ADHD and Procrastinate? 6 Proven Strategies to Overcome Procrastination

Do you have adult ADHD and procrastinate with projects at work or at home? Do you have great ideas and know what you need to do but have trouble getting started?

This is a common experience for adults with ADHD due to challenges with focus, sustained attention, distractibility, decision-making, strategizing, and follow-through.

If ADHD is causing you to procrastinate, here are 6 effective strategies that can help you manage the thought patterns underlying your work avoidance and develop concrete methods for meeting your work goals.

1. Break down projects into smaller tasks.

If you have been procrastinating a sales presentation, writing “create sales presentation” on your list of tasks for the day will probably not entice you to get started. Instead, it may benefit you to break your presentation down into smaller, more concrete tasks. So here is a more approachable list of actions: research client needs and challenges, identify the best pitch strategy, write a presentation draft, create and insert charts and visuals, and edit.

You can write each task on a timeline—make sure it is realistic—to ensure that you complete them on time. Be sure that you describe the task in your calendar with enough detail not to have to remember what the task entails. Starting each task with a verb can help you do this. Essentially, you are making a quasi-instruction book for completing the project.

As you are writing the tasks on a timeline, it will help you visualize the steps necessary to finish the project, and you may begin to feel the work is more doable.

2. Overcome negative thinking.

When you procrastinate on your work, your inner thoughts may become negative. Your internal dialogue may include negative thoughts like:

“I do not know how to do this.”

“I will never finish on time.”

” I am not good enough.”

“I am lazy.”

Replacing these thoughts with more positive, realistic ones can help you manage your anxiety and get started on your work. Some more realistic thought patterns include:

“My work does not have to be perfect.”

“I am a work-in-progress.”

” Let me work for 15 minutes for now.”

Adjusting your automatic thoughts can help you take a more realistic view of your project and your work habits, which may help manage the anxiety that makes it difficult to start working.

3. Ask for help.

At times, you may procrastinate because you need to address your skills or knowledge deficit before continuing. Perhaps you are embarrassed because the deadline is approaching, and you are mad at yourself for not starting.

The first step to completing the project, regardless of whether you meet your deadline, is to correct this knowledge or skill deficit.

If you are working on a presentation, see if your company has a template as a guide. You might also ask someone who has more experience.

4. Overcome perfectionism.

When you procrastinate, you may not feel like a perfectionist, but a growing body of evidence links perfectionism and productivity issues for people with adult ADHD. Perfectionist thought patterns could be debilitating for your productivity because they result in indecisiveness about your work.

One common perfectionist thought pattern is to impose unrealistically high expectations on your work, as we saw with my client, Donna. These high expectations do not account for the real-world constraints in which your work occurs, and they make work seem even more intimidating. Another thought pattern is putting off work until the perfect work conditions arise. That may mean waiting until motivation strikes or external factors like timing are ideal.

Consider writing out all your ideas for a project without judgment. Then, spend five minutes selecting one. Stick with that idea even though it may be tempting to reconsider. Unfortunately, work is usually done under imperfect circumstances. A valuable mantra for perfectionists is, “Done is better than perfect.”

5. Just get started.

This simple tip can be quite effective. We know that starting a challenging task triggers a pain response in the brain. Fortunately, this response will go away after about twenty minutes. Knowing that the discomfort is only temporary may make it easier to begin working.

The Pomodoro method is a proven and effective method for overcoming procrastination. You set a timer for a twenty-five minutes work session and then reward yourself with a five-minute break.

6. Manage expectations.

When you anticipate that you will miss a deadline, tell your manager as soon as possible. Agree on a new, realistic deadline. Admitting the delay to your boss can be embarrassing at any point, but often, sooner is better than later.

What additional steps can I take to manage chronic procrastination?

In my practice, I help my clients develop personalized, action-oriented plans to help them calm their minds, get to work, and meet their goals. I use the latest evidence-based treatments in psychopharmacology and cognitive behavioral therapy. As an expert in psychopharmacology, medical psychiatry, and cognitive behavioral therapy, I have a unique background that allows me to provide clients with a comprehensive and thorough assessment and an individualized treatment plan that maximizes the individual’s strengths and talents.

To learn more, contact Dr. Shapiro at 212-631-8010 or scott@scottshapiromd.com for a fifteen-minute consultation at no charge.

* Names and details have been changed to maintain confidentiality.

References:

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Ferrari J.R., Johnson J.L., McCown W.G. (1995) Procrastination Research. Boston: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0227-6_2

Gustavson DE, Miyake A, Hewitt JK, Friedman NP. Genetic Relations Among Procrastination, Impulsivity, and Goal-Management Ability: Implications for the Evolutionary Origin of Procrastination. Psychological Science. 2014;25(6):1178-1188. doi:10.1177/0956797614526260

Oakley B, Sejnowski T.J., Mcconville A. (2018) Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying (A Guide for Kids and Teens). New York: TarcherPerigree.

Polanczyk G, de Lima MS, Horta BL, Biederman J, Rohde LA. The worldwide prevalence of ADHD: a systematic review and metaregression analysis. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2007 Jun;164(6):942-8. doi: 10.1176/ajp.2007.164.6.942. PMID: 17541055.