ADHDers Crush Their Dreams When They Master This One "Skill"

You are crushing your dreams when you "master" this:

Extensions. (this is legit poison for you)

This pushes back what's most important in your life.

And you need this instead

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In 1864, it was the tail-end of the American Civil War.

The northern states versus the southern.

At this time of conflict, prisons created a do not cross line surrounding these camps.

If prisoners were to cross this line, they'd be shot and killed on the spot.

This was called a deadline.

About 40 years later, journalists adopted this word for a different purpose.

Deadline no longer meant a line to avoid.

Instead, it now meant a line to cross - and within a time limit.

You're Great At Extensions

Earlier you read that mastering 'extensions' kills your dreams.

Well, it does.

Deadlines mean nothing when you keep extending due dates.

Read that line again ⤴

And that's exactly what ADHDers are masters in.

You may be thinking:

What's a little added time hurt?

Perhaps it hurts your chances at that raise?

Or maybe asking that special person out?

Or something you value most?

You know what you want already in this life.

And it's no surprise to me that you've put it off.

I too have put off most of my important needs (and still do at times).

But because you've extended important wants in your life doesn't mean you're not meant to meet their deadlines.

Or a different version of what many call deadlines.

Because you absolutely can meet them.

Keep reading.

Extensions Die From This

For ADHDers, it's not as simple as "let me just make a deadline and follow it on my own."

If only, right?

To meet your deadlines requires you to have more eyes on the prize.

In other words, you've got to get yourself some accountability.

But not just any, you need the right kind of accountability.

In a nutshell, you need someone outside of yourself who is obligated to keep you moving along toward your path to success.

And if you don't know where to start, that's why I added a link a few sentences above.

Go back there for more details ⤴

Interrupt Unhelpful Patterns

In addition to accountability, you need to break up the patterns that ruin your completion process.

I created a judge-worthy (please be kind, hah) infographic showing what this unhelpful pattern looks like in relation to deadlines and extensions.

You'll notice the highlighted part is where the mess begins (creating extension).

The mess doesn't begin when you procrastinate, that happens in the nature of most goals.

The issue is when you create an extension.

And that's the single piece in this image that you need to interrupt.

You do this by using your accountability process and honoring your deadlines.

But you can't honor your deadlines unless you're aware that you need them first.

Because if you're not aware, you'll end up procrastinating more.

You'll give up more.

And you'll restart with new goals again.

Then you'll really be behind with your deadlines, and your confidence will reduce dramatically.

And I don't want that for you and I know you don't either.

Your Blurred Process

You can't interrupt deadlines if they are invisible to you.

Most deadlines become blurry for ADHDers as time passes.

So instead of getting lost in the blur, you need to call out your original deadline.

Here's a perfect example.

Let's get personal...

On March 17th of this year, I sent out an email to 354 Gumroad followers announcing my Thrive with ADHD Course:

Guess how many people are holding me accountable for it? Zero.

Take another guess at how many people care about my deadline. Zero.

Including myself.

I didn't even suggest a deadline in this message.

Instead, I sent out an email basically saying:

"Hey, look at what I say I'm going to do. And see how I don't have a release date? So you actually don't need to care when it releases, and neither do I apparently."

This is what a blurred process actually looks like with deadlines.

On the outside, it looks like I've got it all together.

• Nicely written email to a fanbase
• Structured in a way that tells you it's worth it

Wrong.

The program will be worth it, but not if it's dead in the water.

Realistically, there's no outcome to this announcement and all you see is an extension in disguise.

In short, be aware of your extension practices and get down to the reason you aren't having others hold you accountable to a deadline.

Here's a hint, much of this stems from fear:

• Fear of being found out as an imposter.
• Fear of not producing what I've promised.
• Fear of negative backlash from community.
• Fear of time wasted in developing products.

And the only way to test if these fears can come true is to...

1. Practice making deadlines more
2. Practice interrupting extensions more
3. Practice having accountability people more
4. Practice being much kinder to my heart and soul

There's Another Option

I think what I've suggested so far is fair in relation to deadlines.

But I will be more transparent with you.

Hard deadlines freaking suck.

Especially if they are your goals to begin with.

(it's personal, right?)

Take my Thrive ADHD course for example.

I have yet to put a hard deadline, but... And this is a huge but...

I am respecting the energy I have each day and am getting this project done little by little.

This is the other option:

"It will get done when it gets done."

Sure, it's not the sexiest option, but it's honest.

Especially honest for an adult with ADHD.

So, each day I work on my course for 5-20 minutes.

Sometimes I skip days because that just happens.

And I'm grateful for the times I can work multiple days.

So, I don't know when the course will be done, but I do know it will be great.

Fear aside, I am happy with my mindset right now.

That matters to me. Now it's your turn.

Take a look at your mindset for a second, and ask yourself:

• Do I set deadlines?
• Am I setting extensions?
• Will hard deadlines help me?
• Can I be flexible with my process?
• Can I consider having more accountability?

You can do this

As an ADHDer, you know everything you need to do to get the job done.

Including adding extensions, whether intentional or not.

But creating deadlines using methods you've learned today will help.

It will move ideas you have in your mind and put them into motion.

Because that's what this is all about:

Moving idea to creation.

And deadlines, or some form of it, will get you there.

TL;DR

1. You crush your dreams without deadlines
2. Creating extensions ruins your process
3. Gain awareness of extension patterns
4. Gain awareness of blurred deadlines
5. Notice alternatives to deadlines

A complimentary gift for you:

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