New Year, Same Brain: ADHD-Friendly Goal Setting for Business Women

You start the year with a fresh planner, new pens, and big dreams for your business. By the end of January, you're still kind of into it. By mid‑February, the planner has migrated to the corner of your desk, and by March, you avoid it like it's your ex. If that sounds familiar, you're an ADHD businesswoman with a New Year, but the same brain.

In this guide, you'll see why your pattern is not a willpower failure, it's a wiring pattern. You will learn ADHD-friendly goal setting that your actual brain can follow, how to stop ghosting your own plans, and how to build simple systems that work on both your best and worst brain days.

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

Why New Year’s Goals Fizzle for ADHD Brains

Picture this: you buy a gorgeous planner, line up 12 new colored pens, and write out every dream you have for your business. Week one, you're on fire. You hit your tasks, follow the plan, and feel like a brand new person.

Then week three, avoidance mode kicks in. You do anything except open that planner. You feel the guilt, so you avoid it even more.

Inside your head, the self‑talk might sound like:

• Lazy
• Inconsistent
• Not serious
• Too much

You tell yourself you just need more discipline, more pressure, more shame. You think if you are hard enough on yourself, you'll finally change. Here is the real truth: it's not willpower, it's wiring.

If you have ADHD, your brain cares about interest, urgency, and emotion far more than it cares about slow, boring, long‑term goals.

So when you set a goal like “grow my business” or “get consistent on social media,” it sounds good. You might even feel excited when you write it down. But on a random Tuesday afternoon, your brain doesn't know what to do with that.

Vague “someday” goals get filed under “later.” Giant to‑do lists feel heavy and overwhelming. Your brain would rather scroll, fuss with tiny details, or chase something urgent.

Your brain is not broken. It just doesn't respond well to vague goals, distant timelines, and endless projects.

You fix this by creating goals and systems that fit how your brain already works, not how you wish it worked.

Before you go on, ask yourself: What is one goal you set every year and then quietly abandon by March? Name it so you can finally plan for it in a different way this time.

Shrink Your Goals to ADHD Size

You do not need smaller dreams. You need smaller steps.

Turn Big Visions into 90‑Day Outcomes

Think of your big vision as the horizon. It guides where you're going, but you never actually stand on the horizon. What your ADHD brain needs isn't the whole horizon, it's the next 10 steps.

Instead of “grow my business this year,” choose one main 90‑day outcome you can see and count. For example, your outcome might be sign five new clients or “launch my group program once” or “build a simple email funnel.”

If you like structure, you might find it helpful to read more about how to create your own 90‑day action plan, then tweak it for your ADHD brain.

The key is simple: three months is short enough for your brain to care, and clear enough for you to track.

Break It Down: Weekly Actions and Daily Wins

Once you have your 90‑day outcome, you translate it into weekly and daily moves.

For example, if your 90‑day outcome is to sign five new clients, you might set it up like this:

1. Two to three weekly actions
   • Post about your offer three times a week.
   • Have two sales or connection conversations a week.
   • Review your numbers once a week so you can see what is working.
2. Daily micro‑tasks that feel winnable
   • Send one follow‑up message.
   • Write one short post or story.
   • Spend 10 minutes improving a piece of your offer or sales page.

Your brain loves finishing things. It hates floating in endless projects with no clear finish line. So instead of “work on marketing,” you give it “send one follow‑up” and “write one short post.”

You go from “I'm never doing enough” to “I did my job for today.”

Those tiny wins give your brain a small hit of dopamine, that “I did it” feeling. That feeling makes it easier to start the next task, which builds real momentum.

Take one of your big New Year goals and ask: What would this look like as a 90‑day project I can see and count? Then decide two or three weekly actions and a tiny daily win that fits the way your life actually works.

Design Systems That Work for the Real You

Your “January self” is a bit of a liar. She plans for a perfect version of you who wakes up at 5:00 a.m., batch records content, cooks every meal, works out daily, drinks water, journals, and never touches Instagram during work hours.

Then your real brain shows up in February. You're tired, distracted, maybe hormonal, and that fantasy schedule collapses.

You're not unreliable. You're just planning for a person who doesn't exist.

You need systems that work when you're excited and when you're exhausted, overwhelmed, or have low‑motivation because all of those days are real.

Fewer Tools, More Repetition

You don't need three planners, five apps, and seven methods. You need one simple place to see what matters today.

Some options that can work well:

• A whiteboard next to your desk
• One notebook that holds your daily list and 90‑day goals
• A simple project tool like Trello or Notion, but only if you already use it and it feels natural

If a tool needs an entire system to manage, it's too much for right now.

If you're curious about digital tools, this breakdown of the best productivity apps for people with ADHD can help you choose one, instead of trying them all.

Pick one home for your tasks and keep coming back to that same place every day.

Make Tasks Obvious and Visible

For ADHD brains, out of sight is out of mind. That's how you end up buying three of the same item, because you put the first one away and forgot it existed.

Instead of hiding your most important work inside folders and closed notebooks, make it visible:

• Put sticky notes where your eyes land most, like your laptop, bathroom mirror, or fridge.
• Keep your main project tab open on your computer, instead of buried three folders deep.
• Print a short checklist of your daily or weekly moves and tape it to the wall near your desk.

A sticky note that says “client follow‑up” on your laptop can be enough to pull your attention back to the task that grows your business.

You're not “messy” for needing visual cues. You're designing for the brain you have.

Use Friction and Ease on Purpose

You can change your behavior by changing how easy or hard something is.

Make important tasks easier:

1. Draft simple templates for your regular emails.
2. Keep a list of content ideas in the notes app on your phone.
3. Leave your filming setup semi‑ready so you can hit record fast.

If you put everything away every time, you stack a bunch of small barriers in front of the task. Each barrier makes it more likely your brain will say, “Not today.”

Make distractions harder:

1. Move social media apps into a folder on the last screen of your phone.
2. Use a website blocker when you are doing focus work.
3. Put your phone in a different room during a 30‑minute focus session.

Yes, you can override those systems any time. You're the one who set them up. But when you have to take extra steps to distract yourself, your brain is more likely to think, “Not now,” and stay with the work that matters.

Plan for Low‑Energy Days on Purpose

Your plan can't only work on your best days. It has to work on your worst days too. Create a bare minimum business day list. On your lowest‑energy days, your only job is to do what is on that list.

For example, your bare minimum might be:

• Respond to paid clients.
• Check for payments and urgent messages.
• Do one 10‑minute task that moves a key project forward.

If you live with depression, chronic illness, caregiving, or just a lot of life, you already know those days are coming. When you plan for them, you stop seeing them as proof you “can't handle it.” They just become another kind of workday.

If you keep your business alive on your worst days, your best days can finally be used to grow, not to play catch‑up and put out fires.

For more ideas on building plans that survive ADHD chaos, you might like this guide on creating a weekly plan that works with ADHD.

Use Dopamine the Way Your ADHD Brain Wants

ADHD brains chase dopamine. That “oh, this feels good” hit is what makes a task feel doable.

That's why boring admin work feels like pulling teeth, and last‑minute emergencies feel oddly easy. You're used to chaos, and when chaos hits, you can flip into “I got this” mode. Your brain likes that kind of pressure.

Instead of fighting that, you can use it.

1. Make Tasks Shorter Than You Think

When you keep dragging your feet on a task, tell yourself, “I only have to do this for 10 minutes.”

Set a timer. Work on the task for those 10 minutes, then decide if you want to keep going.

Half the battle is starting. The timer makes the task feel smaller and safer. Your brain thinks, “I can do anything for 10 minutes.”

Often, once you start, you will keep going. If the task really is that awful, you can stop when the timer goes off and come back for another 10 minutes later. You are still moving.

2. Add Tiny Rewards

Before you start a task, choose a very clear, very small reward.

Some ideas:

• When I send three emails, I get to scroll TikTok for five minutes (set a timer).
• After I film this one video, I get to drink my favorite coffee.
• When I finish my CEO admin hour, I get to watch one episode of my favorite show.

Your brain loves “If I do this, then I get that.” You are giving it something to look forward to that is right on the other side of the work.

If you want more structure around this, you can borrow ideas from a dopamine menu for ADHD and productivity, then customize it to your own rewards.

3. Stack Tasks With Something You Enjoy

You can make boring tasks less painful by pairing them with something you like.

For example:

• Do your invoices while listening to music you love.
• Plan your content while sitting in your favorite coffee shop.
• Fold laundry while listening to a podcast or audio book.

You're not bribing yourself into work. You're giving your brain enough stimulation to stay with the task instead of running from it.

4. Move Your Body Before You Focus

Many ADHD brains focus better right after some movement.

You don't need a full workout. Just pick something small:

• Three minutes of jumping jacks or dancing in your office.
• A quick walk around the block or up and down your stairs.
• A short stretch at your desk with a timer running.

When your body moves, your brain gets a fresh wave of chemicals that support focus. That makes it easier to sit down and do the one thing you keep avoiding.

Swap Shame for Kind Support

If you're like a lot of ADHD women, you've used shame as your main accountability tool.

You tell yourself you're stupid, lazy, inconsistent, or incapable of follow‑through. You think if you just push yourself harder, you'll finally snap into being “disciplined.”

But shame doesn't create action. It shuts your nervous system down. It makes you want to hide.

You're not a problem to fix. You're a smart CEO who needs better support.

Better Accountability That Feels Kind

You can create accountability without bullying yourself. Try things that feel gentle and supportive.

Some ideas:

• Low‑pressure co‑working. Join a virtual body‑doubling or co‑working session. You can use apps like Focusmate, group co‑working rooms, or live sessions where everyone works quietly together. If you want a deeper look at why body doubling helps ADHD, this piece on how a body double supports productivity explains the concept well.
• Text‑a‑friend check‑ins. Message a friend and say, “Here's what I am doing for this next hour.” Then check in later with what you got done.

The goal is simple: you feel less alone while you do the hard stuff.

Gentle Tracking and Curious Review

You also need to see your own progress, even when it feels tiny.

Start gentle tracking:

• Mark the days you showed up for your 90‑day goal.
• Give yourself credit if you did even five minutes of the thing.
• Track “I showed up,” not “I did it perfectly.”

Then, once a week, review with curiosity, not blame. Think like a real CEO, not your inner critic.

Ask yourself:

• What actually worked for my brain this week?
• What did not work at all?
• Where did I disappear from my plan?
• What got in my way?
• What is one thing I can tweak for next week?

When something doesn't work, it's not proof that you're a failure. It's data. It's information about what your brain needs.

A smart CEO changes the plan when the plan doesn't work. You get to do the same.

Your Next 24‑Hour Win

You don't need a brand new personality to follow through this year. You need ADHD‑sized goals, simple systems that match your real life, and support that does not shame you.

Right now, before your brain runs off to the next thing, choose one action for the next 24 hours:

• Write your 90‑day outcome on a sticky note and put it on your desk.
• Set a 10‑minute timer and start the task you have been circling for weeks.
• Text a friend and ask, “Do you want to do a weekly co‑working call so we can both show up for our businesses?”

New year, same brain, but this time you have a better plan. You got this.