Self-employed with executive dysfunction
Hi! I just joined today. As the title indicates, I’m self-employed. I write and illustrate my own webcomic, and I love doing it. It’s my dream job. However, I struggle a lot with executive functioning, as well as all sorts of other mental health barriers. I’m autistic, I have ADHD, and I get easily overwhelmed which causes me to freeze up at the drop of a hat.
My biggest struggles are changing tasks and low energy. Getting myself to the home office and getting started is a huge hurdle, and while I’d like to work five days a week, most weeks I can only manage to get there maybe two days. Some days it’s because I’m too weighed down by all the demands and clutter. I keep the house relatively organized, but if the pillows are out of place and there’s any dishes on the table, it saps my energy.
My husband and I just moved, so there’s still a decent amount of organizing to do. We both have ADHD, so keeping dishes and laundry going is a Herculean task. He’s medicated for depression and ADHD and I’m medicated for anxiety. I can’t start medication for ADHD yet because I’m nursing our 6-mo-old. Husband is recently unemployed and looking for at-home work.
I suppose my question is, what tips do y’all have for working at home successfully with these struggles? How do you manage the overwhelm of visual clutter? How do you get yourself to Do The Thing? And how do you not feel like crap all the time because it’s too overwhelming to eat three meals a day, pump milk each time, keep laundry clean, keep dishes clean, shower regularly, keep the pillows on the couch, make the bed and go to work each day? (Bless my husband for doing all the cooking)
@LunaBBerlin
Hi, Luna, it seems like you have 3 full time jobs as a breastfeeding mom, house wife, and an entrepreneur.
Breastfeeding /pumping already drains your nutrients, thus your energy. For me it is the hardest thing I’ve ever done even when I was on maternity leave. I am grateful that I was able to do it. Hang in there (no pun intended, lol), because it won’t last forever and you’d probably miss the bonding. Maybe research healthy ways to replenish the nutrients you lost during pumping/breastfeeding to keep your energy up.
Btw, it’s great that your hubby does the cooking! Maybe catch a little cat nap while he cooks 😴
Would your husband be willing to do a little more house work while you tend to your other work?
Thank you; I needed that validation about breastfeeding being a full time job. It really doesn’t seem on the surface like it would be as taxing as it is, but I do feel it.
To clarify, house duties aren’t solely my responsibility. We share them, and my husband more than pulls his weight. I just always feel responsible, you know? Though he did come talk to me today cuz he’s been almost entirely in charge of baby the past couple of weeks while I’ve been in a mental health slump, and he was overtired. We talked about responsibility balance and I’m feeling a lot better! We decided to split laundry and dishes so I only need to worry about one of them instead of sharing both :D
@LunaBBerlin
I applaud both of for communicating your needs to each other and working things out 🤗
@LunaBBerlin
Hi, it’s me again with other practical tips:
For easy meals, look for pre-cooked microwaveable frozen foods, salad kits, cereal and milk.
For energy replenishment: almonds, fruits, etc.
For dishes, use paper plates, paper cups, plastic utensils. Remember this time of your life is only temporary.
For laundry, use less clothings. Thank goodness you work from home. For a while, I wasn’t using undies and I still went out to work, lol. I also used my work clothes as my pj lol. Those were the days.
