Dopa mining—if you're lucky enough to make your own dopamine instead of chasing it through the chaos jungle like a deranged treasure hunter—probably sounds ridiculous. I envy you. I also don't trust you.
As for me and my ADHD friends, we need hacks and workarounds just to get our brains to cooperate long enough to do anything remotely productive. Enter dopa mining.
Some folks will try to tell you that "dopa mining" isn't a word and that you can't verbify every noun and adjective you get your writery little hands on. To them, I say, "Did you catch what I did to the noun 'verb' back there?"
Dopa mining is the process of hunting for and extracting The Good Stuff from the dopa mine.
The Good Stuff is whatever it is that makes that goofy little brain of yours produce the necessary dopamine to get something done. Literally, anything done. Anything at all.
A dopa mine is where one can "mine" for The Good Stuff.
Okay, so where do I find these dopa mines, and what makes Stuff Good? Everyone's mining map will look a little different. But I can tell you where some of my dopa mines are and what my Good Stuff is. If you haven't found yours, maybe you can borrow some of mine for a while. Or perhaps you'll be inspired to go on a hunt for your own.
One thing to note: new dopa mines tend to reveal themselves when you least expect it. I'll be doing some mundane chore—like pulling weeds. Then, I catch myself feeling sad when the weeds are almost gone. That's when it hits me: every intact root I've yanked from the earth has alchemized into sweet, sweet dopamine right inside my brain.
One thing to note: new dopa mines tend to reveal themselves when you least expect it. I’ll be doing some mundane chore—like pulling weeds. Then I catch myself feeling sad when the weeds are almost gone. That’s when it hits me: every intact root I’ve yanked from the earth has alchemized into sweet, sweet dopamine right inside my brain.
Who knew pulling weeds could be so affirming? Not only did I conquer the crabgrass kingdom, but now I'm fired up to tackle another project! Are you kidding me? I feel unstoppable! Is this how people feel on cocaine? Have they tried yard work?
My point—if you can find it through all these weeds—is that dopa mines show up in the most unlikely places, so keep an eye out.
Dopa mines aren't universal. Most people aren't nodding in agreement when they read that bit about pulling weeds. You've got to find what works for your unique brain. And if you say your brain isn't unique—well, honey, you don't understand brains at all, do you?
Here are some of my favorite low-key dopa mines.
Building Playlists—Every new song you add is a tiny little dopamine hit. And the music itself is dopamine-inducing. WIN/WIN!
My Positive Emotion playlist is 12 hours and 54 minutes long. 211 songs I can count on to help build—you guessed it—positive emotion.
Pinterest—Here's how it works:
- Create a board about literally anything.
- Hunt for things to pin to the board.
- Enjoy as little bursts of dopamine hit your brain at the same time as those silly pictures of birds with human arms hit your highbrow Pinterest board.
Research—Okay, this one's for my fellow ADHD writer nerds. Whenever I find a viable source for a project, I get a tiny dopamine hit. Later, when I'm parsing the research, every meaningful nugget of data I pull out is another hit. It's like a "Research/Renew" cycle—fueling the work with dopamine mined from the work. It's invigorating. It's productive. It's a loop made of joy and citations. 🤯
Those first three make me think of collecting little electronic items in a little electronic basket, which, if you're anything like me—wait—can you overdose on dopamine???
To-Do Lists—Any kind of list is a dopamine snack for me, but a list you can check things off of? That's a two-for-one dopamine buffet. Pro tip: when your brain requires copious amounts of dopamine, build your lists wisely. Take this list as an example of strategic list-making under conditions of dopamine depletion.
Reading—this one isn't on my list of dopa mines for the typical reasons. It's on my list because it feels like a living, breathing to-do list. Each book is a list, each chapter is a task, and each page is a subtask. Every word, sentence, and paragraph propels you forward, checking off boxes as you go! Plus, there's the added bonus of reading being relaxing and good for your brain. Pro tip: try large print format books or a larger font on your eReader to hack a book for more dopamine.
There is no shortage of ways to dopa mine; you just have to find what works for you. There are super healthy options like exercise and super unhealthy options like alcohol. I choose to do neither of those - it's called middle ground.
And to be clear, while we're on the subject, alcohol will deplete far more dopamine than it will ever produce. But I can see I've touched a nerve here, so we'll save that soapbox for another day.
Now that you know what you're looking for, get out there and find your weird little dopa mine. Maybe it's meticulously reorganizing your sock drawer by color and emotional value. No judgment. Get after it, you chaotic little pioneer. Take that dopa mine and make it dopa yours. Just don't forget to come back and tell us all about it.
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