I'm Busy Being Awesome - Sustainable Productivity for ADHD

You did the thing everyone tells an ADHD brain to do with a big project: you broke it into steps. And instead of feeling calmer, your brain looked at the list and said, "There's no way I can get all of this done." If this experience sends you straight into avoidance, panic, or procrasti-working, episode 376 has one simple question that can shift you out of the spiral and into action.

In Episode 376, You Will Discover:

• Why breaking a project into steps can trigger more ADHD overwhelm, not less
• The hidden assumption inside the thought "there's no way I can get this all done"
• One simple question that interrupts the spiral and how to use it throughout your life.

Work With Me:

• Learn more about private coaching here
• Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
• Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains

More ADHD Resources:

• Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
• Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
• Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
• Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
• Discover my favorite ADHD resources
• Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System

Paula's Favorite Tools

Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.

• Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
• Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
• Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
• Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.
• Magnetic Tile System: My favorite tactile, visual planning approach for ADHD brains.

Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!

If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.

1. Go to Apple Podcasts
2. Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
4. Simply tap five stars; that's it!
5. Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!

Chapter Outline

00:00 Overwhelm After Planning 02:07 Why ADHD Goes All or Nothing 03:38 How Avoidance Spirals Start 05:52 Check Your Full Body Yes 07:54 The One Grounding Question 09:24 Client Example SOPs 11:02 Home Declutter Example 12:16 When Deadlines Are Real 13:44 Nonnegotiables Versus Nice 17:59 Wrap Up & Next Steps

If you've ever set a goal at the start of a quarter and watched it fall apart by the end of week one, your ADHD brain has probably drawn some conclusions about you and goal setting. So when you sit down to plan something new, a thought might show up that sounds like "why even bother? I'll just feel disappointed anyway."

In episode 375, we're borrowing a practice from the business world called a pre-mortem, where you imagine the project already fell apart and work backward from there. I've adapted it for ADHD brains so the exercise helps you feel prepared and capable.

In Episode 375, You Will Discover:

• Why the six to eight week stretch in quarter four is such a useful window for one focused goal
• What a pre-mortem is, how it differs from a post-mortem, and a powerful modification for ADHD brains
• The five questions that help you plan for obstacles while keeping the exercise contained and supportive
• How to decide, ahead of time, what supporting yourself looks like on your lowest capacity days

Work With Me:

• Learn more about private coaching here
• Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
• Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains

Resources From This Episode:

• Episode 360: Personal Retreat Guide for ADHD Brains
• Download the step-by-step quarterly retreat guide
• Overwhelm to Action LIVE

More ADHD Resources:

• Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
• Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
• Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
• Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
• Discover my favorite ADHD resources
• Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System

Paula's Favorite Tools

Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.

• Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
• Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
• Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
• Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.
• Magnetic Tile System: My favorite tactile, visual planning approach for ADHD brains.

Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!

If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people. Thanks for your support!

1. Go to Apple Podcasts
2. Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
4. Simply tap five stars; that's it!
5. Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!

Chapter Outline

00:00 ADHD Premortem Intro 01:09 Q4 Sweet Spot Goals 03:38 Five Question Overview 04:22 Premortem Explained 05:29 Pick Your Project 06:02 Why ADHD Needs Tweaks 09:20 Question One Motivation 12:43 Question Two Obstacles 16:31 Question Three Plan Ahead 21:53 Question Four Low Capacity 24:12 Question Five Pride 25:33 Wrap Up Quick Start 26:34 Overwhelm To Action 27:22 Recap And Next Steps

👉 Enrollment for Overwhelm to Action LIVE closes Monday, October 5: Join us here!

You open the doc, look at it, and close the doc. The project is enormous; every piece of it seems equally important, and there is no obvious way in. This week we're pulling four strategies for exactly that kind of ADHD project overwhelm, and they come from a rather unusual place: a 1500-piece Harry Potter puzzle on my dining room table. Turns out starting at the beginning isn't always the best place to start, and sometimes that's what's keeping us stuck in the first place.

In Episode 374, You Will Discover:

• Why your usual approach to starting a big project might be keeping you stuck, and how cognitive inflexibility keeps us there
• How to sketch a "box lid" so your ADHD brain knows what done actually looks like before you take the first steps
• A question that helps you begin when your brain insists it doesn't know where to start
• Why the details of a project only become visible once you get close to one section, and why "just break it down" stalls out without that step

Work With Me:

• Learn more about private coaching here
• Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
• Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains

Resources From This Episode:

• Overwhelm to Action LIVE
• Harry Potter Hogwarts Map 1500 Piece Puzzle
• Episode 371: 10 Things My ADHD Brain Can't Live Without
• Episode 364: 3 Questions to Get Unstuck from ADHD Indecision
• Episode 372: 7 ADHD Mindsets That Make Overwhelm Worse
• Episode 373: Life Admin: A Sneaky Culprit for ADHD Overwhelm

More ADHD Resources:

• Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
• Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
• Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
• Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
• Discover my favorite ADHD resources
• Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System

Paula's Favorite Resources

Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.

• Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
• Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
• Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
• Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.

Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!

If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.

1. Go to Apple Podcasts
2. Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
4. Simply tap five stars; that's it!
5. Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!

Chapter Outline

00:00 Puzzle To Project Overwhelm 01:23 Why Starting Is Hard 02:56 Harry Potter Puzzle Setup 05:18 Border Trap And Inflexibility 09:17 Tip One Easier Entry 10:26 Tip Two Sketch The Lid 15:11 Tip Three Start With Known 20:11 Tip Four Zoom Out Then In 26:50 Program Overwhelm To Action 28:30 Recap And Next Steps 29:54 Final Thanks

✨ Join Overwhelm to Action LIVE here

Somewhere in your house there's probably a return you've been meaning to drop off, a form that needs signing, and an appointment you've been meaning to schedule. While individually, each task would likely table about ten minutes, together they add a surprising amount of chatter to an already busy brain.

In episode 373 of I'm Busy Being Awesome, we're naming life admin as its own category of work, looking at what actually makes it so draining for ADHD brains, and building in the stopping point this category never gives us on its own.

In Episode 373, You Will Discover:

• What life admin actually is, and why no single item in the category ever seems worth mentioning
• How one "simple" ten minute phone call stacks eight or nine executive functions on top of each other
• Why shame and isolation tend to show up around admin tasks, and why it isn't just you
• An actionable way to help lighten the load of life admin overall

Work With Me:

• Learn more about private coaching here
• Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
• Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains

Resources From This Episode:

• Overwhelm to Action LIVE - 6 week live program for ADHD brains. Starts Thursday, October 8. Enrollment closes Monday, October 5.

More ADHD Resources:

• Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
• Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
• Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
• Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
• Discover my favorite ADHD resources
• Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System

Paula's Favorite Resources

Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.

• Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
• Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
• Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
• Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.

Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!

If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.

1. Go to Apple Podcasts
2. Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
4. Simply tap five stars; that's it!
5. Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!

Chapters

00:00 ADHD Open Loops 01:29 What Is Life Admin 05:21 Why It Drains Us 08:56 Shame And Resistance 11:11 No Finish Line Problem 12:27 Program Announcement 14:19 Create Time Containers 16:14 Recurring Tasks Rhythm 20:56 Admin Block For One Offs 25:19 Errand Block Strategy 27:47 Pick One Container 28:34 Wrap Up And Next Steps

✨ Learn more about Overwhelm to Action LIVE! We begin October 8th.

Seven simple sentences. Most of them sound responsible, and a couple even sound like good advice. Yet every one of them makes our experience of ADHD overwhelm more intense, longer lasting, or both.

In episode 372 of I'm Busy Being Awesome, we're looking at the second layer of overwhelm: the mindsets we carry on top of an already full plate. You'll learn what each one does to the overwhelm, plus one supportive counter-move for each, so you have somewhere concrete to start when the overwhelm has you feeling stuck.

In Episode 372, You Will Discover:

• What ADHD overwhelm actually is, cognitively, emotionally, and sensorially, and why it's a full-body experience
• The seven mindsets that turn an already full plate into something that feels impossible to carry
• One supportive counter-move for each mindset to shift gears and move out of overwhelm
• A three-step practice for catching the pattern sooner, so you can make a powerful adjustment to move forward

Work With Me:

• Learn more about private coaching here
• Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
• Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains

Resources From This Episode:

• Overwhelm to Action LIVE - starts October 8
• Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
• Episode 341: The Zeigarnik Effect and unfinished tasks
• Episode 370: ADHD & Doing Everything for Everyone
• Episode 367: Overwhelming To Do List? Try This. (The Pantry & The Plate)

More ADHD Resources:

• Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
• Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
• Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
• Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
• Discover my favorite ADHD resources
• Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System

Paula's Favorite Resources

Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.

• Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
• Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
• Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
• Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.

Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!

If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.

1. Go to Apple Podcasts
2. Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
4. Simply tap five stars; that's it!
5. Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!

Chapter Outline

00:00 Seven Sentences Setup 01:06 Why Overwhelm Is Common 03:34 What Overwhelm Really Is 05:54 Seven Mindsets Overview 06:59 Mindset One Perfectionism 10:21 Mindset Two Time Scarcity 13:18 Mindset Three Cramming 16:43 Quiz And Live Program 19:14 Mindset Four Robot Mode 22:48 Mindset Five Conditional Rest 26:53 Mindset Six People Pleasing 29:15 Mindset Seven Everything Matters 32:31 How Mindsets Chain Together 34:50 Three Step Practice 38:34 Wrap Up And Next Steps

Once or twice a year, I sit down and ask myself what's been supporting my ADHD brain lately, and this time, my list landed at ten things. In this episode, I'm sharing what's on my list, from what's allowing for better sleep, to what's been supporting my workday, and what I've been turning to for pure rest and joy this season.

In Episode 371, You Will Discover:

• The sleep fix that's been solving a problem I didn't even know I had
• Why a pencil sharpener earned a spot on this list
• A rest practice that's become my way of resting with my hands instead of my head

Resources From This Episode:

• Cotton Sleep Mask for Side Sleepers
• Accuratex Adjustable Pillow with Shredded Memory Foam
• BedJet, 10% off
• Todoist, 2 months Pro free
• Bravestorming Planning System, code AWESOME20 for 20% off your first order
• Graph Paper Spiral Notebook
• Blackwing Matte Pencils
• Blackwing Two-Step Long Point Sharpener
• The Awakened Artifacts (Magic Puzzle Company)
• Harry Potter Hogwarts Map 1500
• Episode 359: Time Blocking for ADHD - Why Tiles Work Better Than Apps
• Episode 342: The Alastair Weekly Log
• Episode 281 How To Take Time to Rest as an ADHD Adult (with Rabbi Heschel's quote)

Work With Me:

• Learn more about private coaching here
• Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
• Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains

More ADHD Resources:

• Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
• Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
• Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
• Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
• Discover my favorite ADHD resources
• Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System

Paula's Favorite Resources

Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.

• Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
• Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
• Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
• Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.

Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!

If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.

1. Go to Apple Podcasts
2. Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
4. Simply tap five stars; that's it!
5. Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!

Chapter Outline

00:00 ADHD Favorites Kickoff 01:00 Why These Tools Help 03:41 Sleep Mask Upgrade 06:08 Adjustable Pillow Fix 08:22 BedJet Cool Sleep 09:59 Productivity Tools Intro 10:08 Todoist Task Capture 11:45 Claude Cowork Assistant 13:54 Tile Planning System 16:17 Grid Notebook Love 18:02 Pencil And Sharpener 20:29 Summer Reading Joy 22:19 Jigsaw Puzzle Reset 24:07 Wrap Up And Next Steps

For years, I spent more energy trying to prevent other people's disappointment by saying yes and doing more. And I did so at the expense of my own exhaustion and burnout. In this episode, we're talking about a specific flavor of ADHD overwhelm: the kind that builds when your compassion, your capability, and your rejection sensitivity all push you toward being the person who handles everything for everyone else. If you've ever wondered why you used to manage this fine and suddenly can't, this episode names what changed and offers four steps to start shifting it.

In Episode 370, You Will Discover:

• Why caring, capability, and rejection sensitivity combine to make you the go-to person for everyone else
• The jar-of-sand explanation for why this pattern used to feel manageable and doesn't anymore
• How your strengths can tip into obstacles when they run unchecked
• A 4-step way for your ADHD brain to notice the pattern, name the belief underneath it, and practice the pause before saying yes

Resources From This Episode:

• Episode 366: Overpromising and ADHD
• The Overwhelm to Action Intensive

Work With Me:

• Learn more about private coaching here
• Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
• Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains

More ADHD Resources:

• Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
• Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
• Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
• Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
• Discover my favorite ADHD resources
• Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System

Paula's Favorite Resources

Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.

• Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
• Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
• Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
• Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.

Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!

If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.

1. Go to Apple Podcasts
2. Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
4. Simply tap five stars; that's it!
5. Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!

Chapter Outline

00:00 People Pleasing Overwhelm 02:46 Why We Say Yes 05:18 The Hidden Cost 06:58 Capacity Jar Fills Up 10:45 ADHD Amplifiers 13:38 Strengths Turned Weakness 16:44 Start With Awareness 18:33 Four Steps To Shift 23:01 Practice The Pause 25:05 Wrap Up And Resources

✨ Discover your overwhelm type here (free quiz)

Creating Fall Routines: It sounds like such a helpful and supportive idea for the ADHD brain, right? That is...until you go all in trying to rebuild them all at once. In episode 369 of the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast, we're talking about why this transition from summer to fall feels particularly overwhelming for ADHD brains and three actionable strategies to help.

In Episode 369, you will discover:

• Why it's helpful to think of "getting back to a fall routine" as rebuilding, not returning
• The hidden cost of stacking dozens of small transitions on top of each other all at once
• Why an instant fall reset backfires, and what a gradual reentry ramp looks like instead
• Three small starting points to ease into the season without overhauling everything at once

Work With Me:

• Learn more about private coaching here
• Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
• Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains

More ADHD Resources:

• Check out Episode 362: 5 Reasons Your ADHD Brain Can't Stop Hyperfocusing
• Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
• Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
• Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
• Discover my favorite ADHD resources
• Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System

Paula's Favorite Resources

Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.

• Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
• Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
• Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
• Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.

Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!

If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.

1. Go to Apple Podcasts
2. Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
4. Simply tap five stars; that's it!
5. Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!

Chapter Outline

00:00 Fall Routines Overwhelm 01:41 Why This Shift Hits Hard 04:09 Reason 1 Rebuilding Routines 08:00 Reason 2 New Skill Sets 09:31 Reasons 3 and 4 Pile Up 12:23 Reason 5 Instant Reset Myth 13:35 Quick Recap and Quiz 16:07 Tip 1 Start One Routine 17:51 Tip 2 Build Re Entry Ramp 19:38 Tip 3 Define Good Enough 21:31 Wrap Up and Next Steps

Starting can take a surprising amount of energy for ADHD brains, even when we truly want to do the thing. In this episode, we make sense of why task initiation feels so demanding and explore practical supports for each stage: getting started, staying focused, handling distractions, and wrapping up in a way that makes the next start easier.

In Episode 368, you will discover:

• Why task initiation demands so much energy and what that means for ADHD brains
• A five-stage flight analogy: pre-flight, takeoff, cruising, turbulence, and landing
• Practical strategies for clearing distractions, riding out mid-task turbulence, and building a repeatable shutdown routine
• How a simple "logbook" entry can make your next work session easier to start

Work With Me:

• Learn more about private coaching here
• Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
• Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains

Resources From This Episode:

• Episode 363: The ADHD To-Do List Strategy You're Missing
• Episode 367: Overwhelming To Do List? Try This.
• Book a free coaching consultation
• Watch on YouTube: @I'm Busy Being Awesome

More ADHD Resources:

• Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
• Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
• Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
• Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
• Discover my favorite ADHD resources
• Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System

Paula's Favorite Resources

Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.

• Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
• Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
• Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
• Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.

Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!

If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.

1. Go to Apple Podcasts
2. Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
4. Simply tap five stars; that's it!
5. Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!

Chapter Outline

00:00 Why Starting Is Hard 01:39 Common Initiation Blocks 03:41 Flight Plan Analogy 03:59 Preflight Setup Checklist 06:27 Deicing And Warmup 08:56 Line Up And Wait 10:13 Takeoff Sterile Focus 15:13 Cruising Flow State 17:02 Turbulence And Distractions 20:42 Coaching Invitation 21:51 Descent And Shutdown 24:44 Logbook And Key Takeaways 26:18 Final Wrap And Resources

You did the brain dump. You got it all out. You felt that incredible sense of relief for about thirty seconds... And then your ADHD brain looked at the full list and went completely offline. In episode 367, we're talking about the missing piece between the brain dump and actually getting started: the working card.

In Episode 367, you will discover:

• Why ADHD brains hit a wall when staring at a long task list (and what's happening cognitively)
• The pantry-and-plate framework for rethinking your task system entirely
• How to build a working card in three different ways to work with your brain
• How to match your daily task card to what your day actually looks like

Work With Me:

• Learn more about private coaching here
• Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
• Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains

Resources From This Episode:

• Episode 310: The Work Is Never Done
• Episode 359: Time Blocking with ADHD and Magnetic Tiles
• Episode 365: Overpromising and ADHD: What's Actually Going On
• Episode 366: 4 Strategies to Stop ADHD Overpromising
• Book a free coaching consultation
• Watch on YouTube: @I'm Busy Being Awesome

More ADHD Resources:

• Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
• Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
• Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
• Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
• Discover my favorite ADHD resources
• Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System

Paula's Favorite Resources

Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.

• Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
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Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!

If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.

1. Go to Apple Podcasts
2. Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
4. Simply tap five stars; that's it!
5. Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!

Chapter Outline

00:00 Brain Dump Overwhelm 01:41 Client Question Setup 05:08 Why Lists Freeze Us 08:05 Inbox Zero Myth 11:03 Working Card Method 12:00 Pantry Plate Analogy 16:56 Analog And Digital Options 22:45 Coaching Invitation 24:01 Plan By Context 28:35 Low Energy Days 30:22 Weekly Challenge Wrap 31:59 Final Takeaways