I have ADHD. Deadlines (more specifically the urgency they create) give me the dopamine that my brain is lacking.

I’m also a creative, and creatives love to daydream.

Some people think daydreaming is a waste of time, but I'm here to argue the case for its benefits.

Are you, or do you know, a creative with ADHD?

Maybe you know a creative, someone with ADHD, or even a creative with ADHD, who seems to only spring into action when a deadline is looming.

You’ve quite possibly been stressed out by this person in the past, as they don’t seem to work on things in the same way you might like them to: methodically, predictably, task-by-task.

While it may look like a creative is only working on an idea at the very end of a project, the truth is, they’ve been tinkering with it in their brain the whole time, before ever writing a word or opening an artboard.

This may turn into an argument (for another day) for creatives being paid by project rather than hourly, but it’s also a reminder to not get stressed when it seems the creatives on a project “haven’t started the thing”.
They’re going through revisions and solving creative problems in their mind.

The research (and John Cleese) agrees: Creatives need time to procrastinate.

I’m currently listening to John Cleese’s audiobook “Creativity”, and in it he refers to a MacKinnon study on creativity from the 60s.

This study found that non-creative architects started projects right away, but creative architects would delay starting their work a little closer to the deadline.

In his book, Cleese explains that:

“Once it’s been agreed when a real-world decision has to happen, why make it before the deadline arrives? Why?

Well, it would be foolis, because if you can wait longer, two incredibly important things may happen:
1. You may get new information.
2. You may get new ideas.

So why would you make a decision when you don’t need to? Because you’re uncomfortable, that’s why!”

I’ve procrastinated, and punished myself for it, for as long as I can remember.

This has always been my experience, from starting assignments the night before they were due and getting an A, to starting on creative right before a deadline, my best ideas come to me when they're ready to.

I'm only recently discovering that although this method doesn't necessarily follow the standards that the education system and 40-hour workweek set, my process is my process. I do better when I am able to work with my creative process, not against it.

So I challenge you, the next time you feel the urge to rush a creative project along before the deadline, ask yourself if there is any reason to rush, other than your discomfort?

If you let the creative process happen, let the procrastinator procrastinate, chances are the results will be a much more well-rounded, creative solution to your problem. AND a happier creative!

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