You have dyslexia, which means you probably struggle with reading and writing. While most people struggle with writing, you deal with it on steroids. How to spell things? Where does punctuation go? Should I capitalize that? It is a never-ending process of "should I" that is endless. This week we are tackling overcoming and embracing your fear of writing, using a positive mindset, finding your strengths, and making systems that work FOR YOU!
Create a positive mindset!
There is so much negativity associated with dyslexia, from special education classes to the emails from co-works telling you that things were miss spelled. It's time to shift that! Find the positives; what you say is essential, and your spelling does not discredit the message.
Being positive sounds silly, but try setting small goals and celebrating small victories. Goals can be as simple as I will get a special treat when I have a week of no "you spelled that wrong" emails from coworkers. We make fewer mistakes than we think we do. Stop feeling debilitated by one-off errors.
Focus on what you have to say rather than how you spell. Dyslexics are assets to any business. Our minds find solutions quickly, finding problems before they exist and creating meaningful change for our coworkers and employers.
Body:
Find and Lean into YOUR Strengths
You are different, and that makes you special. Dyslexics often have unique strengths like creative problem-solving skills, big-picture thinking, and dynamic reasoning. Take those skills, and don't be afraid to flex them to your advantage!
Writing takes practice (like reading) and time to develop your style, weaknesses, and strengths. There are a plethora of dyslexic authors (because they have exceptional narrative reasoning), so there is no reason why you can't write an email to your boss. Start by writing like you speak and play around with your tone, cadence, and choice of words. If you are struggling, we suggest using AI to its fullest (check out our blog on ChatGPT for more).
Most importantly, don't compare yourself to others. We see prolific authors or neurotypical coworkers writing effectively and efficiently while we struggle to pick the correct, there, their, and they're. Those around you do not determine your success, so stop the self-judging!
Create systems that work for YOU
It is time to rely on assistive tech if you struggle to turn your mental words into actual words. Speech-to-text software is the future; even for neuro-typicals, start embracing it now, and your writing confidence will soar (and your decision fatigue will decrease). Another pro tip is to try dyslexia-friendly fonts.
Struggling because you need to share a lot of information in one email or presentation? Try a brain dump! Write out everything you want to share, then organize it into manageable steps, mind maps, or graphic organizers. We are highly visual people, so use that to your advantage!
Embrace the mistakes
No one is perfect at everything! At Dyslexia in Adults, we are huge fans of radical acceptance. Sometimes, you must stop giving an F*#% about your spelling or grammar. Want to know a secrete... When we create presentations for The Hive or even our free community classes, we don't bother with spell check! Heck, sometimes, on Instagram, we don't even check out posts. We need to be authentic and give you permission to embrace the perfectly imperfect! Leave the mistakes; you have bigger fish to fry!
Final Takeaways!
Writing is not easy, even for those who know all the grammar rules and how to spell every word known to man. However, it does not have to be a source of fear or anxiety for us! Creating a positive mindset, understanding your strengths, and creating systems that work for YOU make it easy to convey your thoughts effectively. Everyone writing journey is unique, and it is ok to take yours at our own pace.
Comments