When you have ADHD, is it more effective to prioritize working on big important things? Or does it make more sense to get some quick wins and build momentum by knocking out one or more smaller tasks?
Dana has long advocated starting on things that are a little easier to dive into. This “greases the skids” and eases the ADHD brain into working on things in a way that helps reduce the negative impact of motivational issues.
But oftentimes, the smaller things are important things and they get done either way.
This leaves the bigger items subject to getting bumped from one day to the next on our “to do” lists—not because we’re procrastinating, but because we just aren’t getting to them.
It was Stephen Covey who popularized the “big rocks” demonstration in his talks. Perhaps you’ve seen this done: you begin with rocks of different sizes and try to fit them into a container with limited space. Invariably, if you start by putting the small things in, you run out of room for the “big rocks.”
But if you place the big rocks in first, you can usually find a way to fit the smaller ones in, too.
And Dana has been testing out a revised approach to this question. In this episode of the Kick Some ADHD podcast, you’ll hear her reasons for rethinking this and a discussion about the pros and cons of each approach. You might be surprised at how this is going!
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