I'm Busy Being Awesome - Sustainable Productivity for ADHD

Starting can take a surprising amount of energy for ADHD brains, even when we truly want to do the thing. In this episode, we make sense of why task initiation feels so demanding and explore practical supports for each stage: getting started, staying focused, handling distractions, and wrapping up in a way that makes the next start easier.
In Episode 368, you will discover:
Why task initiation demands so much energy and what that means for ADHD brains
A five-stage flight analogy: pre-flight, takeoff, cruising, turbulence, and landing
Practical strategies for clearing distractions, riding out mid-task turbulence, and building a repeatable shutdown routine
How a simple "logbook" entry can make your next work session easier to start
Work With Me:
Learn more about private coaching here
Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains
Resources From This Episode:
Episode 363: The ADHD To-Do List Strategy You're Missing
Episode 367: Overwhelming To Do List? Try This.
Book a free coaching consultation
Watch on YouTube: @I'm Busy Being Awesome
More ADHD Resources:
Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
Discover my favorite ADHD resources
Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System
Paula's Favorite Resources
Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.
Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.
Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!
If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.
Go to Apple Podcasts
Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
Simply tap five stars; that's it!
Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!
Chapter Outline
00:00 Why Starting Is Hard
01:39 Common Initiation Blocks
03:41 Flight Plan Analogy
03:59 Preflight Setup Checklist
06:27 Deicing And Warmup
08:56 Line Up And Wait
10:13 Takeoff Sterile Focus
15:13 Cruising Flow State
17:02 Turbulence And Distractions
20:42 Coaching Invitation
21:51 Descent And Shutdown
24:44 Logbook And Key Takeaways
26:18 Final Wrap And Resources

You did the brain dump. You got it all out. You felt that incredible sense of relief for about thirty seconds... And then your ADHD brain looked at the full list and went completely offline. In episode 367, we're talking about the missing piece between the brain dump and actually getting started: the working card.
In Episode 367, you will discover:
Why ADHD brains hit a wall when staring at a long task list (and what's happening cognitively)
The pantry-and-plate framework for rethinking your task system entirely
How to build a working card in three different ways to work with your brain
How to match your daily task card to what your day actually looks like
Work With Me:
Learn more about private coaching here
Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains
Resources From This Episode:
Episode 310: The Work Is Never Done
Episode 359: Time Blocking with ADHD and Magnetic Tiles
Episode 365: Overpromising and ADHD: What's Actually Going On
Episode 366: 4 Strategies to Stop ADHD Overpromising
Book a free coaching consultation
Watch on YouTube: @I'm Busy Being Awesome
More ADHD Resources:
Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
Discover my favorite ADHD resources
Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System
Paula's Favorite Resources
Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.
Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.
Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!
If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.
Go to Apple Podcasts
Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
Simply tap five stars; that's it!
Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!
Chapter Outline
00:00 Brain Dump Overwhelm
01:41 Client Question Setup
05:08 Why Lists Freeze Us
08:05 Inbox Zero Myth
11:03 Working Card Method
12:00 Pantry Plate Analogy
16:56 Analog And Digital Options
22:45 Coaching Invitation
24:01 Plan By Context
28:35 Low Energy Days
30:22 Weekly Challenge Wrap
31:59 Final Takeaways

That gap between what you promised and what you actually delivered is familiar territory for a lot of ADHD brains. In episode 366, we're building on the mindset work from last week with four practical strategies to help close that distance.
In Episode 366, you will discover:
How to create a default pause phrase that gives your brain breathing room before agreeing to anything with a timeline
Why ADHD brains systematically underestimate the steps inside a "simple" task, and a straightforward way to map them out
A time-multiplier strategy that helps you build a more realistic picture of how long your work actually takes
How calendaring the doing instead of just the deadline reveals whether a commitment is actually feasible
Work With Me:
Learn more about private coaching here
Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains
Resources From This Episode:
Episode 365: Overpromising and ADHD - What's Actually Going On
Episode 337: ADHD and Deadlines: 5 Tips That Actually Work
Book a free coaching consultation
More ADHD Resources:
Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
Discover my favorite ADHD resources
Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System
Paula's Favorite Resources
Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.
Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.
Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!
If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.
Go to Apple Podcasts
Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
Simply tap five stars; that's it!
Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!
Chapter Outline
00:00 ADHD Overpromise Burnout
01:32 Series Context and Recap
03:18 Strategy One Pause Phrase
06:26 Strategy Two Define the Ask
09:53 Coaching Break Know Doing Gap
11:04 Strategy Three Time Multiplier
15:50 Strategy Four Doing Dates
18:07 Next Steps

How many times have you said yes to something and felt a flicker of doubt almost immediately after, like your ADHD brain was already doing the math on everything you just committed to, realizing it doesn't add up? In this episode, we open two-part series on overpromising and underdelivering: what's actually going on when this happens, why ADHD brains are especially prone to it, and how to start working with the stories we build around it.
In Episode 365, You Will Discover:
What overpromising and underdelivering actually is, and the two layers underneath it
The four ADHD-specific reasons this pattern shows up so often, including one that doesn't get talked about enough
How to start using the equal airtime method to look at where this pattern shows up in your own life
Work With Me:
Learn more about private coaching here
Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains
More ADHD Resources:
Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
Discover my favorite ADHD resources
Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System
Paula's Favorite Resources
Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.
Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.
Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!
If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.
Go to Apple Podcasts
Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
Simply tap five stars; that's it!
Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!
Chapter Outline
00:00 The Overpromise Trap
03:12 Two Layers Explained
05:43 Why ADHD Overcommits
06:02 Time Blindness
08:56 Planning And Sequencing
10:36 Enthusiasm And Novelty
12:21 Overcompensating To Prove
14:51 Beliefs And Cognitive Bias
18:25 Equal Air Time Tool
19:59 Coaching Break
21:19 Side One Full Picture
26:24 Side Two Follow Through
29:49 Try It This Week
30:58 Wrap Up And Resources

How often does your brain offer "I don't know" when you're trying to figure out your next step? For so many of us with ADHD, this thought shows up constantly…and a lot of the time, we just accept it. In this episode, we're looking at what "I don't know" is actually doing, why our brains offer it frequently, and three coaching questions that can help us find the answer that's already there.
In Episode 364, You Will Discover:
Why "I don't know" isn't always what it seems
How to tell the difference between the two different types of "I don't know" and why it matters.
Three coaching questions to move through ADHD indecision and get your brain out of the freeze
Work With Me:
Learn more about private coaching here
Join We're Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
Enroll in Overwhelm to Action - step by step course for ADHD Brains
Resources From This Episode:
Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
More ADHD Resources:
Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type - Free Quiz!
Get the I'm Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
Discover my favorite ADHD resources
Access the I'm Busy Being Awesome Planning System
Paula's Favorite Resources
Many of the items below are affiliate links with discounts and free trials available. They are all products I personally use and love. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Disclosure info here.
Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.
Leave IBBA A Rating & Review!
If you enjoy the podcast, would you be a rockstar and leave a review? Doing so helps others find the show and spreads these tools to even more people.
Go to Apple Podcasts
Click on the I'm Busy Being Awesome podcast
Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you see the reviews.
Simply tap five stars; that's it!
Bonus points if you're willing to leave a few sentences sharing what you enjoy about the podcast or a key takeaway from the episode you just heard. Thanks, friend!
Chapter Outline
00:00 Introduction
01:17 Understanding I Don't Know
02:48 Two Types of I Don't Know
03:05 External Knowledge Gaps
04:19 Inner Knowing
06:01 My Academia to Coaching Transition
09:16 Identifying Your I Don't Know
10:00 Private Coaching Opportunity
11:09 Three Powerful Questions
11:31 Question One: How to Find Out
13:01 Question Two: What Do You Know
15:08 Applying What You Know Internally
16:26 Question Three: Top Three Guesses
17:37 Workplace Conversation Example
19:36 Project Overwhelm Example
21:30 Bringing It All Together
22:44 Closing and Resources