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April 21
How do you build a writing life when your brain refuses to follow rules? For Paulette Perhach, the answer has always been a mix of creativity, structure, and compassion.
Paulette is an award-winning author, writing coach, and creator of the Writer’s Mission Control Center and Finishing School for Writers. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Vox, Glamour, The Washington Post, and Cosmopolitan. But before all that, she was a gifted kid with a brain full of ideas—and no clue why some things came so easily while others felt impossible.
In this conversation, Paulette shares how growing up with undiagnosed ADHD and without financial resources—shaped her writing path, her self-image, and her relationship with money. She talks with Tracy about the emotional cost of feeling "less than," the unpredictability of social energy, and how finding a creative community changed everything. Diagnosed in adulthood, she finally began to understand the why behind her chaos and built systems that helped her move from intention to execution.
Paulette also breaks down her FINISH framework, a six-part approach to help ADHD writers build structure, create momentum, and finally complete the work they care about. She shares how she bootstrapped her own software tool to support writers like her, and why creating spaces that center neurodivergent needs isn't just helpful—it's transformative.
Whether you're a creative with too many ideas or someone still trying to trust your voice, Paulette’s story will make you feel seen, inspired, and ready to try again, with a little more self-compassion this time.
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"Instead of saying, 'You are a chaos monster,' I now say, 'You’ve been fighting one you couldn’t even see—your whole life—with one hand tied behind your back.'"
- Paulette Perhach
"In loving others with ADHD, I started to love myself. I could see their brilliance and I realized I deserved to see my own."
- Paulette Perhach
"I’m not accepting 'barely enough' anymore. I’m dressing better. I’m aiming higher. I’m building the life that honors the girl who worked this hard to get here."
- Paulette Perhach
"My version of consistency isn’t perfect routines, it’s getting back up every time I fall."
- Paulette Perhach
"I’ve stopped pretending I’ll ever be someone who does things the traditional way. Instead, I’ve become someone who gets things done her way and that’s enough."
- Paulette Perhach
- Paulette Perhach shares her unconventional path to ADHD diagnosis, which began when ADHD expert Dr. Ned Hallowell suggested she might have it during an interview for her book research, leading to an eventual formal assessment where she "aced" her test with a perfect 20 out of 20 score.
- She reflects on her childhood struggles with ADHD, describing her school experience as "either flying or falling," excelling in English while failing classes that required busywork, as demonstrated by middle school report cards that spelled "D-A-D-D."
- Paulette explains how financial challenges compounded her ADHD symptoms, creating feelings of exclusion and rejection sensitivity that were particularly difficult during her teenage years.
[11:00 - 27:00] Education, Writing Career, and Financial Struggles
- Paulette Perhach discusses how college allowed her to pursue her interest in magazine journalism, though she still struggled with the educational structure and experienced significant life disruption when her father died in an accident two months before her high school graduation.
- She describes her evolution from being "a terrible student" to becoming "a lifelong learner," explaining how traditional educational environments didn't work for her brain, but project-based learning and her current freelance writing career allow her to thrive.
- Paulette shares a frustrating experience trying to get ADHD medication when doctors dismissed her concerns about financial challenges related to ADHD, despite her having written a New York Times article about this very connection, leaving her still unmedicated and reluctant to try again.
[27:00 - 59:00] The FINISH Framework and Finding Success as an ADHD Writer
- Paulette Perhach introduces her "FINISH framework" for writing with ADHD: Fake stakes (creating deadlines), Increments (breaking work into manageable pieces), Nix distractions, Immerse (using meditation to access hyperfocus), Share (joining supportive communities), and Hype (self-care and positive self-talk).
- She explains how her ADHD diagnosis revolutionized her self-worth, helping her shift from seeing herself as "a chaos monster" to "a human being who's been fighting off a chaos monster you couldn't even see your whole life," while finding community with other ADHD writers.
- Paulette details her professional journey and current work, including her award-winning essays in major publications, the Writers Mission Control Center software she developed to help writers organize their ideas, and her "Finishing School for Writers" coaching program that provides structure, accountability, and community for writers with ADHD.
- Website: pauletteperhach.com
- Linkedin: paulette-perhach
- Instagram: paulettejperhach
- X: pauletteperhach
