From Resistance to Radical Acceptance: Confessions of a Planner-Ghosting ADHD Entrepreneur

Last Christmas Eve, I was officially diagnosed with ADHD. Suddenly, my life made sense- especially my relationships with every planning system known to humanity. The planner graveyard in my closet? Turns out, that wasn’t just me being flaky - it was my brain all along.

I’ve been the Taylor Swift of productivity tools, falling hard and fast for planners and then ghosting them just as quickly. Franklin Covey? A three-month fling. Bullet journals? That was my “artsy phase,” which lasted 6 months before my handwriting insecurities won out. If there’s a planning system out there, I’ve tried it, loved it, and ditched it faster than a bad date.

Here’s how it typically goes:

1. Fall in love with the planner’s potential.
2. Buy all the accessories - tabs, pens, stickers, washi tape.
3. Dive in with enthusiasm.
4. Miss one task or make a mistake.
5. Decide the entire system is broken.
6. Abandon it to the growing graveyard of planners in my closet.
7. Repeat with a new system because this time it’ll be different.

For years, I wore my planner resistance like a badge of honor. I was convinced schedules were joy-stealing overlords trying to crush my free spirit. Spoiler: they were just trying to help me remember meetings.

Then I started my own business. Entrepreneurship turned every ADHD quirk - time blindness, dopamine-chasing, perfectionism - into a spotlighted habit. Miss one task? I’d declare the entire system invalid and give up. Because if I couldn’t do it perfectly, why bother?

But here’s the thing: my ADHD isn’t a liability. It’s my secret weapon. Sure, I lose track of time and forget birthdays, but give me a creative problem to solve, and I’m unstoppable. Thinking outside the box? I never found the box in the first place.

So, I’ve embraced radical acceptance. It’s not fancy - it’s just looking at my calendar and doing the things. No internal drama. No negotiating with myself. Feelings are not required to check email.

Now, instead of fighting structure, I’m making it work for me. Midnight brainstorming sessions? They’re on my schedule. Color-coded calendars? Yes, even those. The most rebellious thing I can do is stop rebelling against myself.

To my fellow planner-ghosters and perfectionists: maybe planning isn’t the enemy. It’s just a tool to help us build the lives we actually want.

Some days I nail it. Other days, I’m staring at my Google Calendar like it owes me money. But for the first time, I’m not waiting for the “perfect” system. I’m creating something that works for me - imperfections, quirks, and all.

And that, my friend, feels like progress.