Do you ever feel like traditional productivity advice just doesn’t work for you? If you’re someone with ADHD, the world’s obsession with “optimal” strategies can leave you frustrated and spinning your wheels. Let’s bust some common productivity myths that might be keeping you stuck and explore ADHD-friendly strategies that actually work. 😉
🌟 Myth #1: You Need a Perfect Morning Routine
We’ve all heard it: “Successful people start their day at 5 a.m. with yoga, journaling, and green juice.”
❌ The Problem: For ADHD brains, rigid routines often feel stifling and hard to sustain. Most of us are not morning people.
✔️ The Fix: You don’t need a "perfect" routine. Instead, create a flexible morning framework that honors your energy and natural rhythms. Perfect is a tenant of White Supremacy (gross) and doesn’t exist anyway. Allowing yourself to be imperfect and flexible in your mornings makes it way easier to do small, kind things for yourself as you start your day, so let’s try that.
💗 Friendly Reminder: Every day is a new day. If you missed your morning routine yesterday, no big deal, today is a fresh slate. You can start again and recommit anytime you find yourself in need of an adjustment.
🥼 Experiment with anchor points like a consistent wake-up time or starting your day with a task that builds momentum. Flexibility is key! Personally, I like to make myself a list of options to choose from, choose what feels most supportive for me each morning, based on my mood, and the amount of time I have available. Music is my go to boost to help me wake up and enjoy my morning chores.
🎯 Myth #2: Multitasking Saves Time
Multitasking is often hailed as a superpower, but for people with ADHD, it can lead to overwhelm and half-finished tasks. It’s also a total lie, no one’s brain can competently multitask and produce good work quickly.
❌ The Problem: Switching between tasks drains focus and productivity. This makes your brain work harder and will give you less energy in your day.
✔️ The Fix: Practice single-tasking to boost efficiency and reduce mental fatigue.
💡 How to Try It: Use strategies like time-blocking or visual task lists to stay focused on one thing at a time. Pick one thing to focus on, or a time you will complete a specific task. You may find this easier with a body double, so invite that friend over to talk while you clean out your closet finally. Celebrate small wins to build confidence!
⏳ Myth #3: The Pomodoro Technique Works for Everyone, Every Time
The Pomodoro Technique (timed work intervals) is popular but not universally effective for ADHD, though it can be helpful for some of us.
❌ The Problem: Timers can feel stressful and disrupt flow.
✔️ The Fix: Tailored approaches like hyperfocus sprints or task batching work better for some ADHD brains. Some folks with ADHD can use Pomodoro, and may need to gamify it a bit to make it more of a sprint against the clock for mundane tasks. I also can find it helpful to get into more of a flow state, but odds of me quitting when the timer goes off are slim, so I don’t plan a hyperfocus work block before an unrelated meeting.
🖋 Suggested experiment: Group similar tasks together to reduce cognitive load. Or use hyperfocus to tackle complex projects during peak energy times, and plan to get your emails done during your afternoon slump. If the timers are helpful for you and don’t stress you out, keep using them!
⚡ Myth #4: Motivation Will Magically Appear
Waiting for motivation is like waiting for a train that’s always late.
❌ The Problem: ADHD brains thrive on momentum, not motivation.
✔️ The Fix: Action sparks motivation, not the other way around. Take the step over and over and eventually, you will get excited about all the progress you are making.
💡 Try this: Start with the easiest task to create momentum. Get yourself a win, and then find the next small task you can tackle. Small actions build confidence and energy for harder tasks. They also give you those hard earned dopamine rewards.
⌛ Myth #5: Procrastination Is Laziness
Procrastination is not lazy. For people with ADHD, it’s often rooted in fear of failure, decision paralysis, feeling overwhelmed, or deep shame that’s coming up thanks to past traumatic events.
❌ The Problem: Oversized or unclear tasks can paralyze progress.
✔️ The fix: Break tasks into smaller, manageable chunks. Progress, not perfection, is the goal. If you really don’t want to do something or have tons of anxiety around a task, agree to 5 minutes to get started, gather up context, and strategize what your next step will be, that you can take a different time. Often, just getting started lowers anxiety and makes us more likely to keep going and complete the task, and sometimes it can help us gear up to get started in a more thorough way another day, without as much stress.
🔧 Tools to Help: Visual reminders, timers, or apps can make tasks more engaging. Gamify your process to trick your brain into work as a rewarding experience. Ask a friend to talk through your plans, or talk to yourself out loud as you try to initiate a task you have been feeling stuck on starting. If you are feeling super frozen, try imagining yourself taking action as your first step, visualize the steps you need to take to complete the tasks, often imagining is enough to help us come out of freeze and get started.
🔄 What Actually Works:
ADHD-Friendly Strategies Instead of fighting against your ADHD, lean into strategies that align with how your brain works.
Here’s what to try:
🔍 Tailored Techniques: Use time-blocking, visual task boards, or digital reminders. Experiment with different techniques until you find what works best for you.
⚡ Momentum Over Motivation: Start with a quick win to build energy for harder tasks. Take consistent small steps on important projects, even when you don’t want to. Try reminding yourself how good you’ll feel about it later.
👥 Support Systems: Surround yourself with tools, reminders, and people to keep you accountable. Body doubling can be magic for ADHD brains, having someone else around who is aware we are working on a particular task can make it way easier to get done.
Key Takeaways 🔄
By experimenting often with ADHD-friendly strategies, you can gain more agency over your life, routines, emotions, and will achieve meaningful progress. Want more personalized support? Join my monthly program Triumph and work with me daily to discover how to tailor your productivity strategies to your strengths. Let’s work together to create a system that helps you thrive. By understanding how your ADHD brain works, you can replace frustration with empowerment and start achieving your goals—on your terms. 🌟