Waiting for Motivation? Here’s Why It’s Sabotaging Your Success

How Procrastination and Hustle Culture

Keep You Stuck

Halfway drift, where a task is started but not completed, often trips us up because our brains prematurely mark the task as done.

I recently attended a training taught by Risa Williams, an LA based psychotherapist and author of several time management and productivity books.  In this training, she was focusing on procrastination, an experience  I know all too well. Risa shared what she learned from her own experiences which eventually lead her to burn out,  I knew I had to get to know her and invited her to join me on the ADHD-ish podcast as a guest.

I found myself resonating deeply with Risa's journey. Her path to becoming a therapist and author was anything but linear, interspersed with experiences as a ballet dancer, playwright, screenwriter, and various roles in Hollywood. As Risa recounts, it was her personal battle with burnout that ultimately led her to the field of psychology. Like many of us ADHDers, she was a classic overachiever, racking up accolades and achievements, yet perpetually unsatisfied and restless. This relentless pursuit, rooted in a high-stress upbringing and amplified by the pressures of hustle culture, eventually took a toll on her mental and physical health, culminating in a severe burnout that landed her in the emergency room.

Risa's experience of chronic burnout due to overcommitment and hyper-focus is something that many entrepreneurs with ADHD can relate to. As she discusses in the episode, the societal norm of equating productivity with nonstop hustling can be particularly harmful to those of us with neurodivergent brains. We often find ourselves driven by a combination of dopamine addiction and societal praise, which reinforces the need to constantly achieve more. This discussion hit home for me, as I realized how I, too, have often pushed myself to the brink, spurred on by the adrenaline rush and dopamine download of accomplishing more and more.

But what makes Risa's approach both refreshing and necessary is her advocacy for a kinder lens on productivity and time management. She introduced me to her "task intensity meter," a tool designed to help manage tasks based on their stress levels, rather than treating all tasks as equal. This simple yet effective technique involves categorizing tasks into low, middle, or high intensity and balancing them throughout the day to avoid burnout. For instance, mundane activities like doing laundry may seem low intensity but can accumulate stress over time if not properly managed. By recognizing that even small, everyday tasks contribute to our overall stress load, we can better manage our time and energy.

The task intensity meter has numerous applications, from helping us prioritize tasks to improving communication with others about what stresses us out. Risa emphasizes the importance of recognizing and respecting our own thresholds for high-intensity tasks daily. By acknowledging that we might only efficiently handle a few such tasks each day, we can start rearranging our schedules to protect our well-being. She suggests taking "time buffer breaks" after tackling high-intensity tasks to let the stress levels come down—a practice akin to my efforts to incorporate more mindful transitions throughout my day.

One of the most enlightening parts of the interview was the discussion on procrastination and its sneaky forms. Risa describes "halfway drift" and "waiting for motivation" as particularly insidious forms of procrastination. Halfway drift, where a task is started but not completed, often trips us up because our brains prematurely mark the task as done. Meanwhile, waiting for motivation can lead to endless delays, as genuine motivation often only kicks in once we begin taking action. Recognizing these patterns in myself has been a game-changer. I now focus on breaking down daunting tasks into ridiculously easy initial steps, which kickstarts momentum and often leads to greater productivity.

Another practical tool Risa introduced is the small steps journal. By writing down and reviewing three things we've done each day, we can start building a habit of recognizing and celebrating our achievements, however small they may seem. This practice is invaluable for combating the imposter syndrome many of us experience and reinforcing a positive self-view. As female entrepreneurs, we often struggle with deep-rooted beliefs that we must do everything independently, leading us to neglect seeking support. The episode encourages us to reach out for accountability, whether through focus groups, buddies, or professional help.

Towards the end of the conversation, we touched on the broader implications of these insights for female entrepreneurs. They delve into the importance of setting boundaries, recognizing our limits, and celebrating our progress. For many of us, the relentless pursuit of achievement at the expense of our well-being is a hard lesson learned, often only through personal crisis. Yet, by embracing a kinder, more balanced approach to productivity, we can start reclaiming our time, energy, and ultimately, our sense of fulfillment.

Risa’s insights are a reminder that, as entrepreneurs with ADHD, we don't have to subscribe to the toxic hustle culture to be successful. By recognizing our unique challenges and tailoring our approaches accordingly, we can outsmart procrastination and manage our time more compassionately, paving the way for sustainable success in both our personal and professional lives.

If you'd like to hear the full episode on the ADHD-ish Podcast, you can do that here.