Area 02
Getting Things Done
Starting, switching, finishing + getting unstuck.
Most ADHD days aren't lost to not knowing what to do. They're lost in the gap between knowing and beginning. This area is about closing that gap.
Start here
If you only read one thing.
ReadWhy Getting Started Can Feel So HardYou know what you're supposed to do. So why can't your body just... do it? Here's what's really going on in that stuck moment.ReadWhy Am I Avoiding Something I Actually Want to Get Done?You're not confused about the assignment. You're not lazy. So why does opening the document feel harder than almost anything else you'll do today?ReadThe Invisible Wall Between Intention and ActionYou want to do the thing. You've decided to do the thing. And yet, somehow, the thing does not get done. Here's what's actually happening in that gap.
Try something
Tools for this.
ToolMake It SmallerThe task isn't too hard. It's too big.ToolThe Two-Minute EntryTwo minutes, full stop — that's the whole deal.ToolStart BadlyA bad start still counts as a start.ToolWhat's the Actual First Step?Not the goal. The very first move.ToolBorrow Some UrgencyManufacture the deadline your brain is waiting for.ToolThe Five-Minute LaunchFive minutes. Timer. Go.
Read
From the Journal.
- Why Tiny Tasks Can Become Weirdly ImpossibleSending an email. Booking a dentist. Returning a parcel. None of these are hard, exactly — so why do they sit untouched for weeks while much bigger things get done first?
- The ADHD Task GraveyardThe half-built shelf. The abandoned language app. The sourdough starter nobody feeds anymore. What all those unfinished things are actually costing you, and a way to finally decide what to do with each one.
- Why Does "Clean Your Room" Feel Impossible?It sounds like one job. It's actually about thirty. Here's why the biggest, vaguest instructions are the hardest ones for an ADHD brain to start — and how to turn them into something you can actually do.
- When Homework Feels Too Big Before You Even StartYou haven't even opened your backpack yet, and homework already feels heavy. That feeling has a name, a reason, and a way through it that doesn't involve trying harder.
- Waiting Until the Panic Kicks InIt's 11:40pm, the assignment is due at 8am, and for the first time all week your brain is fully, completely online. Why does it take this long to show up?
- Perfectionism Can Look Like ProcrastinationWhy does the thing you care most about doing well end up being the thing you avoid the longest?
Need help right now?
The Quiet Space.
Printables
Printable versions of the Getting Things Done tools are in production. Nothing here is finished yet — when they land, they'll be free of fluff and one page long. Coming soon