ADHD, Motivation and Procrastination 

ADHD: Two extremes 

If you have ADHD, it’s easy to feel squeezed between two extremes. 

On one side, ADHD has become such popular a topic that some people casually blame it for laziness or procrastination. On social media it can look as if every second person has some sort of ‘neuro-difference’: 

‘Leave me alone, I’ve got ADHD, I can’t concentrate on studying or work.’  

Maybe half your friends have already ‘diagnosed’ themselves with ADHD – even though international statistics suggest that’s very far from the true prevalence. 

On the other side there’s a very old ADHD theme: you’ve been ‘given a lot’ – intellectually, in terms of ability – and everyone says: 

‘If you wanted to, you could go so much further.’ 
‘You just need more self-discipline.’ 

High-profile speakers, self-help gurus and bestselling authors often claim that self-control is the key to success in life. With great confidence they divide people into those who will slide downwards, drink too much and ‘end up under a hedge’, and those who will get a good education, build a glittering career and retire to a house with a swimming pool. 

Their message: people with strong self-discipline succeed more or less everywhere. (Steven Pinker, for example, writes about this in The Better Angels of Our Nature.) 

ADHD, however, is a condition of attention, hyperactivity and – more precisely – impulsivity. In some people, inattentive features dominate; in others, hyperactive–impulsive traits, and in some, all three are present at once. So, you can be 35 in terms of intellect – but around 23–25 when it comes to executive functions (time management, self-organisation, tolerance for monotony). 

This isn’t about a ‘weak character’. It’s about your brain working differently. Let’s look at what that means in everyday life. 

ADHD and organisation 

Russell Barkley, one of the leading ADHD researchers, points out that if someone has classic ADHD symptoms, there is a high chance they will also experience some degree of difficulty with self-discipline. 

At the core of ADHD lies impaired behavioural inhibition and disruption of the executive functions – the ‘management system’ of the brain. These include, among others: 

• Working memory 
  What you can hold in mind and work with. Say you’re in the supermarket: you’re trying to remember what you wanted to buy while you’re already rummaging for your wallet or quickly replying to a message on your phone. 

  
  

• Emotion regulation 
  How far you can ride the ‘waves’ of your feelings. Think of those moments when plans suddenly change and you don’t completely fall apart, or when a deadline shifts and it doesn’t feel as if your whole day has collapsed. 

  
  

• Self-talk / ‘inner narrator’ 
  That inner voice that either helps you – it might sound like ‘okay, I’m getting the bag out of the cupboard now, and I’m putting the keys inside it’ – or goes completely quiet so you lose the thread halfway through a task. 

  
  

• Problem-solving and planning 
  Whether you can break a big job down into small steps. This could look like planning a big Sunday lunch and writing a shopping list organised into sections: vegetables, dairy, spices, meat. 

  
  

• Self-monitoring of actions 
  ‘Am I still on track?’ In practice, that can mean pausing now and then to check whether you’re actually working on what you meant to do today – or whether you’ve drifted off into a side task, endless browser tabs, tidying the kitchen or wandering to the snack cupboard. 

In short, the ADHD brain can’t ‘jolt itself into gear’ in quite the same way a neurotypical nervous system can. This is where motivation and dopamine come into the picture: what kind of signal wakes your brain up really matters. 

ADHD and motivation 

Let’s look at three things the ADHD nervous system reacts to most strongly: 

1. something very interesting 

2. something new, ‘untouched’ 

3. something extremely urgent 

To put it very simply: in ADHD, the brain pathways that differ most are the ones responsible for braking, planning and getting motivation started. These systems rely heavily on dopamine (and noradrenaline) – which is why dopamine appears in almost every conversation about ADHD. 

It’s also why you can be the smartest person in the room and still do some really unwise things – because, in the end, what counts isn’t what you know, but what you actually do. 

This is where that familiar feeling comes from: 

‘Why can I only manage tasks that are interesting or urgent?’ 

Exactly the same motivational system shows up in procrastination. Now let’s take a closer look at what this very fashionable word really means.  

ADHD and procrastination 

What is procrastination? 

There are many formal definitions. In everyday terms, procrastination is when you’re not doing what, from your own point of view, you believe you should be doing right now. 

Inside, there’s a motivational tug-of-war. 

• On one side, you crave immediate relief and immediate reward. 
  You do something small and ‘silly’ – scroll social media, tap on one more video, grab a snack – and for a short while you feel better. 

• On the other side, you know you ‘should’ be using that time for something important: studying, work, admin. In the long run, that choice leaves a residue of stress, because the task still isn’t done. 

Over time, you start to dislike yourself more and more for this. 

And the more you dislike yourself, the harder it is to get yourself to work. 

The task itself isn’t the only heavy thing anymore – you’re also carrying your own shame about it. This loop continues until the deadline is nearly on top of you. And why do we call this procrastination? Because when the motivational system falls apart, several ‘voices’ in the brain start pulling you in different directions at once. 

ADHD: the ‘many voices’ inside 

Our brain is not a single, unified command centre. Many competing drives and tendencies live in us at the same time, often in ongoing inner conflict. 

Today there are motivation studies focusing specifically on people with ADHD, but the basic idea is illustrated very clearly in Tim Urban’s famous blog post, ‘Why Procrastinators Procrastinate’. 

Urban invites us to imagine three ‘characters’ who pull in different directions. 

1. The rational Little Person at the wheel 

This is a metaphor for the prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain responsible for decision-making and planning. 

The Little Person stands at the ‘steering wheel’ and looks after our goals. They want us to finish what we set out to do: ‘Let’s get this task done’. 

They’re the one who says: 

• ‘It would be good to clean the flat now.’ 

• ‘I really should reply to that email.’ 

• ‘I need to ring Mum.’ 

And of course: 

• sit down to study 

• hand in the project 

• finish the work task. 

  
  

2. The ‘Instant Gratification Monkey’ 

The second character is our instinctive part, the ‘Instant Gratification Monkey’. This is roughly a metaphor for the nucleus accumbens and the brain’s reward system, always looking for a quick hit of dopamine. 

This Little Monkey tugs at the rational person’s sleeve and whispers: 

• ‘Come on, let’s see what’s in the fridge.’ 

• ‘Let’s scroll Shorts or Reels for just a bit longer.’ 

• ‘Let’s open that game on your phone – just one round.’ 

• ‘Let’s do something that feels good right now.’ 

It’s very hard to resist this Monkey, because we’re ‘calibrated’ for an environment where immediate reward mattered most. 

Whether there would ever be some future reward was uncertain – ‘we’ll see’ – because for much of human history survival was dangerous and unpredictable. If you found food, it was better to eat it now than to think about staying slim, healthy and attractive later. 

As a result, the ‘Instant Gratification Monkey’ usually wins – until the deadline starts looming. 

3. The ‘Panic Monster’ 

When the deadline is genuinely breathing down your neck, the third character appears: the ‘Panic Monster’. This represents fear and threat entering the system – a metaphor for the amygdala. 

The Panic Monster wakes up and roars: 
‘Aaaaargh!’ 

The Rational Little Person also yells: 
‘Aaaaargh!’ 

The Monkey gets scared: 
‘Aaaaargh!’ – and runs away. 

The problem is that by this point everything happens at the last minute. Technically, you get the task done, but: 

• the work could have been much better 

• you feel stressed the whole time 

• and next time, you end up in exactly the same loop. 

Tim Urban’s story is, of course, a simplification – several brain regions are involved in procrastination – but the overall picture is remarkably accurate. It lines up well with research on how decision-making, reward and fear systems, and the executive/control networks constantly interact. These systems are all heavily shaped by dopamine (and noradrenaline). In ADHD there’s an extra twist: it really matters what kind of task you’re trying to get them to engage with. 

ADHD and interest 

The starting point is that, because of how the ADHD brain works, it doesn’t automatically pick up a whole range of skills that a neurotypical nervous system seems to absorb ‘from the air’. 

There’s a task in front of you: 

‘Pick it up and do it.’ 

That exact part – ‘pick it up and start’ – can be incredibly hard. 

Many people describe a characteristic frozen state before starting a task: ‘motivational paralysis’. You sit there, stare at the task and can’t move. This isn’t laziness, shame or a moral failing. It’s a state where you can’t see clearly what concrete first step would get the task moving. 

In Barkley’s model, inhibition is weaker in ADHD, and the executive functions (working memory, planning, self-control) ‘drop out’ more easily if there isn’t enough stimulation, reward or sense of stakes. 

In everyday terms: the little person at the steering wheel loses their grip more easily if the task is: 

• Boring and unengaging 
  For example, sorting data, putting numbers in a spreadsheet, or something that has nothing to do with your genuine personal or professional interests. 

  
  

• Not a real challenge 
  It doesn’t connect with your bigger life goals, values or long-term professional growth. 

  
  

• Linked to a distant, abstract reward 
  There’s no strong outside pressure, you have some savings or support, and ‘nothing really happens’ if you don’t do it today. Compare a video game, which gives instant feedback on every move, with homework, where consequences come much later. 

  
  

• Not urgent 
  There’s no real deadline, no ‘house on fire’ feeling above your head, and the consequences lie somewhere far in the future – an exam in two weeks, retirement, ‘living more healthily one day’. 
  
  

• Lacking external structure 
  Nobody sees whether you’ve done it, there’s no accountability, it’s not teamwork where others depend on you, there are no fixed times, meetings or frequent check-ins: ‘Have you done what we agreed this morning?’ 

In those conditions, for an ADHD brain the task almost ‘doesn’t exist’. 

It’s not that you ‘don’t understand it’s important’; it’s that your nervous system can’t crank itself up for an abstract, far-off reward. 

You know the task is there. 
You know it matters. 

But you might spend half the day ‘getting ready’ to start. You look for the right music, ‘set the mood’, take a break first, have a coffee, shuffle papers on the desk… all the while knowing perfectly well that, technically, the task would take twenty minutes. 

In ADHD, time itself is experienced very differently. 

ADHD and time blindness 

Barkley suggests that at the core of ADHD lies a kind of time blindness – or, more technically, a ‘short-sightedness’ towards the future. 

In the same way that a short-sighted person only sees nearby objects clearly, a person with ADHD can truly engage only with things that are close in time. The further away something is, the harder it is to do anything about it. 

That’s why so much ends up happening at the last minute. 

People with ADHD often live almost exclusively in ‘last minutes’ – those are what they feel most vividly and organise themselves around. 

There’s a meme that captures the classic neurotypical advice – ‘Just give yourself more time!’ – perfectly: 

‘Humans can fly to space, and you can’t even get this silly little thing done.’ 

What’s really going on is that this ‘pick it up and do it’ skill isn’t automatically built in – or it only works for certain types of tasks. 

That feeling is deeply familiar for many people with ADHD: it’s not hard to start because you don’t know what to do; it’s hard because the system doesn’t switch on. 

ADHD: switching the system on 

For people with ADHD, interest isn’t just ‘nice to have’ – it’s absolutely central. 

That doesn’t mean interest isn’t important for everyone; it is. But in an ADHD brain, it matters twice as much. 

Without genuine interest, many tasks end not with a sense of completion, but with ‘never even started’. 

That’s why it’s so important to: 

• get support with time management and organisation 

• learn how to ‘gift-wrap’ your tasks – making them a little more interesting, playful or rewarding 

• build in novelty wherever possible (or at least change of scenery and surroundings) 

• create real deadlines 

• do as many things as you can that are at least partially interesting to you 

• find ways to make boring tasks more rewarding 

• ‘slice the future up’ and only tackle a small, manageable piece of it each day. 

I explore these strategies – and the ‘superpower’ of hyperfocus – in more detail in the companion article: ‘I know exactly what I need to do, so why can’t I start?’ 

Where next if you recognise yourself? 

ADHD isn’t only about ‘finding it a bit harder to concentrate’. 

There’s no corner of adult life it can’t affect: work, study, finances, relationships, parenting, self-esteem. 

Some people have, by instinct or luck, shaped their lifestyle to reduce these risks and function fairly well with ADHD – they may carry on without ever making it into a ‘big topic’. 

But many others slip into calling themselves ‘stupid’, ‘a mess’, ‘a loser’. 

If, while reading this, you’ve repeatedly thought ‘this could be about me’, there’s good news: you can start with a short, free online self-screen (this is not a diagnosis, just a quick self-check): Free ADHD Simple (not a diagnosis; quick self-screen) → https://adhdsimple.co.uk/quiz-landing 

If you score highly, it doesn’t mean there is ‘something wrong with you’. It means it’s worth taking the next step and talking things through with a professional who understands adult ADHD – for example, by speaking to your GP and asking for a referral to an ADHD specialist. 

Research suggests ADHD is one of the most treatable neurodivergent conditions we know. The aim is not to ‘cure you of your personality’, but to prevent secondary damage and needless missed opportunities – and to help you build a life that works with, rather than against, the way your brain is wired. 

Last updated November 2025 
Written by Olga Karolyi for ADHD Test 

Important: This article is for information only. Diagnosis and treatment are determined and overseen by a qualified clinician. If you feel affected, contact your GP. 

References: 

Key UK guidance 

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2018, last reviewed 2025). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Diagnosis and management (NG87). https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng87 

• National Health Service. (2025). ADHD in adults. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/adhd-adults/ 

• Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland. (2022). ADHD in adults: Good practice guidance (CR235). https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/improving-care/better-mh-policy/college-reports/cr235-adhd-in-adults---good-practice-guidance.pdf 

  
  

Further reading 

• American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.; DSM-5-TR). American Psychiatric Association 

  
  

• Barkley, R. A. (2022). Taking charge of adult ADHD (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. (A practical handbook by one of the leading ADHD researchers, focusing on how adults can manage attention, motivation, time and relationships. It combines science-based explanations with very concrete tools, worksheets and step-by-step strategies.) 

  
  

• Berridge, C. W., Devilbiss, D. M., Spencer, R. C., Schmeichel, B. E., & Arnsten, A. F. T. (2012). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In J. E. Barrett, J. T. Coyle, & M. Williams (Eds.), Translational neuroscience: Applications in psychiatry, neurology, and neurodevelopmental disorders (pp. 303–320). Cambridge University Press. 
  (This chapter explains what happens in the brain in ADHD, especially in systems that control alertness and attention. It helps link typical ADHD symptoms, such as impulsivity and distractibility, to underlying biology.) 

  
  

• Brown, T. E. (2013). Smart but stuck: Emotions in teens and adults with ADHD. Jossey-Bass. (This book uses case stories to show how emotions and executive function problems block otherwise bright teens and adults with ADHD. It highlights the emotional side of ADHD and offers ideas for getting “unstuck” in school, work and relationships.) 

  
  

• Chachar, A. S., & Shaikh, M. Y. (2024). Decision-making and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Neuroeconomic perspective. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 18, 1339825. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2024.1339825 
  (The authors look at how people with ADHD make decisions about rewards, risks and waiting. They show why choices that seem “irrational” from the outside can make sense when the brain’s reward system works differently.) 

  
  

• Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. Penguin. (Clear explains how very small, repeatable changes can lead to big results over time. Although not ADHD-specific, his focus on environment design, tiny steps and quick rewards is highly adaptable for ADHD brains.) 

  
  

• Cleveland Clinic. (2022, June 5). Executive dysfunction: What it is, symptoms & treatment. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/23224-executive-dysfunction 
  (This patient information page clearly explains what executive dysfunction is, what everyday signs to look for, and what treatments are available. It is useful for anyone wondering why planning, organising or starting tasks feels unusually hard.)

  
  

• Clark, K. L., & Noudoost, B. (2014). The role of prefrontal catecholamines in attention and working memory. Frontiers in Neural Circuits, 8, 33. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncir.2014.00033 
  (The paper summarises how brain chemicals like dopamine and noradrenaline in the prefrontal cortex affect attention and working memory. It also helps explain why performance can drop when stimulation or medication is “too little” or “too much”.) 

  
  

• Hallowell, E. M., & Ratey, J. J. (2011). Driven to distraction (revised): Recognizing and coping with attention deficit disorder from childhood through adulthood. Anchor Books. (A classic, story-rich book that helps readers recognise ADHD symptoms across the lifespan. It offers a hopeful, compassionate view and many everyday coping strategies for families, partners and adults with ADHD.) 

  
  

• Hsu, C.-F., Chen, V. C.-H., Ni, H.-C., Chueh, N., & Eastwood, J. D. (2025). Boredom proneness and inattention in children with and without ADHD: The mediating role of delay aversion. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, 1526089. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1526089 
  (In this study, children with and without ADHD are compared on boredom, attention and how much they dislike waiting. The authors show that “I can’t stand waiting” partly links boredom and attention problems, especially in ADHD.) 

  
  

• Kappel, V., Lorenz, R. C., Streifling, M., Renneberg, B., Lehmkuhl, U., Ströhle, A., Salbach-Andrae, H., & Beck, A. (2015). Effect of brain structure and function on reward anticipation in children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder combined subtype. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 10(7), 945–951. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsu135 
  (Using brain scans, this paper looks at how people with ADHD respond when they are waiting for a reward. The findings help explain why distant or abstract rewards are often less motivating for people with ADHD.) 

  
  

• Moffitt, T. E., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J., Harrington, H., Houts, R., Poulton, R., Roberts, B. W., Ross, S., Sears, M. R., Thomson, W. M., & Caspi, A. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(7), 2693–2698. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1010076108 
  (This large, long-term study shows that childhood self-control predicts adult health, finances and risk of trouble with the law. It finds a smooth “gradient”: even small differences in self-control in childhood matter later on.) 

  
  

• Pychyl, T. A. (2013). Solving the procrastination puzzle: A concise guide to strategies for change. TarcherPerigee. (This short guide summarises what research says about why we procrastinate and what actually helps. It gives clear, realistic techniques for taking the next small step instead of staying stuck in avoidance.) 

  
  

• Samah, F. (2018, August 16). A cognitive neuroscience review of the aetiology of ADHD. The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.13056/acamh.10576 
  (The article gives an overview of what research says about the causes of ADHD, from genes to brain networks and thinking processes. It is a clear summary of why ADHD is best understood as a complex brain-based condition, not simply a result of parenting.) 

  
  

• Sirois, F. M. (2023). Procrastination and stress: A conceptual review of why context matters. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(6), 5031. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20065031 
  (Here the author explains how procrastination and stress feed into each other, and why life context (demands, support, environment) is crucial. The paper argues that we need to look beyond “willpower” and consider the person’s wider situation.) 

  
  

• Sirois, F. M., & Pychyl, T. A. (2013). Procrastination and the priority of short-term mood regulation: Consequences for future self. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(2), 115–127. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12011 
  (This paper suggests that procrastination happens mainly because people try to feel better right now, even if that harms their “future self”. It offers a simple way to understand why avoiding uncomfortable tasks feels so compelling in the moment.) 

  
  

• Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65–94. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65 
  (Based on many studies, this review identifies the main traits and factors linked to procrastination, such as impulsiveness and difficulty waiting for rewards. It also proposes a model that describes procrastination as a core problem of self-regulation.) 

  
  

• Steel, P. (2011). The procrastination equation: How to stop putting things off and start getting stuff done. Harper. (Steel turns decades of procrastination research into an accessible “equation” that explains why we delay. The book links motivation, impulsiveness and reward into a simple model, and then offers practical ways to improve follow-through.) 

  
  

• Urban, T. (2013, October 30). Why procrastinators procrastinate. Wait But Why. https://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html 
  (In this popular blog post, the author uses funny characters (like the “Instant Gratification Monkey”) to show what procrastination feels like from the inside. It is not scientific, but it makes psychological ideas about motivation and deadlines very easy to grasp.) 

  
  

• Weir, K. (2024, April 1). Emotional dysregulation is part of ADHD. See how psychologists are helping. Monitor on Psychology, 55(3), 30. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/04/adhd-managing-emotion-dysregulation 
  (This article explains that emotional ups and downs are a key part of ADHD, not just an “extra problem”. It also describes how psychologists are adapting therapies to better support people with ADHD in managing their emotions.) 

  
  

• Williams, R. (2024). The procrastination playbook for adults with ADHD: A guide to eliminating self-doubt and detecting, challenging, and changing thoughts and behaviours that fuel procrastination. New Harbinger. (Written specifically for adults with ADHD, this book targets the thinking patterns and habits that drive chronic procrastination. It uses a cognitive-behavioural approach with exercises to build kinder self-talk, realistic planning and more reliable action.)