As an ADHDer in a high-pressure corporate environment, my brain is brilliant at big ideas but terrible at remembering to answer that email, follow up on the meeting notes, or start the weekly report on time.

• Executive function

• Working memory

• Task initiation

• Organisation

• Constantly runs on fumes

My game-changer has been outsourcing to simple, automated systems. These low-hanging fruits require almost zero willpower once set up and pay dividends in headspace and output.

1) Recurring Calendar Reminders 

Probably my single biggest hack. I block 10 minutes every Friday at 4:40 pm titled “Weekly Brain Dump & Prep”.

It’s recurring, locked, and non-negotiable. I also have standing 15-minute buffers before every recurring meeting labelled “Read notes + Prep” and a daily 4:50 pm “Shutdown Ritual” (clear inbox, set top 3 for tomorrow, close laptop).

These aren’t just reminders, they’re externalised prompts. My brain no longer has to hold the responsibility of remembering to remember.

2) Break tasks into stupidly small first steps

Big tasks paralyze. Turn "Prepare quarterly report" into: "Open the template" → "Find last month's file" → "Write one sentence about revenue." This is how I break down all my process notes.

For me, the micro-first-step hack lowers activation energy dramatically once moving; momentum often carries you further. This is classic task initiation support.

3) Build Tiny, Repeatable Routines

• Morning: Same 3-task sequence before touching Slack/Teams

• End-of-day shutdown (same 4 steps every single day)

• Friday weekly review (same template)
  

After some time, these stop feeling like extra effort. They become muscle memory. The friction disappears.

My working memory is no longer occupied by a thousand micro-tasks. Mental load plummets. I gain genuine headspace, the kind that lets me do deep, creative, high-value work instead of spending all day firefighting my own brain.

This is outsourcing executive function to external systems. My calendar, task manager, and routines are acting far more reliably than my dopamine-driven brain ever could be.

It’s not a cure. I still have bad days. But these low-hanging automations turned my biggest weakness into a manageable background process.

If you’re neurodivergent and drowning at work, start with one recurring calendar event this week. That single act compounds harder than almost anything else.

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Lastly,

Stay Different,

The AuDHD Exec

Disclaimer: I am not your psychiatrist, coach, doctor. Neurodiverse Diary does not provide medical services or professional counselling and is not a substitute for professional medical care. Everything I publish represents my opinions, experience, not advice.