ADHD Entrepreneur Tips: How to Handle Procrastination
Procrastination comes in many different versions with ADHD, but they all tend to have the same outcome. Either we miss a deadline or due date, or we stress ourselves out to bend over backwards to still get the thing done in time despite all the procrastination. So, if you are procrastinating because the task isn’t urgent enough yet, you really hate it, or you’re current hyper-focus is pulling you away, I’ve got a list of things you can try to help you move out of procrastination mode!
Let’s check your why: Take a minute to think about why you are currently procrastinating. It’s important to try and recognize what prompts you to procrastinate. Is it a specific type of task, a particular time of day, week, or month (I see you folks with menstrual cycles!)? Or maybe it’s not that you’re avoiding the task but more excited about something completely unrelated to what you should focus on. Take 5 minutes and write down all the reasons you feel you could be in avoidance mode, and try to pause and do this when it hits next time to see if there are common things on your list. That way you can be more prepared for when it might hit in the future.
Refocus: Now that you understand your why better, take 5 - 10 minutes to do something transitional to help you shift your focus. It seems strange to add something else that is not doing the task you should be doing to help you ditch procrastination, but go with me here! Taking a few minutes to go for a walk, meditate, journal, or even have a little dance party can help you shake off the hard time you are probably giving yourself about your procrastination and shift from whatever you have been working on into the things you need to focus on right now. Set a timer, pick your action, and get to it!
Ditch the overwhelm: We ADHDers tend to avoid tasks that seem daunting. Break down large projects into smaller, achievable goals to make them less daunting and give you more dopamine hits when you check each item off. Break them down into as many small steps as needed to help you move forward. Try out the website: https://goblin.tools/ if you need a little help with this.
There’s an app for that: There are lots of apps that help you curb distractions and stay focused. If your cell phone is a big distractor, the app BePresent has been a big help for me, but there are also lots of other tools you can use to help you stay focused.
Create a tracking system for your tasks that works for you: I’ve had desks filled with sticky notes to prove they don’t work for me. So, if what you’re currently doing is to track the things you need to get done isn’t working, try something new. I love using the notes app on my phone, which, because I’m down the Apple rabbit hole, allows me to update my laptop. I’ve also heard lots of fellow ADHD entrepreneurs have success with tools like Notion. It’s all about being realistic about what works and what doesn’t.
Embrace the done-is-better-than-perfect mentality. This is a message to you and to myself! Understand that perfectionism can lead to procrastination and leave us spinning our wheels on one thing as we tweak it to death when it was good enough an hour ago! Aim for progress, not perfection.
Tick Tock (the timer version, not the social media version 😆): Set a timer and commit to working on a task for a set period, such as 10 or 15 minutes. Because getting started is most often the most challenging part. Once you get over this hurdle, it will be easier to keep going.
Figure out how long things actually take: While ADHD can make us procrastination professionals, it can often cause us to be irrationally optimistic when it comes to understanding how long things actually take. If we think a task takes 30 min, but it takes 90 min, this is going to burn us and stay in our heads when it’s time to do the task again. For tasks you do consistently (like me writing this blog post), it’s good to have an accurate(ish) idea of how long it will take to help you understand if you are putting too much on your plate.
Share your daily tasks: Having someone to share your goals and tasks for the day with and check in with you can provide motivation and accountability. Commit to yourself to get it done, meh, commit to someone else, and it helps us get more focused! Find an ADHD partner in crime that you can work with to help keep yourself accountable.
Know when to lean into your procrastination: This one is likely a little unexpected, but there are times when we have been pushing too hard, and our procrastination results from needing a break. So, if you’ve been going hard for a long time and haven’t given yourself time to relax, take a few minutes to reevaluate the things on your to-do list and see what you can remove, delay, or delegate to give yourself some much-deserved downtime. ♥️
Cheers to working through your ADHD procrastination and finding strategies that work for you to get shit done (while also not working yourself to death)!
Share this with an ADHD entrepreneur that you’d love to have as your accountability buddy, who could also benefit from these tips, and have an amazing day, friend!
