How to Take Action When You’re Paralyzed by Uncertainty and Overwhelm & Don’t Know Where to Start
How to Take Action When You’re Paralyzed by Uncertainty and Overwhelm & Don’t Know Where to Start
Have you ever avoided a task because you weren’t sure how to start? Maybe it was an email, a project, or even figuring out your plans for the day. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone—and it’s not laziness You might be struggling with ADHD paralysis and uncertainty.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this blog post:
Why uncertainty leads to ADHD paralysis and procrastination
How to take action when you feel stuck, overwhelmed, or unclear
How executive functioning challenges make getting started harder (especially when there is uncertainty)
3 actionable strategies to navigate analysis paralysis, create clarity, and build momentum
How to figure out what “done” actually looks like—so you can work backward
ADHD Paralysis: It’s Not Just You
Here’s why uncertainty leads to procrastination: When something feels unclear or overwhelming, your brain defaults to inaction. That doesn’t mean you’re unmotivated; it means your brain doesn’t have enough information to confidently take the next step.
Here are just a few examples of how this shows up:
Putting off an email because you're unsure how to respond or what to say. Or spending 30 minutes crafting it with ChatGPT
Ignoring a text message that asks, “When are you free?” because your schedule feels chaotic and there’s something planned for the next 9 days
Avoiding a big school or work project because you don’t know where to start and your anxiety grows the closer the deadline looms
Making a to-do list, feeling overwhelmed by it, and scrolling through your phone instead
Getting stuck in perfectionism and all-or-nothing thinking
3 Strategies for ADHD Paralysis
Here are three simple, practical strategies I use and teach my clients to help take action when you feel stuck.
1. Name the Uncertainty
When you're stuck, say it out loud (or in your head):
“There’s uncertainty popping up, and that’s why I’m feeling paralyzed.”
Naming the feeling helps your brain understand it’s not a personal failure—it’s a normal response to confusion or overwhelm.
2. Ask Clarifying Questions
Instead of trying to push through, pause and ask yourself:
What’s the actual task?
What information do I need?
Is there a person or resource that could help me figure this out?
You don’t need all the answers—just start gathering a little more clarity.
3. Work Backward from the Finish Line
If you don’t know where to start, try identifying the end goal first. Ask:
“What does done look like?”
Then, break it down into mini steps:
Re-read the email
Take notes on questions
Brainstorm where to find the answers
Draft a response, even if it’s not final
Send a status update instead of waiting for all the answers
Sometimes, just reshaping what “done” means (hint: it doesn’t have to be perfect) can help lower the bar enough to get started.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been wondering how to start tasks with ADHD or feel like you’ve been stuck in place, you’re not alone. Uncertainty is a big part of why we shut down—but with the right tools, it doesn’t have to keep you stuck.
You don’t have to push through the discomfort without support. Give yourself permission to pause, name what’s happening, and come back with a plan. These small shifts can be powerful strategies for ADHD paralysis that help you take action—one step at a time.
Looking for more resources? I created a free 5-part private podcast to help you create your own toolbox to get unstuck & get out of ADHD paralysis.
Whether you have ADHD, identify as a perfectionist, or are just feeling stuck, the ADHD Action Plan private podcast is going to help you stop overthinking & take action!
Get the ADHD Action Plan Private Podcast
Curious about working with an Executive Function Coach?
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Sarah Lovell (00:01.602)
Have you ever avoided a task because you weren't sure how to start? That's very common. That email that you keep putting off, the project that you can't seem to begin, the appointment that you haven't scheduled, it's not laziness. Chances are uncertainty is one of the reasons that you're stuck. In today's episode, we're talking about why uncertainty leads to inaction and three simple executive functioning strategies.
that you can add to your toolbox today to help you get unstuck and move forward even when there's uncertainty.
So do the pause, the music.
Hmm
Sarah Lovell (00:49.272)
So we're going to start today's episode with what is going to seem like a random story, but I promise it connects. so my gym has a Peloton bike, which I was super excited to try. I'm obsessed with Cody Rigsby. if you've seen any of the Instagram videos that he puts out, he's just witty and funny and hysterical. And so when I found out that I could use the Peloton at my gym, I was, I was stoked.
and when I joined the gym, they took me on a tour and, you know, pointed everything out, including for the Peloton bike that they had this laminated sheet of instructions and it was the entire page, like multiple, multiple, like, think there were like over 15 steps for setting up the Peloton bike. And I saw that and I was like, okay, how hard could it be? Like I've ridden a stationary bike before.
and so, but I did when I went to go use the bike, I referenced the sheet that was next to it and each step was super, super, super specific. It was like, click this button located here. I should find the picture. I'll, I'll try to find the picture and post it on Instagram or in my email newsletter, but it was like super specific instructions. Click this button, then do this.
if this happens, then do this, right? It was wild how many steps there were to create a login and get going on this. And I think part of it was because it was a gym Peloton versus like just a personal use Peloton. But if it had literally just said like create a login and pick a class, I probably would have gotten a little bit frustrated trying to figure it out.
And it would have taken me way longer to get the bike set up and like get going with Cody on my first bike ride. And so that is the point of the episode today. Not that like, not the point of how complicated it is to get a Peloton set up. But that if there's uncertainty or a lack of clarity that that can lead to inaction that can keep you stuck.
Sarah Lovell (03:15.936)
that can keep you from moving that particular project or task forward. So if you don't know how to do something, it's really frustrating. It's annoying. It might make you feel incompetent or stupid. Maybe it feels like you should be able to figure it out. If your brain names something as impossible, your brain just shuts down, many of us. And so this is something that I talk about with clients all the time, and it can show up in a lot of different ways.
in life. And when I say uncertainty leads to inaction, that could be inaction on that particular task where you're like, I just can't, I can't keep trying to figure out how to get my Peloton set up. Like I'm going to avoid this and pivot to something else. So inaction on that particular task. And then maybe you end up going and doing something else, or it could be a full shutdown where you're in analysis paralysis and nothing is getting done. Right.
And so let me give you a couple of examples of situations that I've supported clients with and I've experienced myself. So if you need to, if you get an email and the person is asking you to answer a question or problem solve and before you can respond and maybe your brain goes into, my gosh, this is
I'm not sure where to find this information. This is not usually part of my job. I know that once I get started on this task, there's going to be a domino effect of more requests and more things that I need to figure out. So that creates some stress. So you avoid responding to the email and it sits in your inbox for days, weeks, months going unanswered. Same can be true for text messages.
Even for things like not work related, like a friend reaches out and is like, hey, I'd love to get together and catch up. When are you free? And you're like, when am I free? I don't know. And then there's some stress around, well, how do I offer times? What if something else pops up in the interim when I offer these times, right? Uncertainty leads to inaction. And so maybe you don't respond to the friend, even though you're like, I do want to get together. I do want to make a plan, but I need more clarity.
Sarah Lovell (05:38.294)
before I can respond. And these are normal things. So I don't want you to feel like, no, I do that and like, there's something wrong. No, this is normal. And so what I like to help people do is come up with one name and notice that this is happening. I'm jumping ahead, I'm jumping ahead. Let me give you a few more examples and then we'll go through some systems and why this happens and some systems.
So another way that I see this with clients is my college students, if they have an assignment, especially long-term assignments, if it's like a big research paper, if it's a semester long project where they have to work with a team or create a presentation and like, you know, bigger projects, if there isn't a clear first step or you are anticipating
barriers and challenges popping up, you don't start. But maybe your brain just keeps thinking about it, right? Like it's spinning in the back of your mind creating stress of like, I know I need to do this thing, but I don't know how to do this thing. It also could show up in more day-to-day things of like, you have so many things on your to-do list that you aren't sure what to start with. So that's a different form of uncertainty. So maybe you're just like bebopping around, you're doing a little bit of this, a little bit of that.
Or maybe you're completely avoiding absolutely everything and you end up doom scrolling or working on a passion project instead because you're like, I just can't decide what to start on. I'm not sure what the priority is. Or I'm so overwhelmed with how much is on my plate that I can't write that analysis paralysis. It's a form of a lack of clarity. And so.
I'm going to repeat the phrase again, uncertainty leads to an action and it can show up in lots of different ways. And so I picked this week's topic because it is the exact challenge that I'm experiencing in this very moment. So I thought I would create an episode on it and share some strategies. So normally I plan out my podcast content ahead of time.
Sarah Lovell (07:59.886)
I pick themes and topics. I outline usually like three to five weeks ahead of time. plan content in my, I plan the workshops in my memberships and then I create some content around that to help promote it, to encourage people. If you're looking for additional resources, right, you've heard me talk about, this is exactly what we're talking about in the membership, right? That requires a lot of planning on my part.
To kind of piece things together do this forward thinking work backwards Identify the topics I'm gonna talk about on the podcast outline them figure out when I'm gonna batch them right like there's a lot of executive functioning that goes into this this project and I love it. I love creating content for you guys. I don't want it to sound like I don't I love doing this And I'm currently in a transition period in my life right now. I lived in California for the winter
I drove across the country for six days and now I'm back in New Hampshire and all of my personal belongings are currently in my garage. I have to unpack. And I just jumped right back into work mode. And I'm also making summer plans, right? Like, got a lot going on. Life is chaotic, but good. But that also makes it really hard for me to do my big picture planning in my business.
in the same way that I've done it in the past. And ironically, sometimes I feel like the universe, like things just align. The last three episodes I did on the podcast were all about changing up what it means to be consistent and allowing yourself to come back to things in a different way and use different systems. And that is exactly what I'm doing right now with this podcast. I've been recording it and planning it week by week, which is working for me right now. And I'm like,
you know, giving myself full permission to shift how I do this project. And it also means that there has been some uncertainty with what's coming up next, because I haven't done the big picture planning that I normally do.
Sarah Lovell (10:25.944)
So, but I wanna get back to the main topic of this episode and share some strategies for you. But I wanted to just highlight what's going on in my life and how this connects for me so that you can see, this is what it looks like in a real life example too. So, why does uncertainty lead to inaction? Why does uncertainty paralyze you?
Most of us don't like the feeling of uncertainty. It brings up emotions that are uncomfortable, right? Frustration, overwhelm, perfectionism, fear of doing something wrong. And your brain doesn't want to feel like that. And so your brain tries to protect you and your brain tells you to avoid the thing that is creating the discomfort. Avoid the email, avoid the text message, avoid...
thinking about the project, avoid starting the project. And so you end up being stuck or procrastinating. And it is not because you are lazy or unmotivated, but it's because your brain doesn't have enough information to confidently act. So the first strategy is to name this for your brain.
Literally tell yourself, there is some uncertainty popping up and that is why I'm feeling paralyzed. That is why I can't take action right now. Because most executive functioning tools and systems that help you plan, organize, manage your time, prioritize, they require some level of certainty. So if you don't know what information you need, when you need it or where you're going to get it, that creates missing puzzle pieces. And so
there are a couple of reflection questions that you can ask yourself to gain a little bit of clarity. So this is step two. So first you're saying there is uncertainty and I need to address that first. Step two is doing some reflection on what is the actual task? What information do you need? Is there somebody else?
Sarah Lovell (12:49.93)
or a resource that could help you gain clarity. If you're starting to reflect on this and you're like, my gosh, I do not know, right? Can you go to someone or something else to help you process this?
Sarah Lovell (13:08.97)
Another piece of the puzzle that can sometimes be helpful is helping your brain create a fuller image or a map of what needs to get done. this step three kind of ties in with strategy two that
your brain restart that.
If your brain doesn't know what the finish line looks like, it can make it really hard to figure out the starting point. So instead of trying to figure out, instead of trying to force your brain to figure out where to start, you can work backwards and think about the end goal. So a question I like is what does done in quotes look like, right? Cause there might not be a totally finished done, but what is the end goal or what could done look like?
and you really wanna paint yourself a picture or identify the primary goal. So for example, if your end goal or done is that you're responding to an email or responding to a text message, that's the finish line. Maybe the first step is reskimming the email, right? And...
Sarah Lovell (14:34.702)
So I'm gonna restart that.
Sarah Lovell (14:40.504)
So if your finish line or end goal is that you're responding to the email, you can check in with yourself on, what does a response need to look like? Do I need to answer every single question that they're asking? Can I let them know that I've received their email? Here are a few answers. And maybe if I don't have the final answer, can I let them know that I'm in the process of researching it and I will get back to them? So sometimes it's even challenging.
what your brain is picturing as the finish line. Because if your brain is stuck in all or nothing, and it's saying you have to respond to the email with 100 % of the answers, a perfect, beautifully crafted email response, can you kind of challenge yourself on that a little bit and say, they're looking for a project update, they're looking for a status update, and it's okay if the status is I'm 70 %...
done on this stuff and this 30 % is still in progress, right? Is that an okay response that you're continuing to work on it? So maybe that's, again, challenging or reframing what done looks like and then working backwards. So if there are questions in the email and you're like, okay, I need to gather information. So making a list of what are the questions that you need to answer, brainstorming where you'd go for that information or who you might ask.
That is, those are some of the action steps. And before that would be, okay, I need to re-skim the email and take notes on it, right? So we're working our way backwards from the finish line to the starting point. So instead of saying like, I need to respond to this email, but I don't know what the answers are, you're saying, okay, the goal here is to send a status update. And here's the way that I can go about getting that status update ready to send.
Sarah Lovell (16:41.592)
So the like additional message there is to watch out for all or nothing thinking or perfectionism. And I talk about this a lot with clients, especially around emails, text messages, correspondence, whether it's for work or in your personal life, because this can be, there can be a lot of uncertainty with correspondence. And so I will do a future email.
on managing your inbox and strategies for correspondence. I did a workshop on this in my membership last year and it was a really engaging conversation with people. So I will create some content on that in the future. So before we wrap up today's episode, I just want to loop back around and normalize that getting stuck in uncertainty is normal.
And it does not mean you are disorganized. It does not mean you are lazy. Uncertainty is a part of life. And so naming it and having strategies to help you work through it will make it slightly easier each time uncertainty pops up. Not to say that it'll ever be totally easy or like that there's a magic solution, right? But when we name what we're experiencing and then we can go to our toolbox and pull those tools out,
That's where the magic happens. That's where it feels better getting unstuck that you're not, you're not sitting in those emotions and letting it get bigger and bigger and bigger. It's also okay to step away from something with intention. So I'm not saying like push through and just do it when there's a discomfort or when there's uncertainty. Sometimes it's really important to
give yourself that permission to pause and check in with yourself. So if you're like, I have no idea what's going on with this. I'm not sure where to start. I'm feeling really overwhelmed. That pause is really important and it's okay. So I hope it does not feel like the takeaway here is like, well, I just got to push through and do it. That's not, that is for sure not what I'm saying. And so again, I think it's that practice of like being patient and kind with yourself.
Sarah Lovell (19:02.326)
And truly naming things for your brain does create a little bit of a little bit of that breathing room to be able to come up with a plan to say, okay, uncertainty is popping up right now. I'm going to step away from this, re-regulate my nervous system and come back knowing that my first step is not necessarily to take action in the way that your brain might tell you you need to, but it might be just
gathering more information, identifying where the uncertainty is, and then moving forward with a plan. And again, you are allowed to separate out planning from action. So once you identify, ooh, there's uncertainty, okay, the plan is to identify what that uncertainty is, make an action plan, give yourself a little bit of a break if you need to, and then come back to take action on that plan.
Because if you're trying to plan and take action at the same time, if you're trying to figure out, okay, what do I need to know? And how am I going to do it right now? That might be overwhelming for your brain, because you're trying to do everything all at once. Not to say that that's not ever possible. If you're like, I'm in the flow, I want to get going on this, go for it. But it's okay, like I said, to pause, step away with intention and come back.
So is there something that you have been avoiding or paralyzed by because of uncertainty? Maybe it's a text message, maybe it's an email, maybe it's just figuring out what you want to do today with your free time. Try playing around with some of these strategies from today's episode. And if you're like, Sarah, I multitasked during this podcast and I don't remember half of what you just said, no worries.
I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you're listening to this whenever it fits in for you. And there is a written summary of every single solo episode that I do on this podcast on my website. It's in a blog format. It's super skimmable with the bulleted, you know, bulleted strategies and bold and colors. And so the link for that is in the show notes, or you can go to executivefunctioningfirst.com slash
Sarah Lovell (21:25.038)
podcast and scroll through and you'll see each episode has its own blog. So thank you so, so much for being here today. Thank you for being part of my podcast community. This podcast has grown in a way that I literally could have never imagined. I really appreciate people reaching out, letting me know the content connects with you. If there are topics that you want me to cover,
please let me know, reach out, can DM me on Instagram or send me an email. I would love to hear what you want to hear on this podcast moving forward.
