Reframing ‘Progress’

Have you ever worked on a task, but at the end of the day, it still felt like you didn't get anything done?

You know you did something, but when you look back at what you wanted to get done, or how far you still have to go, it feels like you didn't even make a dent.

You might even think, "what's the point?"

If you have ever experienced something like this, I have some good news, and then I have some even better news to share.

The good news

You are not alone! This is such a common experience for ADHDers. I hear things like this all the time from my clients as well as our GPS members and our Patreon and Discord community.

There are different factors of your ADHD that can contribute to feelings in the beginning scenario.

Time Blindness

ADHDers not only lose track of time, but it is also difficult to gauge how long something will take to complete or overestimate how much can be done within a certain time frame.

This time blindness can inevitably lead to disappointment if you planned to get more done in a day, but you were only able to accomplish a fraction of your to-do list.

Overwhelm and Getting Started

If you have a full schedule with many tasks to complete each day, it can immediately lead to overwhelm if you aren't sure where to start.

When tasks aren't clearly prioritized, it can feel like every task on your list is the 'most important' task. But, if every task is the most important, is anything actually important?

The even better news

Now, even better than finding out you're not the only one feeling this way, there are steps you can take to help you feel more accomplished at the end of each day.

I believe the first, and most important step begins with a change in our mindset. If we start the day feeling defeated, it's going to be very hard to not end the day feeling the same way.

One simple way to begin to change our mindset is reframing or redefining what progress means.

Reframing progress

It is important to give yourself credit whenever you make any progress—no matter how big or how small—progress will always be progress.

Think of it this way—when a child is first learning to walk and they finally take that first, wobbly step, do we praise them or do we tell them one step isn't "good enough"? We praise them! They took a step. Sure, they didn't make it very far, and maybe they promptly sat down before they could take another step, but they still took that step and we will celebrate and take pictures and call grandparents to share the good news.

Now, maybe you don't have to call the local newspaper when you make progress on a project or task, but it is still worth celebrating! You have moved forward and you have completed something; you took a step.

Now it's your turn

The next time you feel like getting down on yourself or downplaying the progress you’ve made, instead, try celebrating the steps you took that day. Go share the good news with a friend or loved one. It may just start to feel more like real progress, and you may start to see and feel the positive results.

Thank you for your time and attention,

Nikki Kinzer

Are you looking for a little more support when it comes to getting things done? Learn how GPS can get you on the right path, and keep you there.

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