148. 3 Better Ways to Prioritize Your Tasks (Especially with ADHD)

Do you have a million to-dos floating around in your brain and no idea which one to do first? Or maybe you’ve got a perfectly organized list and you still feel stuck because everything seems equally important and you can't choose where to start. Either way, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I’m breaking down why prioritizing feels so hard (especially if you have ADHD) and sharing three less-conventional approaches to prioritizing your tasks without overcomplicating it or getting stuck in analysis paralysis.

What You’ll Learn

• Why there is no “right” way to prioritize and how that belief might be keeping you stuck
• How to match tasks to your executive functioning capacity (instead of forcing it)
• How to use your energy and natural rhythms to work with your brain
• Why starting with the easiest task can actually be the most effective strategy (even if others say it's "wrong")
• A simple awareness → action → learning loop to help you figure out what actually works for you

If This Resonates…

If you’re tired of overthinking your to-do list, spinning your wheels, and still feeling behind, we can change that.

Book a free consult and we’ll look at what’s actually going on with your time, your energy, and your brain -- and build a plan that works in real life (not just on paper).

Resources & Links

📌 Book a free 1:1 consult → https://cutt.ly/5tSeJKmu

👥 Join the FB group → Work-Life Balance for Speech Pathologists

Keywords
ADHD productivity
task prioritization
executive functioning strategies
overwhelmed SLP
time management for ADHD
analysis paralysis
productivity coaching for women
work-life balance SLP

To find out how I can help you improve your work-life balance, click here.

Come join Work-Life Balance for Speech Pathologists on Facebook for more tips and tricks!

Learn more about Theresa Harp Coaching here.

Transcript

Theresa Harp: [00:00:00] Hello Facebook group. Hello podcast listeners, because this episode or this recording is potentially gonna be a podcast episode, I have decided to come on live well instead of going on Facebook Live, I am going, I am recording this in Zoom and I'm gonna share it in the Facebook group. Because Facebook live videos do not live longer than 30 days, and I get so annoyed when I am on a page on Facebook and I see like that message on somebody's post that says something like This content is no longer available.

I'm like, ah. Plus I want you to be able to have access to this information. Beyond 30 days because it's useful. Okay. So I wanted to pop in relatively quickly to talk [00:01:00] about prioritization and the different challenges that come with deciding like what to work on and when to work on it. Um. This is something that comes up often in coaching calls with SLPs.

This is also something that came up last week when I was at our State Speech and Hearing conference. It is a challenging decision, if you will, when you have a to-do list, how to prioritize, what to start with. And there are lots of approaches to this. Okay. Lots of approaches. So if you've been sort of exploring this or looking for resources or ideas on how to help [00:02:00] you with prioritizing your tasks, you probably have discovered that there are lots of different.

Approaches, right. Some people will say, will, um, refer to the Eisenhower Square, which squares, which is basically Im looks at importance and urgency in deciding what to do when there's, you know, red, yellow, green or like you make your list and then you kind of color code them or highlight them according to, you know.

Red is super urgent. Have to do it right now. Yellow could be today, could also delay. And then green is whenever like, you know, lots of different ideas and ways to do this. And the reason why I am pointing this out is because I am of [00:03:00] the belief that there is no one right way to prioritize. Your list. So if you're researching or looking for ideas to help you with prioritization, and you find all these ideas, and then you're in sort of analysis paralysis or information overload, and you don't know where to start.

Perhaps it's because you have this underlying assumption that there's one right way, and you're trying to figure out which of these 30 different ways is the right way. Okay? So let's just start out with there is no one way. There is no right or wrong way. It's all about what is working well for you, okay?

And then I want to offer a few different alternatives for how you can prioritize your tasks, your [00:04:00] to-do list, maybe things that you have not heard or seen before when you've been looking into this, when you've been talking about it with other people, when you've been, you know, overanalyzing, how you can prioritize.

Your stuff. Okay, so if we go into this before I share these strategies, if we go into this with the understanding that there, that of the following ideas that I offer, there is no one right way. It's not about right or wrong, it's about. Having options, and it's about having a deep awareness of yourself and of your brain, of your thinking, so that you can pull on, lean on a whole toolbox of strategies in any given moment, and you can kind of self-assess very quickly which one might [00:05:00] be a useful.

Approach for you in that moment. Not like, Hey, here's this blanket way to do it and I'm gonna do it this way every single time. Okay. All right. And also, by the way, this is completely off the cuff. I have not thought this out ahead of time. I, I'm just talking. So if it's completely like stream of consciousness now you know why.

Hello? A DHD. Okay. So first, um, the first approach or the first way that I will sometimes prioritize different tasks I is based on my. Executive functioning skills. Now, if you are someone who has a DHD or if you are somebody who has been in stressful situations, you've been tired, you've been overwhelmed, right?

You have probably noticed that your executive functioning skills are going to be [00:06:00] working better. At some times of the day, they're going to be working. Worse, to be frank in other times of the day, right? They don't always, your executive functioning skills are not gonna operate at the same level all day long.

I know this from personal experience. We know this from research. I have observed this with my myself, with my coaching clients, with my kids. For example, I was talking to my son's OT recently and I was saying how. At the end of the day, he's really struggling with the nighttime routine. We do it every day.

It's not like it's unfamiliar or novel. It is pretty rote at this point. But at the end of the day, he's, he's exhausted, he's tired. His executive functioning skills are not operating at the same level. He's not firing on all cylinders. So the [00:07:00] demand. Might be, in my opinion, relatively low. Like, Hey bud, this is a routine we do every day.

This is a pretty low demand thing, right? But the capacity and the executive functioning skills. Are not optimal at that point, so everything becomes harder. You may notice this with yourself at different times of the day or on different days if you are feeling particularly tired. If you're in an environment where there are a lot of distractions, if you're trying to do something that is a more stressful or demanding task.

It's going to impact, has the potential to impact your executive functioning skills. Now, I know for me, at the end of the day, even though I might want to do some tasks that require. There are certain tasks that I want to do actually. It's not that I don't want to do them, but some of [00:08:00] them are very demanding in terms of the executive functioning skills required.

There's a lot of steps involved. Maybe it's more detail oriented. Um, I have to really think about the sequencing or the organization of the task. I might have to really use and rely on my working memory to do that task. And at the end of the day, I don't operate at the same level as I do in the beginning of the day, so I will often.

Informally assess. Like I just sort of ask myself, okay, what's the demand here from an executive functioning perspective, what is the demand like and what is my current capacity like? And then I just sort of check in with myself, is this something that I want to do, I can do that would be okay to do right now?

[00:09:00] Sometimes. It's like, well, maybe my executive functioning, this is a high demand from an executive functioning perspective, and I have low capacity from an executive functioning perspective, and yet I still have to do this task right now, or I'm still going to decide to do this task right now, even so, and then I just proceed with.

Uh, different expectations or pressures on myself, right? I'm giving myself a little bit more flexibility, more grace, knowing that, okay, this might take a little bit longer. Right now than if I did it in the morning when I'm, you know, alert and energized. Right now, you just have to kind of run through this for yourself, through your own filter and see how it fits for you, how it applies to you, how you can apply it to yourself.

But if we look at the executive functioning demand and your executive functioning capacity, that can be a [00:10:00] useful way. To prioritize what you do when. Okay. Second approach that you might ha not have considered is somewhat similar, but slightly different enough that I think it's worth mentioning as it's own approach.

And this strategy or approach is recognizing your natural energy. And rhythms. Okay? For example, there will be patterns for you throughout the day. There will be times of day where you are more physically active and have more physical energy. There will be times of day where you're more. In flow, like deep focus, very much, you know, able [00:11:00] to attend to.

Cognitively demanding tasks. There will be times of day where you are feeling more creative. There will be times of day where you're feeling a little bit more tapped or drained. And so I like to pay attention to what those rhythms are, what those patterns are. And yes, there tend to be patterns, but there's of course always outliers and exceptions.

So this is not a like hard. Rule. This is just awareness and information that I can use to guide myself in choosing what task to work on. Now, you can't always design your day according to your natural mood, your natural energy patterns, but I believe that there is a lot more opportunity to do this. Than we are recognizing that most people recognize.

[00:12:00] I think that this is a missed opportunity. I think it's an important and useful consideration. And it has the opportunity to be incredibly helpful because now you're not like swimming upstream, so to speak. You're not putting a square peg in a round hole. How many analogies or metaphors can I use right now?

How many, you know, how many expressions? But you get the idea, right? So for me, I am self-employed. I work from home, so I use this information to my advantage. You know, my awareness of different energy and rhythms, and I attempt intent, intend to plug in different tasks according to that information. Okay?

And if and when, I cannot follow my rhythms and energy. Then again, just like I [00:13:00] mentioned with the first strategy, I adjust my expectations. I just have this, I have more grace that I give myself more flexibility. I'm not as tough on myself in those situations because I go in with it recognizing, okay, this might be a little bit more challenging because of X, Y, Z, and that's okay.

I don't make it mean anything about me, my work ethic, my focus, any of that. Okay. And then the third strategy that you can use in terms of prioritization, and again, I'm trying to give you ideas and approaches that are not the typical. Go to strategies, not the things that you have heard before. Okay. Uh, the third one that I wanna [00:14:00] offer, and I told you this is unscripted, so I'm thinking of it on the spot.

I have many, but I will, I will also look at and consider what is. The thing that I could do, like of my, out of the things on my list, on my to-do list, which is the one that I could do, that's going to be the simplest, easiest thing to initiate. The thing that's gonna get me from like inaction planning mode.

To task initiation into action because again, executive functioning, showing up here, task [00:15:00] initiation is an executive functioning skill that. Tends to be a challenge for those of us with A DHD, especially if we're talking about a list of things that are, have tos and not want tos, right? So I will consider, okay, like what's the thing that's gonna get me into motion and create a little bit of momentum, and then.

I can build off of that momentum. Excuse me, by, you know, 'cause I'm already in action, I'm already going. An object of motion stays in motion. Right? Laws of physics, I think. So then you can build off of that. I find that to be incredibly useful. If I'm stuck, I'm getting started. Okay. I also wanna point out with this strategy.

It [00:16:00] is in, in many cases counterintuitive. It is in many cases contradictory to some of the common productivity strategies out there that are, most of which are designed for a neurotypical brain, by the way. But what, like, for example, eat that frog. This is that this is a book, I don't know if you've read it.

This is essentially the, the premise of this approach in terms of productivity is like, do the thing that is going to weigh heaviest on your mind. That feels like the biggest, most challenging thing that's gonna be like, if it's hanging over your head, it's dragging you down. Get that like big, scary thing done first, and that has, its.

Advantages and its merits for sure. I'm not saying that it's wrong, but this is an alternative [00:17:00] approach because for someone like me who has a DHD, who tends to get stuck in perfectionism, people pleasing thinking for a few examples, right? I, if you tell me I have to do that big thing like eat the frog first, I am going to avoid it.

I'm gonna clean my house, I'm gonna do laundry, I'm gonna scroll on my phone. I'm gonna take the dogs out for a walk. I'm gonna do absolutely anything else that feels productive and meaningful and purposeful, but is not the thing that I quote, unquote, should be doing. So. It perpetuates the pattern of procrastination or avoidance.

So for me, I find that if I can get some action going by doing like the simplest, easiest thing, [00:18:00] that tends to then propel me forward into the bigger, scarier tasks that might be on that list. Okay. So. Think about, well, let me recap and then let's think about how you can apply this to you. Okay. Think about, uh, the three strategies that I just shared.

Again, knowing number one, that there is no one right way to do this. It is. Not about right or wrong. It's about exploring and having different options that have different benefits to them when it comes to prioritization and that these three strategies that I've offered here are somewhat alter alternative approaches to the typical common ways that you might have heard.

When it comes to how to [00:19:00] prioritize your tasks, okay, so we've got all of that. Keep that in mind context, right? That's important context to have. So those three strategies, again, let's see if I can remember them. Here we go. Working memory again, I said no script, so I'll work backwards. That helps me with my working memory.

Do the easiest, simplest thing first, okay? To get you into motion Number two. Was noticing your natural energy and your rhythms and choosing tasks that align with that mood and energy and rhythm. And then the first one that I shared was considering the executive functioning demand of the tasks compared to your executive functioning capacity at that point in time.

Okay, so three alternative ways to consider [00:20:00] prioritizing your to-do list. Now, I want you to think about how you could apply this to you. I don't want you to go out and think that you have to try all of these. I want you to reflect on which, if any resonated the most. Which one really stuck with you or stood out?

Try that one first. Think what about different ways that you could, different opportunities that you could test that out? Okay. And this is important, so if your mind is wandering or something, bring it back. This is really, really important. This right here, what I'm about to say, has the opportunity to really help you.

Customize your strategies to what works for you, okay? Because most people will miss this, will miss this [00:21:00] step. Once you implement the strategy as you are implementing it, and or after you've implemented it, notice what it was like. What did you notice? What about it worked? What about it didn't work? And what about it, if anything, might you do differently next time?

This is the reflection, the metacognition component of executive functioning. That has the power to really level up the strategies that you are using and, and figure out ways to optimize them for you. Okay? Because so often we take a strategy, we try it, and it doesn't go the way that, that we think it's gonna go [00:22:00] like perfection, right?

And. That's an all or nothing way of thinking about things. Did this strategy work or not? Right. That's. That's all or nothing. Thinking. Instead, what about the strategy? What about the experience worked, not just did the strategy work, yes or no? What parts worked, what parts didn't work, and what would you do differently?

And if you are getting into the habit of really connecting to yourself, having, you know, and, and deepening your self-awareness. And it doesn't have to be for the entire time that you're trying out these strategies. Even if it's just little pockets of awareness, of self-awareness throughout that time, that has power in and of itself.

Okay. Because then you can take. That reflection and use it for learning. My [00:23:00] coaching clients know we talk about this all the time. The approach to our coaching is very much this awareness, action learning cycle. Awareness, action learning. Awareness, action learning. It is continuous. So the awareness, noticing these things, your thoughts, your feelings, the circumstances, the awareness, right?

Action. What did you try? What did you do? So in this case, it's okay. We have awareness is, Hey, I need to, I wanna do something different. When it comes to prioritizing my to-do list, this feels really challenging for me. It's a pain point for me. I feel like this is something that I could do differently, that might actually help me work smarter, not harder.

Awareness. Action. Here, I've given you three potential actions that you can take. Which one, which of those three strategies do you want to take? And then learning [00:24:00] What are you going to learn? What will you learn? What are you learning when you do this? Sometimes you can learn in the moment as it's happening.

Sometimes you can learn afterwards as you're reflecting, but then we take that learning. Apply it to new awareness. Okay? Now that we know, now that we've reflected on what went well, what parts didn't go well, what we might wanna do differently, what we noticed, what are we going to do this time, the next time, right?

How can we tweak this? How can we use this information for a deeper understanding of ourselves? So that then we can take more nuanced and more optimal approaches as we go forward. Okay. Alright. I hope that this was useful, helpful. I would love, if you're watching this in the Facebook group, I would love to hear from [00:25:00] you in terms of which strategy of these three do you want to try, and let's see how it goes.

Okay? And if you're listening to this on the podcast and you're not in the Facebook group work-life balance for speech pathologists, come and join us and you'll have access to the video version of this episode, and you'll have access to all other sorts of resources. Posts ideas, community support to really help you level up your strategies to create better work life balance.

All right, talk to y'all soon. 

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