Ever put pressure on yourself to nail brilliant work on the first try?

This episode explores the science (and relief) of starting with play.

Ever get everything set up perfectly—coffee made, phone silenced, workspace cleared—only to freeze the moment you face the blank page? This episode is for the solopreneurs with ADHD, neurodivergent creatives, and executive-function warriors who’ve done everything right to begin… and then feel like a deer in the productivity headlights.

Mia shares how a tiny act of low-stakes tinkering helped her move past perfectionism, dodge procrastination, and finally get started—plus what science says about why playful entry points matter. You’ll hear how the Progress Principle fuels motivation, why small wins beat big plans, and how five minutes of font-fiddling might be your most powerful focus strategy yet.

This one’s loaded with simple getting started rituals, body doubling energy, and solopreneur productivity tools that actually work with your brain, not against it.

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Stuck in perfectionism or executive function limbo? 🫠

Download my free Focus Routine—a simple, ADHD-friendly way to break through procrastination and build momentum one small win at a time.

👉 authenticnetworker.com/focusroutine

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Work better with other brilliant weirdos. 🤓

Wavelength is ADHD-friendly virtual coworking for solopreneurs who thrive on body doubling, structure, and tiny wins. Also: best. community. ever.

👉 authenticnetworker.com/wavelength

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(Look up only when you are definitely not procrastinating. lol I see you. It's actually possible I am you.)

📘 The Progress Principle

Amabile, T. M., & Kramer, S. J. (2011). Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work. Harvard Business Review Press.

🧠 Wired to Create

Kaufman, S. B., & Gregoire, C. (2015). Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind. Perigee Books.

😂 Papyrus Sketch – SNL

Because Ryan Gosling lost sleep over a font, and honestly? Same.

• Watch on YouTube

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Episode Keywords: how to stop procrastinating, ADHD productivity tips, playful productivity strategies, how to start when you're stuck, solopreneur focus tools, body doubling for productivity, ADHD-friendly rituals, executive function support, getting started with ADHD, perfectionism and procrastination, productivity hacks for creatives, low-stakes momentum strategies, small wins motivation, the progress principle, font fiddling productivity, how to overcome creative paralysis, momentum for neurodivergent entrepreneurs, tiny habits for focus, solopreneur ADHD workflow, starting rituals that work, how to beat the blank page

You know that thing where you want to do something… until someone tells you to do it?

Suddenly your brain is on strike, your to-do list is the enemy, and you’re questioning every life choice.

In this episode of Transition Space, Mia gets honest about what happens when motivation meets resistance. She shares what changed once she stopped trying to force productivity—and started understanding how her brain actually works. From childhood rebellion to the Four Tendencies to some wild identity-based motivation science, this one’s for the rebels, the avoiders, and anyone who needs a gentler (but sneakily powerful) way to get things done.

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If your to-do list feels like a dare, not a plan…

✨ The Focus Routine was made for you. A free, downloadable momentum-friendly ritual that fits your rebel wiring.

👉 authenticnetworker.com/focusroutine

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Need more help to get your work done consistently?

Join a whole bunch of weird people, showing up to do our work together so we don't end up spending the whole day watching cat videos.

✨ Wavelength is a coworking community for neurodivergent solopreneurs who thrive with structure that doesn’t suffocate.

👉 authenticnetworker.com/wavelength

🧭 Four Tendencies (a.k.a. Why You Hate Being Told What to Do)

Rubin, G. (2017). The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too). Harmony Books.

👉 Take the quiz — it takes 5 minutes and may explain your entire life.

🧬 Identity-Based Motivation (Your Brain on “Should”)

Oyserman, D., & James, L. (2011). “Possible identities.” In Handbook of Identity Theory and Research (pp. 117–145). Springer.

🧠 Research takeaway: You’re 45% more likely to stick with a goal if it feels like something someone like you would do.

🌀 ADHD & Pathological Demand Avoidance (The Struggle Is Neurological)

Newson, E., Le Maréchal, K., & David, C. (2003). “Pathological demand avoidance syndrome: a necessary distinction within the pervasive developmental disorders.” Archives of Disease in Childhood, 88(7), 595–600.

📚 For anyone who’s ever whispered “Don’t tell me what to do” to their own to-do list.

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Episode keywords: ADHD productivity, rebel tendency, Gretchen Rubin Four Tendencies, pathological demand avoidance, PDA, identity-based motivation, creative resistance, neurodivergent focus, procrastination, how to stop procrastinating, productivity for rebels, motivation strategies for ADHD, how to get things done with ADHD, working with resistance, emotional productivity, solopreneur mindset, executive dysfunction, dopamine-driven focus, productivity mindset, rebel workflow, authenticity in work, identity and behavior, body doubling strategies, gentle accountability, resistance to expectations, coworking, focus routine