ADHD procrastination: Find a way to Do Something

ADHD procrastination strikes

Sometimes I get Stuck. It happens out of the blue. One minute I’m effortlessly flying through a task. The next, I can’t. I won’t. Then this continues, and I start to feel the old dread and guilt that comes with a lifetime of professional-level procrastinating.

Sometimes this happens for something I enjoy, like writing helpful blog posts for adults with ADHD. I want to do it, I set time a time to do it, and then when the time comes, I can’t do it. AAAAArGGGhh!!!

What happens when I get stuck? I get frustrated. It’s like a build up of static electricity inside my brain. It can invite a spiral of self-incrimination, negative stories, and anxiety or anger at myself. What happens next? I get confused, I can’t work out what to do with myself. I try to make myself get back to work, but the refusal grows. I can’t work out how to start.

Eventually, almost accidentally, I manage to do a little thing that’s related to the task. The relief! It’s like the clouds break and the sun shines in. I can usually keep going from there.

Does this sound familiar? If so, guess what! There’s a way to speed up this process. It’s summed up in this simple motto:

Find a way to do something.

5 steps to bust ADHD procrastination 

This technique is written with the focus of finding a way to something on a task you really want to move forward with, but you can’t work out how to. It’s the same kind of thing as if you’re just generally stuck and want to do something, anything, that feels like it’s moving you forward.

The idea is that once we get Stuck, it feels impossible to imagine that there’s a way through to the magical land of Unstuck. So finding a way to do something is the tool that takes away that feeling of impossibility. It doesn’t fix everything, but it helps you get started.

Step 1: Notice you’re stuck

Notice you’re stuck. This can take a while!

What are the signs you’re stuck and falling into the pit of procrastination? It could be:

• Specific thoughts, like “What’s wrong with you?”

• Feelings, like dread, sadness, anger, shame, guilt, or anxiety

• Behaviours or habits like phone scrolling

Step 2: Accept ADHD procrastination is happening

Accept it. 

Whaaaaat?!? Did I just say: Accept it?

Yup. I don’t mean accept it as in: Go with it and head to the pub instead. I mean accept the reality of the situation. This is happening! You didn’t ask for this, but here it is, so face it, and calm the farm. All those extra emotions aren’t helping you to get yourself out of this mess, so ask them to step aside for a minute.

Step 3: Think of ADHD support ideas

Ask yourself the number one helpful question: What support can I give myself, right now, to find a way to do something, anything, related to this task?

Now we want to activate the executive function of metacognition, i.e. thinking about your thinking. My experience of adult ADHDers is that many of us have excellent self-awareness, we just often forget to use it. 

If you were to call me up at this point, and I asked you what support you can give yourself to find a way to do something, anything, on this task, you probably could come up with a few ideas. (There’s an extensive list here in this blog post.)

So you can ask yourself this same question. Get curious! Analysis and problem-solving are available to you as strengths of your magnificent brain, so apply this. (This will also help the emotions stand down.) And remember that some of the support you give yourself may not be direct, but may be about slowly moving towards being able to do something on the task.

Step 4: Give yourself the support you need

Now give yourself that support…

No skimping! If you need quiet, or a heavy metal playlist, or a protein snack, give yourself what you need. If you feel that you can literally only stand to work for 10 minutes, ignore the voice in your head that tells you that this proves you’re lazy. Set the timer for 10 minutes. You’re allowed.

Sometimes the support is a zigzag path involving lots of steps. Today for me this included: putting on a loud playlist that I use to help myself get moving, so I could shower and get dressed. Then going out with a friend to the library to body double together there.

Then opening this blog post draft and immediately closing it. Then drifting around the library. Then going to work in a cafe. Then picking a different short task that I could complete and feel good about. Then finally, opening this blog draft again and putting in a missing apostrophe. And now, suddenly, here I am, happily confessing to you how much support I sometimes need to Find a Way to Do Something.

Step 5: Find a way to do something!

Try stuff until you discover the way in. There is almost definitely a way in. 

Examples:

• Open the document and look at it

• Write a draft email with only the bullet points of what you want to say

• Take a photo of the chaos in the garage (next step is to look at it and note down three small easy wins)

• Work out where on earth you’ve been stashing those receipts

• Take one thing off the kitchen table and put it away

• Put the task into Goblin Tools or ChatGPT and ask AI to break it down for you and tell you the smallest possible step

Can you see how tiny, tiny, tiny these things are? Can you guess at a big version of each that a person might tell themselves to get on with and do? (Clean the garage, lazybones!!! Not very motivating.)

Tips for getting unstuck with ADHD

When you do find a way to do something, please don’t immediately tell yourself off for having taken so long, or for it being so little. That’s like trying to train a dog by telling it off when it does the right thing! If your brain does this, to interrupt and replace that rumination, you can say: “Hey, you found a way to do something! Amazing! Good work you.” (Out loud feels weird at first but is effective.)

Positive emotions and encouraging feedback are rewards that our brains like. They motivate us and make it more likely that we’ll do it again. You may need to have an argument with yourself till your brain accepts this new framework. If you do this again and again, over time your brain will accept it faster, and may even switch to this as your first response.

Like all strategies for ADHDers, it’s easy to forget this strategy exists. If you find that it’s useful for you, you might want to create ways to remind yourself to “Find a way to do something”. You could make a poster, or save it as a note in your phone under the title: “Stuck?” 

Sometimes our procrastination is related to a specific task. In this case, find a way to do something, anything, that relates to the task. Make it short, make it easy, and keep it simple. Ideally, the ‘something’ you find a way to do is related to the task you’re trying to work on. But it can also help to take the pressure off and shift activities. 

Do a short physical activity. It could be one that will boost your energy and mood, like dancing. It could be one that will give you satisfaction, like emptying the dishwasher. (Try to avoid activities or areas that might lead you down time-consuming rabbit-holes.)

Sometimes the procrastination feels more like it applies to everything. In this case, do something, anything, that you can. If it makes a visible difference, that can lift your spirits. Afterwards, I give you permission to do ‘nothing useful’ for a bit. Taking the pressure off may help you to find a way to do something else. But please try to direct yourself to active resting, as phone-based zoning out is likely to make you feel worse afterwards.

Why doing something shifts ADHD procrastination

How often do I use this strategy? As often as I need to. Some days I can work in a logical order. Some days it’s a mess in here, and anything I do is way better than nothing. Wouldn’t it be better to make myself do the things that need to be done, in a perfect and efficient way? Sure. But if you’d like to have a go ‘making’ me do something, all I can say is good luck. 

When I’m procrastinating, perfectionism is one of the enemies. So is ‘all or nothing’ thinking. I get in a spiral about my inability to get myself to do the thing I’m trying to do. This brings up emotions I need to process. The whole thing is distracting and miserable. 

If I can do something, anything, to do with the task, or that feels generally useful, I get some of my power back. I get a good feeling. The task is easier to get back into for the rest of the day. I may not rush off and complete everything, but I’m in a much better place to move forward than when I was stuck.

Find a way to do something!

Next time you feel procrastination wrapping its ghostly arms round you, remember your new motto. Find a way to do something! You don’t need to wait for 6 months and feel dread and guilt every day. You can speed up the process. You’re a smart, creative, unique person, and this is a problem that you can probably solve - today, even.

If you want more help to move past procrastination and get things done, you can book an ADHD coaching session with me.