Hours of research, plenty of interesting ideas, but little movement on what you meant to do. A client’s memorable metaphor opens a conversation about ADHD overthinking and recognising the pattern.

For many with ADHD, planning and prioritisation can feel overwhelming, disorienting, and fraught with missed connections. Yet, with the right tools and self-understanding, that station can become a place of purposeful movement, not paralysis.

For many of us with ADHD, beginnings can feel less like an open door and more like a heavy portcullis. Task initiation is the executive function responsible for getting us off the starting blocks. If you have ever found yourself staring at a task, knowing exactly what needs to be done and yet feeling physically unable to begin, you are in good company.

Have you ever caught yourself dodging an awkward conversation, putting off a bit of life admin or letting a nagging worry simmer quietly in the background, simply because it felt easier not to face it? If so, you might be carrying what was recently described as “emotional credit card debt”. It’s a phrase that struck a chord with me, and I suspect it will with you too.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably spent a fair chunk of your life wondering why some days you can take on the world, and other days you can’t even take on the washing up. This isn’t just the stuff of motivational memes or the latest productivity hack-it’s the lived reality of executive functioning variability, especially for those of us with ADHD

Executive functions are the brain's management system. They are a set of cognitive processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. Understanding executive functioning is crucial for anyone navigating the ADHD landscape, as it forms the foundation of many of the difficulties experienced by those with ADHD.

Learning to understand how your own ADHD manifests itself is the key to developing appropriate ways in which to manage the challenges that it can bring. These challenges are often particularly relevant in the workplace. However ADHD workplace challenges can often be substantially reduced by making small but effective changes and embedding them until they become habits.