This Section: 3min Read.
I can't help it! Sorry to any technophobes out there...ChatGPT has become my best friend. Yep, I said it. Honestly...I do mean it!
For those who have never heard of ChatGPT, it's OpenAI's Generative AI technology.
Generative AI is a technology that can actually generate content - such as words, images, audio (music) data.
For someone as curious as me, I am loving ChatGPT. It has (practically) replaced Google searching for me. The nuanced way to ask questions about anything and everything is so easy. You can even personalise GPTs (specialist AI's), train them on your own data to anything you want e.g. a Sous Chef.
There is a marketplace of hundreds of GPTs to choose from on the paid version, which is only 20 quid a month. The free version is pretty good too. It has changed my life, I mean it, a full 180! It has helped me communicate better. It has helped me flesh out my thoughts, helped me with SEO tips for this blog. Helped me with recipes, a fitness regime, research, brainstorming, art - everything!
It has been lifesaver in helping me manage my daily ADHD challenges. I have a dependancy on AI now - and I'm ok with that.
Me without AI now would be like me trying to navigate with confidence without Google maps!
AI has successfully plugged the gaps in my neurodiverse brain to allowing me to function better in this neurotypical world.
Here's some science. People with ADHD have a dysfunction of the Executive Function in our brains. The executive function is heavily influenced by the prefrontal cortex. This area of the brain is pivotal for managing higher cognitive functions.
Daily functions such as judgement, planning, anticipation, decision making and emotional regulation. These are essential for navigating daily life. Allowing us to organise our thoughts and actions and to manage our time effectively. They are critical to help us make reasoned decisions.
This is why people with ADHD have challenges with time estimation. Leading to missed deadlines. Being late. Procrastinate until the last minute. The term for this is Time Blindness.
Time blindness tends to cause impulse behaviours. People with ADHD generally do not think about the long-term results of their actions. That's why we can be quite spontaneous. My line is "yeah, we'll work it out." Lol
I am an absolute sucker for overcommitting too. I say yes to everything and I genuinely believe I will have things completed...sooner than physically possible.
ChatGPT has helped me understand the rough timescales of tasks - allowing me to plan appropriately.
I also have a deficiency when it comes to estimating time in the past. There's an ongoing debate between my wife and I. I live in Dublin and have a lot of friends and family in Derry where I was born. I ALWAYS think the last time I saw them was many, many moons ago. When in reality it was only 1-3 months ago 🙈
I also believe that I have seen movies or TV shows before - even when they have just been released. I can bet my life, 20mins into the movie that I saw it before. Not sure why this happens. I say it all the time. Does this happen to anyone else? If so I'd love to hear your experiences. Contact me.
This is why I believe AI is an essential tool for anyone with ADHD.
I asked an AI art generator to depict: Time Blindness for an image. I used DALL-E which is OpenAI's AI Art generator and named after the famous Spanish painter Salvador Dali.
I love the way it used a surreal landscape of melting clocks, reminiscent of a Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory painting and symbolising the fluid and distorted perception of time👌
2min Read.
AI helps me communicate better. I can give it a few sentences and points of view and it helps me articulate what I’m trying to convey. This is why I love AI. I can still be me and use my language and communication style. I write short, fast sentences and it will reword it for me.
Sometimes (mostly) the responses are cheesy. I don't use them word for word. AI's responses tend to spark another train of thoughts in my mind. I am then able to synthesise all the information to effectively articulate what I want.
Other times I use it to deeply flesh out my thoughts. As if I'm having a conversation with an expert in a specific field. Or I use it to proofread my writing - help me structure it properly. Or plan my day.
I use ChatGPT to challenge my thinking. Help me think critically. To structure my thoughts. To talk through a train of thought. For ideation. To learn new things - like SEO for blog posts or help build this website. For professional emails. For difficult conversations. To prepare for negotiations. For health recommendations. To create a desired fitness routine. For travel hotspots. For recipe ideas…
For a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y EVERYTHING! I’ve listed various ideas below.
A caveat. ChatGPT isn’t 100% accurate all the time. So be careful when playing around with it and always double check facts, dates etc. Click on the links it provides as sometimes they do not exist.
It's still the most useful tool I have come across to date!
It helps me translate what's inside, outside.
I think in pictures. I need the time to reflect or to translate my pictures into words to communicate what I want to say. Sometimes I don't know what to say either. I draw a blank. Sometimes I can read my feelings, or understand what my needs are.
So there tends to be delay between what has been said to me and me articulating how I feel.
Have you ever felt like this? If so, comment below or contact me directly.
3min Read.
I believe that the AI revolution will change our society for the positive. I believe it will open doors that were once closed to a lot of people. I believe it will be the glue that facilitates diversity and inclusion across the globe.
I’ve witnessed first hand how it can help me on a daily basis. I’m sure there are millions of other people benefiting in the same way. It will reduce language barriers and allow our human race to become more creative.
It will accelerate creativity beyond our wildest imaginations.
A lot of people are afraid of AI. Afraid it will take their jobs. It will regarding some jobs, but will also create many different industries. Afraid it will replace artists. Afraid it will replace writers - we saw the movie script protests last year. All these concerns are valid as there will be a period of transition. A fuzzy period for people. When it settles, I believe AI will supercharge creatives.
Art has the ability to connect, inspire and heal.
Imagine what we can create when supercharged with the processing power of Generative AI & Quantum computing?? I’m super excited to find out what’s coming down the pipeline and explore.
Being creative, writing, making art, making movies, navigating business, or using your imagination are all forms expression. Self expression. It's a form of therapy for the creator. It's spiritual. That person - us humans - will never stop creating. It's innate in us.
We'll use AI as a tool that pushes boundaries.
For me AI is like having a refined paintbrush or a stencil or a contour tool at my disposal. It’s another tool in my tool box. Helping me create my vision quicker. Realise a vision I never thought was possible - for me.
AI opens up a world of possibilities for me. It allows me to expand my creativity beyond my wildest imagination!
Augmented Reality (AR) Art will be my next exploration :)
Since I started using ChatGPT I have felt an overwhelming sense of freedom.
I have been given a new lease of life. A new energy.
Finally! I now have a reliable(ish) tool that allows me to seamlessly operate in the neurotypical world that has confused me for over 40 years. I have freedom to express fully.
My excitement is bubbling along the surface like a child in a candy store. I’m excited at every turn to see what I can create. To play with the AI and see how it can help me get one step closer to my vision.
#ADmomo - of course...being this excited about a new tool meant I had to hyperfocus to know everything about it! 😂
I am a Prompt Engineer Nerd!
Prompting is how you ask the AI what you are looking for, as an example: give me the recipe for butternut squash soup.
Learning to prompt well has helped me communicate better. I can talk better with myself, with others and with the AI. A triple win!
I have spent much time writing and prompting ChatGPT. I repeat my prompts, experiment and think of new ways to see if I get what I want. I use chaining, which is asking the AI a chain of prompts to get to what I want.
I also ask ChatGPT to suggest appropriate prompts. Particularly for the art creator AI - Midjourney and DALL-E (owned by ChatGPT).
1min Read.
I found it quite difficult to get what picture I have in my mind versus what the AI Art programmes produces.
I have played around with a lot of up and coming AI art programmes. Some that that plug into the two main AI Art programmes (Midjourney and DALL-E) to make prompting easier and I didn’t like most of them.
I’ll keep experimenting as there are new tools released almost daily.
I reverted back to Midjourney and DALL-E and learned how to use them properly.
If you hear of any new AI Art tools, please do share them with me by commenting below or by contacting me directly.
I use both Midjourney & DALL-E as mood boards, vision boards, to help me generate ideas.
Sometimes I use them for backgrounds, for drawing specific things or for image content generation.
Other times I use the images and create a collage. There are endless options and for any artist who is a little tech savvy.
AI open's up a world of possibilities.
Every image is different - even if you use the same prompt as it is hard to duplicate images.
I still have a lot of fun though. I use a chain of prompts, variations and re-rolls of the same prompt to generate stunning images. I'll share these prompts in a later post.
2min Read.
To generate specific prompts when using ChatGPT or using any other Large Language Models (LLMs), make sure you remember to use my 4 Step Formula:
4 Step Formula:
I asked ChatGPT to give me an example to demonstrate the 4 Step Formula that will help someone who has ADHD - here’s it’s response:
Context: I have ADHD, which makes it difficult for me to stay focused and manage my time effectively. I often find myself forgetting tasks or losing track of time.
Task: I need help organising my daily schedule in a way that's easy for me to follow and helps me stay on track with my tasks, including work, personal projects, and breaks.
Specific Instruction: Please create a daily schedule for me that includes time blocks for work, personal projects, and regular short breaks. The work time should be during my most productive hours, which are in the morning. Personal project time can be more flexible. Breaks should be short and frequent, as they help me refocus.
Example/Data: Here's a rough outline of what my day looks like:
Can you help me structure a daily schedule that incorporates these elements?
I then copied and pasted the prompt back into ChatGPT and it gave me this:
I have found that I generate more specific results when I tell the AI it’s an expert in [topic] and specialising in [subtopic]. It’s also good to give it an outcome, tell it your goal.
If you are ever unsure - just ask ChatGPT and you’ll figure it out together.
Play around with it. Use short prompts vs longer more specific prompts. Typically I use one liners for everyday things. For more complex tasks I use the 4 Step Formula.
I love how ChatGPT understands how I speak, in short spouts and sometimes (most times) I don’t make sense or my grammar is all over the place, sometimes I have spelling mistakes as I type too fast - and it still understands me. It permits me to be me.
5min Read.
Here are my 7 daily reasons I use ChatGPT for - I have the paid version, which gives you more access to the more powerful AI - I’m sure you will get similar results with the free version for:
Sous Chef is a specific GPT (AI) that specialises in suggesting recipes. I like to use it in two ways. Firstly I like to give it a list of ingredients that I have in my fridge, usually veggies and it will gives me back multiple recipes.
Zero thinking, zero hassle and reduces food waste.
The other way is just asking for recipe ideas for sweet potato or how to make sweet potato soup.
As I have an executive dysfunction I use ChatGPT daily around organising my day, week or month.
For various tasks, from personal tasks, like the gym or running errands to work tasks and setting up this website or blog. For example:
Prompt:
Give me a step by step instruction on how to set up a blog discussing ADHD, Diversity & Inclusion and Art. Then, rate this list from 1-5 in terms of importance in order to achieve X goals and give realistic timeframes.
It has given me a list that’s prioritised with approximate time estimation - zero thinking about it on my part!
It's a template that I can customise as I see fit - here it is:
Prioritised List and Timeframes Summary:
This helps me plan properly as I always forget various steps or don’t know them and end up going back over myself when working on a project (double jobbing).
I also tend to underestimate how much time it will actually take and stress myself out.
I ask ChatGPT to give me the top 10 key lessons from X book by X author. Or if it’s a fiction book to give me a critical overview. So I get a feel for the content before I buy it.
I also use the Headway app for non-fiction book as it provides a short 15 min summary of books - both of these strategies has helped me save so much money (and time).
I have over 1000 books on my kindle and some I haven’t even looked at! These strategies feed my impulsive dopamine requirement while saving me money.
I tend not to get writers block per se but I do struggle with editing. When writing, the words pour out of me if I’m managing my energy properly. Editing on the other hand takes up a lot of brain power.
I would edit one blog post multiple times, double digits actually. I have to strike a balance between my perfectionism (another ADHD symptom) and publishing the content.
I tend to just post my writing into ChatGPT and see what it comes back with. I then ask questions around my writing, or for it to provide SEO tips, or to critique it.
Similarly for ideation, I give it my overview and ask it for suggestions.
I usually leave my brainstorming sessions wide open.
Administration, product descriptions and SEO all give me a headache. However I know I need to learn the skill before outsourcing it.
I give ChatGPT some keywords and an overview of my thought process when creating an image.
Other times I attach an image and ask it to give me a SEO optimised product description or alt text.
The results are usually cheesy. I know now when something has been written by AI, it has a certain tone to it. What's important is that AI plugs the mental gap I have and gives me a framework to edit in my own voice.
Another example would be random questions that I have during the day e.g. how to change the default dictionary in Google docs from US to UK. It’s File > Language for anyone who is wondering 🤦🏽♀️ I forgot lol.
This is perfect as you don’t want to feel like you are annoying your coworkers over every little thing that you forget...especially when working from home.
Primarily work or client focussed emails and comms.
I ask it to reword work emails in a professional tone, using soft communication as my default communication style is quite direct. It gives me the fluffiness and finesse required for work communication.
Again, I use it for ideas to articulate what I want to say or ask it if I have left anything out.
I like to play with AI Art generators to give me ideas - to see what’s possible and expand my limitations.
As I mentioned earlier both Midjourney and DALL-E are my go-to AI art generators. Check out my fine art print shop for inspiration.
All of the above tips will be on the free version, ChatGPT 3.5.
To create customised GPTs, you do need the paid version, it’s around 20 quid ($/€/£)
Recently I’ve gotten into the habit of training my GPTs with my own data, as I work in strategic business development. I’ve started uploading various playbooks, reports, excel data - anything I can get my hands on that is related to a certain topic e.g. testing a business model validity - to test my assumptions or create scenario plans.
It helps me with identifying options I never thought of or points me in another direction entirely. It’s great in fostering ideation.
A word of caution though, as sometimes the information is inaccurate. Make sure you acid test it.
27sec Read.
All the images in this post have been generated by AI - except the cover image, I created that.
I used simple prompts like: depict: Art, ADHD, AI & Me - I love the one below! If I could create a studio like this, I'd never leave it. I do miss having all my artist supplies laying around me, there's an energy I get from them that's difficult to articulate.
Perhaps its from the earthy wood or the linen from canvases. Perhaps it's the multitude of different colours sparking an emotive flash of inspiration.
The image below is how AI depicts ADHD & AI. It's quite bleak isn't it?
I suppose it does depict the introspective nature of ADHD with digital motifs that symbolise the neural pathways.
Showing that the connections of the brain don't add up!
