Time Management is Breaking Your ADHD Brain [Do This Instead!]

Imagine your ADHD brain as two hands holding a rubber band. 

The more stress you pile on… the more it stretches. 

Until finally - it snaps.

Regretting mistakes.

Getting stuck in rumination. 

Acting out of alignment. 

Avoiding tasks. 

These are stressors - each one pulls the band further apart. 

Stress builds.

Energy drains. 

And just like that - breaking point hits.

Creativity, intentionality, and meaningful action—these are your relaxers.

They pull the hands back together - they keep the band from snapping.

ADHDers often live on the edge of burnout breaking point.

We try to be more productive - but all we end up doing is adding more to-do’s to the list…

More tasks.

More stress.

More avoidance.

More burnout…

And this isn't your fault…

Most Time Management Strategies aren’t designed to stop ADHD burnout - in fact… they often create it.

We're taught that time management requires setting countless reminders.

To buy a planner.

Block out all distractions.

Establish a routine.

We learn that to remove the overwhelm of having too much to do we need to add more things to do to the list…

Which is exactly why it will never work for your ADHD brain.

Time management is forcing order into chaos.

Which is where ADHD brain tends to go wrong…

Instead, we need to reduce the chaos. 

Which is why energy management is far more effective…

Your ADHD brain doesn’t need another focus hack.

You don't need more hours in the day.

You don't need to be more consistent or be more disciplined.

You don't need a monthly subscription to an AI-powered time management platform…

All you need is a vision - to be clear on what a life by your own design looks like.

Then, you build a vision bridge.

A vision bridge is something you build and create.

It takes you from the life you have now to the life you desire in your vision. 

It could be a brand, a product, a service - something that’s yours.

Build something that aligns with something you are passionate about.

You might say that this is adding more to your list - but this is actually the opposite. 

It is the stressors that stretch the rubber band - that lead to overwhelm and burnout. 

This is adding more relaxers.

When you are working towards your vision - by building your vision bridge - your actions are creative and intentional, and you are taking meaningful action.

As we know, these are the things that give you energy.

They fill your brain with dopamine - they trigger motivation. 

Then - you manage that energy with a system that works with your ADHD brain.

The ADHD-Aligned Energy Distribution System

Now you have your vision - the best possible life you envision for yourself.

You know you need to build your vision bridge - what you build to make your vision your reality.

Now, you need a system to effectively build that vision bridge that works with your ADHD brain.

Building your vision bridge is like building a house.. 

You don’t dig the foundations, pour the cement, and stack the bricks all at once.

You do it step-by-step - with each step adding to the last. 

Let’s call those steps your missions. 

There are multiple missions required to build your vision bridge. 

All your energy goes into one mission at a time. 

Then - you manage that energy. 

To manage your energy, we distribute it into the 3 core blocks of progress…

Your Core Progress Blocks → Create, Build, And Maintain 

That energy is what we manage to make progress towards your vision.

To make your vision your reality the quickest way you can. 

Progress is broken down into 3 core areas:

Generating progress - actions that are the foundations of progress

Accelerating progress - actions that add momentum to progress

Sustaining progress - actions that maintain progress that you’ve already made. 

To build your vision bridge, you need to disturb your energy into blocks that contain all 3.

Your three blocks are:

Create -> This is generating progress.

Build -> This is accelerating progress.

Maintain -> This is sustaining progress. 

These are the only three blocks you need to distribute your energy into to be productive. 

Your Create Block - you gain knowledge and skills that are the foundations of your progress.

Your Build Block -This is where you action and implement the things that move you forward.

Your Maintain Block - this is where you complete the tasks that keep any progress you’ve already made. 

Say, for example, your vision bridge is a digital product - a course, for example. 

You’re at the point where it is ready to sell. 

Your next step - your mission - is marketing that course on social media.

Now - each time you have set aside to work on it is split into your three progress blocks. 

Block #1: Create

When you start a new mission - Most of your energy will go into your ‘create block.’ 

This is where you spark your ideas.

Where you gain the knowledge you need to complete your current mission.

Time dedicated to building the resources to generate progress.

This is the time that induces dopamine - it's leveraging the curiosity that fuels the process.

In this block, you are exploring, brainstorming, and learning.

Take our example from earlier - your current mission is marketing your course on social media.

‘Create’ would be researching how to make content - or setting up a profile - or studying the content you consume that inspires you.

So you intentionally allocate more of your time to generating progress - to building your foundations. 

Then, as you learn more, you will reduce the time spent in Create and increase the time spent in Block #2 - Build. 

Block #2: Build

Build is time dedicated to accelerating progress.

This is where your ideas from ‘create’ become action.

You are implementing - this is action - It is the doing part.

For our example - this would be creating content [making videos, writing posts, etc].

Block #3: Maintain

Your Maintain Block is how you sustain progress.

This is where you commit time to maintaining the progress you’ve already made. 

Admin, emails, replying to comments - whatever it is. 

Any tasks that you must complete for anything you have built previously. 

This ensures you consistently tackle necessary tasks so they don’t build up - which will keep you out of overwhelm. 

As you progress, these will become the tasks you will systemize. 

The tasks you will outsource to platforms, tools, and freelancers when you are further down the line.

This is the block you dedicate the smallest amount of time to.

1 hour maximum. 

As a simple example - say, like me when I started out, you still have a job, so you are building only on the weekend 7 hours a day. 

Dedicate 

6 hours to create and build. 

1 hour to maintain. 

These are the boring but necessary tasks…

Yes - hey must be done.

But spending too much energy on them each day will send your ADHD brain into overload. 

I use this digital kitchen timer, which was $10 on Amazon.

Set your timer - make it a challenge - finish on a reward.

Faster Progress. No Burnout. 

If you commit to this system - you split any time spent on what you’re building into these three blocks - I guarantee you will make your vision a reality without burnout. 

These blocks are the only three areas you need to cover to make the progress you need to:

Make consistent progress on ideas without abandoning them.

Execute tasks efficiently without falling into busy work.

Build your vision to be sustainable because it compounds over time.

Thanks for reading - I hope you found value in this Brainstorm. 

- Ari L. Scott || The ADHD Entrepreneur