Motivation Monday: Time to Get Started

It Takes a Single Step to Start

Being a classic ADHD guy, the worst day of the week for me is usually Monday.

It is the day that I’ve been dreading for 2 1/2 days. The one where I expect to get everything on my “to-do” list and even things that haven’t been remembered yet finished.

It quickly becomes overwhelming and suddenly my brain just shuts down. Just like that, any opportunity to get stuff done on Monday is out the window.

Create a Road Map

My mother-in-law got me a Lego set that features a 1962 Chevy Corvette that looks very similar to the one that my father-in-law used to have.

It is an amazing conversation piece to have in the office – once it is finished. Until then it is just another unfinished project in our house that my neuro-divergent brain continues to obsess over but never create time for it to be completed. And to make matters worse, it is a “reward” to work with Legos – so every time I move that box it is a challenge to my ability to succeed.

Then one day, I just started working on it. No expectation of getting it done but rather the goal of simply getting one bag of pieces put together at a sitting.

That little change created a framework around how I could take a few minutes each week and get a bag of Legos completed and still feel like I’m moving forward with the project.

That “framework” has created an opportunity for my mind to see the project as a work in progress without the classic “pass/fail” that so many neuro-divergent thoughts obsess with.

Don’t Obsess With the How, But the Why

The neuro-divergent brain tends to get lost in the details of the project. Which leads to over-thinking, anxiety, and eventually disengagement.

But if we look at each project focusing on the “why” are we doing this rather than the how, it will change how your brain processes the information. I have learned that focusing on why am I doing this tends to keep me moving forward. If I don’t know why I’m doing something then I will move it off the “to-do” list and onto a secondary board that I call the opportunity list. Those are things that would be cool to do, but until I figure out how to make it a part of the overall process it just sits out there in the ethos.

Rethinking The To-Do List

One of the greatest things I’ve discovered is that a neuro-divergent brain loves to have things in lists, but then rebels at the list.

To fight this, I’ve personally taken a different look at the “to-do” list every day. No longer is it a laundry list of items that are going to be ignored and not done in the correct order? Instead, I have three items on my “To-Do”, seven items on the “Could Do”, and another ten items on the “May Do” list.

All the numbers can be arbitrary and changed, but I never go longer than 20 on the to-do list for a particular day. The goal is that every day I need to get the To-Do list completed and then work on a couple of the “could do” list items. I keep track of my progress every day in a Google sheet that I share with my accountability partners.

Just Get Started

To wrap this up, the key is to get started. Once the neuro-divergent mind finds it focus it tends to work longer and stay on task more than traditional thinkers. Hence the key is to just get to a point where you are moving forward. Good luck in getting those items finished.

Sources: This article was written after years of counseling working mostly with Northwood Clinic’s Jordan Hambrick and currently Newberry Behavioral Health’s Marissa Varney.

Disclaimer: This post is intended to assist you in your journey but is not considered to be medical advice. If you feel you are going to hurt yourself or someone else please call 9-1-1 or your local suicide hotline.