3 Tools to overcome procrastination when you're paralyzed, overwhelmed, and stuck
3 Tools to overcome procrastination when you're paralyzed, overwhelmed, and stuck
Feeling Stuck? Here’s How to Take Action with ADHD and Finally Move Forward
Do you ever have something you really want to do, but no matter how much you think about it, you just can’t seem to start? It keeps popping into your head, you might even feel excited about it, but when it’s time to actually do the thing… you freeze.
This is more common than you think. But it doesn’t mean anything about who you are as a person.
You’re not lazy. You’re not unmotivated. You’re stuck. And there’s a few things you can do to get unstuck.
Is It Procrastination or Something Deeper?
You might think you’re procrastinating. But if you want to do something and still can’t seem to take the first step, you might be dealing with something else entirely.
It’s not about willpower or motivation—it’s more like trying to ride a bike while holding down the brakes. You’re pushing, but nothing’s moving. That feeling of stuckness is common, especially for those with ADHD or executive functioning challenges.
You deserve a new toolbox of strategies to help you overcome procrastination & feeling stuck.
Step One: Understand Why You're Stuck
To take action with ADHD, you first need to identify what’s really going on beneath the surface.
There are so many invisible reasons that might be keeping you from moving forward, like:
Not knowing where to start
The task feeling overwhelmingly big
Having too many choices or options
Setting unrealistically high expectations
Waiting for the “right” time to begin
You're not alone in this. These blockers are especially common for ADHD brains, but once you name them, they become easier to work with. In fact, that’s the first step in the “get unstuck” formula I share in my free private podcast, The ADHD Action Plan.
How Your Self-Talk Might Be Holding You Back
You might also be stuck because of the thoughts running through your head. That internal voice might be saying:
“It needs to be perfect.”
“I’m too busy right now.”
“This is going to be hard.”
This kind of self-talk keeps you trapped in chronic procrastination. Your brain is trying to protect you from discomfort, but it's actually keeping you from taking action.
One powerful way to overcome procrastination is by gently reframing those thoughts.
Instead of “I need to wait for the perfect time,” try “There’s no perfect time, but I can start small today.” Shifting your mindset can help you take real steps forward.
Try Different Tools—Not Just More Effort
Overcoming chronic procrastination & getting unstuck isn’t about pushing harder, it’s about using the right tools for your brain. What works for someone else might not work for you—and that’s okay.
Here are a few ADHD-friendly ways to stop procrastinating:
Use a timer to work in short bursts
Try body doubling or virtual coworking sessions
Break the task into tiny, manageable steps (and give yourself more credit for taking action!)
Put visual reminders where you can see them
Focus on progress, not perfection
You don’t need to do everything at once. Just one helpful tool can release the mental “brake” and help you move forward.
You Don’t Have to Do This Alone
Sometimes, getting unstuck takes more than a mindset shift, it might require additional support Whether it’s a coach, a therapist, an accountability buddy, or a supportive group, having someone in your corner can make all the difference.
Especially for ADHD brains, being surrounded by people who get it can help you build momentum, stay focused, and feel less alone in the process.
Ready to Build Your ADHD Action Plan?
If you're tired of feeling stuck and ready to start taking action, The ADHD Action Plan podcast is the perfect place to begin.
🎧 It’s a free private podcast where you'll learn simple, practical steps to overcome procrastination, create personalized strategies, and build momentum.
Each short episode includes real tools, mindset shifts, and extra resources to help you move from stuck to started.
➡️ Sign up here: executivefunctioningfirst.com/privatepodcast
This isn’t just about getting more done—it’s about learning ways to take action with ADHD in a way that feels doable, sustainable, and right for your brain.
Curious about working with an Executive Function Coach?
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Sarah Lovell (00:01)
Do you have something that you want to do, but you can't get yourself to start? Like you keep thinking about it or to randomly pop into your mind and you think I should do that thing, but you're stuck. You want to take the first step, but it literally feels impossible. So you say stuck. It occasionally keeps popping into your head and it's this vicious loop. That's what this whole podcast is about, right? How to go from stuck to started.
Well, today I'm sharing my own story of stuckness and the exact formula I use and I help clients use to get unstuck. So let's get started. Did you see what I did there? Okay, well, here we go for real.
and do the music, the intro.
Stuck is a word I hear all the time. And it's not just because I've named my podcast and my coaching membership Stuck to Started. Clients talk about feeling stuck every single day with me on all sorts of things. And I was having this conversation with a brand new client recently and she was like, you know, I really used to feel like it was procrastination until I heard you use the word stuck.
And that was really validating. And that to me is magical because the words that we use really, really matter. And if you want to do something, I truly don't think you're procrastinating. I think you're stuck. I think you don't have the right tools yet to figure out how to get started, how to build momentum and how to do the thing in a way that feels good.
And that's not your fault. You just haven't been given the right tools yet. You haven't found what works for your brain. and stuckness is like a universal experience. Everybody gets stuck, but I think it can be more intense for people who have more challenges with executive functioning. So I have a unique formula that I have come up with in my 11 plus years of coaching to help clients get unstuck. and it's something that I use in my personal life too.
So literally anybody can use this formula to get unstuck. You do not need to have ADHD. You do not need to have, you know, intense struggles with executive functioning. Literally anybody could benefit from learning this formula. But if you're somebody who does struggle, it is particularly geared towards you because there's structure in this formula, but there's so much room for flexibility because you've heard me say this before.
There's no one size fits all system. So that's what I'm going to do today is I'm going to walk you through how I use this formula. And if you really want to deep dive and learn more about how to adjust this formula to fit your life, if you have something in particular that you're like, yes, I want to take action on this. Yes, I've been thinking about this for a while. I created a private podcast series.
called the ADHD Action Plan. And so it's separate from this podcast because it's its own standalone thing. It's five short episodes. They're about 10 to 15 minutes long each. And each episode walks you through one part of this formula that I'm going to share today. So this is a free resource I wanted to be able to create.
basically like a self-guided coaching podcast for you. So if you would like to listen to the ADHD Action Plan, you can click the link in the show notes to put your email in and it gets emailed to you. Or you can go to executivefunctioningfirst.com slash private podcast. And the reason that it's a standalone podcast, like I said, is I wanted it to...
Be easily accessible to anyone at any time so you don't have to scroll through a podcast feed to find the episodes. But you'll also get some emails from me along the way as you're listening to it, where I share additional resources. I provide summaries, written summaries of the episode, different, to hit different learning styles and make sure that I can support you in creating this action plan. You do not need to have ADHD, like I said, to benefit from.
this free private podcast or anything I say on this podcast. I've shared before I'm neurotypical. I do not have ADHD. Part of the reason I got into this field is because I have strong executive function skills and I love helping people learn about their brains. And many people that I support do have ADHD or are neurodivergent, but not everybody because you don't need to have a diagnosis to experience challenges with executive functioning.
So this podcast is for everybody. So like I said, if you want a deeper dive into what I'm going to talk about today, get your free private podcast at executivefunctioningfirst.com slash private podcast. Five episodes, short, snippy, easy. Not easy, I take that back. Nothing about getting unstuck is easy, it's hard to get unstuck. But I think when you have some guidance and tools and...
resources, it takes a little bit of a load off. That's what I mean by that. Getting unstuck is hard. It takes time and patience and practice with yourself. So I'm so happy that I can be part of your journey if this is something that you're working on. So, all right, let me share a little bit about getting unstuck and what this formula is and how I use it in my daily life. Because I'm constantly getting unstuck. Everybody is constantly getting unstuck.
there are things that we want to do all the time and it's, you know, we have to like convince ourselves, right? Kind of build up this energy and toolbox to get going on things. So like I said, if you have something you want to do, but you can't get yourself to take action on it, that is stuckness. It's different than procrastinating. I had a client once describe it as it's like, I'm trying to pedal a bike while simultaneously like clamping down on the brake.
Like you're trying to pedal, but you're going nowhere. And so, so this formula helps with that. It helps you figure out why you're stuck. It helps you find the right tools. It helps you make small realistic adjustments so that you can release the brake on your bike and pedal a little bit more smoothly. And it gives you some training wheels too, while we're at it. So let me give you an example of how I use this formula.
So if you've listened to past episodes, you'll know that I've talked about my journey with yoga and that it's something that in the past I've done occasionally, but then took a break from when I moved. And then I wanted to get back into it, but I was having lots of challenges getting myself to go. And so I was literally stuck for months thinking about going to yoga, but not actually signing up for a class, not doing the like,
Yoga with Adrienne at home, light lift, like truly just like in this paralysis, but constantly thinking like, want to, I want to, but like, why, why am I so stuck on this? So the first step to getting unstuck is figuring out why you're stuck. And this is where coaching can be really helpful because sometimes we're like, I don't know. I'm not sure what the block is. I'm not sure what's popping up for me. so when you sign up for the free private podcast,
the ADHD Action Plan, one of the emails I send you along with that podcast is a list of the most common reasons that people get stuck. And it's kind of like you can go through and be like, yep, that sounds like me or no, that's definitely not me. Because I think sometimes it can be hard to even figure out like what's under the iceberg. So in this moment of like, want to go to yoga, how do I get to yoga? I literally coached myself.
clients ask me all the time, they're like, do you do this too? Like, how do you, I'm like, yes, I coach myself. I try really hard to, to coach myself or I even have other, like I have coaches in my life too and supports in my life too that offer this. But so I realized that the reasons that I was stuck on going to yoga were some perfectionism around the time and the location, some self-talk there.
And then it had become kind of what I call a someday goal in air quotes. It was not a time sensitive thing. Like I didn't have a deadline. It was just like, once I get settled, I'll get back to yoga or once things slow down, I'll get back to yoga. Guess what? Things never slow down. We have to like create that time for ourselves, right? So I did some reflecting on why I was stuck. And so the formula that connects with this,
to get unstuck is that you have to notice and shift your self-talk. You have to pick the right tool from your toolbox that matches the reason that you're stuck. And you need to have some additional community support, accountability outside of yourself, usually, not always, but it's helpful. So my self-talk around the yoga was, I'm so overwhelmed right now, it isn't the right time to add something new. I'm so busy, I'll figure this out later.
what if this studio isn't as good as my last one, right? Like, my gosh, what? Like I was just creating all of these things to kind of keep me in a safe zone, right? Your brain is trying to protect you from discomfort. And so I had to reframe what those automatic thoughts were that my brain was automatically telling me. And it can be really, really hard to use the tools that you have in your toolbox if your brain is putting up this self talk wall. And so this is where
I help clients gently challenge these thoughts. And I did this with myself too. So I challenged the perfectionism around like, I'm so overwhelmed right now. I need to wait for the perfect time. There's never going to be a perfect time. Like I said, life typically doesn't slow down. So I had to kind of shorten that someday goal into making it a little bit of a tighter goal for myself.
So there's this thing called Parkinson's law, which I will talk about in another episode, but basically it's like, you, however much time you have available to do something is how long your brain will take to do the thing. And so if you have a someday goal, like someday I'm going to get back to yoga, someday I'm going to pick up my crochet project again, your brain just keeps stretching it out. And so I gave myself a deadline. I put it on my calendar.
And I scheduled time to do research on different yoga studios around me because I had moved at the time. And so then I challenged my perfectionism around not only the timing of this, but also what if the yoga studio isn't as good? Well, how can you know until you go and do something, right? So I was overwhelmed with how many yoga studios were in my new community. And so I decided to
narrow it down by one factor, what was going to be the easiest commute for me. And so then I narrowed it down to like two yoga studios. And then I set a timer for 15 minutes to look at what classes they offered and to see which one would feel like a better fit for me to try. I'm not committing to this forever. It's not like if I go to one yoga studio, I can't decide to go to the other, right? But our brains get into this all or nothing thinking, black and white thinking, perfectionistic thinking, right? And so
Within 15 minutes, I had narrowed down from like 15 studios to two studios. I looked at the times and even though in my brain, like I wanted a 3 p.m. yoga class, because that's when I typically finish work. Nobody else in the world wants a 3 p.m. yoga class because it's the middle of most people's work day. So most yoga classes were at five. And like, I was like, no, that's odd. Like what I waiting mode. I was like, that is what it is. I can adjust my schedule.
and can get to a 5pm yoga class. Like it's okay, there's no 3pm yoga classes. And then I also, so in addition to, you know, getting out of the someday goal, getting out of the perfectionistic thinking, I also created accountability and support on this. So this is definitely the third piece of this getting unstuck puzzle for a lot of people. So like I said, the self-talk comes first.
picking the tool that matches the reason you're stuck. And then finally, creating some external accountability and support. And sometimes it might be creating accountability with yourself. I'm somebody that I like having other people know what my goals are and to ask for some support around this. And so I literally used my own coaching program, stuck to started, for accountability.
So each week in Stuck to Start It, I post checking questions, asking people about their self-care for the week, their plan for the week, what's something that they can let go of, all sorts of different checking questions, and I answer them myself in this group. And so I had put one week that one of my primary intentions was to pick a yoga studio and sign up for a class, and that my goal was to do it by Friday.
And that was on Monday. And then on Friday, I do a check-in question with everybody and say, hey, what's a win that you have from the week? What's something that you want to give yourself credit for? There is nothing ever too small for that. That's something that we need to practice more of. And so I knew I created this like little deadline for myself of I'm going to tell the community that I'm working on this and then I'm going to circle back on it. And sure enough, I had signed up and gone to a yoga class that week. And this type of
accountability and support doesn't fit for everyone or for every goal. There are some things where it's like, you know, you don't want to share that you're starting to work on it until you have some momentum. But having accountability and support can be can be really helpful. So this is just one example of how this formula can be used. I have seen clients use this self talk toolbox accountability and support formula with all sorts of things.
getting unstuck on, know, wanting to write for fun, getting back into running, cooking dinner for someone who enjoys cooking. Not everybody does, that's okay. Picking up art supplies for a hobby that has been collecting dust. I see this a lot, especially with folks who are like maybe more dopamine seekers. It's like you try out different hobbies and you move on quickly to the next one. No shame in that.
But then if you want to go back to something, sometimes it can be really hard to pick up an old project or to use art supplies that were fun and exciting for like a week or two, but maybe you haven't touched in a while. I've also seen people use this formula for making plans with their partner, with kids or with friends. This formula can also be used for things that maybe aren't as exciting, although I encourage people whenever they're working on
building their toolbox to get unstuck, that you start with things that you actually want to do. One, because it's more fun. And two, because there's more dopamine and connection with the thing that you want to do. And so your brain connects with this formula and adjusts it to fit for you. And then you can apply it to the things that you need to do that maybe you have less
of a personal connection with. So maybe that's like scheduling a medical appointment or responding to an email that's been stressing you out in your inbox. Maybe it's working on a specific work project. I've also supported lots of business owners and entrepreneurs in growing their side hustle using this formula, which can be both exciting and stressful. So
I'm truly, truly obsessed with this formula. I've seen the magic of this formula. Today I just gave a quick example of how I use it in my life. But if you want to dive deeper into each of the steps, the figuring out why you're stuck, the self-talk piece, the building your actual toolbox of strategies that you can pick from that match the reason you're stuck, and how to create
accountability and support and community in a way that feels good for you. Sign up for the free private podcast, the ADHD Action Plan. Link is in the show notes or you can go to executivefunctioningfirst.com slash private podcast. Like I said, the episodes are short, 10 to 15 minutes, but they are jam packed with tools and strategies that you can start using immediately. And I ask you questions to get you thinking.
so that you can start building this toolbox with my support in that private podcast and in the emails that go along with it. Because you deserve to do the things that you want to do with more ease. And I'd love to help you build your own formula to get unstuck. So thank you so much for being here. And I'm really excited for you to check out the ADHD Action Plan.
