Seven ways to get unstuck in under five minutes

Stuck is a state, and states change faster through the body than through thinking.

The short version: try one today

• Change location.
• Change the task to a smaller one.
• Change the company: text someone “starting now.”

Stuck at the starting line right now? Priori breaks the task into tiny first steps, so you only have to do one. (We make it. It's free to download.)

Stuck is a state, like being cold or hungry. You wouldn't try to think your way out of being cold. You'd put a jumper on. Most advice on ADHD getting unstuck skips this and tells you to plan better, which is a thinking fix for a body problem.

Everything below takes under five minutes and starts with something physical or tiny. You don't need to feel ready. You only need to change one thing.

Why thinking harder keeps you stuck

When you're frozen in front of a task, your head is usually very busy. You're rehearsing how long it will take, how late it already is and what that says about you. All of this uses up the same mental energy you'd need to begin.

Bodies shift state faster. Standing up, moving rooms or hearing another person's voice changes your input straight away, and your mood often follows a minute later. If your version of stuck looks more like lying on the sofa unable to move at all, the ADHD freeze has its own page.

Seven moves for ADHD getting unstuck

Try them in any order. The first three do most of the work, and the rest are back-up.

• Change location. Carry the laptop to the kitchen table, the library or the other end of the sofa. A new spot breaks the link between this chair and not doing the thing.
• Change the task to a smaller one. 'Write the essay' becomes 'open the document and type the title'. If that still feels heavy, go smaller again.
• Change the company. Text a friend 'starting now'. You don't need a reply. Being seen, even slightly, makes it more real.
• Move for sixty seconds. Star jumps, a lap of the flat, the stairs. Enough to get your pulse up a little.
• Use cold water. On your face, on your wrists or in a glass. It works as a small reset.
• Say the next step out loud. 'I am going to open my inbox.' Hearing it helps your brain treat it as an instruction.
• Set a five minute timer and promise yourself you can stop when it rings. You really are allowed to stop. Often you won't want to.

What it looks like at 8.40am

You have a 9am lecture. You're awake, half dressed, and have been sitting on the edge of the bed with your phone for twenty minutes. Thinking about how late you are has only made you slower.

Stand up and walk to the bathroom. That is the location change. Shrink the task from 'get to uni' to 'shoes on'. Text your coursemate 'leaving now, save me a seat'. That's three moves in about ninety seconds, and you're by the front door with a reason to walk through it.

The same sequence works for an inbox at your first job. Move to a different desk or an empty meeting room, pick the one email with the shortest reply, and message a colleague that you're clearing your inbox until eleven.

When five minutes isn't enough

Some days you run all seven and you're still stuck. That happens. Check the boring basics first: when you last ate, how you slept, whether you've had any water today. Many women also report that starting is harder at certain points in their cycle, though the research is still early.

Then ask whether the task is actually unclear. A lot of stuckness is hiding a missing piece of information, like which module code goes on the form or who the email should go to. Find the one question you'd need answered and ask it. That counts as the task for today.

Once you do get going, protect it. Go straight into the next small thing while you're warm, because the second task is the easiest one you'll do all day. And if you got unstuck for eleven minutes and then stalled again, that still counts. Run the list again from the top. It works as many times as you need it to.

Quick questions

How do you get unstuck with ADHD?

Change something physical first: your location, your posture or who knows what you're doing. Then shrink the task to a step so small it feels almost silly. Trying to think or plan your way out usually keeps you stuck longer.

Why do I get stuck even when I want to do the task?

Wanting to do something and being able to begin are handled by different parts of executive function, and with ADHD the starting part is unreliable. Worry and self-criticism use up the energy you need to begin, which is why a small physical change often works better than more effort.