20-Minute Business Reset for ADHD (When Your Brain Crashes)

You sit down to work, open your laptop, and it’s like your brain face-plants. You’ve got 23 tabs open, notifications keep popping up, and there’s at least one client email that feels urgent. You scroll your inbox, you don’t answer anything, and you watch yourself stall out while your inner voice starts getting mean.

This is an executive function crash, not a character flaw. You don’t need more willpower. You need a simple, repeatable business reset for the days when your brain refuses to cooperate.

If you need someone in your corner join my Facebook group, Executive Function Support for Women. I will be your cheerleader.

Why your brain crashes (and it’s not laziness)

When you’re overloaded, your brain doesn’t calmly sort tasks into neat piles. It shuts down.

On the outside, it can look like procrastination: you’re “doing nothing,” avoiding your inbox, clicking between tabs, and feeling worse by the minute. On the inside, it often feels like static, pressure, and panic all at once.

ADHD brains burn more energy on task switching and decision-making, so a normal business day can drain you faster than you expect. Add stress, urgency, or too many open loops, and your system can hit a point where it just stops cooperating.

This isn’t you being “bad at business.” It’s an overload response.

The goal of this business reset isn't to fix your whole business or even your whole day. It’s to help you do three things fast:

• calm your body enough to think again,
• clear the mental noise so you can see what’s real,
• choose one small action that protects your business.

Your first move: use an interrupt phrase (out loud)

Before you do any steps, you interrupt the shame spiral. Not in your head. Out loud.

When you say a short phrase, you name what’s happening. That matters because it breaks the loop of “I’m failing, I’m broken, I can’t do anything.” It also tells your brain you’re not helpless; you have a plan.

Use something like:

“I’m not lazy. My executive function crashed. I’m going to do the reset protocol.”

Keep it simple. You’re not trying to hype yourself up. You’re trying to stop the story that makes you freeze harder.

A good interrupt phrase does three jobs:

• It stops the spiral long enough to shift gears.
• It reduces self-judgment, which lowers stress.
• It points you to the next step, so you don’t sit there bargaining with yourself.

Say it now, even if you don’t believe it yet.

The 20-minute business reset protocol

The business reset has three parts. The timing is the point. When you’re crashed, vague advice like “just prioritize” doesn’t help. You need a short script you can follow.

Part 1: Calm your nervous system (1 to 3 minutes)

Why you start with your body

When you’re stressed, your nervous system acts like you’re in danger. Your brain doesn’t care about your inbox when it thinks you’re being chased by a tiger.

This is why you can’t “think your way out” of freeze. You start with your body, so your brain can come back online.

Some people describe this as “flipping your lid,” when the emotional part of your brain takes over and makes planning and decision-making hard to access. If that concept helps you, here’s a clear explanation of it: Understanding “Flipping Your Lid”: Managing Emotional Overload

Now pick one nervous system reset. Only one. You’re not building a wellness routine. You’re buying back your brain.

Option A: 10 breaths with a longer exhale

Try this pattern:

Inhale through your nose for a count of 4, hold for 2, exhale for 6. Repeat for 10 breaths.

Longer exhales can help your body shift out of that stuck, braced feeling. If you want more breathing options to rotate through, this guide collects several ADHD-friendly approaches: breathing exercises to calm the mind and improve focus

Option B: the 60-second body shake

Stand up and shake out your arms, legs, shoulders, hands, even your jaw. Think of how kids shake off “wiggles.” You’re doing the adult version of that.

The goal is not to look graceful. The goal is to get unstuck.

Option C: cold or pressure

Use a quick physical cue to reset your system:

Hold an ice cube, run your wrists under cold water, press your palms together, or push against a wall.

Pick the easiest one. Do it for 60 to 90 seconds.

Reminder: This isn’t wasted time. You’re not losing three minutes. You’re buying back the next hour.

Part 2: Clear mental static with a 5-minute brain dump

When you’re overwhelmed, you can’t prioritize “everything.” You can’t prioritize fog.

So you dump the noise out of your head and onto paper (or a notes app). This isn't a pretty plan. This is you clearing the mental clutter so you can see what you’re actually dealing with.

Set a timer for 5 minutes. Then write every single thing that’s yelling in your brain.

Client emails. Invoices. A launch you “should” be planning. Fear you’re behind. Hunger. Needing a shower. The task you hate. The weird little reminder that won’t stop repeating. Put it all down.

The rules: No editing. No organizing. No numbering. No fixing.

Run your list through a 3-letter filter: B, L, N

Once your timer ends, label each item:

• B (Business now): affects money, clients, deadlines, or key projects.
• L (Life now): affects physical or mental health, or a home task that truly can’t wait.
• N (Not today): it feels loud, but nothing breaks if it waits a day or two.

This is where you get honest about “life now.” Laundry usually isn’t urgent unless you’re out of underwear. Dishes usually can wait unless the sink makes you feel sick or it affects your ability to eat.

If everything feels urgent, that’s a sign you’re still flooded. Do your best anyway. Because if everything is urgent, then nothing is actually being prioritized.

Choose only 3 business items and 1 life item

Your target is 3 B’s and 1 L. That’s it.

You’re not choosing what you “should” do. You’re choosing what you can see clearly enough to name.

If you want to make this feel more real (and less like another idea you’ll never use), write your list in this format:

• Reset B1: ________
• Reset B2: ________
• Reset B3: ________
• Reset L1: ________

Part 3: Pick one “business-safe action” (10 minutes max)

This is the move that gets you out of freeze.

A business-safe action is one small step that protects your income, your clients, or your future work. You’re not solving everything. You’re choosing the action with the most protection for the least energy.

Here are some examples:

• Client communication: send a 2 to 3 sentence check-in or update instead of hiding from the inbox.
• Invoices and payments: send one invoice, not five.
• Future work: schedule one post on your main platform (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), just one.

Turn your one action into a tiny checklist

When you’re crashed, “send the email” can feel like lifting a car. Make it smaller.

Write a mini list like:

1. Open the right tab or app.
2. Write the ugly first draft (no perfection).
3. Edit for one minute.
4. Hit send (or schedule).

Then set a timer for 10 minutes max.

When the timer goes off, you’re allowed to stop. Even if it’s not perfect. Even if it’s not fully done. The timer keeps you from sliding back into the spiral where everything expands and becomes too big again.

How you choose the one action when you have 3 business tasks

Look at your three B items and pick the easiest one to start. Not the most important in an ideal world. The easiest one for your current brain.

Sometimes that one action creates momentum. You feel a little steadier, and you can do a second thing.

If you can’t, you can’t. The win is that you protected your business during a crash.

Close the loop and protect future you

After you finish your one business-safe action, you close the loop in a way your brain can register.

Cross it off your list. Then write one sentence:

“I did: ________ today.”

Your brain needs proof. This is how you break the story of “I never get anything done.” You’re building evidence that you can still take action, even on hard days.

This reset is also repeatable. You’re not aiming to become a robot who never crashes. You’re building a reliable emergency plan for the days you do.

Save your 20-minute reset protocol (so you don’t have to remember it)

When you’re regulated, this all sounds simple. When you’re crashed, you’ll forget it exists. So save it somewhere you’ll actually see it, a sticky note, a note pinned to your phone, or the top of your planner.

Here’s a clean version you can copy into your notes app:

• Say out loud: “I’m not lazy. My executive function crashed. I’m going to do the reset protocol.”
• Do 1 nervous system reset (1 to 3 minutes).
• Brain dump for 5 minutes.
• Label items: B (business now), L (life now), N (not today).
• Pick 3 B + 1 L.
• Choose 1 business-safe action and do it for 10 minutes max.
• Cross it off and write: “I did: ____ today.”

Make the words sound like you. The point is that future you has a script to follow.

If you’ve ever sat frozen at your desk for 45 minutes, you’re not the only one. Your brain hit overload, and you can recover from that without punishing yourself for it.

You don’t need a perfect day to be a real business owner. You need a plan for the hard days, and this business reset protocol gives you a next step you can take even when your brain taps out.