Ep 102: The 3 Stages of ADHD Productivity: Guesswork, Hard Work, Framework

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In this game-changing episode, I reveal the hidden reason why most ADHD adults stay trapped in endless cycles of productivity frustration—and share the three-stage framework that will finally set you free from guesswork and burnout.

📌 Key Topics:

• Why trying every productivity hack online keeps you feeling broken (spoiler: you're not)
• The exhausting cycle of white-knuckling through to-do lists until you crash
• How decision fatigue is secretly draining your ADHD brain's energy reserves
• The difference between experimenting without structure vs. building sustainable systems
• Why motivation and willpower alone will always lead to burnout
• The scaffolding approach that supports your executive functions naturally

🗣️ Featured Quote: "Guesswork keeps you stuck. Hard work burns you out. Framework sets you free."

💡 The Three-Stage Breakdown:

• Stage 1 - Guesswork: Random productivity hacks, constant app-switching, goals without systems
• Stage 2 - Hard Work: White-knuckling through willpower, pushing to exhaustion, crash-and-recover cycles
• Stage 3 - Framework: Predictable systems, reduced decision fatigue, repeatable routines that feel lighter

🎯 Framework Benefits:

1. Fewer Decisions: Conserve mental energy instead of depleting it daily
2. Predictable Routines: Create consistency without constant willpower struggles
3. Executive Function Support: Build structures that anchor planning, prioritizing, and follow-through
4. Energy Protection: Stop the exhausting cycle of pushing until burnout

🔑 Key Takeaway: Your productivity struggles aren't a character flaw—your ADHD brain just needs the right framework. Like scaffolding around a building renovation, frameworks hold things steady while real change happens inside. Once established, they produce results over and over again.

Special Announcement: For a limited time through October, I'm offering traditional one-on-one coaching before transitioning to my new High-Touch Accountability model. Plus, I share the personal story behind this shift and exactly what I look for in my own accountability coach.

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#adhdproductivity #executivefunction #adhdframework #productivityhacks #adhdburnout #adhdcoaching #adhdstrategies #neurodivergent #adhdadults #decisionfatigue #adhdcommunity #productivitysystems

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Transcript

If you've tried every productivity hack you've seen online switch planners ten times this year, or find yourself white knuckling through endless to do lists only to burn out. You're not alone. That's because most ADHD adults are stuck between two stages guesswork and hard work. The missing piece a framework. Today we're going to talk about three stages of ADHD productivity, guesswork, hard work, and framework and why.

Moving into framework not only helps you get things done, but protect your energy and focus. And stick with me to the end, because I'm going to share a behind the scenes story about how I found accountability for myself in my own life, and a really special option I'm offering you. So what does ADHD look like in daily life for professionals and entrepreneurs?

Life often feels like a mix of chronic procrastination, constantly switching apps or planners, feeling overwhelmed by endless responsibilities, and struggling to follow through even with the best intentions. The first stage is guesswork. It looks like trying random productivity hacks. We saw online switching planners and apps. We find every few weeks, setting big goals without any system to back them up.

Guesswork is inconsistent. One day something works, the next day it doesn't. And that inconsistency leaves you feeling like you're broken or lazy, when in reality you've just been experimenting without structure. So how does the stage feel? It's exciting at first, but quickly frustrating, discouraging and exhausting. Imagine you suddenly decide you want a beautiful garden. You buy all kinds of plants and seeds, and you scatter them in the dirt and hope that something grows.

That's guesswork, and it usually leaves you feeling frustrated when nothing thrives. Stage two is hard work. This is where people say, I just need to buckle down and try harder. It looks like white knuckling through endless to do lists, relying on only motivation and willpower and pushing until exhaustion and then crashing. I hear this a lot. If I stop now, I'll lose momentum.

So I have to keep going. And what happens? Burnout. Then the brain remembers that exhaustion. And the next time you face a task, it throws up a wall. It feels draining and overwhelming. Shame inducing. You push hard and then you collapse, recover, and then repeat the cycle. And here's the truth. Guess work keeps you stuck and hard work burns you out.

Framework will set you free. So let's talk about stage three framework. This is where freedom begins. Framework looks like predictability that reduces decision fatigue. Repeatable routines that make life feel lighter. Structures that anchor executive functions like planning, prioritizing, and follow through. Psychologist Roy Baumeister coined the term decision fatigue. The more choices you make in a day, the more your mental energy drains.

Guesswork and hard work both eat away at that energy, but frameworks conserve it. Frameworks mean fewer choices, less friction, and more capacity to focus on what matters. Frameworks are like scaffolding around a building that's being renovated. They hold things steady while the real work of change is happening inside or back. To our garden analogy, instead of planting randomly, a framework is knowing your soil, your climate, and your season.

Gardens take time to get established, but once they are, they produce over and over again. That's what productivity looks like with a framework. Clients often come to me exhausted or frozen from living in guesswork and hard work. Together, we build individualized frameworks, tailored systems that create consistency and ease. That's when I see relief set in. So take a second right now.

Think of one area in your life that feels challenging. Maybe it's your mornings, your workday, or managing your household. Now ask yourself what stage of my in in this area guess work, hard work or framework? Just naming it brings clarity and from there you can start moving forward. So I want to tell you about something special. If you want help building your frameworks in your personal or business life.

That is my expertise. For a limited time, I'm still offering my traditional one on one coaching, but soon I'm shifting the format of my coaching into what I call high touch accountability. Here's where this comes from. This month I was searching for an accountability coach myself that I had taken on a major health goal, and while I was pursuing it, I didn't want my business or personal life to suffer.

So I looked for someone who could keep me accountable, not just once a week, but daily. I actually wrote down exactly what I was looking for, and I'll share that list with you. Someone to set weekly goals with. Someone to help me break down monthly goals into steps. Someone who expects me to do what I say I will.

Someone who expects complete honesty. I wanted my accountability outside of myself, and I wanted someone who could coach me when I was stuck or facing challenges. So far, it has worked beautifully. Every day I give my coach my top three priorities. One for business, one for personal, and one for self-care. And because she has ADHD herself, it's been a perfect fit.

And here's the thing. In creating this role for myself, I realized that this is exactly the deeper service that I want to deliver to my own clients. That's why I'm moving into high touch accountability coaching. So if you've been on the fence or if you prefer the traditional model 1 or 2 meetings a week booked out and get in before the prices change.

Or if you're curious about this new high touch model and don't mind being one of the first clients, I offer it too. I'll give you the current rate in exchange for your honest feedback as we experiment together. Either way, you'll need to book your call with me soon. Just go to www.learntothrivewithadhd.com/services I'll be honoring this through the end of October, so the window is only open for the next couple of months.

So here's a big question. Where are you right now? Guess work hard work or framework? If you're tired of spinning and guesswork or burning out in hard work, this is exactly what I help my clients with. Remember, guesswork keeps you stuck. Hard work burns you out, but framework sets you free. And if you're ready to move forward. Book your strategic action session today again at www.learntothrivewithadhd.com/services

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