Ever find yourself cleaning the closet or deep in a video game while a deadline quietly sneaks up behind you? In this episode of Rhythms of Focus, we unravel the real story behind procrastination for adults with wandering minds and ADHD. Instead of blaming laziness or lack of willpower, we explore how avoidance can be a form of recovery—and how to gently reclaim your agency.

Force-based productivity (deadlines, shame, rigid systems) often backfires for creative, neurodivergent minds. A rhythm-based, visit-oriented approach can help you find meaningful focus. You’ll learn how to move from cycles of exhaustion and self-criticism to a more mindful, compassionate path forward.

In this episode, you’ll take away:

- Gentle, actionable ways to recognize and shift out of procrastination without shame

- How to use acknowledgment and tiny steps to restore your sense of agency

Plus, enjoy an original piano composition, "Three is More" to support your focus and reflection.

Subscribe for more episodes and visit rhythmsoffocus.com to join a community that honors your creative mind and helps you thrive—one gentle wave at a time.

• Episode 9 - "I Just Don't Wanna" and the Power of Agency
• Episode 11 - An Interview with Dr. Joel Anderson - Philosophy and the Wandering Mind
• Episode 4 - From Force to Flow with a "Visit"

#ADHD #WanderingMinds #Procrastination #MindfulProductivity #Agency #GentleFocus #CreativeMinds #VisitBased #RhythmOverRigidity #SelfCompassion

Have you ever found yourself cleaning out a closet right when you know there's something else important you should be doing? Maybe you're playing a video game and that other thing needs to happen.

You tell yourself, I'll start soon, but the weight of the task feels heavier every passing minute. Your mind drifts Suddenly hours have slipped by of leaving you feeling a bit guilty, maybe relieved even, or you just start wondering, ah,

But what if there's more to this cycle than meets the eye?

Those who rely on deadlines often cycle between frantic work and exhaustion. They find it impossible to move forward without a deadline hounding close behind. Meanwhile, in the collapse that often follows them, they can call themselves lazy. Unable to find some footing forward.

But what if avoidance is actually this attempt to recover from exhaustion? Whether it's a period of forced flow or flailing scatter.

At first glance, procrastination seems quite different from the relief that danger of deadlines can bring, as I described in episode nine, where you finally know what to focus on. But it's really the other side of the same coin.

Exhaustion overwhelms the mind's ability to continually find and fight danger, and so it runs, engaging in this type of flight to survive.

It's a bit like turning our head away.

If I can't see it, it doesn't exist.

Now, why would we ever do that?

The unconscious mind is powerful, particularly when we are frightened or depleted.

Maybe we lie on the couch, barely able to follow a thought. Maybe we sleep through an important class or meeting. Or maybe we find deep focus elsewhere, cleaning the closet to some near,...