Last month, did you make a resolution to stop procrastinating? What self-respecting person with ADHD doesn’t vow to stop procrastinating! Even if ditching ADHD procrastination wasn’t your specific goal, I can bet that it lies underneath the changes you want to make.
Getting your finances in order – procrastinating on paying bills or doing your taxes.
Completing home projects – procrastinating the planning, purchasing, or getting started.
Making healthier choices – procrastinating on exercising or getting to bed earlier, etc.
If you have ADHD, you often do everything and anything but what you’re supposed to do which can cause a negative emotional circle.
Here’s how it works: You’re stressed and anxious about what you’re supposed to do which tanks your energy and motivation. That gets you to procrastinate. Which naturally, adds more stress and upset and lowers your energy even more which results in self-blame and criticism which…you get the picture.
Well, guess what? Beating yourself up because you procrastinate doesn’t help. We’re dealing with ADHD and procrastination here! Shame and blame won’t pop you into action. You’ll accomplish more with a different approach.
The trick to stop procrastinating is to shift your thinking. Instead of dropping into shame and frustration when you’re doing everything but what you need to do, I want you to shift into investigation mode.
Getting frustrated with yourself doesn’t change anything with ADHD. Investigation and action do.
How To Stop Procrastinating with ADHD
STEP ONE
Where do you start? Investigate your procrastination conversations. These are those convincing little voices in your head telling you to put off what you know you need to do. Your procrastination conversations are expert cheerleaders for avoiding what you know you need to do.
The next time you have something to do, pay attention to the comments and excuses. I find most ADHD adults have a running dialog going on in their brain. Especially when they procrastinate.
ADHD procrastination conversations are like that bad friend you had when you were a kid. You know, that kid that got you in trouble and then ran away and avoided the consequences when you got caught.
Noticing what that voice says is step one to stop falling for its excuses. Until you start to notice your ADHD procrastination conversations, you won’t be able to push past them.
(Occasionally, I’ll have an ADHD coaching client who doesn’t hear the words but experiences more of a feeling. If that’s you, notice the feeling instead of the conversation.)
STEP TWO
Your next step is building your awareness around which procrastination conversation you’re hearing. Because what is said determines what action to take.
5 Common ADHD Procrastination Conversations
Though people with ADHD experience different procrastination conversations, today we’ll keep it simple. We’ll focus on the five most common conversations about procrastination ADHD adults have.
1. “I Don’t Wanna” Procrastination
“I don’t wanna pick my clothes up off the floor.” “I don’t wanna hang up my wet towel.” “I don’t wanna file those papers.”
I enjoy observing people and their habits. I see a huge difference between how ADHD adults and non-ADHD adults operate. People without ADHD seem to do things just because they need to. Amazing, right?!?
ADHD adults don’t do that. Somewhere along life’s path we decided that we don’t have to do things if we don’t want to. And that idea shows up as the “I don’t wanna” procrastination conversation. You need a different approach if you want to get stuff done.
This is why noticing your ADHD procrastination conversations is essential. You have to hear the conversation before you can adjust your behavior.
I call the “I Don’t Wanna” procrastination conversation my mental toddler. She whines at me a lot. Why just this morning she tried to convince me to leave my dirty breakfast dishes in the sink. “I don’t wanna do those right now,” she whined. Fortunately, I’m on to her tone of voice and her games. I know how to step past my inner toddler. And, yes, she really does whine and say, “I don’t wanna.”
2. “I’ll Do it Later” Procrastination
“I’ll do it later” is a classic cause of ADHD procrastination. One we fall for every time. A glance at the dirty dishes brings out an “I’ll do it later.” Same with paying the bills, filling in our expense report, making the bed, or folding the laundry.
We sincerely believe we’re making the right choice when we say “I’ll do it later.” We often don’t think of it as procrastination!
But it is. When you start to notice your internal conversations, I’ll bet you’ll often hear “I’ll do it later.”
3. “Where Do I Start?” Procrastination
Many adults with ADHD procrastinate when they don’t know where to start on something. “Where Do I Start” is often caused by overwhelm. You might feel it more as a sense of confusion than hear it as a conversation.
Not knowing where to start can slow you down on all kinds of things. From clearing the dining room table, to packing for a vacation, to attacking a work project.
If this sounds like you, focus on building clarity and skills. That makes sense, doesn’t it? Basic ADHD-friendly project planning skills of how to chunk something large into smaller pieces.
(We’ve been working on these skills in the ADHD Success Club. I’m excited about the progress club members are making. They’re breaking through procrastination. Learning where to start projects along with ADHD organizing and time management skills.)
4. “It’s Too Hard To Do!” Procrastination
You’ll hear the “It’s Too Hard To Do” message when you’re up to a large task. Especially if it’s tedious and has lots of steps. Tasks like preparing your taxes, clearing office clutter, or finishing a big craft project.
People with ADHD like shiny, interesting things. We avoid boredom. I get it. But sometimes we have to do what needs doing. Even if we don’t think it’s interesting.
Avoiding what’s too hard to do is a vicious cycle. The more you procrastinate the bigger the job gets and the harder it gets.
5. “That’ll Take Forever” Procrastination
This is how our friend ADHD perfectionism often raises its lovely head. You avoid starting a task because you know trying to make it perfect will take forever.
Perfectionism is an interesting animal. Besides causing ADHD procrastination, perfectionism also makes everything take way longer than necessary.
The bottom line in ADHD Success? Break the chains of procrastination. Build awareness. Listen to your internal voices and don’t fall for their ploys. I’d love to know what you think about the five common ADHD procrastination conversations. Go ahead and post a comment below if you have something to add.
Here’s more information on becoming aware of your procrastination habits:
- Blog: The ADHD Perfectionism Trap
- Blog: An ADHD Perfectionist Case Study
- Blog: The Cure for ADHD Procrastinating on Taxes
- Episode #6 of the Kick Some ADHD podcast: Procrastination and ADHD Part 1
- Episode #7 of the Kick Some ADHD podcast: Procrastination and ADHD Part 2
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