Lately I’ve been struggling with lack of motivation, brain fog, and pretty much zero ideas (I can’t tell you how rare that is for me). Add in a healthy sprinkling of personal life chaos, a pinch of sadness because summer is over and seasonal depression is just round the corner, and you have yourself a recipe for a not-so-great time I could really do without!
If you’re a fellow neurodivergent entrepreneur then no doubt this will all be very familiar to you, but now I feel I’m finally coming out the other side, I thought I’d put together a list of 10 ways I manage my ADHD as an entrepreneur.
I do want to take a moment to say that I’m not an ADHD expert, nor will I likely ever be. These tips haven’t “fixed” my ADHD, but they do help me feel less like I’m drowning, and a little more like I know what I’m doing.
What works for me might not work for you, but I hope this list inspires you to discover your own toolkit so you can also work with your beautiful spicy brain, rather than against it by following advice that isn’t designed for you.
Without further ado, let’s get into 10 things I do in my life and business to accommodate my ADHD:
1. Split your to-do list into categories based on priority
Rather than having everything in one mega overwhelming to-do list, I like to split my tasks into three main categories:
- Must-dos: usually anything with a deadline set by someone else or something time-sensitive.
- Would-like-to-dos: pretty much anything else I’m working on at the moment, but that doesn’t have an important deadline (honestly this list is still pretty big and overwhelming but I’m working on that!)
- Future to-dos: this is essentially a brain dump of ideas that I know aren’t important right now but that I don’t want to forget about.
Then — and this is the important part — I hide/toggle off anything that I’m not working on right now. I like to use Notion for this because you can easily hide the lists you don’t want to see by using a toggle list, but you could also use Trello, a Google Doc for each list, or good old fashioned pen and paper if that’s your thing.
Why organizing your to-do lists can help you as an ADHD entrepreneur:
Categorizing my lists helps me to see in real time what’s actually a priority and what can wait, especially when my brain likes to tell me that every task is an urgent priority and needs to be done right now (it rarely does).
I also recently learnt that it’s a common neurodivergent experience to feel panic that you might forget something important (which explains the number of screenshots and saved TikToks I have) so the “future to-dos” list really helps me feel at least a *little* less anxious that I have my ideas written down somewhere.
2. Assign an energy level to tasks on your to-do list
While we’re on the topic of to-do lists, I like to be a little extra and label mine with a color coded system, based on how much I personally enjoy doing the task. Note that I didn’t say how much energy I think it *should* take from me — this is highly personal and my list would probably look totally different to yours, even if we had the same tasks on it.
Again, I use Notion for this and I assign a colored label, but you could also change the text/background color in a Google Doc or use a notebook and highlighters.
I use green for easy win tasks that I usually don’t have any resistance to doing, orange for ones that take a little more prep or have multiple steps/require more brain power, and I use red for the tasks that are best left for high-energy days when I can give them my full attention.
Rather than spending ages trying to find the perfect task to do that will best optimize my time, assigning an energy level helps me actually make progress on my goals because rather than getting stuck in analysis paralysis, I can just pick a task that matches my energy level and roll with it.
Another option for when you just need an easy win:
You can also look at your “green to-dos” as an easy wins list so when you’re having low energy days, you can just pick something and know you’re still making progress towards your goals.
And, if you’re anything like me you probably go through phases of what you want to work on — sometimes I’ll have a week of just doing small < 30 minute tasks.
Other weeks I prefer having a more structured routine that I’ll inevitably get bored of and abandon completely once the novelty has worn off, but nonetheless, it’s nice to give myself permission to mix it up.
I think so often as neurodivergent entrepreneurs, we forget that our brains are different and that we’ve chosen a career path where we get to make the rules — so check in with yourself to make sure you’re not doing something a certain way just because everyone else is. YOU get to make the rules that are most supportive for your way of being.
Side note: as I was writing this post I could feel myself wanting to go on a side quest and create a whole Notion planner that has a cute little traffic light system that I could share with you — but alas, I really need to stay focused today. Maybe one day I’ll create something to share with you and link it here. *adds to future to-dos list*
3. Schedule in regular CEO/business planning days
If you’re anything like me, you have 1001 ideas before breakfast each morning and approximately 57 half-filled notepads, so I like to make sure I’m checking in with myself and my business on a regular basis.
A CEO day is a dedicated day (or block of time) where you step away from the day-to-day running of your business and make sure things feel aligned with where you’re currently at and where you want to go. It’s a chance to work on your business, rather than in your business, with a focus on your growth and vision for your future.
These planning days are something I used to do every Monday but honestly I got bored of that and now I do them quarterly/6-monthly. I’m trying to turn it into more of a habit so it feels less overwhelming each time but experiment with a regular timeframe that feels good to you.
For me, this is classed as a “red task” because I generally feel a lot of procrastination and resistance to sitting down to focus on it (even though I always ask myself why I didn’t do it sooner).
Some questions I like to ask myself during a CEO day:
- What business tasks do I enjoy doing?
- What don’t I enjoy doing?
- Am I attracting aligned customers?
- What customers do I want to attract going forward?
- Is there anything people keep asking me for that I want to create?
- Do I see a problem that needs solving I think I could offer?
- What ideas do I want to bring to life in this next season of business?
- Am I happy with how many hours I’m working/ how my days are structured?
Then I make a big brain dump of notes and ideas, before gathering them all up to put into one of my three to-do list categories. I also gather any other notes I’ve collected since my last CEO day to organize as well.
There’s nothing quite like that feeling of condensing all your to-do lists into one, sorting through and prioritizing your ideas, and generally feeling more inspired and connected to your mission. For me, it feels like giving my business an everything shower and it makes my brain SO happy afterwards.
Here’s how to make sure you actually do it:
If you find yourself resisting this, firstly, I promise you it will be so worth it, but something that helps me is scheduling it in my calendar and then telling at least one person about it. You can let people know if you’re going to be “out of office” that day, but I find that telling someone/posting on stories makes me more likely to hold myself accountable for it (and if you have no-one to tell, you can tell me and I’ll hold you accountable 🙂).
These business planning/ideation days are so valuable and once you get in the habit of doing them regularly, it’s a great way to check in with yourself and your business and see what’s changed since your last one. Some of my best ideas have come from the calm and clarity I get when my lists are all organized.
Bonus tip
Go through and remove stuff from your future to-do list — if you’re worried about the ideas being gone forever, you can create another board/Google doc etc for an “ideas graveyard” (that you’ll probably never look at again, but peace of mind, you know?). The main goal is to have a to-do list that has tasks that are actually relevant to your life and business goals.
4. Reverse engineer your goals
Speaking of goals, as a business owner with ADHD, I find that most traditional goal-setting methods don’t quite cut it for my particular way of thinking. “Just pick a goal and start taking action” feels overwhelming to me, and I usually get stuck analyzing where to start.
The reverse engineering method is basically just breaking your tasks into smaller, more manageable steps, with a focus on working backwards from your desired outcome.
Why I love this way of setting goals as an ADHD entrepreneur:
I think this method for goal-setting works especially well for my neurodivergent brain because I naturally work backwards whenever I have a deadline anyway.
For example, say I have to leave for something at 12pm, then realistically I need to start getting ready at 11.30am, or 11am if I’m showering. Then before that I need to walk the dog, so say 10am, and before that I want to do an hour of work, so 9am, and before that I need breakfast, which takes me to 8.30am, then before that I want to do yoga, so 7.30am, and then to allow a buffer for unexpected delays means actually I need to get up at 6.30am. And then I’ll probably have just enough time to be late anyway 😂.
Reverse engineering your goals is no different and I also find it’s a great way to come up with ideas for how I can actually move forward when I feel like my goals are too vague.
For example, to get to 1,000 followers on Instagram, you might need to:
- Increase your posting frequency
- Post more engaging content
- Learn to create more engaging content
- Invest in a course to learn how to create more engaging content
The question to keep asking is “what needs to happen before that?”
Optional Step for my mindset girlies ✨
If you’re into affirmations, you could write out your goal in the present tense, as if it’s already happened.
Using the Instagram followers as an example, it could look something like this:
“I have 1,000 engaged Instagram followers who love my content. I’m consistently creating high-quality content that resonates with my target audience.”
5. Treat your personal life as part of your business life
(But not the other way round — stick with me and you’ll see what I mean).
It’s taken me years to learn this (and honestly, I’m still re-learning this right now), but as a solo entrepreneur, your business depends on you prioritizing rest.
I don’t know about you, but I do my best work when I’m deep in hyperfocus mode. Most of the time it feels good and fun, and honestly at this point in my life I don’t really know any other way of working.
But if you’ve ever hyperfocused a little too close to the sun, you’ll know what I’m on about when I say how mentally draining it can be.
I’ve spent so long wondering why I’m so tired all the time without any real consideration for the workout I put my brain through each day. Something that might take most people a week to do will take me days or even hours when I’m in hyperfocus mode.
But the problem isn’t hyperfocus — it’s the fact that I don’t take adequate rest afterwards (maybe you can relate, too).
Any of these sound familiar?
“I’ll power through now, then I’ll finish early tomorrow”
“Might as well finish this now, I’ll just have to do it later anyway”
“Just 5 more minutes then I’ll take a break”
Except that break doesn’t come, and instead, the reward for being really efficient at working is… working more 🤡🙃.
So if you’re a high-performing overachiever in charge of your own work schedule, stop rewarding yourself for being good at work with more work.
Here’s what to do instead:
My particular flavor of ADHD likes to make me think that resting = scary, so instead I trick myself into doing things that I’d class more as “active rest”. For me, that might look like stepping away from my desk to bake cookies at 3pm, spending time in my blanket nest on the couch drawing on my iPad, or going to meet a friend for coffee.
Most of the time, recognizing when I’ve done enough is half the battle, so a big lesson I’m learning right now is to give myself breaks especially when I feel like I don’t need them.
Signs I know it’s time to stop:
- Itching my eyes
- Realizing that I’ve hardly moved from behind my screen
- Suddenly becoming aware that the light has changed outside
- Noticing that I’m actually really hungry/thirsty or need the bathroom
Take time to properly rest that beautiful big brain of yours, and see that rest as an essential “to-do” for your business.
Now in true ADHD fashion, this post has ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated 😅. You can continue reading the remaining 5 ways I manage my ADHD as an entrepreneur in part 2.
I hope you find these tips helpful and if you need someone to chat to about ADHD overwhelm in entrepreneurship, I’d love to connect with you.
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