The Fortnightly Focus – My AuADHD-friendly plan of artistic improvement

In my previous post, I mentioned the ASD and ADHD diagnoses I received in 2024 and how being diagnosed (as a full-fledged adult!) helped me better understand my strengths and weaknesses. Thanks to this newfound understanding, I can now create fail-proof plans for various areas of my life and even adjust my surroundings or productivity tools to better suit my needs.

The New Year: A Blank Sketchbook of Opportunities

Speaking of plans (and resolutions), the idea of a new year is always as exciting (and slightly intimidating) to me as a blank sketchbook📓. No matter how many failed or unfinished drawings you have in your previous one, a new sketchbook offers so many pages filled with nothing but new opportunities. And nothing stops you from finishing last year’s projects in the new year! 😉

At the end of 2024, like many of you, I started asking myself: What would I like to achieve, and how can I move toward these goals in the coming year?

Where I Want to Go in My Art Journey

When I started thinking about where I wanted to go with my art, I realized that painting and drawing often intimidate me. Believe it or not, I’ve gotten to where I am without ever studying the “foundations.” So, yes, it’s possible—but it also makes my work much harder, more stressful, and time-consuming. And those are fun-killers for everyone, not just ADHD-ers!

I realized I want to overcome that intimidation and feel more confident in my knowledge and skills. Truth be told, I sometimes feel like my paintings only look good by accident. Whether or not that’s true doesn’t matter, as long as it leads me to learn something! 😉 Either way, I’m finally ready to face the challenges of learning anatomy and perspective. But how do I do this in a way that keeps my brain from giving up after a month?

My Challenges: Repetition vs. Excitement

Effectively learning any skill requires not only understanding the subject but, more importantly, plenty of repetition—like learning the vocabulary of a foreign language. Unfortunately, this isn’t ideal for an ADHD brain, which craves novelty, change, and excitement.

The Solution: My Fortnightly Focus Plan

This is where understanding my neurodivergence has helped. As an autistic person, I need structure, a concrete plan, and predictability. Meanwhile, my ADHD brain needs freedom, flexibility, and… a bit of room for procrastination. That’s why I decided to try an approach that combines both repetition and flexibility. Enter my… drumroll please… FORTNIGHTLY FOCUS ✨

How the Plan Works

The plan is simple: Every two weeks, I have to fill at least one A4 sketchbook page with sketches focused on a specific theme. For example, if I’m studying anatomy, I might spend two weeks sketching full-body poses, then two weeks focusing solely on arms, and then two weeks working on the neck area. The themes will depend on what I need to work on and my craving for variety.

This approach gives me structure and predictability, but I still have a lot of freedom. It doesn’t feel like a chore, as I’m not required to draw every day or for a specific amount of time. The set deadline turns it into a game or challenge. Not only do I get a dopamine boost when I “unlock the achievement” of filling a page, but I also feel a sense of excitement while racing against the clock.

First Impressions and an Invitation

So far, I’ve done a few sketches and still have time before the end of the first bi-week (as I, perhaps a little unfortunately, call these fortnight sprints). For now, I can say the system works exactly as intended. I sketch when I feel like it, but the challenge of filling a page keeps me motivated to try and finish it.

If you struggle with motivation, procrastination, or committing to an area you want to improve, feel free to join me in this challenge, whatever it is you want to improve! Let’s share our progress, motivation, and, inevitably, a bit of frustration along the way.

What will your challenge be this year?

Here’s mine:

• Q1: Anatomy (understanding and application)
• Q2, Q3, Q4: Three types of perspective. I’ll decide on the details later, and the plan may change depending on my needs and progress.

I’m really excited about this chapter of my journey and sharing it with you in future posts! and can’t wait to share updates with you in future posts! Stay tuned to hear how it’s going. 😊

~Kat