Do you ever experience that moment where everything suddenly feels like too much?
You’re bouncing around from task to task, noticing more and more things that need to be done, feeling increasingly anxious and overwhelmed. One minute you’re thinking about laundry, the next you’re on your computer for work, then you’re picking things up around the house—bouncing like a pinball in a pinball machine.
If you have ADHD, this experience is probably familiar. The frustration of feeling scattered, the anxiety of feeling behind, the sense that there’s simply too much to do—these are common ADHD challenges.
The good news? There’s a systematic approach that can transform this overwhelm into clarity and action.
In this guide, I’m sharing my complete ADHD time management system—the same strategies I use personally and teach my clients. This system combines digital calendar management, physical planning tools, and a proven decision-making framework called Stop-Drop-Plan. Together, these create a comprehensive approach to managing your time and reducing the constant feeling of being overwhelmed.
The Real Problem: Your Brain Wants to Prove You Right
Before we dive into the system, let’s address what’s actually happening when you feel overwhelmed.
Here’s a critical insight: When you tell yourself “there’s so much to do,” your brain wants to prove you right.
This is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your brain likes being right, so when you say something like “I have way too much,” your brain immediately starts gathering evidence. It reminds you about the dishes, the laundry, the work project, those boots that have been in the bathroom for three days, the emails that need responses, the personal items that need attention.
Suddenly, you have mountains of “proof” that there’s too much to do. But here’s the truth: Most of what your brain is showing you doesn’t actually matter right now.
Your thinking is causing your overwhelm to be worse than it actually is. The solution isn’t willpower or trying harder. Instead, it’s having a system that helps you identify what truly matters today versus what can wait.
Understanding the “Pinball Effect”
When you experience that bouncing-around sensation—moving rapidly from task to task without completing anything—I call this the “pinball effect.”
In a pinball machine, the ball bounces rapidly from bumper to bumper, creating noise and activity but not necessarily forward progress. This is exactly what happens when:
- You haven’t planned your day
- Your brain is already anxious or tired
- You haven’t identified your actual priorities
- Everything feels equally urgent and important
The pinball effect increases anxiety and overwhelm because the constant movement creates the illusion of having way more to do than you actually do.
The antidote? A clear plan that separates what matters from what doesn’t.
Component 1: The Google Calendar System
The foundation of my time management system starts with Google Calendar.
Why Use Google Calendar?
You don’t have to use Google Calendar specifically—the key is choosing a digital calendar that you’ll actually use. However, Google Calendar works exceptionally well for ADHD management because:
- It’s accessible from multiple devices
- You can set automatic reminders
- It’s visual and color-coded
- You can share it with others (great for accountability)
- It integrates with scheduling tools if you work with clients
What Goes on Your Google Calendar
Most people put appointments on their calendar. However, the ADHD advantage comes from putting more on it than just appointments.
Here’s what I include:
- Your morning routine – Yes, really. I put: get dressed, put on makeup, feed and medicate the cat, fill up water, make your bed. These basic tasks deserve calendar space.
- Work appointments – Client consultations, one-on-one sessions, team meetings.
- Other appointments – Doctor’s appointments, haircuts, personal commitments.
- Work tasks – I estimate how long specific tasks will take (podcast recording, project work, client preparation) and block time for them between appointments.
Why does this matter? When your calendar shows your actual available time and what fills it, you can see reality. You can visually see the gaps and understand what’s actually possible in a day.
How to Use the Calendar Method
- Block your routine first – Your morning and evening routines deserve protected calendar space.
- Add all appointments – Include every appointment, no matter how small.
- Estimate and schedule tasks – Take items from your to-do list and place them on your calendar with time estimates. Fill the gaps between appointments.
- Check daily – Before your day starts, review what’s actually scheduled. This provides instant clarity about what’s realistic.
Component 2: The Physical Planner System
While digital calendars are powerful, many ADHD brains benefit from having a physical planning tool as well.
The Tool Planner Advantage
I use the Disc Planner system, which has a unique advantage: you can customize it by removing pages you don’t need.
When you first buy a comprehensive planner, it comes filled with sections you’ll never use. Instead of feeling guilty about “wasting” money on unused pages, the Disc system lets you remove them. This customization makes it actually functional for your specific life.
Other options include Happy Planner, Martha Stewart Planners, or any modular system that allows customization.
What Goes on Your Physical Planner
I use the physical planner strategically:
Monthly Overview: I keep the monthly view open to see the whole month at a glance. This shows me:
- Weekly tasks I want to accomplish in my business
- Personal coaching appointments
- Important deadlines and dates
Working Space: This is where the detailed planning happens. I keep space available for:
- Daily task lists
- The “Now and Not Now” list (more on this next)
- Notes about specific projects
Why Both Digital and Physical?
The combination works because:
- Digital calendar = Reality check on how your time actually blocks out
- Physical planner = Tangible, visual, dopamine-friendly planning and tracking
When you combine them, you’re using your brain’s preference for multiple input methods while ensuring consistency.
Component 3: The “Stop, Drop, and Plan” Method
This is where the system comes together and where anxiety transforms into clarity.
The “Stop, Drop, and Plan” method (or as I sometimes call it, the “Now and Not Now” system) is the decision-making framework that makes everything else work.
What the “Now and Not Now” List Is
The “Now and Not Now” list is a simple two-column system where you separate:
- NOW – Things that need to happen today (or in a defined timeframe)
- NOT NOW – Everything else that’s on your mind but doesn’t need to happen today
How to Create Your “Now and Not Now” List
Step 1: Brain dump everything. Write down every single thing you think needs to be done. Don’t filter yet—just get it out of your head.
Step 2: Create two columns – Label one “Now” (or “Today”) and one “Not Now.”
Step 3: Review and categorize. Go through each item and decide: Does this absolutely have to happen today? If not, it goes to “Not Now.”
Step 4: Optional – sub-categorize. I like to divide my “Now” and “Not Now” lists into Business and Personal, but you can organize however makes sense for you.
Real Example: My Saturday Overwhelm
When I had my Saturday overwhelm, here’s what happened:
My brain was telling me there were hundreds of things that needed to happen. I felt anxious, scattered, and stuck in the pinball effect.
When I created my “Now and Not Now” list, I discovered something shocking: There were actually only 6 things that truly needed to happen that day.
Out of everything my anxious brain was cataloging, only six items actually mattered:
- Send a text
- Place an online order
- Pick up a prescription
- (Three other legitimate tasks)
Everything else went to “Not Now.”
And guess what happened? The overwhelm dissolved. Instead of feeling paralyzed, I felt capable. I realized I could accomplish those six things easily.
The Critical Insight: Your Brain Lies
This is the most important part: When you haven’t planned, your brain lies to you about how much there is to do.
The brain wants to be right. When you tell yourself (or think to yourself) that there’s too much to do, your brain immediately goes hunting for evidence to prove you correct. It finds the boots in the bathroom, the dirty eggs from the chickens, the laundry, the emails, the follow-ups—all to prove you right.
The “Now and Not Now” list interrupts this pattern by forcing reality-checking. You have to actually evaluate each item instead of letting your brain’s anxiety machine run wild.
Component 4: Time-Boxing Your Planning
Here’s a crucial warning that many ADHD folks need to hear:
Planning feels good. Planning releases dopamine. But planning can become a form of productive procrastination.
When you spend an hour creating a beautiful, detailed plan and then feel satisfied with that accomplishment, you’ve gotten your dopamine hit. Ironically, you now have less motivation to actually execute the plan.
This is why detailed, lengthy planning sessions often backfire.
The 10-Minute Rule
Instead of spending 30-60 minutes planning, I recommend limiting your planning time.
Here’s how: Set a timer for 10 minutes.
During those 10 minutes, identify:
- Your top priorities for the day
- What absolutely must happen
- When you’ll do it
- What you’ll do first
Once the timer goes off, stop planning and start doing.
Why 10 minutes? Because it’s enough time to get clarity without enough time to slip into perfectionism. It’s enough to interrupt the overwhelm without creating new overwhelm about the plan itself.
The Planning Dopamine Trap
Many ADHD folks love creating detailed plans. The trap is: Don’t make the planning perfect if it prevents you from executing.
If you’re someone who could spend 30-60 minutes creating the perfect weekly meal plan or the perfect weekly schedule, the question becomes: Is the planning the dopamine hit, or is the actual accomplishment the goal?
Make planning brief. Then take action. Then celebrate the completion, not the planning.
Component 5: The Marking System That Actually Works
This might seem silly, but it matters: How you mark off completed tasks affects your motivation.
When I mark something off with a regular black pen, I often can’t tell if it’s marked off or not. I end up questioning myself: “Did I do that or not?” This creates unnecessary confusion and re-reading.
Instead, I use a metallic Sharpie (specifically bronze).
With a metallic marker:
- It’s clearly marked out (you can see the strikethrough)
- You can still see what the item was (important if you need to reference it)
- It creates a satisfying visual confirmation of completion
This might sound small, but small systems create big results. The clarity of knowing “I definitely finished that” matters.
Component 6: Identifying What’s Actually Urgent
One of the tricks my brain plays is marking things as urgent that aren’t actually urgent.
For example, I convinced myself on Sunday that I had to update my Zoom payment that very day. Why? I have 90 days to do it. It wasn’t urgent. But my brain was insisting it was.
When you use the “Now and Not Now” system, you have to question these urges:
- Does this actually have to happen today?
- Is this truly urgent, or does my brain just want it done?
- What are the actual consequences of waiting?
- Can this wait until tomorrow or later?
By questioning urgency, you free up enormous amounts of mental space.
Component 7: Prevent Transfer Overwhelm
Here’s a productivity principle from David Allen and others: If something gets transferred more than 3-4 times to your to-do list without being done, it doesn’t belong on the list.
When you keep transferring the same task from “Today” to “Tomorrow” to “Next Week” repeatedly without completing it, one of two things is true:
- It’s not actually important to you. It should go to “Maybe Later” or be removed entirely.
- There’s something preventing you from doing it. You need to address the real barrier (it’s too vague, you need someone else’s input, it requires resources you don’t have, etc.).
Don’t keep moving something just because it’s been on the list. Either do it, delegate it, or admit it’s not actually a priority.
Component 8: The Key to Preventing Planner Shame
Many ADHD folks experience “planner shame”—the guilt of:
- Buying planners they don’t use
- Starting new systems and abandoning them
- “Wasting” money on pretty planners
Here’s the reframe: Find the system that works for you right now, and don’t make shame a part of it.
If you want a new planner every 90 days, that’s okay. You don’t have to keep the same planner forever.
If you want to switch systems mid-year, that’s allowed.
If you need different tools for different seasons of life, that’s normal.
The ADHD brain needs flexibility. Instead of fighting that need, honor it. Get the planner that works for this season. Use it. When you outgrow it, get a new one.
No shame required.
Putting It All Together: Your Complete System
Here’s how everything works together:
- Google Calendar – Shows you your time realistically
- Physical Planner – Provides monthly overview and daily planning space
- Stop-Drop-Plan method – Separates what matters from what doesn’t
- 10-minute time-boxing – Prevents over-planning
- Clear marking system – Creates satisfaction and clarity
- Reality-checking urgency – Identifies what actually matters
- Transfer rule – Prevents recurring overwhelm
- Shame-free approach – Allows flexibility and evolution
When these components work together, you move from the pinball effect to purposeful action.
The Deeper Truth: It’s About Your Thinking
At the heart of this entire system is one fundamental truth:
Your thinking about how much you have to do is directly creating your experience of overwhelm.
When you tell yourself “there’s so much to do,” your brain proves it right. When you instead create a clear list and see the actual number of priorities, your brain relaxes.
The system works because it interrupts the anxiety loop and replaces it with reality.
So the real management isn’t time management—it’s thought management. The system just makes that easier.
Getting Started: Your Next Step
You don’t need to implement everything at once.
Choose one component to start with:
- Start with Google Calendar: Block your routine and appointments. See how it feels to have a visual reality check.
- Start with the “Now and Not Now” list: Do one brain dump and categorization. Notice how your anxiety shifts when you see the actual number of priorities.
- Start with 10-minute planning: Commit to setting a timer and planning only what’s necessary, then taking action.
Choose one. Practice it for a week. Then add the next component.
Final Thought: You’re Not Disorganized—You’re Brilliant
ADHD brains aren’t naturally “disorganized.” Instead, they work differently.
They process a lot of information. They notice everything. They make connections. They generate ideas.
What they sometimes struggle with is filtering—deciding what matters right now versus what matters later.
That’s not a character flaw. That’s exactly what these systems address.
With the right system, your ADHD brain becomes an asset, not a liability.
Key Takeaways
- Your thinking about overwhelm creates the overwhelm experience
- Google Calendar provides a realistic visual of your time
- Physical planners (combined with digital) work better than either alone
- The “Now and Not Now” list is the decision-making framework that changes everything
- Keep planning brief (10 minutes max) to prevent the planning-dopamine trap
- Clear marking systems increase motivation and completion
- Flexibility and planner evolution are normal, not failures
- This is a system that reduces anxiety and builds confidence
PIN THIS: Your ADHD Time Management Quick Start
- Set up Google Calendar with your routine + appointments
- Create a “Now and Not Now” list and categorize everything
- Identify 3-5 priorities for today
- Set a 10-minute timer for planning
- Use a marking system that’s satisfying and clear
- Review daily to stay grounded in reality
Your system can evolve. Your tools can change. But this framework—calendar + list + prioritization + action—creates the clarity that transforms ADHD overwhelm.
Ready for Professional Support?
If you understand the system but struggle with consistency or implementation, professional ADHD coaching can help you build the accountability and behavioral support needed to make these systems stick.
Coaching provides personalized guidance, ongoing support, and the accountability that helps ADHD brains translate knowledge into action.
Book a free consultation: www.learntothrivewithadhd.com/services
