The Productivity System That’s Sabotaging Your Goals (Especially With ADHD)
Have you ever built the perfect productivity system, felt a surge of hope, and then felt like garbage the moment you couldn’t keep up with it?
If you’ve got a graveyard of abandoned planners, unused apps, and half-finished organization systems, welcome to the club. A lot of neurodivergent business owners build systems to reduce overwhelm, then end up overwhelmed by the system itself.
This's that consistency trap: the tool meant to support you quietly turns into one more thing you’re “failing” at. And it can happen even when the system looks amazing on paper.
Let’s talk about how to tell when your system has become the problem, what to do about it, and how to build something simple enough to keep using.
The overwhelm trap: when systems backfire
A new planner. A fresh app. A color-coded workflow. It feels like a reset button.
That’s the “system building seduction,” and it hits hard if your brain loves novelty. Setup feels exciting because it’s full of possibility. You can see the future version of you who uses it every day, stays consistent, and never forgets anything.
Then the daily part starts.
Using the system is quieter, slower, and honestly kind of boring. Life happens, you miss a day, and suddenly the whole thing feels ruined. Now the system that was supposed to reduce stress becomes another source of shame.
You might recognize the spiral:
- You miss logging time once, and decide the tracker is pointless now.
- You skip a morning routine checklist, and your brain goes, “Well, today’s shot.”
- You start feeling tense just opening your planner.
A system should serve your work, not become the work.
Why system setup feels so good (and why it fades fast)
If you’re neurodivergent, especially with ADHD, it makes sense that building the system gives you a dopamine rush. Setup is all creation and possibility.
Maintenance is repetition. Repetition asks for steady executive function. And executive function is not a constant resource. It fluctuates with sleep, stress, hormones, workload, and a hundred other things you cannot “optimize” your way out of.
That’s why you can spend hours setting up a system and still struggle to use it for five minutes a day. The struggle is real.
5 red flags your productivity system is the problem
Red flag #1: You love setting it up more than using it
ADHD brains tend to love novelty, creation, and possibility. That’s the setup phase.
The problem is when setup becomes a hobby, and execution becomes the afterthought. If you’re spending more time choosing the tool, organizing the tool, and polishing the tool than actually doing your work, that’s a signal.
Setup can be part of the process, but it can’t be the process.
A quick gut check: when you think about your system, do you feel energized because you want to “improve it,” or because it actually helps you do the next task?
Red flag #2: Your system assumes a “perfect you”
This one is huge.
A lot of systems are built for the person you wish you were, not who you are. They assume you will:
- remember to check the system daily
- have the same energy every day
- follow the plan exactly as written
If your system only works if you remember to check it, that’s a tough ask for an ADHD brain. It sets you up for that familiar pattern: start strong, miss a day, then spiral into avoidance.
When my daughters were high school varsity swimmers, I had to get them to the pool at like 5:30 am. I am NOT a morning person. But since I was awake anyway, I thought I'd be part of the 5 am writer's club. Get up and get words in first thing. How many words did I write? None. Because my brain wasn't online yet.
Build systems around who you actually are. Not the fantasy version of you.
Red flag #3: Missing one day equals total failure
This is the one that looks like motivation, but it’s really shame wearing a trench coat.
Streaks and all-or-nothing rules can feel “helpful,” until you break the streak. Then the system becomes evidence that you can’t follow through.
If you’ve ever stopped using a habit tracker because you broke the chain once, you get it. These systems are often designed with neurotypical consistency in mind. But with ADHD, your executive function can vary day to day, sometimes hour to hour.
Good systems have two things:
- flexibility for real life
- a recovery plan for when you fall off
If there’s no way to restart without feeling punished, it’s not supportive.
Red flag #4: The system is harder than the task
Complex systems can feel comforting. They appeal to perfectionism, details, and the desire to optimize everything.
But complexity has a cost. It requires the same executive function you were trying to support in the first place.
If the system creates more friction than doing the work, it’s not serving you. A simple notes app with three lists can beat an elaborate setup with dashboards, tags, and multiple weekly templates.
Your system should have less friction than just doing the thing.
If you’ve been burned by products marketed to ADHD and want some warning signs to watch for, this post on red flags for ADHD products is a helpful reality check.
Red flag #5: Constant fresh starts
“This Monday it’s all going to change.”
Fresh starts feel good because they come with hope. But if you’re constantly restarting, you never build momentum. Most of the time, that’s because the system wasn’t sustainable in the first place.
The alternative is less dramatic and far more effective: adjust instead of restart.
If your morning routine is too long, don’t throw it away and buy a new planner. Remove two steps and try again. Keep what works. Drop what doesn’t.
Iteration beats reinvention.
How to test if your system actually serves you
When you’re deciding whether to keep a system, don’t judge it on your best day. Judge it on your hardest day.
Ask yourself:
- Can I use this on a bad brain day?
If it only works when you’re well-rested and calm, it’s a fair-weather system. - Does it take less than 5 minutes to engage with?
If starting takes longer than five minutes, it’s probably too complicated to use consistently. - Can I skip a day and pick back up easily?
Life happens. Your system should assume that. - Am I doing more work, not just tracking work?
At the end of the week, do you have results, or just beautifully managed lists? - Does it reduce anxiety instead of increasing it?
Your nervous system tells the truth. If opening your planner makes your chest tight, that’s useful data.
The boring minimum-viable system that holds up in real life
This advice is not flashy, but it works because it’s simple enough to use when you’re tired, distracted, or overwhelmed.
Here’s the minimum-viable setup:
- Pick one tool. A notes app, a Google Doc, a paper notebook, whatever. Just one place to capture things.
- Keep three categories:
- Do now
- Do soon
- Maybe someday
- Do a daily check-in (five minutes). Decide the most important thing today.
- Do a weekly review (15 minutes). Ask: What worked? What needs to change?
That’s it.
The point isn’t to impress your brain. The point is to remove friction so you can do the work.
This also leaves room for energy swings. On a high-energy day, you might knock out three tasks. On a low-energy day, you might do one task or rest. Your system should let that be okay.
How to escape the system trap without starting over
You don’t need a brand-new planner to get your life back. You need a calmer relationship with the system you already have.
Step 1: Notice what isn’t working (without judgment)
Start with a plain statement: this system isn’t working for me.
Not “I’m broken.”
Not “I can’t stick to anything.”
Just: this is not fitting my life right now.
Then get specific. Is your morning routine too long? Are you tracking too many things? Are you trying to do focused work at the wrong time of day?
Step 2: Make one change, not a full overhaul
No blowing it up. No “new year, new me.”
Pick one problem and make one change. Remove two steps from the routine. Cut the tracker down to one metric. Change when you check the list.
Small adjustments are easier to test, and easier to keep.
Step 3: Give it two weeks
Two days is not a test, it’s a mood.
Give the change enough time to bump into real life. Two weeks lets you see how it works across different energy days, different stress levels, and at least one curveball.
Then iterate. That trial-and-error mindset can be a real ADHD strength when you use it on purpose.
Step 4: Give yourself permission to quit
Here’s the part nobody wants to say out loud: you’re allowed to quit.
Even if you spent money. Even if you spent hours setting it up. Even if you really wanted it to work.
If a system keeps making you feel bad, it’s not “discipline” to keep forcing it. It’s just pain.
A helpful line to remember: no system beats a system that makes you feel worse every time you use it.
Step 5: Questions to ask before you adopt your next system
Before you buy another planner or subscribe to another app, run it through a few filters:
- Will it work on my worst days?
- Can I maintain it during busy seasons?
- Does it account for energy swings?
- Is it boring enough to sustain?
- Would I recommend it to a friend who’s struggling?
That last one hits different, because it forces you to treat yourself with the same fairness you give other people.
Did you know I have a membership for women who want to improve their executive function skills? Check it out here.
What actually works (and what quietly fails)
When you zoom out, most productivity systems fall into one of two formulas.
| If you want it to last | If you want to feel stuck |
|---|---|
| Simple system you can remember | Complicated system that needs constant upkeep |
| Realistic expectations for your actual life | Expectations built for “perfect you” |
| Flexibility and restart plans | Streaks and all-or-nothing rules |
| Self-compassion when you miss a day | Shame when you slip |
Six months from now, the “simple and boring” formula is the one you’ll still be using.
Take action now: simplify one thing today
Pull out whatever system you’re using, the planner, the app, the checklist, the spreadsheet. Run it through the five test questions from earlier.
Then pick one pain point and make it easier:
- remove steps
- reduce categories
- eliminate tracking that doesn’t help
- delete dead weight (unsubscribe counts, too)
If you want a prompt, use this: what’s the one part of your system that makes you avoid the whole thing?
A system that demands perfection will always turn into a shame machine, especially with ADHD. Keep what helps, drop what doesn’t, and build something you can use on your worst days. You’re not bad at systems, you’ve just been trying to use systems designed for someone else’s brain.
