Katie McManus argues that ADHD entrepreneurs treat self-care as optional when it's actually critical for energy and focus. The real barrier isn't time but ADHD traits like multitasking impulses and avoidance that make rest feel impossible, even though prioritizing it lets you work faster.
Before we get into this, I want to just acknowledge the elephant in the room of the term self care and how it typically gives people with ADHD more anxiety than it does relieve it. When we hear of self care, things that we need to do, it doesn't sound like, oh, wow, that would be so nice. Yes, I should absolutely do that. Wow, that would be so enjoyable. We think, oh, fuck, there's more I should be doing, damn it. Like, is there enough time? How would I do that? Can I multitask it? Maybe I can take client calls while walking my dog. And our brains go into hyperdrive trying to figure out all the ways that we can multitask all the things that we need to do. We might do it once and then we forget about it. Cause it doesn't become a habit because it's not easy to do when we're talking about these things. Forget the label self care. These are critical things that you need to prioritize in your day to day that will help you have more energy. And when you make time for these things, and they will take time, you will actually be able to get other things done faster.