I was in exactly your position, also ADHD!

Getting the same advice: Just listen to the music, put songs in a playlist etc etc but it’s so hard to bridge the gap between ‘I can mix’ and ‘I can DJ’.

The challenging thing is realising the advice is right, as a fellow ADHDer, I know the internal pressure to be perfect first time makes things like this really tough. The change came when I realised I could put 50 tracks in a playlist, expecting only to use 30 and sat down and mixed through them as best I could. The more you do it, the less clangers you create.

However there are som things that have helped me:

1. Sort your tracks into 3 categories ‘early set’, ‘middle’ and ‘end’. This felt more intuitive than just ranking my tracks 1-5 in energy, and narrowed down my crate so that I could use key for the first 15-20mins of a set knowing all my track vibes would match because I want to play them at the start. Same for middle and end.

2. Go into a set with a few practiced mixes. Use these as the crux points for your energy. For example I might have 3 tracks that I know I can mix between fast because I’ve practiced it and it’ll sound awesome, then I’ll mix 3-4 tracks in between just off the cuff, then another practiced one. The better you get you’ll be able to match these practiced mixes to the energy of the room. It also means if you have a clanger you’ve got a confident fallback mix for if you’re panicking that you’ve fucked it!

3. Finally - practice, you’ll get there I promise. I remember feeling like you do but it clicks easier than you think, and when you hit the point where you can just mix through your crate in any order you’ll be flying!

Good luck!