Feeling a little stuck?

Scaffolding, routines, rituals, habits, systems, and bowling lane bumpers: these are all words I like to use to shed light on the importance of bringing structure into our days. ADHDers struggle with creating structure, but we function so much better when we do.

Part of creating this scaffolding—the bowling lane bumpers that keep us on track—means finding ways to get ourselves beyond stuck. If you’re feeling some inertia when you look at your projects or to-dos, one trick to getting unstuck is identifying one small thing, one action you can take on just one of your tasks. Here are some examples:

• If you have a report to review, or a thesis to edit, and you need to print it out, could a small first step be to check that you have enough paper in the printer?

• If you have laundry to do, could the first small step be to clean the lint trap, or check how much soap you have?

• If you have taxes to work on, could your first small step be to find the email from your tax preparer that tells you what documents to gather?

Sometimes all we need to get UNSTUCK is to take one small step. That one small step just might lead to one more step, and another, and another.

In each case, make sure that first small step—and any additional small steps—is on your to-do list so you can check it off. This seemingly small act provides the ADHD brain with clear evidence of progress.

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