How To Make Transitions Easier With ADHD
Note: This article was originally published in December 2023 and fully updated in August 2025.
Transitions can be tricky for ADHD brains, and they’re rarely just one step.
This post walks you through the whole cycle, from stopping to navigating the in-between, and starting again. So you can learn how to make each part easier.
I know this is long!
This is a deep dive, about a 15-minute read. You can read it all at once. Or jump to the section you need most right now.
Why Do ADHD Adults Struggle With Transitions
What Is a Transition With ADHD?
A transition isn’t just a moment of switching. It’s a process. It involves stopping one thing, navigating the space in between, and then starting something else with intention. That might sound simple, but for ADHD adults, each of those steps can be a struggle.
Take starting work, for example. Even if you’ve had coffee, opened your computer, and sat down at your desk, you may find yourself scrolling or drifting rather than diving in.
You’ve technically “moved” into your workday, but mentally, you’re still not there. That kind of shift, from one activity, mode, or mindset to another, is what makes transitions so hard.
Transitions aren’t just physical. They’re cognitive and emotional. You’re not only changing what you’re doing, but also how you’re thinking and what you’re paying attention to. That shift takes effort, and with ADHD, much of that effort is invisible to others.
The underlying brain system that helps coordinate that kind of mental movement is executive function, which, as you know, is often compromised with ADHD. So even if you want to move from one task to another, your brain may not cooperate in the way you expect.
Why Is Stopping A Task So Hard For ADHD Adults?
If you’re deep into a task, especially one that’s interesting or stimulating, stopping can feel impossible. You might tell yourself you’ll stop at a specific time. You may even set an alarm.
Then you end up blowing through it. When the alarm goes off, you tell yourself, “I’ll just do this one last thing. It’ll just take 2 minutes.” Then, an hour later, after that “one more thing,” you’re still going. That’s not a failure of willpower.
It’s your ADHD brain’s reward system doing what it does best: chasing what feels good now. It can feel like your attention is locked in and you can’t quite disengage. Even if you’re telling yourself to stop, it may feel like you’re physically unable to break away.
That difficulty disengaging is a common experience.
You may also feel that you should ride the wave while you have momentum. Because you know the inconsistency of ADHD means you may not get it back. So, in some cases, you may say, “I might as well keep going.”
The pull to stay with what’s engaging can override even the best intentions to move on.
Why Do I Get So Distracted Between Tasks?
If you do manage to stop what you were doing, you may still not get to the other side. The space between tasks is often where transitions quietly break down. ADHD makes you more sensitive to distractions.
So while you may intend to start writing your report after your meeting, the email you meant to write that morning may catch your attention instead. Then, since you’re already in your email, you might as well keep on going, right?
You get it. It’s a slippery slope.
This in-between space can feel like a gray zone when you are not finished with one thing, but not yet started on the next.
And because that zone is often invisible or unacknowledged, it’s easy to underestimate how much support it takes to move through it. Without a clear bridge, your brain may default to what’s easiest or most interesting in the moment.
And if the next task brings discomfort or uncertainty, it’s even harder to resist the pull of something more rewarding.
Why Is It So Hard to Start a New Task With ADHD?
Even when you’ve stopped one activity and managed not to get sidetracked, getting started on the next task can still feel like hitting a wall. You might sit down with the best of intentions, then find yourself hesitating, pacing, or deciding to check something “just for a minute.”
Starting is hard for many reasons. You may not know exactly how to begin. You may feel unsure about how to do the task, or it might feel emotionally loaded. Any barrier, including a lack of clarity, can lead to procrastination.
So your brain may treat it like a threat and steer you toward anything else. “I’ll just deal with my email. I’ll have to do it eventually.”
In many cases, the transition doesn’t happen until the pressure of urgency kicks in. That last-minute push might be what finally gets you going. But by then, it often comes with extra stress or shame.
Why Do Emotions Make ADHD Transitions Even Harder?
Transitions aren’t just about logistics. They also stir up emotions, which adds another layer of difficulty. If you’re enjoying what you’re doing, stopping might feel disappointing. If you’re dreading what’s next, starting might feel overwhelming.
ADHD brains often experience emotions more intensely and for more extended periods, which means those feelings can easily hijack a transition. Even a small change, like an unexpected schedule shift or interruption, can lead to frustration or shutdown.
And regulating those emotions, rather than being swept up in them, is also part of executive function. If you’re not prepared for that emotional load, it makes sense that moving from one thing to another would feel so difficult.
How to Stop What You’re Doing With ADHD
As noted earlier, stopping a task can feel nearly impossible, especially when it’s interesting or stimulating.
Sometimes you don’t need to stop. If you have the time and space to do a deep dive, and it’s not interfering with something else you intended to do, go ahead and ride the wave! Take advantage of your momentum.
These strategies are for the times when you do need to transition..
Of course, no single strategy is going to be a magic bullet. But when you put a few together in a way that works for you, they can make it easier to stop and shift to what’s next.
Start with a clear plan.
If you don’t know what you’re moving on to, there may be no reason to stop. Even a loose daily structure with a few anchor points can help you shift tasks more easily. So you know what you intend to do.
Create a hard stop.
When stopping is especially difficult, having an external trigger can help you to transition, such as scheduling a meeting, appointment, or co-working session immediately after something you know is typically hard for you to pull away from. So you have a natural reason to stop.
Use tools to support you.
Sometimes, the best move is not to start a task you know is challenging to stop. For example, taking a break in your day is a good thing. But sometimes the break can run longer than you would like.
One client blocked access to online chess during work hours. Another client used a site blocker to make the Wall Street Journal inaccessible between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. So, if YouTube is a rabbit hole for you, you might use a tool like Freedom or Cold Turkey to block it completely during key hours.
Use timers.
You know, timers don’t guarantee you will stop. I’m sure you’ve blown past your fair share of them.
But they can help if you set them up well. A visual timer, such as TimeTimer, lets you see time passing so it doesn’t slip away unnoticed. Then, ten minutes before you want to stop, set a loud auditory alert, not a soft ping, but something you can’t ignore. Then use a second alert at your actual stop time.
Get up and move
Physically standing up and moving helps break the connection to the task you’re trying to stop. It tells your brain, “We’re doing something different now.” After that, it may help to work in a different location, even just a new table or chair.
That environmental shift can make it easier to re-engage with what’s next.
How to Navigate the Space Between Tasks
Sometimes you stop, and you do know what you’re intending to do next. But that in-between moment, gray area, is where things can get really wonky.
You might be heading toward your desk and stop to put away laundry. Or you plan to start a report after a break, but decide to answer just one email, and suddenly you’re deep in your inbox.
This in-between space is fragile. Without support, it’s easy to get pulled into something easier, more rewarding, or simply more immediate. Because, well, you are prone to distractions, right?
These strategies can help you stay connected to your intention to move to your next task.
Pause and reorient
Before jumping to whatever grabs your attention in between tasks, take a moment to reset. Ask yourself: “What did I intend to do?”
This simple pause can help you act with intention instead of defaulting to the most interesting option in front of you.
Remind yourself why it matters.
Whether saying it aloud or writing it down, naming the reason/reward behind the task can help you reconnect with it as one way to make it to the other side. “I’m ordering this because it supports my partner.” “I’m writing this report because I want to protect my time tomorrow.”
It doesn’t need to be profound, just meaningful enough to keep you on track.
Say it aloud or to yourself.
Sometimes repeating the task name, either silently or out loud as you are moving toward the task, can help anchor your attention. “Newsletter, newsletter, newsletter.” It’s a gentle but effective way to close the gap between intention and action.
Use tools for external structure.
If you tend to get pulled off course, use scaffolding to stay pointed in the right direction. Tools like Focusmate, an online co-working site, can provide real-time accountability. As I mentioned before, browser extensions and site blockers can prevent detours like YouTube or news sites during fragile transition points.
Close the task.
When ending one task, jot a quick note about where to pick up next time. Then fully close what you’re doing, tabs, documents, even the physical space. So you’re not halfway in both worlds. That can make it easier to shift cleanly to what’s next.
Sit with the task when it’s uncomfortable.
Sometimes the most challenging part is being with the discomfort of starting. You don’t need to jump right in. Just don’t fill that gap with something that wasn’t your intention.
Give yourself room to stand in that gray space, be with the discomfort. You could set the timer for 5 minutes. If you still don’t want to start the next task you intend to do, you can move on to something else.
How to Make It Easier to Start With ADHD
Once you’ve stopped what you were doing and navigated the gray zone, there’s still one more hurdle.
Of course, you need to start. As I mentioned above, some of the challenges may include a lack of clarity, feelings of overwhelm, emotional resistance, or not having the right conditions to begin.
Below are strategies to help you cross that final hurdle, so you can go from knowing you need to start to getting into motion.
Minimize distractions
Close electronic distractions, such as tabs and documents. OneTab is a great tab organizer to remove the clutter.
Wear headphones if you need them. Turn off notifications. Do whatever you need to get ready to work.
Tap into the reward
First, before you even think about the steps of starting, it helps to connect with why you would choose to do the task in the first place, even those that are not intrinsically interesting. Knowing this reason can give you an emotional anchor when resistance creeps in.
While this alone won’t carry you through every start, it will help when combined with the other strategies here.
For example, a former client, a professor, wanted to improve at handling administrative work like emails. His reason? He wanted to be seen as a professional by his peers. To keep that in mind, he put “Be a Pro” right into his calendar, a quick reminder of the value behind the work.
Make sure you have clarity about the task.
Before you start, make sure you understand the outcome you want. So you know what you are working toward. For instance, if you’re writing an email but aren’t sure of the exact message you want to convey, it will be harder to craft. And easier to put off because it feels too hard.
And then make sure you have the right first step. For example, let’s say you have on your list, “ take bike in for a tune-up,” but you haven’t chosen the place to call to make an appointment. Every time you look at your list, you might say to yourself, “Oh yeah, I have to figure out where I’m going to take it.”
Once you know where to begin and how to do it, check that it feels doable in the time and energy you have. If it’s too big for what you’ve got available, shrink it until you can start right away.
And it’s okay if all you do today is find the bike shop. That’s still forward motion. You can call next time.
Prepare to start
Often, for ADHD adults, there’s a rush to do the thing. And the prep work to make the process easier can feel like wasted time. But then, without the prep work, well, you may end up wasting time.
Taking a few minutes to make sure you have everything you need involves setting up the necessary conditions before you begin, such as having all the information at hand.
For example, if you’re writing an email you’ve been avoiding, you might review past messages, clarify your objective, and gather any information you need. Is there information you need from other sources to write the email?
Once you have everything you need, take a moment also to remove any potential friction points, such as eating, getting a drink, or using the bathroom.
So you won’t be pulled away once you begin.
Use a warm-up routine.
A warm-up routine bridges the gap between intention and action. This routine can look different for each person.
It’s a short sequence of actions that signals to your brain, “It’s time to work.” Unlike preparation, which happens before, this routine bridges the moment between being ready and starting.
You might get a glass of water, set a timer for 25 minutes, move to a specific workspace, and open the necessary files.
The goal is to move closer to your task until you’re in motion.
Make it interesting enough to engage you.
ADHD brains are interest-based, so a task is easier if it’s interesting, challenging, novel, creative, or urgent. While urgency can work, it’s best not to rely on it all the time.
You can boost engagement in other ways: add background music, work on a walking treadmill, or go to a coffee shop for ambient noise.
Some people prefer quiet; others need stimulation. The key is to find the level of stimulation you need to engage in what you intend to do.
Work with someone
Body doubling, working alongside someone, can also make it easier to start. You might work with a friend or colleague in person, or use an online ADHD friendly co-working option like Focusmate.
You don’t need to be working on the same task; the other person’s presence and focus can help you mirror their engagement.
Even brief co-working sessions can create enough momentum to carry you past that initial resistance.
Leave yourself a landing strip for next time.
When you finish a work session, set yourself up for an easier start next time. Leave notes about where you left off or what your first step will be.
These notes act as a mental bookmark, saving you from having to rebuild momentum the next time you sit down.
ADHD Transitions — Wrapping It All Up
Transitions aren’t just about starting or stopping. They’re about moving through each stage with a little more awareness and intention.
By breaking the cycle into three parts — stopping what you’re doing, navigating the in-between, and making it easier to start again — you give yourself more room to succeed.
You don’t have to master all of these strategies at once. Pick one or two that feel doable right now, try them out, and see what shifts. Over time, small changes add up to smoother transitions, less friction, and more momentum for what matters most.
