We've all said it. "I'll deal with it later." And somehow, later never comes. The thing just sits there — not in your calendar, but in your head. It pings you in the shower. It shows up right before you fall asleep. That's an energy leak.

This week, Ari Tuckman returns for his sixth appearance to unpack what's actually happening when we tell ourselves "later." What is the ADHD brain doing in that moment? Are we making a real decision, or just kicking the can? And how do we tell the difference?

We dig into:

• The two flavors of procrastination — not feeling the future vs. avoiding the discomfort
• Why "later" needs a "when," and what specificity actually changes
• The difference between a task that needs doing and a decision that needs making
• How to close an open loop that's been open way too long
• Going toward positives vs. avoiding negatives, and why one of those is more sustainable
• Time estimation, and why some things aren't knowable until you start
• Ari's new book, the ADHD Productivity Manual

Guest Spotlight

Ari Tuckman, PsyD is a psychologist, author, and international presenter specializing in ADHD. He's given more than 600 presentations and podcast interviews across America and nine other countries, and is the author of four books: ADHD After Dark, Understand Your Brain, Get More Done, More Attention, Less Deficit, and Integrative Treatment for Adult ADHD. He chairs the CHADD Conference Committee. This is his sixth appearance on the show.

Links & Notes

• Ari's website: https://drarituckman.com
• Ari on Instagram: @AriTuckmanPsyD
• Books by Ari Tuckman:
  • ADHD After Dark
  • Understand Your Brain, Get More Done
  • More Attention, Less Deficit
  • Integrative Treatment for Adult ADHD
  • ADHD Productivity Manual

• (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
• (01:13) - Join us over on Patreon!
• (02:13) - Introducing Ari Tuckman
• (03:06) - "I'll do it later..."

You've heard it before, probably said it yourself: time blocking doesn't work for me. Every block that slips becomes one more piece of evidence that you've failed the system — or that the system has failed you. So this week, Nikki and Pete try something different. They change the word.

Nikki walks through three terms that get thrown around in planning circles — intentional planning, time blocking, and the one she's been reaching for more and more lately: flexible scheduling. Pete pushes back (gently, mostly) on why we need a new word for something that was never supposed to be rigid in the first place. And together they unpack the real reason so many ADHDers bounce off scheduling: it's not the strategy, it's the story we tell ourselves when the strategy bends.

Along the way: the dangerous allure of hyperscheduling and why it only really works if your livelihood is measured in billable minutes; why time blindness isn't a reason to skip time blocking (and why estimation was never the point); the spoon theory and scheduling around energy instead of just hours; and Pete's brand-new metaphor — age of time — for thinking about margin, buffer, and what it feels like to live three weeks ahead of yourself instead of one day behind.

Plus, Nikki drops another download: Your ADHD Schedule Starter, a short, practical guide for building a flexible schedule step by step, with a reflection section built in so you can keep adjusting as you go. Link in the show notes.

Links & Notes

• Your ADHD Schedule Starter (free download)
• Unapologetically ADHD by Pete Wright and Nikki Kinzer — the book behind the framework
• Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
• GPS Planning Membership — Nikki's coaching community for planning, capture, and workflow
• Support the show on Patreon — early ad-free episodes, livestream recordings, members-only Discord
• Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database

• (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
• (00:46) - Patreon.com/TheADHDPodcast
• (01:59) - Talking Schedules

There's a moment every ADHDer knows: you open the task manager, see the sea of red, and close it again. This week, Nikki and Pete sit with that moment — and with what it's actually telling you.

The instinct is to blame the tool. Something's wrong with the app, the planner, the notebook. Time for something new. But what if the tool is doing exactly what it's supposed to do, and the thing you're really avoiding is something else entirely?

Nikki walks through the two non-negotiables of any planning toolkit, why hybrid systems quietly fall apart in the in-between stages, and the one thing she asks every new one-on-one client to do within a week. Pete confesses to running four systems at once, lays out his tool-finding intestines on the table (his words, not ours), and makes the case for why your app isn't just an app — it's a lifeline. Plus: FOBO, task rot, the moral weight of a few simple minutes, and why the best tools are the ones that ask you to pay for them.

Stick around for Nikki's brand-new download, Your Planning Tool Finder — a short guide to the questions worth answering before you pick your next tool. Link below.

Links & Notes

• Your Planning Tool Finder (free download)
• Unapologetically ADHD by Pete Wright and Nikki Kinzer — the book behind the framework
• GPS Planning Membership — Nikki's coaching community for planning, capture, and workflow
• Support the show on Patreon — early ad-free episodes, livestream recordings, members-only Discord:

• (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
• (01:44) - Patreon.com/TheADHDPodcast
• (02:34) - Talking Tools