The letter from the bank sat under the bed for three weeks.
That is the picture we use for this at Kaapi, because everyone with ADHD has a version of it. The envelope is not opened, the job grows in the dark, and by week three it is the biggest thing in the flat. When it is finally opened, it is a bill for nine dollars. The job was never big. It only had no first step.
Why the big job waits and the small one starts
Three things are happening, and none of them is laziness.
First, a big job is a list you have not written, held in the head. With ADHD, it is hard to keep a list in your head: a 2013 meta-analysis of 38 studies found adults with ADHD score lower on working memory, the short store that holds a list while you use it (Alderson and colleagues, 2013). "Do my taxes" is twelve steps you are carrying at once, and the weight is why you put it down.
Second, inattention and putting things off travel together. In a 2014 study of 54 students, inattention was the part of ADHD that went with procrastination, more than hyperactivity or impulsivity (Niermann and Scheres, 2014). It was a small study of self-reported traits, so treat it as a pointer, not a law. It points the same way as everyone's Tuesday.
Third, a big job has nothing to start on but its importance, and an ADHD brain does not start on importance. A small step has a shape. You can see the end of it from the start. That is what an ADHD brain can begin.
How small the first step has to be
Smaller than feels reasonable. Then a little smaller.
Our rule has three parts, and the step fails if it misses one:
- Under ten minutes. If you cannot see the end of it from here, it is not a step. It is a job wearing a step's clothes.
- No decision inside it. "Pick a tax software" is a decision, so it waits. "Open last year's return" is a step.
- A verb and one object. "Find last year's return in the email." "Put the cups in the sink." "Paste the three headings into the doc."
Here is what that does to the three jobs that wait the longest:
| The job | The first step |
|---|---|
| Do my taxes | Find last year's return in the email |
| Clean the flat | Put the cups in the sink |
| Write the report | Open the doc and paste the three headings |
None of these finishes the job. That is the point. The first step's only work is to be started, and once you are inside the job, the second step is usually visible from there.
What the evidence says, and how far it goes
Breaking a task into steps is a core skill in the cognitive behavioural programme for adult ADHD.
The programme was tested in a randomised trial of 86 adults, and it lowered ADHD symptoms more than relaxation training did (Safren and colleagues, 2010). Two honest limits. The trial tested the whole package, not the step rule alone, so we say it is practice inside a trialled package and not that "science proves small steps". And every person in that trial was also on medication. The rule still holds on its own terms: a step you can see the end of is a step you can start.
The trap: the plan becomes the new thing
You sit down to break the job into steps, and forty minutes later you have a beautiful plan with 31 steps and no work done.
An ADHD brain starts on what is new, and the plan is new. Planning feels like progress and it is the most interesting part of a boring job, so it eats the hour. Then the 31 steps become 30 things pulling at the one you picked, which is the working memory problem again with more paper.
The rule we use: three small pieces, not one big thing, and not thirty. Only the first piece needs to be true. The other two can be rough, because you will know them better once you are inside. Stop planning the moment the first step is written.
How Kaapi does it
Any task in your list can be made the big one.
Open the row's menu and choose "Make it the big one". Timi says: "The big one. 3 small pieces, not one big thing." You write three steps under it, and each one can carry its own time. You tick a step from the list without opening the whole job. When the last one goes, Timi says: "The big one is done. That was the day's boss." Nothing else is counted. There is one big one a day, on purpose, because two is a list.
How to use this today
Take the job that has waited longest, not the one that matters most.
- Write its first step under ten minutes, with a verb, one object and no decision in it.
- Write two more, rough. Then stop planning.
- Do the first step and only the first step. If you want to stop after it, stop. Stopping counts.
Most days the second step starts itself, because the job is open and you are already there. The days it does not, you still did one true thing to the job that has waited three weeks. That is more than the bill under the bed got.
Frequently asked questions
How small should a step be for ADHD?
Under ten minutes, with no decision inside it, and one verb with one object. "Find last year's return in the email" is a step. "Do my taxes" is a job. If you cannot see the end of the step from where you sit, make it smaller.
Why do I procrastinate more with ADHD?
Partly working memory: a big job is a list you have not written, and holding it costs more than doing it. And a big job has nothing to start on but its importance, which an ADHD brain does not start on. Inattention was the part of ADHD tied to procrastination in a 2014 study of students, more than hyperactivity or impulsivity.
What if breaking a task down makes it feel bigger?
Then you wrote too many steps. A plan with 31 steps is 30 things pulling at the one you picked. Write three pieces, make only the first one exact, and stop planning the moment it is written.
Does a small first step replace a deadline?
No, they work on different levers. A deadline gives the brain a reason to start; a small step gives it a place to start. Use both on the job that has waited longest: a first step under ten minutes, with a time of day on it.
Sources
- Alderson, R. M., Kasper, L. J., Hudec, K. L., and Patros, C. H. G. (2013). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and working memory in adults: A meta-analytic review. Neuropsychology, 27(3), 287–302. doi.org/10.1037/a0032371
- Niermann, H. C. M., and Scheres, A. (2014). The relation between procrastination and symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in undergraduate students. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 23(4), 411–421. doi.org/10.1002/mpr.1440. 54 students, self-reported traits.
- Safren, S. A., Sprich, S., Mimiaga, M. J., Surman, C., Knouse, L., Groves, M., and Otto, M. W. (2010). Cognitive behavioral therapy vs relaxation with educational support for medication-treated adults with ADHD and persistent symptoms: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 304(8), 875–880. doi.org/10.1001/jama.2010.1192. 86 adults, all on medication; the trial tested the whole programme.