Does this sound like you?
Ugh. Why can’t I get anything done?
Why do I always put everything off?
Why can’t I just get in and do things?
I’m SO LAZY!!!
Your procrastination has nothing to do with laziness.
We tend to associate procrastination with laziness. But for someone with ADHD, this isn’t the case. Your procrastination is the result of a root cause, one that you may or may not be aware of.
While it’s important to realize that you are avoiding something, the more important thing is identifying WHY you’re avoiding it.
There are a number of reasons someone with ADHD avoids doing something.
Rarely is the reason that they just don’t care. In this article I’m going to talk about four reasons I’ve come across that cause
people to procrastinate. I will also give you strategies for working through each one so you can start taking action
today.
The four
causes I am going to discuss are:
- FEAR – fear of failure or success
- Lack of clarity
- Lack of interest or it just seems boring
- It feels too big
FEAR – fear of failure or success
Fear of failure.
You have had multiple past experiences where things haven’t turned out. You don’t want to repeat those times. You’re
scared of failing and what that might mean about you. You’re scared of others seeing you fail. You’re scared of what they might think about you.
Strategy
Ask yourself:
Why am I scared of failing?
What am I afraid they will say about me?
Who am I concerned will think that about me?
Will others really think that about me, or will I think that about myself?
Whose opinion am I really afraid of?
Fear of success.
You’re scared that if you’re successful it will raise others’ expectations of you. You’re scared that they will expect you to be able to do it again. And again. You’re scared that you’ll have to keep getting better. You’re scared that you’ll have more eyes on you… more people expecting more from you. And you’re scared of what will happen when you inevitably don’t live up to those expectations.
Strategy
Ask yourself:
Why am I afraid of succeeding?
What am I afraid that will mean?
How do I think succeeding will change things?
Why does that scare me?
Lack of clarity
You’re not clear about a portion or the entirety of what you need to do.
You don’t have a clear picture of what the outcome is supposed to look like, so you have no way to gauge if you’re on the right track.
You don’t have a clear understanding of what you’re supposed to be doing. You don’t have a clear understanding of what is
expected of you. You don’t have a clear understanding of your role and how it fits in the big picture.
You don’t have a clear understanding of the steps to take. You don’t have a clear understanding of how long it should take. You don’t know how to tell if you’re on the right track, and therefore when you need to course correct.
Strategy
Ask yourself:
What questions do I have about this?
What information do I still need?
What am I unclear about?
When I think through what I need to do, where do I get stuck? (This likely means you have questions here… dig into those deeper.)
Lack of interest/seems boring
People with ADHD crave stimulation. Their brains are wired to crave interest.
Boredom is kryptonite to someone with ADHD. If they are bored or have the perception that they will be bored, they will resist doing it.
Boredom can be physically painful for someone with ADHD.
They will tend to resist boring things at all costs.
Strategy
Find a way to bring interest to the boring task. Find a way to engage your brain enough to be able to perform the mundane
task. What you do to bring interest doesn’t have to be related to the task at hand.
Here are a couple of ways you can engage your brain and do boring things:
- Give yourself a reward after you complete the task – the sooner the better. (Watch your favorite TV show (guilt-free), eat some ice cream, go do something with a friend, do something else you enjoy)
- Listen to music or turn on a podcast while you do the activity
- Get a body double. A body double is a person that you get together or meet up with virtually or in person and you both do your own thing – together. Having someone else “there” while you’re doing something you don’t enjoy can help you get through almost anything.
For a list of more ways to make things entertaining, grab your copy of my cheat sheet 10 Ways to Make Anything Fun here.
It feels too big
It can be easy to get overwhelmed when you have ADHD.
Even things as seemingly simple as scheduling a doctor appointment can feel insurmountable. If the task isn’t something we are excited about doing, it doesn’t matter how big or small it actually is, or how long it will actually take – we tend to perceive it as a momentous task that is going to take F O R E V E R. The bigger a task seems and the more time we
think it’s going to take, the more likely we are to put it off.
Strategy
Break it down.
It doesn’t matter what size the task is, it can be broken
down into actionable steps.
Start with the task or project as a whole.
Take 5 minutes or so and break that down into steps.
If you’re still having trouble getting started, break those
steps down even further.
Still struggling to take action? Keep breaking it down until you have actionable steps you can take.
If, after you have your list of actionable steps, you find that
you’re not sure where to start, start anywhere. Don’t look for
the perfect first step to take. Ask yourself – what step can I take that will move me forward? Then take that step.
Consider each step a completion. Each step you complete builds up to one big completion. Having these small
completions on the way helps keep the brain engaged and helps build our confidence as we complete the larger task.
Here’s an example of breaking down laundry into steps:
- Sort clothes (Kudos to you if this step is already done!)
- Bring clothes to laundry room
- Add laundry detergent
- Put clothes in washer
- Start washer
- If necessary – set timer to remind you to transfer clothes
- Put clothes in dryer (once wash is done)
- Start dryer
- Hang clothes that can’t be dried
- Take clothes out of dryer (once dried)
- Fold clothes
- Hang clothes
- Put clothes away
Instead of dreading one load of laundry, now you have 8-13
small, doable steps to get that load of laundry done. Each of these steps takes less than 5 minutes! That makes it even easier to complete! Plus you now have 8-13 completions to celebrate for each load, instead of just one.
Action Time!
Ask yourself, “What am I avoiding right now?”. Be honest.
There is no wrong answer. Nobody’s going to judge you.
Then ask yourself, “Why am I avoiding it?”. Take a few
minutes to consider this.
When you identify the “Why”, use the strategy above and
start taking action!
Feel like sharing?
Let me know in the comments which strategy you used!
I believe in you. Now it’s your turn to choose to believe in yourself.
You are capable of more than you can imagine.
You’ve got this.