ADHD-friendly guide to overcoming procrastination
Reading time: 8 minutes
I was supposed to write this article last week so… let’s talk about procrastination!
In this article, we’ll explore why we procrastinate and look at some strategies to motivate ourselves (and check out some productivity hacks that don’t work).
Let’s dive in!
Procrastination and ADHD: A Complex Relationship
Procrastination is the action of intentionally delaying or postponing something.
Sometimes, people with ADHD intentionally procrastinate, relying on the urgency of a task to make it easier for them to start working on it.
Other times, the delay in initiating a task is caused by … their brain.
In those cases, it’s not that they don’t do it because they’re lazy.
They might really, genuinely want to, but they can’t.
The neuroscience behind ADHD and motivation
In our brains, there's a chemical called dopamine that is associated with feelings of pleasure and motivation.
When most people think about something rewarding, like finishing a project, their brain releases more dopamine, which makes them want to start working on it.
Studies have shown that people with ADHD have lower levels of dopamine receptors and transporters in the regions of the brain linked to motivation and reward¹.
This means that people with ADHD will find it harder to get started and stay focused on a task, not because of a lack of effort, but because their brain is responding differently at a chemical level.
It's the same reason why people with ADHD prioritize more stimulating things: anything new and shiny, anything urgent or challenging, anything intrinsically interesting for them.
For example, a student without ADHD knows that studying a subject they don’t find particularly interesting will lead them to finish school with a good grade.
A student with ADHD knows the same thing. But they can’t just start doing it as easily.
They might need different strategies to help them start (more about that below).
And if they are unlucky and don’t know about their ADHD, they might think the issue is with them - because it's so easy for everyone else.
Now that we’ve covered the theory, let’s look at what this looks like in practice.
Navigating ADHD: Personal Insights and Strategies for Success
I remember my university days. It was 2 weeks before my BA thesis was due that I even started working on it.
Most of my groupmates were almost done, I was only starting.
Not because I had not intended to start it earlier. I did.
I felt incredibly anxious as time passed.
At the same time, whenever I sat down to write, I suddenly remembered I was hungry.
Or that I had to make a doctor’s appointment (which I had also postponed for a long time, but now looked like an easier task).
Or my sock drawer needed to be reorganized.
The only way I managed to get some work done, was to borrow a laptop from a friend and go work in cafes.
I needed the background noise; I needed people around me.
I needed novelty: a new café each day, new people every time I was lifting my eyes from the laptop.
At the time, I did not know why that worked and I found it kind of strange (everyone else could concentrate perfectly fine in the library, where the silence was too loud for me).
Now I know I had intuitively found a way to give my brain the boost it needed to start working.
I still use this strategy whenever I need to write something and realize I just can’t block out any distractions at home.
Finding this strategy was a turning point.
Similarly, my approach to tackling major tasks also evolved.
Tackling Major Tasks: Rethinking the 'Eat the Frog' Technique
A coaching client asked me last week about the Eat the Frog technique (doing the big, tedious task first thing in the morning).
For many with ADHD, this doesn’t work. Not due to lack of discipline, but due to our unique brain wiring.
Firstly, ADHD-ers have a delayed circadian rhythm²: most of us are night owls.
This means that mornings might not be the time of day when we have the most energy.
And if you sleep badly (as a lot of us do), the effort needed to start on that tedious task will be even higher.
Secondly: to eat the frog, as an ADHD-er, you need to be super highly motivated.
And for some tasks we are, but “the frog” in question is by definition not a super motivating task…
So for ADHD brains, doing the fun thing first is the way to go: do small tasks, and get a few small wins.
Do the interesting things first - that will help you build momentum and get the power to tackle the frog.
The tricky part is finding the balance: your energy in a day is finite, so spending all your energy on the fun stuff, might backfire and leave you in a spot where you don’t have enough energy left to eat the frog.
Learn to check in once in a while to become aware of your state.
Working with a coach might help you with this.
Understanding what my energy levels at different times of day are was a game-changer for me.
When I tried the Eat the Frog method, it usually played out as one of these two scenarios:
I pushed through and I ended up being exhausted the entire rest of the day
I was not able to eat the frog and I sat frozen on the sofa until the evening (because I decided not to do anything else until I was finished with this task!) thinking there must be something utterly wrong with me and that I was a genuinely bad person
I am now much more efficient and pressure/shame/guilt-free by accepting that sometimes, I just don’t have what I need to do the task. And that’s ok.
It does not mean I am lazy, a bad person, or a failure.
It just means I can’t do the task now, but I will do it later. I can focus on something else for now.
Or I can go eat some ice cream and try again in a couple of hours.
This understanding also helped me tackle some of my time blindness (on which I plan to write a separate article) and have more effective time management in my daily routine.
Mastering Time Management with ADHD
A few weeks ago, I was wondering why, no matter how hard I try, I can never go to sleep early.
Until I started timing all my evening activities and realized that in the four hours between 18:00 and 22:00, I was trying to fit five hours’ worth of activities (not accounting for any wiggle room).
So yes, it is important to become aware of how much time you have in a day and how long each of your routines takes.
Then you can set timeslots for the things you want to do without overwhelming yourself.
What I find helpful is to perform a 'brain dump,' where I write down everything I need to do in the coming days, then select three (not more!) key tasks to prioritize for the next day.
I also write down how much energy I estimate each of those tasks requires from me.
And here, it is crucial to be honest about it: if a phone call takes 5 minutes, but it will be draining and I’ve been postponing it for months, allocating 5 minutes for the call in my calendar will just ensure it will get me instantly overwhelmed, which means I will end up postponing it again.
When I’m being honest, I know I will likely need 30 minutes to transition from whatever I am doing (mentally prepare for the call) and then another 20 minutes to calm down after the call.
Alongside time management, another key approach is breaking down tasks and building accountability.
The Power of Accountability and Small Steps
Another reason people procrastinate is because the task they want to work on is too … unclear.
Or too big.
Either they don’t see the clear outcome, or they don’t have the knowledge needed to do the task.
In cases like this, what helps me is to drill down the task in the tiniest steps and decide what is the smallest action I can take now.
Then, I determine what I will reward myself with for doing that task.
Planning the reward will make a huge difference in your motivation levels!
For example, if I want to go to the gym, the steps include:
Making a list of what I need to pack
Packing my bag
Getting dressed & putting on shoes
Deciding on a route
Biking, walking or driving to the gym
Choosing activities at the gym (classes or machines)
Enjoying the sauna afterward as a reward, or getting a delicious shake afterward (or both, why not?)
Usually, after I drill it down in small steps and think it through, the task becomes much easier to start.
And if that doesn’t work… I call a friend!
Body doubling (having someone with you while you work) can be incredibly effective!
I remember having to move a few years ago and I could not, for the life of me, get myself to start packing.
I asked a friend to come over and, with her there, I was done packing in no time.
She didn’t even have to do anything – just having someone there, in the room with me, made all the difference.
Body doubling (this is what it’s called having someone in the room with you while you’re doing a task) is one of the most effective ways of beating procrastination for me.
Another tip is to find an accountability buddy.
For me, it helps to have a weekly call with a friend, set our top three priorities for the week together, and check in on the progress one week later.
Sometimes the reward for doing a difficult task is as simple as having someone cheer for you for doing a task.
Other times, the mere act of not having to tell your accountability buddy that you’ve postponed a task again can be a reward.
Overcoming Fear and Perfectionism in ADHD
Sometimes, the reason we procrastinate is fear. Here, there are two possibilities:
You might be afraid (of failure, success, or judgment)
What helps me in such cases is talking to someone about it.
Humans have a high negativity bias, which means we tend to focus on negative things more than on positives.
Getting a different perspective, having a friend ask you “But what happens if it goes well?” might give you the push you need.
But if the fear is more like anxiety, reach out to a therapist – there might be more to explore there than a friend can help you with. 😊
You might be a perfectionist
Perfectionists are unable to shift from an initial idea of how something should be done (is your way the only or the best way of loading the dishwasher?).
For ADHD-ers, Dr. Russell Ramsay and his colleagues found³ an ADHD-specific sort of perfectionism: the need to feel “perfectly ready” before starting a task.
To start writing this article, I needed to list down the chores I had to do for the week, allocate time to do all of them, and block a full day in my calendar just for writing the article.
Only after doing all of this I could sit and focus on writing.
I’ll be honest here: I wrote this article so that I could feel productive while procrastinating on finalizing the preparation for the ADHD support groups I will start later this year.
Because I am afraid to start: I know the theory, but I am not perfect! 😊
Acknowledging these challenges brings us to an important realization – the choice to procrastinate, especially in the context of ADHD.
Embracing Procrastination: A Conscious Choice
And lastly… sometimes it’s ok to procrastinate.
In people with ADHD, urgency helps us create that momentum that we need to get into hyperfocus and work on that task until completion.
As long as you’re doing it mindfully, it’s perfectly fine. The choice is with you!
Sometimes we are just having a bad day, we are overwhelmed, or we're just low on energy.
Everyone has days like this. Be kind to yourself.
Do some self-care. If you can, go out for a walk. Eat something healthy. Hydrate. Call a friend. Or take a big blanket, roll yourself into it like a sushi roll, and just rest. You’ll get to it tomorrow.
Harnessing Your Unique Strengths to Overcome Procrastination
Procrastination affects us all, but for those with ADHD, it presents unique challenges.
By understanding the underlying causes and implementing effective strategies, we can tackle procrastination head-on.
Remember, it's not about a lack of discipline; it's about adapting to our brain's unique wiring.
Embrace these insights and choose the strategies that work best for you.
The power of overcoming procrastination is in your hands!
By understanding and embracing our unique brain wiring, we can transform our approach to our daily routines to work for us.
Especially if you, like me, only found out about your ADHD later in life and now have to unlearn the tools you’ve been pushing yourself so hard to use and develop new ones.
I know how exhausting this process can be, especially if you don’t know where to start or where you can find practical and reliable information.
That’s why this post is the second in a series that tackles topics like motivation, procrastination, structure, organization, hypersensitivity, and other ADHD-relevant topics.
You can find the first article here: link.
My goal is to help you see how your ADHD symptoms can become your greatest assets under the right conditions.
Together, we’ll explore science-backed strategies and turn what might feel like challenges into powerful strengths.
The power to grow is in your hands and I’m here to guide you and support you every step of the way.
So subscribe to the newsletter and let me know in the comments what was the biggest insight you got from this!
P.S.: if you are interested in joining an ADHD education and support group in Bonn, ping me and I will add you to the waiting list and inform you once all the details are ready! 😊
[1] Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Newcorn JH, Kollins SH, Wigal TL, Telang F, Fowler JS, Goldstein RZ, Klein N, Logan J, Wong C, Swanson JM. Motivation deficit in ADHD is associated with dysfunction of the dopamine reward pathway. Mol Psychiatry. 2011 Nov;16(11):1147-54. doi: 10.1038/mp.2010.97. Epub 2010 Sep 21. PMID: 20856250; PMCID: PMC3010326.
[2] Baird, A., Coogan, A., Siddiqui, A. et al. Adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is associated with alterations in circadian rhythms at the behavioural, endocrine and molecular levels. Mol Psychiatry 17, 988–995 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2011.149
[3] Strohmeier CW, Rosenfield B, DiTomasso RA, Ramsay JR. Assessment of the relationship between self-reported cognitive distortions and adult ADHD, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. Psychiatry Res. 2016 Apr 30;238:153-158. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.02.034. Epub 2016 Feb 17. PMID: 27086226.