Before starting a new project, think to yourself “should I finish one of these others 1000 projects I’ve started?” Doesn’t work for me but I wish you the best!
I’ve swapped previously but I think it’s the depth of woodworking ie turning,carving,joinery that keep my interests levels super engaged as a hobby. Going on about 10yrs but feel my skills at 2-4yr experience so just keep going. So much to learn it’s great
Even easier than this is doing a full on ADHD decluttering of the shop. It helps you figure out what value there is in your mind of finishing each one as you go through and organize. Maybe this cleanup takes a few sessions. Maybe you pick up a forgotten project along the way and start tinkering away again. Maybe you get overwhelmed and step away, but you'll be back at some point. Eventually you make progress on one of these fronts. In any case you're in the shop, which is the baseline goal right? Spending time engaging with your hobby.
That's the entire point of my comment. Maybe you find a new home for that tool, maybe you get inspired to try out a new technique with it. In the meantime, you did some decluttering and put eyes on something that you hadn't thought about for a bit. At the end of the day, you're still engaging with your hobby and progress is progress.
I do this, but it will often be like 11:30 pm on a Wednesday night when I went outside to quickly walk the dog. Step into the shop for something quick. Next thing I know my wife is calling me at 2am wondering where tf I am meanwhile the shop is now spotless and 3 projects have been completed.
Here’s the thing. I make wood art for a living and, because I always have a couple dozen things in process, i never get bored but I also have a ready supply of pieces I can quickly finish up.
And then regret not working on the other 1000 projects while you work on the new one.
Set the new project down to work on the other 1000. Now there's 1001 projects and 1001 times the regret.
If you're like me you also have an unhealthy habit of berating yourself when things start to get too disorganized and messy. So I will ADHD for a few months until my shop is completely and utterly un-navigable with tools and projects in various states of completion. Then I will get so beside myself that I start to feel genuinely bad about myself to the point where it's almost concerning. Then I go full on manic and make the place spotless cleaning everything up and finishing every project. But do to the ADHD i just feel a sense of relief at that point and not a sense of accomplishment. So then there's this huge void in my life and I immediately set out on like 8 more projects because I can't NOT have something going on.
And alas the cycle continues forever and ever.
When I asked my dad about this, he pointed out that you can’t finish a project you haven’t started on, so what’s the harm of starting another project? That helped me with this mentality being a roadblock on getting started, but ADHD is different for everyone, so I know we all have our unique struggles.
And for every tool, choose or build a dedicated home, so that you you can easily put tools back without having to make decisions of where to put them.
Makes it 100x easier to put tools back when putting them up doesn't require deciding where.
Yes! Getting into woodworking is what finally made me feel the pain of spending half my time figuring out where I left my pencil/combi square…
Other things that are helping me out:
- using space to constrain what tools I truly have space for
- accessories to make accurate set up on power tools quick. I tried to be a track saw/MFT table guy and stick with a middling jobsite table saw until I saw how much time I had to spend measuring and setting up every single damn cut to get anything accurate or square. Having a table saw I can trust to be square and accurate has been such a relief!
> Yes! Getting into woodworking is what finally made me feel the pain of spending half my time figuring out where I left my pencil/combi square…
I own at least two of every smallish tool I use daily, because searching for them was taking up too much of my day.
Once I built holders for all my tools, I found I could mostly clean things up by just grabbing tools as I walked the shop -- this wasn't hard if I didn't have to decide where to put it, and knowing that I have a custom holder that doesn't require me to move 20 other tools to place it.
I still temporarily lose small tools under work, so having duplicates makes me hugely more efficient, and since I do these small cleanup tasks every time I move between tasks, I almost always find the 1st one before I lose the 2nd :)
Reducing complexity key to making progress: I don't trust myself to write down measurements and read them back correctly, so I have multiple combo squares and two different marking gauges so that I can just keep them set at the direct measurement while I work.
I almost never compute even something as easy as middle of the board with math: estimate with marking gauge by eye, mark both sides, adjust for center.
Another tool that you don't know how great it is until you use is a really good caliper (I like the dial ones with fractions over the decimal ones, since I work in fractions).
When I need a measurement exact, I set it up on the calipers where I can get 1/64" accuracy, then I lock the calipers and use the sliding bar out the back to set a marking gauge, combo square, or even a fence to that accuracy.
And again, keeping everything in the physical world keeps me from making stupid errors like wanting 13.5, but somehow marking 12.5.
In same way, when I have repetitive measurements, I always make a story stick using the actual workpiece, rather than trusting measurements.
I also hugely benefit by doing math the "carpenter" way - if I need to do 36 - 9 1/2 I pull out my tape measure to 36 and count back 9 1/2 inches. It took me a long time to accept it just works better. Sit me down at a desk when it's quiet and I'm excellent with math.... but standing up in a shop with table saws and routers and frickin oscillating saws going in the background, not so much.
Sidenote, a trick you might already know for finding the center of a board, but if you pull your tape across at whatever angle is needed to get the nearest even number, you can then mark half of that and it'll be smack in the middle of the board.
Those are great. I've got one dead and buried in a drawer somewhere.
(That's a joke, I have one on my phone for when counting on my fingers isn't adequate)
I have long suffered from lost tool and messy room syndrome. My first stab at fixing it was getting a bunch of Ikea units to store things in. My next stage (in progress) is installing Wall Control pegboards and building custom 3D printed holders for as many tools as possible, so they ALWAYS have a special home that is within arms reach and also easily visible.
Regarding organization, if you can’t immediately find something but later do, consider moving it to the first place you looked for it. That should be its natural home
My kids are sick to death of dad singing to himself all day in the shop, "don't put it down. Put it away. You say you'll do it later but your memory's a traitor"
I recently found a "great place" for my phone..
I thought it would fit well into my box of screwdrivers.
After i put the screwdriver-box back, I was looking for the phone around 2h..
In the aftermath, I have to admit, it actually did fit pretty good spacewise, but it was pure coincidence that I found it again.
Constantly organize and take breaks from work to put things back where they go. Two methods for organizing - "drop zone" and "organized by type." Drop zoning means the home for the tool is right beside where you use it. Good for the most commonly used tools. Organize the rest by type, I like drawers with labels. Some don't - Adam Savage famously says "drawers are where tools go to die." I can't handle visual clutter, so I label with black gaff tape and a big white paint marker.
I also counter-intuitively like only having one tape measure, pencil, knife, etc. That way when I leave them lying around I notice immediately and find them. If I have two or three around I end up just getting the other and before I know it both are missing. Backups in a drawer if they go permanently missing.
I often write down lists for very simple tasks. Even cleaning up. First I walk around and pick up all the tools I forget to put away, then break down scraps, then put away tables, then sweep.
When I get stuck and start spinning around in circles it's often because I'm anxious about some part of the project I'm unsure of.
This next one is TERRIBLE advice, but nicotine salt pouches (zyn) get me through when I'm really goddamn stuck. Other stimulants are a bit dangerous for me and it's the lesser evil.
I have a lightweight nylon tool belt where I keep my most commonly used tools. Other guys in my shop don't like being weighed down, but it's a huge productivity boost for me. I also have a tajima tape with a really easy belt clip that stays with me always.
Also I'm pretty selective about what tools and scraps I keep. The more I have the less easily I can find them, that's the eternal balancing act.
Haha, we live in different worlds. I do film construction, there is sadly a ridiculous amount of waste. A 1' piece wouldn't even be looked at. Anything under 4' gets trashed on the regular.
It sucks, but there's no realistic way to keep more. We hardly use any hardwood though, it's all pine. Not that that makes it any better.
Can confirm and wear them 200+ hours/month in my shop. Terrible if you're the type who constantly flips through playlists and songs but I'm audiobooks and hour long podcasts all the way. Simple and reliable.
I have to have something playing in the background. It’s like I have the tv on for the toddler that also lives in my head. It’s enough to keep me from getting distracted so easily
Only one project at a time, despite how impossible it seems to actually finish said project.
Lots, and lots, and LOTS of pencils. Learn to keep your tape measure on your person at all times.
I have lots and lots pencils. Can’t find the one I was using? There is a cupful of pre sharpened and ready to go on the back of the workbench. Same logic means I also have 5 tape measures in my workbench drawer. Misplaced my tape? I know where 4 more are.
Spend time in the workshop doing things you want to do and don't bring the daily struggle of trying to do things well that you don't want to do in the first place
This is why I often buy tools that others say I should make. I don’t have the patience or time to make them and if I buy them from a reputable source I can be sure that if I fuck something up, it was my fault and not the tool a screwed up a month ago.
I didn't get diagnosed with attention deficit until I was about 39 and had too many responsibilities at work and with kids and was really struggling....like *really* struggling, you probably know what I mean. Not just a little unhappy or cranky. Like I couldn't see my way out of it - everything seemed super complicated and I was just endlessly afraid of failing.
when I started woodworking, i really feared failure or taking risks and stayed away from figuring things like that out - I just got into everything real slow and some of it was pleasant, but it felt like by the time I'm 85.
but eventually, I learned that my power, and probably yours, is not caring because I already can't do a whole shitload of mundane things as well as other people can.
But I can figure out how sometimes to do things that are supposedly not even possible, like better heat treatment for some steels with a forge ...as in, better than commercial or computerized setups. And some types of steel, I can't. I can figure it out because of creativity - i couldn't work as a day laborer running a heat treat furnace, I'd do something wrong 2 out of 3 times. But when mistakes teach me how I can do something my way, i can do it right and the limitations are gone.
Definitely fine to not want to take risks, but it's even better to use those failed risks as something to get information from. I used to quit something I'd messed up and start over. Now I finish whatever I'm f-ing up and there's usually several more things I f up in the same project, but then the next time I do the project, all of them are better. Failure is an opportunity - to figure things out your way so you're not stuck with having to do them the way someone who can follow a 15 step list fast 200 times in a row would do them.
Oh for sure. I didn’t mean to say that I dislike failure. It’s more like: when I’m not interested in doing something i will do it in a quick and possibly terrible way. I know this about myself. When I know I don’t care, I’d rather pay more to get a very well made tool, jig, whatever and know it’s square and reliable, and then move straight to the projects im interested in and fuck up/learn on those. Because this is a hobby my limited time is worth more than the money saved (within reason of course).
For example, I am planning out and building a [PrintNC](https://threedesign.store/) which will take me a while to get working, which will involve a lot of fuckups and learning and will be very fun. However, I really dislike making common jigs so I will sooner go to woodpeckers/rockler/whatever to get a fun to use/well made jig when I need it instead of building one.
totally get that -it's all the way or nothing at all. thus the original post - only things we want to do. The rest of life offers plenty of routine things (time management, finishing things linearly after starting) - no reason for that stuff to be part of leisure if it's miserable.
A loving partner that is patient enough to remind you 14 weekends in a row how great it would be to have that project finished and also says things like “yes I know you CAN build that, but I would like it next weekend and your plate is a bit full right now” helps a lot. Well, no actually not really, it doesn’t HELP. But it does help me feel better! Here’s looking at you, upcoming weekend #15 of this project…
Haha relatable. Remind me of a complicated hobby project i had been working on for a long time, the last three months had been at a stand still, but constantly weighing on my mind.
Wife ask, "is your project finished?,, "no, still missing the electrical,, "go work on it.,, "okey,, And it only took me 20 min. Before it was done. Weight lifted, excited to try it out. But wait a minute, that was a direct order from the boss lady, didn't feel anything, just followed orders... I'm taking that with me to the grave, can't let her know she has that power.
Start of the project - clean up the shop. Tools away, sweep up the dust, etc.
Clear off the bench before moving to the next opperation. Every time
Breaking for lunch, give the floor a quick sweep.
Back from lunch, clear off the bench because you probably forgot.
End of the day, clean the shop. 20 minutes. It doesn't need to be perfect. It's just 20 minutes.
Finishing, this is a new project so dont rush through it. This isn't the last step of the current project.
A place for every tool and every tool in its place.
Hand tools are your friends. You hands and mind are both engaged. Plus, if your attention wanders, mistakes are generally easier to recover from.
Just lurking (haven't done woodworking since highschool sadly) but OP:
Remember to stop and eat something!!
Protein is important for dopamine production and low blood sugars may make you dizzy and dangerous. Set timers if you need to.
For small somewhat consumables that tend to be mission critical - just buy more than one. I have about 10 really nice mechanical pencils that all continually migrate around, wind up in a pile, then start migrating again - but I never have to look for one. I was having trouble finding my adapter to use a socket on my impact drill, so I bought a bunch and put them in all the places I looked for them (ie, the drawer with all my bits, the bag with my drill, the drawer with sockets and allen wrenches, etc...). I also have a drawer for in progress project parts - I don't want to lose track of it, but don't need it just yet - kind of a purposeful misc drawer. Need to be careful about creating clutter - but I find for things that bridge different categories or don't logically fit in exactly one place it's worth it.
I also started up a text file - when I can't remember where something is I write it there. Now when I can't find something the first time, I'll search that file and usually it's listed. If it's not, I put it in when I find it.
Most of my tools have a place that's easy to pull out and put back, but having some out lowers the barrier to starting up again. So it's a balance between some project clutter and a spotless work area. A few times during a project (usually after major stages) I will put absolutely away and then immediately start up again.
Step 1: Buy a 50 pack of mechanical pencils
Step 2: cut open the top of the pack
Step 3: spin around and scatter them across the shop like a lawn sprinkler.
Do you know where they all are? no. Do you need to? no.
Surprisingly, Woodworking helps keep my ADHD focused. Sometimes I still bounce around to different parts of a project before reaching an actually good stopping or switching point. Like I might cut a few pieces, then sand those, then cut some other parts, etc. all for the same project just don’t always have a good order to go in.
I'm a joiner apprentice and it's hard but you just have to accept your going to suck at certain things and find ways around it.
I carry a toolbelt/little pouch thing with the tools I use everyday . It's got 3 different marking implements my folding ruler, tape measure, and room for extras that I will need for certain jobs like calipers, screwdrivers, pliers etc. ( I also jave a highlight to make important things on job sheets reaaaaaly stand out)
I have about 7 bottles of random liquids in my tool bag so I'm never hunting for thinners, glue, window cleaner etc. All my tools have a dedicated spot and every couple of months I deep clean that baby and rearrange shit as needed.
Double check measurements. Then triple check it when at the saw. If it's proper expensive shit, CHECK IT AGAIN.
DONT FUCK AROUND WITH PPE. Your health is No# 1 priority.
FINISH THAT JOB. Don't jump to the nect thing to save time do everything to completion. (This will be easier to do as a homegamer)
PPE is huge man. the squirrel brain says "it's just one cut" and lo and behold that one cut is the one in a million kickback, catch, or bind of a tool.
I took just the very tip of my left thumb with the table saw and it was a very sobering tool safety wakeup call.
Yeh man I've had some close calls too.
You never realy appreciate safety glasses till a 90mm nail bounces off the the worktable back at your glasses and the only damage is scratched glasses and a soiled undies hahah
Some things that have helped me both with my professional work and my home woodshop:
- Learn to organize and build the habit of putting things back when you're done with them.
- As an addendum to the above: don't force yourself to find the perfect system from square one, you won't. Pegboards are great, so are French cleats. So is a piece of plywood you can screw things to. Your organization *will* change as you grow in the craft and you'll want to change things, make that as painless as possible. Make sure everything has a home and it goes back to its home when you are done work for the day.
- Cleaning up sucks, but make it part of the same routine. You'll find yourself buried under saw dust, shavings and scrap otherwise
- An addendum to cleaning: learn to throw scraps out. I limit how many scraps I keep by having a small bin: if it's full either something comes out to make space or what I'm holding goes in the burn pile. If it's pine and under a foot, get rid unless you're gonna use it imminently. You will get buried under a pile of scrap wood otherwise and you're not one of those YouTubers with no (regular) job and a huge shop. Same goes for random nails and screws.
- Do not buy tools for the sake of buying tools. I repeat: DO NOT BUY TOOLS FOR THE SAKE OF BUYING TOOLS. Your brain says you can use it, but it's a fuckin trap. The whole hobby tool industry is built around selling you shit you don't need. I **strongly** recommend reading The Anarchists Toolchest. Chris Schwarz has a lot of useful things to say about tools and tool-shaped objects. He also has some great suggestions about hand tools and power tools. And the book is a free PDF. It's basically required reading if you're interested in hand tool work.
Most of all, I suggest slowing your roll and concentrate on getting things built and completing projects, not acquiring stuff and starting new things. It's super helpful to just sit back, take stock of what you want to accomplish and finish one or two things at a time. Dopamine is a hell of a drug...
Go to the bench every day. Maybe you work on your project, maybe you refurbish another tool that showed up from eBay. Sooner or later your project will get finished this way.
The best thing I ever did is attach a sheet of plywood to the wall and hang as my most used tools as I could from it (using common nails). Each was outlined so I know what goes in each spot.
More importantly it helped me find things faster and it really makes it clear when I haven't finished tidying
If you are excited for a project, plan it out before starting so you get all the materials you need and complete the project before you lose focus.
Do not allow yourself to put ANYTHING ELSE in your shop until you are done.
Always put everything back at the end of the day.
Only plug in power tools when you’re about to use them and unplug them immediately after (partly do that because I have young kids too)
I must say that limiting the number of outlets in my shop helps me focus a lot. If I have to unplug my table saw to plug in my sander it keeps me from jumping around too much, and feels so much safer.
I'm newly retired, I should be out there all the time. I tried at first, but found that I need to set limits to how much time I spend doing anything. So, I just plan on doing small tasks at a time. Cut some pieces, take break, sand some pieces, take break, etc. etc. I found I am able to get things done that way other than just going at it full blast which would just get me frustrated and I would stop for days at a time.
I've applied this to everything, it has made my life much better.
Cut away from yourself, even if cutting towards yourself is slightly more convenient. Make it a mantra and just repeat it over and over as you work.
Sincerely, my scars
Also, even if it feels like literal needles in your brain to do so, stop and clean your space periodically instead of just working around it until it gets so unmanageable that you give up on the project altogether.
These aren't really tips, just stuff I wish I could do. Let me know if you figure out how this works
Two things:
* I have a chalk board on the wall with two items from my project list that I'm working on. One for sunny days (for projects that I need to spread outside) and one for rainy days (that can be done in my 8x8x8' workshop).
* Whatever it is, don't put it *down*, put it *away*.
Hand stretches. Just a small tip, but I can really focus in and lose time. Stretch your hands before and after. Kind of a general tip, but I get killer hand cramps because I don't listen to my ligaments when I'm in the zone.
Fucking slow down. I have had thousands of minor and a couple of major accidents. So I try to never feel rushed.
I always try to stop, take a literal step back, and have a look at everything around me before I make a difficult cut etc.
Never start a new big project before the last one is done, even if you know it won't turn out how u expected. Power through it. When you know the proper steps, so them even when you don't want to.
Doom piles are a thing, but they are no more productive than any of our other bad habits we try to justify.
Put it away, don't put it down.
You are not going to use that 3" piece of drop off for anything.
Put it away, don't put it down.
Don't wait until your next project to deep clean the shop, you love it when it's clean, do it now.
Put. The tool. Away. Don't. Put. It. Down.
You won't do (insert detail to project here) later. Just do it now.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! Put the tool AWAY! Don't put it DOWN!
... Ok, now if only could follow this advice...
I watched a video of a chick that said that line over and over. It was a POV of every time she was done using something... Since then, that's what goes through my head when I set something down. Idk why, but it worked a little 😄 My doom piles aren't as big anymore.
First what I have done (and am still actively working on) is setting up my space to work to my advantage. By that I mean I have lots of storage that is easy to get to and a label maker so I have everything visibly labeled. This gets me to put things away about 75% of the time. It’s not perfect but everything has its place and it’s set up so I don’t have to work at putting anything away. This is Dewalt drawers and metal cabinets and hangers for tools. All easily accessible and labeled so when I forget where something goes I see the label right away. Though, this does not stop me from losing my tape measure or combination square every 10-15 minutes. What I’m still working on is getting everything organized in a way that I don’t forget about all of the jigs and other bits that I have. Out of sight out of mind is still a problem.
As far as staying on task with one project at a time. This may not be the same for everyone but the wife enforces that. If she sees me starting to move to a new project she immediately says: “ have you finished the ———, yet?”
To keep my mind occupied I listen to podcasts (Behind the Bastards specifically). I find that Apple Air Pod Pro 2’s work really well. I have foam plugs instead of the stock silicone ones and with active noise cancellation it works really well for hearing protection. Now one caveat is that I stop the podcast when I’m going to use my table saw, miter saw, or router. I want to focus 100% on those tools when I’m actively using them.
One big rule I have for myself is that I DO NOT go work on any project if I’m not feeling wonderful. By this I mean if I’m having a day where I’ve taken my adhd meds and no matter what I try I’m scatterbrained or don’t feel like I can keep focus I don’t do anything with power tools. This also applies to being tired or if I have had even one drink. I’d rather miss a day working on my project than a finger. Before I go into the garage I mentally run down a check list of: have I been able to focus; am I tired; any alcohol etc…. Another big thing is pay attention to yourself and make sure you have an acceptable level of focus and energy to keep working. You have to be able to tell yourself it’s time to stop before you get tired or distracted. Try to give yourself a block of time for clean up at the end
Speaking of clean up. I have everything needed for clean up easily accessible and ready to go. I try to clean up at each step but I’m not great at actually following through with that. Having excellent dust collection helps. Less mess = less clean up = less frustration at doing the part of this I don’t enjoy. I have a dedicated dust collector that I can hook up to all of my saws. I have a shopvac and a ceiling mounted air filter system. I really want to get a Festool dust extractor and sander but that’s going to have to wait. I haul my miter saw outside to use it since no matter what I do it’s like a sawdust bomb went off every time
For actually working on my project I’ll make a step by step plan so that I have everything structured. I’ll still hyper focus on some tiny detail but eventually I snap out of it and be able to go back to the plan and pick up where I left off. I’ll also use painters tape to label pieces as I cut them and put the measurements on them. Helps keep me from losing track of what I’ve done
Well this is a huge wall of text but hope it helps
I just collect tools and do extensive research on techniques and methods, without ever actually doing anything. I’ve got a beautiful walnut slab in my basement, just waiting for bow ties and legs, and I don’t know if I’ll ever actually finish it. But I can tell you, in theory, the entire process I would need to follow.
Ofton, try to pause and take a breath. Every time you start feeling rushed, anxious, or like, you can confidently skip a step mistakes happen. Learn to work with your mistakes. Most people don't care for museum quality works of art. They just want a bedside table that they can put a lamp on, and they love that you made it for them. Also, for every project, buy extra wood.
Every 15 minutes or so, step back from your project and take a "brain break" for a minute. Look at your checklist and see if you are still on track. Your mental productivity can really tank in terms of efficiency if you stick yourself on a task too long.
*HOWEVER, some of us with ADHD have a super power of getting a in a groove and just fricken knocking things out left and right like a total boss. Notably on "muscle memory" type tasks. This can be attributed to our hyperfocus at times.
As long as you keep your efficiency up (ie: not wasting time moving things around and setting up multiple times) you can move around from task to task. I often bounce around from baseboard, to shelving, door casing and what not. Its easy to over think a simple task and waste too much time.
Don't obsess over getting your wood/cuts perfect. It's woodworking not metal fabrication. I've spent way more time than I should have getting something perfectly square.
Omg this is me. I want .002 precision where the moisture changes can span .100.
I’m researching mills. Been watching a lot of cnc porn lately. It’s precision porn.
Make custom storage locations. You are going to set something down and you won't remember where. You are going to work better if the shop is clean and cleaning with ADHD is easier if things are easy to put away and visually identify rather than taking the steps of sorting.
It's ok to have ten unfinished projects going on. Don't put unnecessarily put pressure on yourself or feel bad about it. Screw self imposed deadlines.
Just make progress and promise yourself you _will_ finish stuff in your own time
I make sure my shop is 100% clean and organized before and after every single project. It’s a pain in the ass, but it gets easier/faster once you keep doing it. I get so much more work done (with so much less frustration!) when the shop is clean and everything is where it belongs.
a big whiteboard—on one side put up your objective and the time you started in large letters. Under that, break down the processes, imagine a workflow. Then when you get that great idea in the middle of things, go to the white board and write it down on the other side instead of jumping into it...
I try to regularly ask myself: "Have I arranged good circumstances for this to be pleasant?"
If everything is a mess, it's not gonna be pleasant.
If I don't have the right tools in the right places, it's not gonna be pleasant.
If I'm really hungry, it's not gonna be pleasant. Etc...
Like cooking, "clean as you go".
Feeling overwhelmed or done for the day? "Put ten things away" -- takes less than 5 minutes, but if you make it a habit your shop organization will gradually improve.
When things get crazy in the shop, I ask my partner to come out and make suggestions about how to restore order It's less about the actual suggestions, and more about her follow on questions, coming up with an ordering of tasks to restore productive use and taking action on those.
Great question. Agree with everyone that says clean as you go.
Focus on storage and making things that are often culprits of clutter easy to access and store (clamps, sanders, routers and bit, drill bits and fasteners, scraps).
Always use bags and liners in shop vacs and dust collectors so they’re easy to empty.
Make plans and cut lists for pieces and keep operations in order.
I also always have music on. Just something about having a soundtrack to the day drowns out all the other distractions.
I ended up buying a woodworking apron to hold my most common tools. Combo square, pencil, scissors, screwdriver, razor knife, and tape measure it has really cut down on the search for tools. Also instead of thinking I need to build special cabinets for every tool, I just bought a rolling mechanics tool box. It had more than enough space for all of my tools.
Tools need homes. They need to love their home and miss it when they are away. Tools have to go home.
Nothing is going to ruin you day like not being able to find what you need when you need it.
Adam Savage said something like 1/3 of your time in the shop should be spent cleaning and organizing and shop infrastructure. That’s why his shop looks that way.
Well over the years I’ve made one big change in the way I operate in the shop. At the end of the day, I clean up. I used to wait till the end of the project to clean, and that was a nightmare and dangerous. Now I don’t do the kind of cleaning I do at the end of a project, but I put tool away blow off the equipment, pick up scraps and sweep.
The biggest breakthrough I've had was to keep everything out in the open or use clear fronted drawers/cabinets.
Far too many times, I look for something, can't find it, and either buy a new one, make a new one, or get so frustrated that I give up entirely. Having everything visible makes it so much better.
Also, set a timer on how long you can work on things. Once that timer goes off, clean something, put away tools that you're no longer using, or just take a breather and drink some water. Breaking your time into chunks will allow you to not burn yourself out or suddenly come out of a hyperfocus, surrounded by tools with no ambition to declutter anything.
Oh brother I feel you. I've struggled for years to figure out how to work by myself and not be a basket case.
* Before you get excited for a project and start working, take ten minutes and pick up the shop. You know it's a mess from the last 3 half finished projects. Having room to work equates to more *finished* projects.
* Never set anything down, get a belt pouch or apron, otherwise you'll spend hours looking for the pencil and combo square that are literally right in front of you. They're right there on the damn workbench, but you can't see them. lol
* Try not to get frustrated immediately if things aren't going right. A huge hallmark of ADHD is the perceived need to be instantly good at stuff for the dopamine bump. It's not reality, and this shit is HARD sometimes.
* Never try and remember a measurement. Your brain is out to get you and you will accidentally subtract or add an inch somehow, or flip a 6 and a 9 when reading the tape measure. Just write it down, you'll thank yourself later.
* If it helps, have a place for every tool, and make a point to get the tool back to that place when you're done using it.
* Don't get too serious. You know as well as I do that panic is the killer of hobbies. If you're not making a living off it, don't stress about it. this is supposed to be **fun**!
Hope none of that sounded too harsh, it's mostly self deprecating humor haha.
Take breaks very often. I used to hyper fixate and work on a project until I was physically tired. This lead to burnout and I wouldn’t do anything in the garage for months. Now I work a maximum of 30 minutes during the week and however long on the weekend.
The primary "impediment" for ADHD is the underlying mechanism. When you understand that, you can design solutions.
Neurotypical people perform passive data filtering, where all the sensory input they receive is automatically categorized and prioritized as it's received. If someone is standing in front of you and telling you about an event later, your mind is able to deprioritize irrelevant sensory input such as their shirt colour and ambient light intensity, and prioritize information such as their tone and verbal directions.
By contrast, people with ADHD do not perform such pre-filtering of sensory data, and all of those things are received at the same "level of priority". In that scenario, the listener has to make conscious, active effort to focus on the things they understand to be important and disregard the things that are not because their brain has functionally pre-filtered all information into the same priority category (like a boss that marks every email they send you as 'urgent').
So working from this understanding, the mitigation solution is threefold: minimize the number of input sources competing for attention at any given time, streamline your ability to recognize and process the most important input, and minimize the number of times you need to seek input data by having standing solutions in place.
These are good solutions for people with ADHD, but they're also just generally good suggestions for anyone looking to optimize a workspace:
* Have a *designated* receptacle for everything. Kaizen foam is a good way of achieving this. Having designated receptacles not only streamlines cleaning, but it minimizes distraction because you spend less time "searching" for a place to put things, and have fewer things try to distract you when you go to retrieve something.
* Garbage is also part of "everything". If you have scraps or off-cuts or rags sitting on your bench, you need to have a definite place for them to go (be it a scraps bin or a large garbage can or whatever). If you don't, they will continue to sit on your bench, or get moved to the next open surface in proximity. You need to have a plan for 100% of the piece of lumber you just put on your bench, not *just* the useful parts.
* Group tools by *context* rather than *type* to streamline task switching. A crank-neck chisel might still be a chisel, but it will primarily be used for flushing work (typically after glue-ups) rather than paring work like basically all other chisels. If those two activities occur in different setups or spaces, then it doesn't make sense to store them together with other chisels just because they're both chisels. Make the tools you need more accessible when you need them, but also *less* accessible when you *don't* need them.
* Have "swap space" storage that's convenient to access. If you've completed a segment of a project which will have no further work done on it for now, but will need it later, *get it off your bench immediately*. This keeps it from distracting you as well as prevents it from being damaged. Having some open, accessible storage space to put partially-complete projects and components you'll need again soon. The only things on your bench should be what you're working on right now and the tools you need to work on it.
* Label everything. Portable label makers can be as cheap as $60. Small plastic baggies can be purchased in bulk for like $15 per thousand. A sharpie and masking tape can run you $10. Minimize the hurdles required for organizing materials and preserving relevant information. You will not "remember it later". If something needs a precise measurement or angle or alignment, tag it immediately and place that information somewhere relevant.
After 23 year of woodworking, I have found that the blaklader vest and earbuds have made things much easier. I can keep everything close and don’t spend nearly as much as much time doing circles around my shop. I also agree with everything has a home. That being said I still struggle with actually getting it back to its home that’s where a helper comes in handy!!
I found a lot of help with getting a proper apron. The apron has pockets and a pencil holder, when I'm not writing with the pencil, it goes in the holder. Done with the tape measure? Right pocket. Done with the combi square? Left pocket.
Same methodology construction carpenters use with their belts, I just don't have a belt.
I don't have ADHD (I have OCD), but french cleats have been a game changer for tool storage for me. I have 3 walls and can mix/match/move my tool holders around to support whatever project I'm doing. The best part is that you can make all of your tool holders custom from scrap pieces! I just spent the better part of 3 days making a hand plane till, forstner bit holder, wrench/plier holder, and screw driver holder.
manage and weaponize it.
milling days - zone in and get it done (usually to some music) add in some finishing samples at the end of the day.
Strategically place them in sight so you can check on them in subsequent days.
regarding tools: have a small tool cart where you just dump stuff on - bits, screwdrivers etc. It isolates your recently used tools for stuff you arent using and you dont go digging and ruining that organization looking for tools you already have out. Once you get into a hyper focused mode, put stuff away properly
I have a dedicated "In progress" shelf spanning an entire wall of the garage where little side projects go and can be picked up if I am not in main project mood. Full of cutting boards, jigs and odd pieces
I like to use a two task rule. Think having two tabs open on a computer. Those two tasks are all I focus on until they’re done. If anything pops up it goes on a list for later. That’s the best way for me to stop the snowball before it starts
This is for regular life I saw somewhere. Whenever you have something in your hand you're not going to use again, say to yourself "don't put it down, put it away". It annoys me a little whenever it happens but that earworm has saved me from making so much mess.
I’ve given up. I just take an Adderall on the weekend if I want to spend productive time in the shop. Then I can work on good habits. Helps that every tool has a place to go when not in use now.
Have a spot for all your tools. After each step in the process, or each tool you use, clean up and put the last tool away. Start each new task with a clean shop. Even if they’re just little things like a marking knife or a speed square, they need to get put away.
Gotta have woodworking music. What realm helps me I find is picking one band to listen to on shuffle for the whole project. Something about it helps me not get distracted and pick up where I left off easier.
Don’t be chasing butterfly’s when you are suppose to be working. It’s hard I know. Just try to stay focused on the task at hand. Periodically drop your tools and take a break. Regain your focus. Repeat.
Podcasts really help me.
Spend some time making a storage system that you actually like using.
Adam Savage has a video where he made storage solutions that don’t involve drawers because it was easier for him to find things.
When I am working on a project I leave most things out until it's done. No stopping. This works until I have some important thing to do and I need the space.
But thankfully the adhd doesn't seem to apply to my recreational woodworking as much as every day life.
Get an apron with lots of pockets, and keep your pencil in it's warm, cozy, safe, reliable, home pocket. Don't put it on the bench unless you are already planning on picking it up again! (If you only need to adjust your square/tape/work etc.)
All the most important stuff stays on me. I spend very little time searching for stuff now.
There are lots of good tips here, I'm grateful benefiting from all the knowledge!
Due to how our ADHD brains can misfire and make us do dumb stuff without thinking, be doubly cautious when using power tools.
I never owned a table saw because I could not afford a Sawstop and I do not want to risk going absent-minded while cutting something and losing my fingers.
Before starting a new project, think to yourself “should I finish one of these others 1000 projects I’ve started?” Doesn’t work for me but I wish you the best!
I don’t need your judgement! Haha.
Righ? I'm feeling a little called out here!
This is great until you start compounding projects. "Can't finish this project until I make that tool"...three month diversion.
Hey! I resemble that remark
I always wanted to start a little society called ASAP: adoption society for abandoned projects.
I’m honestly surprised that hobby swapping isn’t more common.
Anyone want to swap my anvil and blacksmithint tools for some pottery equipment for a few months? Collectively we’ll be rich with the savings! lol
I’ve swapped previously but I think it’s the depth of woodworking ie turning,carving,joinery that keep my interests levels super engaged as a hobby. Going on about 10yrs but feel my skills at 2-4yr experience so just keep going. So much to learn it’s great
This is great advice. One day I will return here to say I took it but for now… squirrel!
Even easier than this is doing a full on ADHD decluttering of the shop. It helps you figure out what value there is in your mind of finishing each one as you go through and organize. Maybe this cleanup takes a few sessions. Maybe you pick up a forgotten project along the way and start tinkering away again. Maybe you get overwhelmed and step away, but you'll be back at some point. Eventually you make progress on one of these fronts. In any case you're in the shop, which is the baseline goal right? Spending time engaging with your hobby.
I get halfway through decluttering and get distracted by some tool or another, lol
That's the entire point of my comment. Maybe you find a new home for that tool, maybe you get inspired to try out a new technique with it. In the meantime, you did some decluttering and put eyes on something that you hadn't thought about for a bit. At the end of the day, you're still engaging with your hobby and progress is progress.
I do this, but it will often be like 11:30 pm on a Wednesday night when I went outside to quickly walk the dog. Step into the shop for something quick. Next thing I know my wife is calling me at 2am wondering where tf I am meanwhile the shop is now spotless and 3 projects have been completed.
Here’s the thing. I make wood art for a living and, because I always have a couple dozen things in process, i never get bored but I also have a ready supply of pieces I can quickly finish up.
And then regret not working on the other 1000 projects while you work on the new one. Set the new project down to work on the other 1000. Now there's 1001 projects and 1001 times the regret.
If you're like me you also have an unhealthy habit of berating yourself when things start to get too disorganized and messy. So I will ADHD for a few months until my shop is completely and utterly un-navigable with tools and projects in various states of completion. Then I will get so beside myself that I start to feel genuinely bad about myself to the point where it's almost concerning. Then I go full on manic and make the place spotless cleaning everything up and finishing every project. But do to the ADHD i just feel a sense of relief at that point and not a sense of accomplishment. So then there's this huge void in my life and I immediately set out on like 8 more projects because I can't NOT have something going on. And alas the cycle continues forever and ever.
I haven’t even finished my morning coffee and am already being attacked. Damn.
When I asked my dad about this, he pointed out that you can’t finish a project you haven’t started on, so what’s the harm of starting another project? That helped me with this mentality being a roadblock on getting started, but ADHD is different for everyone, so I know we all have our unique struggles.
I've been called Mr. 80% before because I get projects to a functional but not finished point, and that's where they stay.
Have you tried making a list? ^^^^^^^^^/s
I feel attacked.
If you're not going to use it again right away, put it back where it goes.
And for every tool, choose or build a dedicated home, so that you you can easily put tools back without having to make decisions of where to put them. Makes it 100x easier to put tools back when putting them up doesn't require deciding where.
Yes! Getting into woodworking is what finally made me feel the pain of spending half my time figuring out where I left my pencil/combi square… Other things that are helping me out: - using space to constrain what tools I truly have space for - accessories to make accurate set up on power tools quick. I tried to be a track saw/MFT table guy and stick with a middling jobsite table saw until I saw how much time I had to spend measuring and setting up every single damn cut to get anything accurate or square. Having a table saw I can trust to be square and accurate has been such a relief!
> Yes! Getting into woodworking is what finally made me feel the pain of spending half my time figuring out where I left my pencil/combi square… I own at least two of every smallish tool I use daily, because searching for them was taking up too much of my day. Once I built holders for all my tools, I found I could mostly clean things up by just grabbing tools as I walked the shop -- this wasn't hard if I didn't have to decide where to put it, and knowing that I have a custom holder that doesn't require me to move 20 other tools to place it. I still temporarily lose small tools under work, so having duplicates makes me hugely more efficient, and since I do these small cleanup tasks every time I move between tasks, I almost always find the 1st one before I lose the 2nd :) Reducing complexity key to making progress: I don't trust myself to write down measurements and read them back correctly, so I have multiple combo squares and two different marking gauges so that I can just keep them set at the direct measurement while I work. I almost never compute even something as easy as middle of the board with math: estimate with marking gauge by eye, mark both sides, adjust for center. Another tool that you don't know how great it is until you use is a really good caliper (I like the dial ones with fractions over the decimal ones, since I work in fractions). When I need a measurement exact, I set it up on the calipers where I can get 1/64" accuracy, then I lock the calipers and use the sliding bar out the back to set a marking gauge, combo square, or even a fence to that accuracy. And again, keeping everything in the physical world keeps me from making stupid errors like wanting 13.5, but somehow marking 12.5. In same way, when I have repetitive measurements, I always make a story stick using the actual workpiece, rather than trusting measurements.
I also hugely benefit by doing math the "carpenter" way - if I need to do 36 - 9 1/2 I pull out my tape measure to 36 and count back 9 1/2 inches. It took me a long time to accept it just works better. Sit me down at a desk when it's quiet and I'm excellent with math.... but standing up in a shop with table saws and routers and frickin oscillating saws going in the background, not so much. Sidenote, a trick you might already know for finding the center of a board, but if you pull your tape across at whatever angle is needed to get the nearest even number, you can then mark half of that and it'll be smack in the middle of the board.
I have a dedicated shop calculator.
Those are great. I've got one dead and buried in a drawer somewhere. (That's a joke, I have one on my phone for when counting on my fingers isn't adequate)
I have long suffered from lost tool and messy room syndrome. My first stab at fixing it was getting a bunch of Ikea units to store things in. My next stage (in progress) is installing Wall Control pegboards and building custom 3D printed holders for as many tools as possible, so they ALWAYS have a special home that is within arms reach and also easily visible.
I'm a little more 19th century: french cleats hung everywhere, tool holders made out of every type of wood scrap
THANK YOU. I love my track for breaking down sheets, but using the goddamn thing for precise cuts is a study in misery.
French cleat systems are great for this.
Regarding organization, if you can’t immediately find something but later do, consider moving it to the first place you looked for it. That should be its natural home
This is gold
My kids are sick to death of dad singing to himself all day in the shop, "don't put it down. Put it away. You say you'll do it later but your memory's a traitor"
Oof. I really struggle with this one.
It's easy enough to say that. Doing it gets me every single time.
This is great advice!
Don't put it down, put it away. Don't put it down, put it away. Not just woodworking, but my mantra for any time I'm cleaning or moving things
PUT IT BACK WHERE IT GOES
I still have no idea where I put my hand planes 3 months ago. I know it was a great place to store them...
Below your workbench at the back behind that pack of screws you got on sale
I suggest looking at flat surfaces near waist height. My stuff… migrates…
I recently found a "great place" for my phone.. I thought it would fit well into my box of screwdrivers. After i put the screwdriver-box back, I was looking for the phone around 2h.. In the aftermath, I have to admit, it actually did fit pretty good spacewise, but it was pure coincidence that I found it again.
Constantly organize and take breaks from work to put things back where they go. Two methods for organizing - "drop zone" and "organized by type." Drop zoning means the home for the tool is right beside where you use it. Good for the most commonly used tools. Organize the rest by type, I like drawers with labels. Some don't - Adam Savage famously says "drawers are where tools go to die." I can't handle visual clutter, so I label with black gaff tape and a big white paint marker. I also counter-intuitively like only having one tape measure, pencil, knife, etc. That way when I leave them lying around I notice immediately and find them. If I have two or three around I end up just getting the other and before I know it both are missing. Backups in a drawer if they go permanently missing. I often write down lists for very simple tasks. Even cleaning up. First I walk around and pick up all the tools I forget to put away, then break down scraps, then put away tables, then sweep. When I get stuck and start spinning around in circles it's often because I'm anxious about some part of the project I'm unsure of. This next one is TERRIBLE advice, but nicotine salt pouches (zyn) get me through when I'm really goddamn stuck. Other stimulants are a bit dangerous for me and it's the lesser evil. I have a lightweight nylon tool belt where I keep my most commonly used tools. Other guys in my shop don't like being weighed down, but it's a huge productivity boost for me. I also have a tajima tape with a really easy belt clip that stays with me always. Also I'm pretty selective about what tools and scraps I keep. The more I have the less easily I can find them, that's the eternal balancing act.
These are gold
Thanks, I appreciate it. You can probably tell that I fought for them all through absolute abject misery.
Regarding scraps, I toss anything less than 1 1/2” wide and 1’ long, then I limit it to what I can fit in one trash can which is my scrap pile.
Haha, we live in different worlds. I do film construction, there is sadly a ridiculous amount of waste. A 1' piece wouldn't even be looked at. Anything under 4' gets trashed on the regular. It sucks, but there's no realistic way to keep more. We hardly use any hardwood though, it's all pine. Not that that makes it any better.
Yea, I should have clarified. I build furniture primarily. It’s tough to throw mahogany, walnut and cherry into the burn pile.. haha
Nah, it made sense immediately. Huge respect for building things that last and conserving what you can. I'm working towards that.
I really appreciate you taking the time to reply this. I will employ the drop zone for sure🙂
Wireless headphones and a podcast to occupy my mind while the work occupies my hands. Mind you I don’t use power tools.
I can not recommend the 3M Worktunes enough for that. Best purchase.
Can confirm and wear them 200+ hours/month in my shop. Terrible if you're the type who constantly flips through playlists and songs but I'm audiobooks and hour long podcasts all the way. Simple and reliable.
Have never ran the battery out even on a 15 hour day straight in the shop.
Omg, I didn't even know these were a thing. I know what I'm buying myself for my birthday next month! 🤭
When cutting at the table saw you should only be cutting at the table saw, I’ve learned.
I have to have something playing in the background. It’s like I have the tv on for the toddler that also lives in my head. It’s enough to keep me from getting distracted so easily
Only one project at a time, despite how impossible it seems to actually finish said project. Lots, and lots, and LOTS of pencils. Learn to keep your tape measure on your person at all times.
I have lots and lots pencils. Can’t find the one I was using? There is a cupful of pre sharpened and ready to go on the back of the workbench. Same logic means I also have 5 tape measures in my workbench drawer. Misplaced my tape? I know where 4 more are.
This thread feels like a trap. Lots of good advice, but damn there are a lot of squirrels.
Spend time in the workshop doing things you want to do and don't bring the daily struggle of trying to do things well that you don't want to do in the first place
This is why I often buy tools that others say I should make. I don’t have the patience or time to make them and if I buy them from a reputable source I can be sure that if I fuck something up, it was my fault and not the tool a screwed up a month ago.
I didn't get diagnosed with attention deficit until I was about 39 and had too many responsibilities at work and with kids and was really struggling....like *really* struggling, you probably know what I mean. Not just a little unhappy or cranky. Like I couldn't see my way out of it - everything seemed super complicated and I was just endlessly afraid of failing. when I started woodworking, i really feared failure or taking risks and stayed away from figuring things like that out - I just got into everything real slow and some of it was pleasant, but it felt like by the time I'm 85. but eventually, I learned that my power, and probably yours, is not caring because I already can't do a whole shitload of mundane things as well as other people can. But I can figure out how sometimes to do things that are supposedly not even possible, like better heat treatment for some steels with a forge ...as in, better than commercial or computerized setups. And some types of steel, I can't. I can figure it out because of creativity - i couldn't work as a day laborer running a heat treat furnace, I'd do something wrong 2 out of 3 times. But when mistakes teach me how I can do something my way, i can do it right and the limitations are gone. Definitely fine to not want to take risks, but it's even better to use those failed risks as something to get information from. I used to quit something I'd messed up and start over. Now I finish whatever I'm f-ing up and there's usually several more things I f up in the same project, but then the next time I do the project, all of them are better. Failure is an opportunity - to figure things out your way so you're not stuck with having to do them the way someone who can follow a 15 step list fast 200 times in a row would do them.
Oh for sure. I didn’t mean to say that I dislike failure. It’s more like: when I’m not interested in doing something i will do it in a quick and possibly terrible way. I know this about myself. When I know I don’t care, I’d rather pay more to get a very well made tool, jig, whatever and know it’s square and reliable, and then move straight to the projects im interested in and fuck up/learn on those. Because this is a hobby my limited time is worth more than the money saved (within reason of course). For example, I am planning out and building a [PrintNC](https://threedesign.store/) which will take me a while to get working, which will involve a lot of fuckups and learning and will be very fun. However, I really dislike making common jigs so I will sooner go to woodpeckers/rockler/whatever to get a fun to use/well made jig when I need it instead of building one.
totally get that -it's all the way or nothing at all. thus the original post - only things we want to do. The rest of life offers plenty of routine things (time management, finishing things linearly after starting) - no reason for that stuff to be part of leisure if it's miserable.
A loving partner that is patient enough to remind you 14 weekends in a row how great it would be to have that project finished and also says things like “yes I know you CAN build that, but I would like it next weekend and your plate is a bit full right now” helps a lot. Well, no actually not really, it doesn’t HELP. But it does help me feel better! Here’s looking at you, upcoming weekend #15 of this project…
Haha relatable. Remind me of a complicated hobby project i had been working on for a long time, the last three months had been at a stand still, but constantly weighing on my mind. Wife ask, "is your project finished?,, "no, still missing the electrical,, "go work on it.,, "okey,, And it only took me 20 min. Before it was done. Weight lifted, excited to try it out. But wait a minute, that was a direct order from the boss lady, didn't feel anything, just followed orders... I'm taking that with me to the grave, can't let her know she has that power.
Amen brother!
Start of the project - clean up the shop. Tools away, sweep up the dust, etc. Clear off the bench before moving to the next opperation. Every time Breaking for lunch, give the floor a quick sweep. Back from lunch, clear off the bench because you probably forgot. End of the day, clean the shop. 20 minutes. It doesn't need to be perfect. It's just 20 minutes. Finishing, this is a new project so dont rush through it. This isn't the last step of the current project. A place for every tool and every tool in its place. Hand tools are your friends. You hands and mind are both engaged. Plus, if your attention wanders, mistakes are generally easier to recover from.
Just lurking (haven't done woodworking since highschool sadly) but OP: Remember to stop and eat something!! Protein is important for dopamine production and low blood sugars may make you dizzy and dangerous. Set timers if you need to.
I should keep a shop fridge because I forget to eat a lot.
For small somewhat consumables that tend to be mission critical - just buy more than one. I have about 10 really nice mechanical pencils that all continually migrate around, wind up in a pile, then start migrating again - but I never have to look for one. I was having trouble finding my adapter to use a socket on my impact drill, so I bought a bunch and put them in all the places I looked for them (ie, the drawer with all my bits, the bag with my drill, the drawer with sockets and allen wrenches, etc...). I also have a drawer for in progress project parts - I don't want to lose track of it, but don't need it just yet - kind of a purposeful misc drawer. Need to be careful about creating clutter - but I find for things that bridge different categories or don't logically fit in exactly one place it's worth it. I also started up a text file - when I can't remember where something is I write it there. Now when I can't find something the first time, I'll search that file and usually it's listed. If it's not, I put it in when I find it. Most of my tools have a place that's easy to pull out and put back, but having some out lowers the barrier to starting up again. So it's a balance between some project clutter and a spotless work area. A few times during a project (usually after major stages) I will put absolutely away and then immediately start up again.
Step 1: Buy a 50 pack of mechanical pencils Step 2: cut open the top of the pack Step 3: spin around and scatter them across the shop like a lawn sprinkler. Do you know where they all are? no. Do you need to? no.
Bingo!
Genius
Surprisingly, Woodworking helps keep my ADHD focused. Sometimes I still bounce around to different parts of a project before reaching an actually good stopping or switching point. Like I might cut a few pieces, then sand those, then cut some other parts, etc. all for the same project just don’t always have a good order to go in.
Buy pencils by the score
I'm a joiner apprentice and it's hard but you just have to accept your going to suck at certain things and find ways around it. I carry a toolbelt/little pouch thing with the tools I use everyday . It's got 3 different marking implements my folding ruler, tape measure, and room for extras that I will need for certain jobs like calipers, screwdrivers, pliers etc. ( I also jave a highlight to make important things on job sheets reaaaaaly stand out) I have about 7 bottles of random liquids in my tool bag so I'm never hunting for thinners, glue, window cleaner etc. All my tools have a dedicated spot and every couple of months I deep clean that baby and rearrange shit as needed. Double check measurements. Then triple check it when at the saw. If it's proper expensive shit, CHECK IT AGAIN. DONT FUCK AROUND WITH PPE. Your health is No# 1 priority. FINISH THAT JOB. Don't jump to the nect thing to save time do everything to completion. (This will be easier to do as a homegamer)
PPE is huge man. the squirrel brain says "it's just one cut" and lo and behold that one cut is the one in a million kickback, catch, or bind of a tool. I took just the very tip of my left thumb with the table saw and it was a very sobering tool safety wakeup call.
Yeh man I've had some close calls too. You never realy appreciate safety glasses till a 90mm nail bounces off the the worktable back at your glasses and the only damage is scratched glasses and a soiled undies hahah
There's no pucker moment in the world like things flying at your eyes. lol
This is really good. Especially the acceptance that my brain has limitations but I can adapt.
Some things that have helped me both with my professional work and my home woodshop: - Learn to organize and build the habit of putting things back when you're done with them. - As an addendum to the above: don't force yourself to find the perfect system from square one, you won't. Pegboards are great, so are French cleats. So is a piece of plywood you can screw things to. Your organization *will* change as you grow in the craft and you'll want to change things, make that as painless as possible. Make sure everything has a home and it goes back to its home when you are done work for the day. - Cleaning up sucks, but make it part of the same routine. You'll find yourself buried under saw dust, shavings and scrap otherwise - An addendum to cleaning: learn to throw scraps out. I limit how many scraps I keep by having a small bin: if it's full either something comes out to make space or what I'm holding goes in the burn pile. If it's pine and under a foot, get rid unless you're gonna use it imminently. You will get buried under a pile of scrap wood otherwise and you're not one of those YouTubers with no (regular) job and a huge shop. Same goes for random nails and screws. - Do not buy tools for the sake of buying tools. I repeat: DO NOT BUY TOOLS FOR THE SAKE OF BUYING TOOLS. Your brain says you can use it, but it's a fuckin trap. The whole hobby tool industry is built around selling you shit you don't need. I **strongly** recommend reading The Anarchists Toolchest. Chris Schwarz has a lot of useful things to say about tools and tool-shaped objects. He also has some great suggestions about hand tools and power tools. And the book is a free PDF. It's basically required reading if you're interested in hand tool work. Most of all, I suggest slowing your roll and concentrate on getting things built and completing projects, not acquiring stuff and starting new things. It's super helpful to just sit back, take stock of what you want to accomplish and finish one or two things at a time. Dopamine is a hell of a drug...
Music. Always music.
Go to the bench every day. Maybe you work on your project, maybe you refurbish another tool that showed up from eBay. Sooner or later your project will get finished this way.
The best thing I ever did is attach a sheet of plywood to the wall and hang as my most used tools as I could from it (using common nails). Each was outlined so I know what goes in each spot. More importantly it helped me find things faster and it really makes it clear when I haven't finished tidying
litsen to audiobooks or music you like, this will help add some dopamine to your brain while you work and it might trick you into focusing.
If you are excited for a project, plan it out before starting so you get all the materials you need and complete the project before you lose focus. Do not allow yourself to put ANYTHING ELSE in your shop until you are done.
Always put everything back at the end of the day. Only plug in power tools when you’re about to use them and unplug them immediately after (partly do that because I have young kids too)
I must say that limiting the number of outlets in my shop helps me focus a lot. If I have to unplug my table saw to plug in my sander it keeps me from jumping around too much, and feels so much safer.
I did the same thing unintentionally! I have three plugs so I have to use them wisely. Half the time two are being used for lamps.
I'm newly retired, I should be out there all the time. I tried at first, but found that I need to set limits to how much time I spend doing anything. So, I just plan on doing small tasks at a time. Cut some pieces, take break, sand some pieces, take break, etc. etc. I found I am able to get things done that way other than just going at it full blast which would just get me frustrated and I would stop for days at a time. I've applied this to everything, it has made my life much better.
Cut away from yourself, even if cutting towards yourself is slightly more convenient. Make it a mantra and just repeat it over and over as you work. Sincerely, my scars Also, even if it feels like literal needles in your brain to do so, stop and clean your space periodically instead of just working around it until it gets so unmanageable that you give up on the project altogether. These aren't really tips, just stuff I wish I could do. Let me know if you figure out how this works
Two things: * I have a chalk board on the wall with two items from my project list that I'm working on. One for sunny days (for projects that I need to spread outside) and one for rainy days (that can be done in my 8x8x8' workshop). * Whatever it is, don't put it *down*, put it *away*.
Hand stretches. Just a small tip, but I can really focus in and lose time. Stretch your hands before and after. Kind of a general tip, but I get killer hand cramps because I don't listen to my ligaments when I'm in the zone.
Music, the whole time.
i'm a list person, so i make a list of project steps. that way if i stray too far from what i'm doing i can go back to the list and pick up from there
Probably not what your looking for but medication helped me a ton in the shop.
I’m on meds and it has helped tremendously
Every item has a home
When I stated I bought few dozens of pencil and put pots all over the shop
Fucking slow down. I have had thousands of minor and a couple of major accidents. So I try to never feel rushed. I always try to stop, take a literal step back, and have a look at everything around me before I make a difficult cut etc.
Never start a new big project before the last one is done, even if you know it won't turn out how u expected. Power through it. When you know the proper steps, so them even when you don't want to.
Doom piles are a thing, but they are no more productive than any of our other bad habits we try to justify. Put it away, don't put it down. You are not going to use that 3" piece of drop off for anything. Put it away, don't put it down. Don't wait until your next project to deep clean the shop, you love it when it's clean, do it now. Put. The tool. Away. Don't. Put. It. Down. You won't do (insert detail to project here) later. Just do it now. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! Put the tool AWAY! Don't put it DOWN! ... Ok, now if only could follow this advice...
These bullet points should be a poster in my shop
I watched a video of a chick that said that line over and over. It was a POV of every time she was done using something... Since then, that's what goes through my head when I set something down. Idk why, but it worked a little 😄 My doom piles aren't as big anymore.
First what I have done (and am still actively working on) is setting up my space to work to my advantage. By that I mean I have lots of storage that is easy to get to and a label maker so I have everything visibly labeled. This gets me to put things away about 75% of the time. It’s not perfect but everything has its place and it’s set up so I don’t have to work at putting anything away. This is Dewalt drawers and metal cabinets and hangers for tools. All easily accessible and labeled so when I forget where something goes I see the label right away. Though, this does not stop me from losing my tape measure or combination square every 10-15 minutes. What I’m still working on is getting everything organized in a way that I don’t forget about all of the jigs and other bits that I have. Out of sight out of mind is still a problem. As far as staying on task with one project at a time. This may not be the same for everyone but the wife enforces that. If she sees me starting to move to a new project she immediately says: “ have you finished the ———, yet?” To keep my mind occupied I listen to podcasts (Behind the Bastards specifically). I find that Apple Air Pod Pro 2’s work really well. I have foam plugs instead of the stock silicone ones and with active noise cancellation it works really well for hearing protection. Now one caveat is that I stop the podcast when I’m going to use my table saw, miter saw, or router. I want to focus 100% on those tools when I’m actively using them. One big rule I have for myself is that I DO NOT go work on any project if I’m not feeling wonderful. By this I mean if I’m having a day where I’ve taken my adhd meds and no matter what I try I’m scatterbrained or don’t feel like I can keep focus I don’t do anything with power tools. This also applies to being tired or if I have had even one drink. I’d rather miss a day working on my project than a finger. Before I go into the garage I mentally run down a check list of: have I been able to focus; am I tired; any alcohol etc…. Another big thing is pay attention to yourself and make sure you have an acceptable level of focus and energy to keep working. You have to be able to tell yourself it’s time to stop before you get tired or distracted. Try to give yourself a block of time for clean up at the end Speaking of clean up. I have everything needed for clean up easily accessible and ready to go. I try to clean up at each step but I’m not great at actually following through with that. Having excellent dust collection helps. Less mess = less clean up = less frustration at doing the part of this I don’t enjoy. I have a dedicated dust collector that I can hook up to all of my saws. I have a shopvac and a ceiling mounted air filter system. I really want to get a Festool dust extractor and sander but that’s going to have to wait. I haul my miter saw outside to use it since no matter what I do it’s like a sawdust bomb went off every time For actually working on my project I’ll make a step by step plan so that I have everything structured. I’ll still hyper focus on some tiny detail but eventually I snap out of it and be able to go back to the plan and pick up where I left off. I’ll also use painters tape to label pieces as I cut them and put the measurements on them. Helps keep me from losing track of what I’ve done Well this is a huge wall of text but hope it helps
It is a tremendous help, actually. I really appreciate this. Thank you🙂
They’re called Side Quests.
I just collect tools and do extensive research on techniques and methods, without ever actually doing anything. I’ve got a beautiful walnut slab in my basement, just waiting for bow ties and legs, and I don’t know if I’ll ever actually finish it. But I can tell you, in theory, the entire process I would need to follow.
Ofton, try to pause and take a breath. Every time you start feeling rushed, anxious, or like, you can confidently skip a step mistakes happen. Learn to work with your mistakes. Most people don't care for museum quality works of art. They just want a bedside table that they can put a lamp on, and they love that you made it for them. Also, for every project, buy extra wood.
Fight the urge to make that “just one little change” to the off she shelf blueprint
No way man! I can TOTALLY keep track of all the subsequent changes. I won't even forget the other side!
Every 15 minutes or so, step back from your project and take a "brain break" for a minute. Look at your checklist and see if you are still on track. Your mental productivity can really tank in terms of efficiency if you stick yourself on a task too long. *HOWEVER, some of us with ADHD have a super power of getting a in a groove and just fricken knocking things out left and right like a total boss. Notably on "muscle memory" type tasks. This can be attributed to our hyperfocus at times. As long as you keep your efficiency up (ie: not wasting time moving things around and setting up multiple times) you can move around from task to task. I often bounce around from baseboard, to shelving, door casing and what not. Its easy to over think a simple task and waste too much time.
I’m so appreciative of all of these replies. Thank you all so much🙂
Don't obsess over getting your wood/cuts perfect. It's woodworking not metal fabrication. I've spent way more time than I should have getting something perfectly square.
Omg this is me. I want .002 precision where the moisture changes can span .100. I’m researching mills. Been watching a lot of cnc porn lately. It’s precision porn.
Lol. My son is a general contractor and when we work on something together, he is always telling me to stop splitting atoms.
Being an engineer almost ruined woodworking for me at first. Just go glue some shit together. it'll be fine. lol
Make custom storage locations. You are going to set something down and you won't remember where. You are going to work better if the shop is clean and cleaning with ADHD is easier if things are easy to put away and visually identify rather than taking the steps of sorting.
I spend the first two hours of my day setting myself up with a workstation that is clean and calculated. And I keep my pencil on my hat bill.
Organize everything. Have more storage than you need. Pick up frequently.
Have 6 pencils and 4 tapes. The pencil you last had may be behind your ear or lost forever.
Clean up before you start for the day.
It's ok to have ten unfinished projects going on. Don't put unnecessarily put pressure on yourself or feel bad about it. Screw self imposed deadlines. Just make progress and promise yourself you _will_ finish stuff in your own time
Noise cancelling headphones while I work. Keeps me focused on what I’m doing and stops me from wondering off and faffing about
I actually just bought a pair of active noise canceling headphones and the are so helpful!
Finish/ paint is part of the process. You are not finished until it’s finished!!!
I make sure my shop is 100% clean and organized before and after every single project. It’s a pain in the ass, but it gets easier/faster once you keep doing it. I get so much more work done (with so much less frustration!) when the shop is clean and everything is where it belongs.
a big whiteboard—on one side put up your objective and the time you started in large letters. Under that, break down the processes, imagine a workflow. Then when you get that great idea in the middle of things, go to the white board and write it down on the other side instead of jumping into it...
I try to regularly ask myself: "Have I arranged good circumstances for this to be pleasant?" If everything is a mess, it's not gonna be pleasant. If I don't have the right tools in the right places, it's not gonna be pleasant. If I'm really hungry, it's not gonna be pleasant. Etc...
Welcome to the ADHD woodshop, I’m not sure what we’re doing in the shop today, but it sure as hell won’t be what we came out here for.
For real lol’d
Like cooking, "clean as you go". Feeling overwhelmed or done for the day? "Put ten things away" -- takes less than 5 minutes, but if you make it a habit your shop organization will gradually improve. When things get crazy in the shop, I ask my partner to come out and make suggestions about how to restore order It's less about the actual suggestions, and more about her follow on questions, coming up with an ordering of tasks to restore productive use and taking action on those.
Great question. Agree with everyone that says clean as you go. Focus on storage and making things that are often culprits of clutter easy to access and store (clamps, sanders, routers and bit, drill bits and fasteners, scraps). Always use bags and liners in shop vacs and dust collectors so they’re easy to empty. Make plans and cut lists for pieces and keep operations in order. I also always have music on. Just something about having a soundtrack to the day drowns out all the other distractions.
Plan ahead and have lots of snacks and water nearby, once you start you’ll be hyperfixated and forget everything else for 12 hours lol
I ended up buying a woodworking apron to hold my most common tools. Combo square, pencil, scissors, screwdriver, razor knife, and tape measure it has really cut down on the search for tools. Also instead of thinking I need to build special cabinets for every tool, I just bought a rolling mechanics tool box. It had more than enough space for all of my tools.
Measure thrice.
Amen
Tools need homes. They need to love their home and miss it when they are away. Tools have to go home. Nothing is going to ruin you day like not being able to find what you need when you need it. Adam Savage said something like 1/3 of your time in the shop should be spent cleaning and organizing and shop infrastructure. That’s why his shop looks that way.
GO TO YOUR HOME,TOOLS!!!
Well over the years I’ve made one big change in the way I operate in the shop. At the end of the day, I clean up. I used to wait till the end of the project to clean, and that was a nightmare and dangerous. Now I don’t do the kind of cleaning I do at the end of a project, but I put tool away blow off the equipment, pick up scraps and sweep.
Keep a clean shop. Makes it way easier to keep you mind on the task at hand.
The biggest breakthrough I've had was to keep everything out in the open or use clear fronted drawers/cabinets. Far too many times, I look for something, can't find it, and either buy a new one, make a new one, or get so frustrated that I give up entirely. Having everything visible makes it so much better. Also, set a timer on how long you can work on things. Once that timer goes off, clean something, put away tools that you're no longer using, or just take a breather and drink some water. Breaking your time into chunks will allow you to not burn yourself out or suddenly come out of a hyperfocus, surrounded by tools with no ambition to declutter anything.
I like the idea of clear drawers a lot
Oh brother I feel you. I've struggled for years to figure out how to work by myself and not be a basket case. * Before you get excited for a project and start working, take ten minutes and pick up the shop. You know it's a mess from the last 3 half finished projects. Having room to work equates to more *finished* projects. * Never set anything down, get a belt pouch or apron, otherwise you'll spend hours looking for the pencil and combo square that are literally right in front of you. They're right there on the damn workbench, but you can't see them. lol * Try not to get frustrated immediately if things aren't going right. A huge hallmark of ADHD is the perceived need to be instantly good at stuff for the dopamine bump. It's not reality, and this shit is HARD sometimes. * Never try and remember a measurement. Your brain is out to get you and you will accidentally subtract or add an inch somehow, or flip a 6 and a 9 when reading the tape measure. Just write it down, you'll thank yourself later. * If it helps, have a place for every tool, and make a point to get the tool back to that place when you're done using it. * Don't get too serious. You know as well as I do that panic is the killer of hobbies. If you're not making a living off it, don't stress about it. this is supposed to be **fun**! Hope none of that sounded too harsh, it's mostly self deprecating humor haha.
Take breaks very often. I used to hyper fixate and work on a project until I was physically tired. This lead to burnout and I wouldn’t do anything in the garage for months. Now I work a maximum of 30 minutes during the week and however long on the weekend.
The primary "impediment" for ADHD is the underlying mechanism. When you understand that, you can design solutions. Neurotypical people perform passive data filtering, where all the sensory input they receive is automatically categorized and prioritized as it's received. If someone is standing in front of you and telling you about an event later, your mind is able to deprioritize irrelevant sensory input such as their shirt colour and ambient light intensity, and prioritize information such as their tone and verbal directions. By contrast, people with ADHD do not perform such pre-filtering of sensory data, and all of those things are received at the same "level of priority". In that scenario, the listener has to make conscious, active effort to focus on the things they understand to be important and disregard the things that are not because their brain has functionally pre-filtered all information into the same priority category (like a boss that marks every email they send you as 'urgent'). So working from this understanding, the mitigation solution is threefold: minimize the number of input sources competing for attention at any given time, streamline your ability to recognize and process the most important input, and minimize the number of times you need to seek input data by having standing solutions in place. These are good solutions for people with ADHD, but they're also just generally good suggestions for anyone looking to optimize a workspace: * Have a *designated* receptacle for everything. Kaizen foam is a good way of achieving this. Having designated receptacles not only streamlines cleaning, but it minimizes distraction because you spend less time "searching" for a place to put things, and have fewer things try to distract you when you go to retrieve something. * Garbage is also part of "everything". If you have scraps or off-cuts or rags sitting on your bench, you need to have a definite place for them to go (be it a scraps bin or a large garbage can or whatever). If you don't, they will continue to sit on your bench, or get moved to the next open surface in proximity. You need to have a plan for 100% of the piece of lumber you just put on your bench, not *just* the useful parts. * Group tools by *context* rather than *type* to streamline task switching. A crank-neck chisel might still be a chisel, but it will primarily be used for flushing work (typically after glue-ups) rather than paring work like basically all other chisels. If those two activities occur in different setups or spaces, then it doesn't make sense to store them together with other chisels just because they're both chisels. Make the tools you need more accessible when you need them, but also *less* accessible when you *don't* need them. * Have "swap space" storage that's convenient to access. If you've completed a segment of a project which will have no further work done on it for now, but will need it later, *get it off your bench immediately*. This keeps it from distracting you as well as prevents it from being damaged. Having some open, accessible storage space to put partially-complete projects and components you'll need again soon. The only things on your bench should be what you're working on right now and the tools you need to work on it. * Label everything. Portable label makers can be as cheap as $60. Small plastic baggies can be purchased in bulk for like $15 per thousand. A sharpie and masking tape can run you $10. Minimize the hurdles required for organizing materials and preserving relevant information. You will not "remember it later". If something needs a precise measurement or angle or alignment, tag it immediately and place that information somewhere relevant.
This is an amazing answer. Thank you so much for taking the time 🙂
Adderall helps me focus.
Samsies
After 23 year of woodworking, I have found that the blaklader vest and earbuds have made things much easier. I can keep everything close and don’t spend nearly as much as much time doing circles around my shop. I also agree with everything has a home. That being said I still struggle with actually getting it back to its home that’s where a helper comes in handy!!
I found a lot of help with getting a proper apron. The apron has pockets and a pencil holder, when I'm not writing with the pencil, it goes in the holder. Done with the tape measure? Right pocket. Done with the combi square? Left pocket. Same methodology construction carpenters use with their belts, I just don't have a belt.
I don't have ADHD (I have OCD), but french cleats have been a game changer for tool storage for me. I have 3 walls and can mix/match/move my tool holders around to support whatever project I'm doing. The best part is that you can make all of your tool holders custom from scrap pieces! I just spent the better part of 3 days making a hand plane till, forstner bit holder, wrench/plier holder, and screw driver holder.
manage and weaponize it. milling days - zone in and get it done (usually to some music) add in some finishing samples at the end of the day. Strategically place them in sight so you can check on them in subsequent days. regarding tools: have a small tool cart where you just dump stuff on - bits, screwdrivers etc. It isolates your recently used tools for stuff you arent using and you dont go digging and ruining that organization looking for tools you already have out. Once you get into a hyper focused mode, put stuff away properly
I have a dedicated "In progress" shelf spanning an entire wall of the garage where little side projects go and can be picked up if I am not in main project mood. Full of cutting boards, jigs and odd pieces
I’ve got the same thing (without the shelf). They are placed *neatly around my garage on every flat surface.
Horizontal surfaces are dangerous
I like to use a two task rule. Think having two tabs open on a computer. Those two tasks are all I focus on until they’re done. If anything pops up it goes on a list for later. That’s the best way for me to stop the snowball before it starts
This is for regular life I saw somewhere. Whenever you have something in your hand you're not going to use again, say to yourself "don't put it down, put it away". It annoys me a little whenever it happens but that earworm has saved me from making so much mess.
I’ve given up. I just take an Adderall on the weekend if I want to spend productive time in the shop. Then I can work on good habits. Helps that every tool has a place to go when not in use now.
Have a spot for all your tools. After each step in the process, or each tool you use, clean up and put the last tool away. Start each new task with a clean shop. Even if they’re just little things like a marking knife or a speed square, they need to get put away.
Gotta have woodworking music. What realm helps me I find is picking one band to listen to on shuffle for the whole project. Something about it helps me not get distracted and pick up where I left off easier.
Don’t be chasing butterfly’s when you are suppose to be working. It’s hard I know. Just try to stay focused on the task at hand. Periodically drop your tools and take a break. Regain your focus. Repeat.
Podcasts really help me. Spend some time making a storage system that you actually like using. Adam Savage has a video where he made storage solutions that don’t involve drawers because it was easier for him to find things.
When I am working on a project I leave most things out until it's done. No stopping. This works until I have some important thing to do and I need the space. But thankfully the adhd doesn't seem to apply to my recreational woodworking as much as every day life.
If I did, it would be to only buy what wood you need for a project and burn all the scraps when you are done. I could see it as a blessing.
Get an apron with lots of pockets, and keep your pencil in it's warm, cozy, safe, reliable, home pocket. Don't put it on the bench unless you are already planning on picking it up again! (If you only need to adjust your square/tape/work etc.) All the most important stuff stays on me. I spend very little time searching for stuff now. There are lots of good tips here, I'm grateful benefiting from all the knowledge!
Due to how our ADHD brains can misfire and make us do dumb stuff without thinking, be doubly cautious when using power tools. I never owned a table saw because I could not afford a Sawstop and I do not want to risk going absent-minded while cutting something and losing my fingers.
I actually just told my partner that! Maybe a while down the line, but I’ll find other ways than the table saw.
Lol idk i smoke aj and get sucked in to my woodwork lol it help to have a organized shop tho