Learn Less, Do More | Why ADHD Entrepreneurs Struggle to Take Action
A few week’s back I received a text message from a client asking if I had any resources to help with her mindset.
And normally, I would be all about sharing some resources that would support a client in getting to the next level…whether it’s something for their business, something for the family, or something for themselves.
But since I’d been working with this particular clients for several months, I knew that back the beginning of the year, she shared with an extensive business alignment workbook that addressed her goals for aligning her business and family. And that business alignment workbook addressed some of the very mindset issues she was struggling with currently.
So rather than continue the cycle of learning but no action, my advice was to revisit the work she’d already done in her business alignment workbook to see if there were any actions she could take in it, rather than reinventing the wheel.
Because here is a fact…
You cannot learn your way to a successful business.
There is not a single course, book, video, podcast, or program that will shortcut or skyrocket your success IF you don’t actually take what your learning and apply it.
The fact is, your learning loops may be the thing that is keeping you stuck and preventing you from growing your business to the next level.
But never fear, we are going to discuss why ADHDers like to keep learning, what that may be costing you and your business, and how to shift from learning into action.
And let’s start out with a little exploration into the ADHD learning trap and why it feels so good for us ADHDers to keep learning…
The ADHD Learning Trap: Why It Feels Good to Keep Learning
Those of us with ADHD tend to gravitate towards learning goals, which focus on developing skills or increasing knowledge because you get a near instant dopamine reward when you learn something new or increase your skill level.
But, there are also performance goals that focus on a specific outcome and may take longer to see or achieve results. And since patience, motivation, follow through, and consistency all require quite a bit of executive function, it makes complete sense why many ADHDers lean into learning over action.
Because when you absorb or learn new information, you are feel rewarded. You’ve met your learning goal and you’re getting the all important dopamine hit, which make it feel like you are making progress.
In reality, it’s an illusion of progress. What you’re experiencing is probably productive procrastination or procrastivity, which makes you feel like you are progressing when you’re actually just learning more while staying in the same place.
You may also be experiencing a fear of doing something “wrong” or that it’s “not ready yet” or that there may be a better solution.
A few weeks back we discussed analysis paralysis, which is when you find yourself stuck in a loop of learning versus taking action.
And there’s a very good chance if you’re stuck in an analysis paralysis loop that it could be related to a fear of failure, of doing it wrong, or of finding a better solution once you’d made a decision.
So this fear keeps us stuck where we are versus progressing forward.
Another way you may experience analysis paralysis is by simply having too much information. Which leads to overwhelm, an inability to make a decision, and may keep you stuck because you cannot move forward if you if you don’t take action.
What Your ADHD Learning Loop Costs You as a Mom Entrepreneur
Inaction is the death of success when it comes to running a business.
It is just a fact that you will not see growth or success in your business by reading another book, doing another course about how to create a course, or watching another YouTube series on creating content.
You will see growth, however, if you actually apply what you’re learning from books, courses, and YouTube videos and take action.
Getting stuck learning and not doing can also lead to…
Missed income because you aren’t putting yourself or our products out there for people to purchase
Increased stress and mental clutter from analysis paralysis and decision fatigue due to too many options and
Staying small or stagnating because you aren’t making the changes or applying the knowledge to help your business grow
And look, I get how scary it is to start a business. I’ve started 2 with nothing but Google and A LOT of ideas.
I also know how scary it is to put the time, energy and effort into creating a course or program hoping the world will buy it from you.
And I know what it’s like to put the time, energy, and effort into creating a course of program that doesn’t sell to one person.
Being an entrepreneur is so much trial and error. You’ll experience the cliched “highest of highs and lowest of lows”.
But if you continue to let fear of failure, decision fatigue, or the notion that if you “just learn the right thing before you take action you’ll fast track your success, you are going to stay stuck. That’s just the facts.
Keywords to sprinkle: ADHD decision fatigue, ADHD burnout, ADHD overwhelm, ADHD business mindset
From Learning to Action with an ADHD-Friendly Plan
So what can you do to stop learning and start doing?
Let’s wrap up today’s episode with the ADHD-friendly ways to help you take action and gain momentum so you can grow your business and your income.
How to Take Action with ADHD: Set a Learning Limit
There are a couple of different ways you can limit your learning so you can take action.
You may want to set a due date for making a decision.
You may want to set a limit on the sources you consult before developing a plan or deciding your next steps.
You may want to find an accountability buddy or coach, like me, to share what you’re learning and help you decide the best next steps to put that knowledge into action.
How to Take Action with ADHD: Embrace “Messy Action”
If you’re an entrepreneurial knowledge junky, there is a very good chance you’ve heard the term “messy action”.
But in case you haven’t, it’s the idea of taking steps to move forward when you may not have the perfect plan or everything figured out.
Because I guarantee you, even with the best researched, most detailed plan you have for your business next steps, there is going to come a time when you are going to need to edit, update, or change that plan.
Maybe in 2 weeks…maybe in 2 years. But I can tell you there is pretty much not one thing in my coaching business that is the same since I started in 2019, except for maybe the logo.
My website host has changed.
My pricing has changed.
My offerings have changed.
My social media and marketing strategies have changed.
So if you know it’s going to change anyway, why not embrace that even if it’s perfect now it may not be the perfect solution forever. Therefore, it’s better to take some action as opposed to no action.
How to Take Action with ADHD: Celebrate Small Wins
Remember back at the beginning when I mentioned that ADHD tends to lean into learning goals because the dopamine “reward” for accomplishing your goal happens because you have learned.
Done. Finished. Next task.
Which means it’s super important for us to strengthen the neural pathways in our brain related to positivity around the actions that we take.
When you celebrate your wins, even the small ones, you start to reinforce positivity around action. Even if that action doesn’t see immediate results.
Because you’re celebrating the fact that you followed through, not that your idea, task or project yielded success.
To wrap up today, I want to emphasize that if you’re stuck in a loop, that doesn’t mean you’re lazy or unmotivated—it means your brain is protecting you. Remember…
You’re allowed to start messy.
You don’t need more info. You need more faith in yourself.
And if that still feels like too much, I’d love to help and support.
Click below to schedule your free, no obligation call with me to see how my executive function and accountability coaching can help you start the learning cycle and focus your time and energy on taking action that’s going to make your business the success you know it can be.
