Getting Started

Situation: You KNOW you need to work on a project or task, but suddenly, cleaning your desk becomes more urgent and interesting than doing what you need to do. Later, you realize you lost your window of time, and the project will have to wait for another day. (sigh.)

Difficulty starting a task is common for people with ADHD, and can be a source of shame - which fuels more inaction, or impulsive action.

Save some of your precious time and energy and skip the shame. Here’s the good part: you NOTICED that you did this. That’s the first step in working toward different results!

When you notice a “failure to launch” issue going on, I suggest that you first try taking a few “executive” minutes to look at what you need to get started. Is something missing? Have you laid the groundwork that prepares you to work?

Are you expecting yourself to start at step #4 or #5 instead of step #1?

Maybe your are unclear about the scope of what you need to do. Do you need to define your objective? How you will know when you’re done?

Maybe you are unclear about how you will do this. Do you need to create an action plan, breaking your project into steps and onto a calendar?

Maybe you are unclear about how much time you need. You could try estimating how long each step of your project will take, and blocking out that time on your calendar.

Maybe you forget, and get caught up in another activity. Would setting a reminder alarm help? Consider scheduling work periods at a time that works with your normal daily activities.

Maybe you allow other projects or activities to take precedence, thinking, “I can get to my project later.” Practice honoring your plans and calendar.

These suggestions are examples of the active process of “looking in” to the situation. Taking a few minutes of “executive time” is a way to coach yourself to better results with less force.