ADHD Creative Strategies with Andy J Pizza: Hard Does Not Mean Bad

The ADHD Skills Lab

When creative work gets hard, most people with ADHD assume something’s wrong.

Wrong idea.

Wrong project.

Wrong career.

In this conversation, Andy J. Pizza (author, illustrator, and host of Creative Pep Talk) breaks down the moment his work completely dried up — and why that crisis forced him to stop winging it and start creating strategically.

We talk about perfectionism, rejection sensitivity, creative droughts, collaboration fights, and the uncomfortable shift from “I hope this works” to “I’m building this on purpose.”

This isn’t about hacks or hustle.

It’s about understanding that hard and bad are not the same thing — and sometimes the difficulty is the point.

What We Cover
  • Why “hard” is often a sign of growth, not failure
  • The shift from exploratory creativity to strategic authorship
  • How perfectionism and RSD quietly stall creative output
  • Rebuilding after a six-month career drought
  • Why collaboration feels like conflict (and why that’s normal)

Connect with Andy: on his website or follow him on Instagram @andyjpizza

About ADHD founders for ADHD founders.

Interesting in working together? You can click here to receive a free bottleneck audio session and learn more about what we do. https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com/unstuckaudiosession

Diagnosed with ADHD at the start of her PhD, Skye Waterson spent years researching what actually works and writing about it for thousands of founders. The pattern she kept finding: ADHD business owners don't have a focus problem, they have an operations problem, because the whole business runs through their own head. Now she and her husband, former programmer Robert Waterson, work as fractional COOs for those founders. They find the bottleneck, hire the fix, and build the system that holds.

Subscribe to our Newsletter - https://unconventionalorganization.substack.com/

Follow us on Instagram - @unconventionalorganisation

Visit our website - https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com/

More description

When creative work gets hard, most people with ADHD assume something’s wrong.

Wrong idea.

Wrong project.

Wrong career.

In this conversation, Andy J. Pizza (author, illustrator, and host of Creative Pep Talk) breaks down the moment his work completely dried up — and why that crisis forced him to stop winging it and start creating strategically.

We talk about perfectionism, rejection sensitivity, creative droughts, collaboration fights, and the uncomfortable shift from “I hope this works” to “I’m building this on purpose.”

This isn’t about hacks or hustle.

It’s about understanding that hard and bad are not the same thing — and sometimes the difficulty is the point.

What We Cover
  • Why “hard” is often a sign of growth, not failure
  • The shift from exploratory creativity to strategic authorship
  • How perfectionism and RSD quietly stall creative output
  • Rebuilding after a six-month career drought
  • Why collaboration feels like conflict (and why that’s normal)

Connect with Andy: on his website or follow him on Instagram @andyjpizza

About ADHD founders for ADHD founders.

Interesting in working together? You can click here to receive a free bottleneck audio session and learn more about what we do. https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com/unstuckaudiosession

Diagnosed with ADHD at the start of her PhD, Skye Waterson spent years researching what actually works and writing about it for thousands of founders. The pattern she kept finding: ADHD business owners don't have a focus problem, they have an operations problem, because the whole business runs through their own head. Now she and her husband, former programmer Robert Waterson, work as fractional COOs for those founders. They find the bottleneck, hire the fix, and build the system that holds.

Subscribe to our Newsletter - https://unconventionalorganization.substack.com/

Follow us on Instagram - @unconventionalorganisation

Visit our website - https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com/

2026-03-09 43 min
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