How to Break Overwhelming Tasks Into Next Actions With ADHD

“Update my portfolio” can sit on a list for weeks because it contains many decisions and actions. FocusCrew’s ADHD Toolbox recommends breaking tasks into next actions: identify what you can actually do next, rather than repeatedly confronting the whole project. This can be particularly useful when choosing a starting point is the part that holds you up.

Research on adults with ADHD supports structured approaches to organisation and planning. In one randomised trial, a therapy programme teaching these skills improved inattention symptoms more than supportive therapy.[1] Separately, experiments found that making specific plans reduced interference from unfinished goals.[2] These findings support the broader approach; they do not establish an ideal task size or prove an app’s effectiveness.

Take the portfolio example and separate it into “choose one project,” “find three screenshots,” and “draft a short explanation of the problem.” Keep only the first step, or the first two, in your immediate plan. When choosing today’s priorities, account for the time available and whether you need information from someone else before proceeding.

In FocusCrew, use a project to group the work and add smaller to-dos or a checklist of subtasks. Select a concrete to-do for your next timer session. Pairing those steps with a study or work timer gives you a place to start without requiring the whole project to be finished in one sitting.

Stop breaking a task down when the next action is clear enough to try. Creating fifty tiny steps can become another demanding project. After a session, update the next action using what you learned: perhaps you need a missing file, a decision, or a shorter writing task. A useful plan can change as the work becomes clearer.

References

1. Solanto, M. V., et al. (2010). Efficacy of meta-cognitive therapy for adult ADHD. American Journal of Psychiatry, 167(8), 958–968. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09081123
2. Masicampo, E. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2011). Consider it done! Plan making can eliminate the cognitive effects of unfulfilled goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(4), 667–683. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024192