Getting started
Why starting is the hard bit — and how to make the first step small enough to take.
In one minute
Procrastination in ADHD is not laziness and it is rarely about not caring. It is usually a task-initiation problem: the gap between knowing what to do and being able to begin.
ADHD affects the brain systems that get things started, hold a plan in mind and generate motivation for things that are not urgent, novel or interesting. Waiting to "feel like it" does not work, because for many people with ADHD the feeling arrives after starting, not before.
So the aim is not more motivation. The aim is a smaller, easier, more concrete first step — and something external to trigger it.
This guide is in the section “Getting things done”
Log in to read the full guide and save your plan.
