Motivation vs Procrastination

The limitations we’re trying to avoid when we engage in this self-defeating sort of procrastination frequently don’t have anything to do with how much we’ll be able to get done in the time available; usually, it’s a matter of worrying that we won’t have the talent to produce work of sufficient quality, or that others won’t respond to it as we’d

The Ju/’hoansi, for example, were often content to spontaneously take a day off from foraging simply because they didn’t feel like it. Even if they were hungry, they knew that putting off the food quest for a day would not have any serious ramifications. For farmers, by contrast, taking a day off just because they need a rest is rarely an option.

The fourth one is that procrastinators tell themselves that succeeding at a task requires that they feel like doing it; and, fifth, is entertaining the false idea that working when not in the mood is somehow suboptimal—that it’s best to wait till the lightning of inspiration strikes before motivating ourselves to stop procrastinating.

As fellow teacher Stephanie Nash is fond of saying, “A good meditation is one you did—the only bad meditation is one you didn’t do.” Take her wise advice to heart.

Interest-Driven ADHD Brains

🧠 Non-ADHD brains are importance-driven; they prioritize tasks based on their importance, even if they're not enjoyable.

🧠 ADHD brains are interest-driven; they prioritize tasks based on their interest level, often leading to procrastination on important but uninteresting tasks.

💡 When choosing a career path for someone

To-Do List as a Menu

📝 If you feel overwhelmed by your to-do list, try a new perspective:

• 🍔 Treat your to-do list like a menu. Instead of a list of chores you must complete, see it as a menu of options you get to choose from.


• 🤔 Acknowledge that you won't finish everything. This is a key part of shifting your mindset from overwhelmed to empowered.


• ✅

Putting challenging timeboxes on projects in a healthy environment can lead to serious innovation and creativity. Doing the same with impossible timeboxes in a toxic environment will lead to all of the bad things that you expect.