart is that I stick with my hobbies. I’ve diligently kept a diary since the fifth grade. Starting in 2016, I’ve relied on the bullet journal system to keep myself organized. I’ve had at least one active knitting project going at all times since my freshman year of college. I regularly cross books off my reading list. I have mastered the art of how to stick with a hobby when you have ADHD. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through my process.
Before you can stick to something, you have to understand the factors that will make you likely to do so. As a health coach, I’m an expert in goal setting and behavior change. While I spend most of my working hours helping people stick with their health-related habits, we can apply the principles of behavior change to help you stick with a hobby, too! Let’s get into it.
Step 1: Choose a hobby
Because you need to have a hobby to stick with before you can stick with it! But, there are a few important considerations to review before you choose your hobby. One of the biggest challenges ADHDers face is impulsivity - we make decisions before we really think them through. I encourage you to slow down. Ask yourself a few different questions:
1. What will I do with the end product of this hobby?
Would this hobby leave you with a bunch of painted figurines that you have no space for? Consider a hobby that will serve a need. I started knitting in college because while I didn’t have enough money for gifts, I could afford a $4 ball of yarn. I started a diary because I needed an outlet for the emotions I felt as a child. I started a bullet journal because I needed a way to keep myself organized when I started a tough job after grad school.
You could start painting because you need art for your bare apartment walls. You could get into air-dry clay crafts because you don’t want to buy overpriced plastic ornaments for your Christmas tree. You could learn how to bake because you want to spend less money on pastries. Consider your needs and wants, and how you could solve them creatively!
2. What tools, space, and time do I need to invest in this hobby?
Consider your financial, time, and spatial limits. If you want to take up quilt making but you don’t have a sewing machine, a table for a sewing machine, or a spare room for a table for a sewing machine, you may not want to take up quilt making. I know - I’m sorry, but it’s best to be realistic. Here are some low-cost, low-space hobbies:
Drawing/watercolor
Baking/cooking (if you have access to an oven/stove and a couple of clear counter spaces)
Origami
Writing/calligraphy
Gardening
Thrift your pots and start your plants from seeds
Embroidery/cross-stitching
Adult coloring books
If done correctly, your hobby could be a way to save money. Think about what you spend money on, and research if it could be made cheaper. For example, store-bought candles can be expensive while wax, wicks, fragrance oils, and reused containers cost less money over time.
3. The most important question: Do I enjoy the process?
If you’re just in it for the end result, you won’t stick with a hobby. When you have ADHD, you lose focus when things aren’t interesting to you. This applies to tasks, work, school, and even your hobbies. You need to find a hobby that is truly, intrinsically motivating for you. You can muscle your way through if you enjoy the end result enough, but it will be hard. It will be especially hard if you’re not good at it right away. But, if you enjoy the process whether or not you are good at it, you’ll keep doing it. And then you’ll get good. Truly, this is my biggest secret.
4. Am I willing to dedicate the time it will take to learn this skill?
You might learn some skills easier than others but it takes time to get really good at something. Some hobbies may take very little skill at all. However, you still need to dedicate the time to learn. You need to be willing to not be very good at your hobby for a little while! If this last bit is hard for you, it’s okay. I’ll get to it in a few minutes.
Step 2: Practice Regularly
I highly recommend you set up a routine around your hobby. Maybe you’ll do watercolor with your Sunday morning cup of coffee. Maybe you’ll do embroidery while you watch TV (this is how I get my knitting done). Eventually, the pairing will feel like a natural part of your life. The less effort and willpower needed, the easier it will be to stick with a hobby.
But don’t burn yourself out.
Beware of the ADHD urge to stick with a hobby TOO much. Lean into your hyperfocus at first - one of the gifts of neurodivergence is our ability to get really good at something really fast because we pour ourselves into it. But, don’t forget to eat, sleep, bathe, etc., and don’t forget to take breaks so the hobby remains novel and fun. You can use this hobby as a reward - once you finish a couple of less desirable tasks, you can reward yourself with hobby time. This serves both the needs of getting important but less desirable things done and moderating your hobby time so it’s not all-consuming.
It’s super common for people with ADHD to burn themselves out on their hobbies. Avoid this by not letting your hobby become all-consuming. Take breaks to keep it novel.
Step 3: Know When to Hold On
You will likely reach a point in practicing your hobby when it’s not as fun as it used to be, or it’s less interesting to you. This makes it harder to stick with a hobby. It’s okay - there might be a few reasons for it:
1. You burned yourself out.
2. You hit a snag on a project that’s requiring more work, more learning, and more time than you bargained for.
3. It’s not serving your needs anymore.
Here are some potential solutions:
1. Take a break (but don’t give up - choose a date to return to your hobby).
2. Go back to an easier or more familiar project for a little while, or ask for help with your challenges.
3. Approach the hobby differently - how can it serve your needs again? For example, if I knit only scarves, knitting would stop serving my needs pretty fast. So, I diversify. What do my friends and family need, garment-wise? Have sweater trends changed for the millionth time, meaning I need to update my wardrobe?
And when to fold.
It’s okay to let go of a hobby. Even though I’ve stuck with a lot of hobbies, I’ve also let some go. I was really into glass painting as a teenager, but the materials were expensive and I didn’t know what to do with my 37 hand-wash-only mugs. So, I hung up my paintbrushes and chose something else. As a hiker, I regularly need new socks. I wear holes in them like you wouldn’t believe! My knitting hobby fuels my hiking hobby. It's a beautiful, warm, fuzzy symbiosis.
Know when to walk away from a hobby. It’s better to stop when you know it’s not working instead of sinking more time and money into something you really don’t enjoy.
Step 4: Be Patient
Let’s go back to my point about letting yourself be bad at something at first. Bob Ross has a really good mantra for this: I’m not very good at it, but it doesn’t matter. And it doesn’t! I promise! You’re not being graded on this. You’re not doing it for a job. It doesn’t matter! You WILL get better. To help yourself be patient and stick with your hobby, here are a few tips:
1. Avoid comparison
It really is the thief of joy. Of course that instagram watercolor artist is better at it than you. They’ve probably been at it for years. Look to others for inspiration, but never compare. Again, this is why it’s so much more important to enjoy the process over the end result.
2. Do some positive self-talk
When I feel discouraged with my hobbies, it helps to talk to myself the way I would if a friend came to me with the same issue. I tell myself that I’m doing the best that I can at my current skill level. I’m still having fun doing it, and that’s what matters the most.
3. Work in short bursts
Most hobbies are a marathon and not a sprint. Choose small projects when you’re just starting out. For example, when I’ve taught people how to knit, I recommend a dishcloth. You’ll finish it in a couple hours. You don’t care if a dishcloth is lumpy and wrong. But, it’s a great way to learn basic knit stitches. If you’re learning to sew, make hand towels. If you’re learning to paint, start with a single leaf instead of a landscape.
Start small with your hobby. Sometimes, that means literally. The smaller and simpler the project, the more likely you are to finish it.
Thanks for making it all the way here. If you have ADHD and a regular hobby, what is it, and what helped you stick with it?
