How I started feeling good at the end of the day

Before I understood my ADHD symptoms, I’d look back on my days and feel like I’d wasted the day.

I’d always start out with a plan and the best of intentions. But before I knew it, my focus would drift and I just couldn’t seem to get started. I’d go down rabbit holes that had nothing to do with what I needed to do. It would suddenly became urgent that I learned about the last days of the Roman empire in Britain vs doing what I knew I needed to do. I’d take drink and snack breaks. I’d putter. I’d clean. I’d do anything but what I needed to do.

Then I’d look up and the day would be pretty much gone. I’d think, “why can’t I just do these things? If I could have just done them instead of screwing around, I would have been done hours ago, and I could actually relax, instead of feeling stressed and overwhelmed.”

If you repeat enough days like this, your self talk can be pretty brutal. That inner voice would be saying “you’re lazy, you lack willpower, other people can just do stuff, why can’t you? Clearly it’s an issue of character."

So not only would I have the task that I hadn’t done still hanging over me, I'd also had a voice in my head berating for being a screw up. Not an ideal way to experience life.

But once I got the right support to understand how my ADHD brain worked, things turned 180 degrees.

The biggest insight was that I basically have 2 hours during the day where my executive function and focus are at its highest. I need to act like I only have a 2 hour workday, because if I give myself 8 hours, I would dawdle, dawdle, dawdle.

Once I realized I had about 2 hours of high intensity focused work to use every day, I came to two realizations:

1. I better be working on the right things
2. Since it’s hard for ADHD brains to know how long things should take, I needed to work to time vs task completion.

Once I started working this way, my days got better. Each day I made the call about the right next thing to do (and only that). I ruthlessly defend my two hours of high intensity focus for the highest impact stuff. Anything else was for other times of the day.

Then I started working to timers. (I’m writing this to a 20-minute timer right now) Success then became staying focused for a certain amount of time vs getting all the way to done. If my focus flags, or my ADHD flares, then I just shorten my time sprints.

If you string enough of those blocks together, amazing things start to happen. You start making real progress. You start looking back on the day as a win. You can even relax at the end of the day. Even better, that voice in your head that was berating you is now saying, “hey, not bad!”

Moving the right things a little bit each day, and a lot over time is how you succeed. And it’s how you can start feeling good about your day.

Some free resources for you:

"Are You an ADHD Entrepreneur?" Quiz

ADHD Weekly Dashboard

Paid resource:

The Focus Formula Course - 30 days to get out of overwhelm, claim your focus and start working to your potential.

I’m sharing my journey with ADHD, how it especially impacts entrepreneurs, and why it often goes hand in hand with depression. I'll also be sharing what's working for me and what isn't. If you'd like to follow my journey, DM me and I'll put you my ADHD email list (or just follow this newsletter)

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