People with ADHD are often told that they "just need to get organized" and focus, and to "just pick something and get started on it."
Goodness knows, I've been told that more times than I care to think about... along with simply being called "lazy" and a procrastinator for my inability to get started on often important and essential tasks.
Whereas I have no doubt that the preceding is well meaning advice, it is also largely irrelevant advice because it is based on the false assumption that we (with ADHD) have a normally functioning brain that goes to work when we have something we need to get started.
But that's not really how things work. The thing is, you can end up sitting there with a good plan for what you want to do and the intention of wanting to do it and you just feel literally physically stuck and unable to get started.
Some, including myself, even start feeling increasingly sleepy because the "wrong" neurotransmitters are flooding our brains. And it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with whether we're about to start something we dislike or like.
Strangely enough, the most effective fix for such a situation is rather counter-intuitive. It doesn't have anything to do with lists, or having clocks and timers everywhere, or telling yourself that you just need to work on it for 3 minutes or something like that... instead, the fix is based on the rather counterintuitive notion that the best thing you can do to get started on something is to walk away and do absolutely nothing for about 10 to 15 minutes.
As I said, it sounds counterintuitive but what you're effectively trying to do is to go through a "brain reset" which helps cut through your resistance to getting something started.
I used to think of it as "lying to myself" before I learned that there is actual scientific research to support the approach to breaking state.
Now, "executive dysfunction" is probably pretty meaningless to anybody who has not experienced it, first hand. And it's very difficult to describe... perhaps a somewhat meaningful analogy would be that of having a perfect car with a perfect engine... but no drive shaft connecting the two.
I've decided to bring more content on this topic — which affects an estimated 5-6% of the population — to Hive, inspired by my recent "housekeeping" effort on my external ADHD blog.
My approach has always been to apply tools and psychology, rather than pharmaceuticals of dubious merit. And if I can help even one person with these shared ideas, then it has been time well spent.
While I am not a huge fan of the proliferation of "ADHD self help" that's making the condition "flavor of the month," the upside is that much new research and understanding on brain chemistry is offering up new life hacks to make life easier.
Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful Friday!
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2026.07.17 01:06 PDT
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