Hi First name / friend, 
 

Let’s talk about execution…aka doing the things. The part of the creative process that everyone loves to glamorize (“just stay consistent!”) but rarely tells the truth about.

 

If you’re an ADHD, creative, or multi-passionate human, you’ve probably tried every productivity hack under the sun. You’ve built the Notion dashboards. You’ve bought the fancy planner. You’ve even set up three different accountability apps and still somehow end up doing your best work at 11:47pm in a burst of adrenaline and panic.

 

And right now?
If you’re feeling heavy, overstimulated, or like your empathy is maxing out your nervous system… you’re not alone. The cost of caring is high right now. The world feels loud. And broken. Sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is step back, breathe, and let yourself feel before forcing yourself to do.

 

Take a breather from the scroll. Go outside. Put your phone down for a bit.
Then come back when you’re ready to design from a grounded place – not from guilt or urgency.

 

The way you execute has to align with how your brain & nervous system functions. Otherwise, you end up in an endless loop of guilt, avoidance, and burnout.

 

So let’s strip the shame way back. After all, it’s not a discipline problem, it’s a design problem.

 

Here are 7 evidence-based ways to design for real follow-through (and a regulated nervous system):

 

1. Design for dopamine, not deprivation.
ADHD and creative brains need novelty, challenge, and interest to sustain focus. Build small wins, color, music, or movement into your workflow. Boring systems die fast.

 

2. Make your goals smaller than you think.
If it feels too easy, it’s probably the right size. The ADHD brain thrives on progress loops — not perfection. Shrink the task until you can actually start.

 

3. Externalize everything.
Your brain is not a storage unit. Get ideas out of your head and into a visible system — whiteboard, voice memo, sticky notes, anything. “Out of sight, out of mind” is real neurobiology.

 

4. Pair effort with emotion.
Research shows we’re more likely to execute when we feel connected to the why. Before you dive in, remind yourself: What will this free me up to do or feel?

 

5. Plan for the dip.
Every project has a “midway slump” — the boring, unsexy middle. Expect it. Design supports (timers, body doubling, breaks, celebration checkpoints) before you get there.

 

6. Anchor to energy, not the clock.
Stop designing your schedule like a robot. Track your energy patterns for a week and notice when your brain is most creative, focused, or foggy. Build around that, not 9-to-5 expectations. For example – I've decided to move my morning routine to the afternoon because my energy is most focused in the morning. And I look forward to not forcing it with a journal + reading break in the afternoon… a much better design for the natural flow & patterns of my energy.

 

7. Borrow courage & accountability in community.
Courage is contagious. When you show up around people who are also doing brave, creative work, your nervous system co-regulates. That’s why I created The Get Shit Done Club — a twice-a-month co-working and accountability space inside your Leaders Lab membership. You set your goals, resource your nervous system, and get your most important work moving forward — with humans who get it.

 

If you’re ready to stop white-knuckling your execution and start building systems that actually fit, come hang with us.

 

 

Your brilliance doesn’t need another planner. (Set it down! I know it's cute... I say this with love, you have 12 already.) Your brain DOES need a smarter design.

 

Cheering you on,
Andrea xx