The ADHD Pre-Mortem: Plan for What Could Go Wrong (So You Can Finish)

If you’ve ever set a goal at the start of a quarter and watched it fall apart by the end of week one, your ADHD brain has probably drawn some conclusions. Mine has too. And when we sit down to plan something new, those conclusions show up as thoughts like, “Why even bother? I’m just going to feel disappointed anyway. It’s not like I’ll stick with it.”

An ADHD pre-mortem is a way of answering that thought before it talks us out of starting. It comes from the business world, where teams imagine a project has already failed and work backward to figure out what went wrong.

The version we’re exploring here, however, is adapted for ADHD brains, with a built-in container so the exercise leaves you feeling prepared and capable. We’ll walk through five questions you can run on any goal, project, or experience on your radar.

Listen to the episode above or stream it on your favorite podcasting app. Prefer to read? No problem. Keep scrolling for a summary of key takeaways.

In Episode 375 we’re exploring:

• Why the six to eight week stretch in quarter four is such a useful window for one focused goal
• What a pre-mortem is, how it differs from a post-mortem, and a powerful modification for ADHD brains
• The five questions that help you plan for obstacles while keeping the exercise contained and supportive
• How to decide, ahead of time, what supporting yourself looks like on your lowest capacity days

Why Quarter Four Is a Good Window for One Focused Goal

Here’s what I notice about quarter four. There’s usually a good six to eight week stretch where it’s reasonable to expect ourselves to pick a goal, a project, or an objective and really lean into it before the zaniness of the holiday season begins. We can still work on things during December, of course, and I know for myself I’m a little bit less focused then because I’m more focused on family and the holidays and shopping for gifts and all of the things that happen at that time of year.

On the other side, September is still a little bit wobbly. We’re navigating that transition into fall, putting in the reps, figuring out our routines and our rhythms. So really, the end of September through almost the end of November, those are excellent weeks to focus in and make some strides on a project or a goal.

Post-Mortems and Pre-Mortems: What’s the Difference?

In the business world, there’s often a practice of doing post-mortems and pre-mortems.

A post-mortem happens at the end. We look back at a project, a goal, or the quarter that just ended, and we reflect on everything that created that end result: What went well? What was challenging? Where was there friction? Where were there bottlenecks? What can we learn from this? What do we want to take away from this?

That’s the post-mortem, and it helps us figure out what happened.

The pre-mortem is the flip of that. It happens before we begin the goal or the project or the experience. We brainstorm what might happen, and we plan ahead for it. So if I’m planning to declutter my basement over the next eight weeks, I might think ahead and go, “Okay, let’s say my plan completely fell apart.” Then I can reflect on what happened, learn from it, and plan for it.

Before you go any further, I invite you to pick something. Maybe it’s a project at home, like decluttering the basement over these next eight weeks. Maybe it’s a big presentation at work that you’ll be giving in November. Maybe it’s a new routine you want to build, or a program you’re starting. Whatever’s been sitting in the back of your mind for these last few months of the year, hold onto that one, because we’re going to run it through all five questions together.

How to Plan for Obstacles With ADHD

For ADHD brains specifically, and especially for the high performers in the I’m Busy Being Awesome audience, I think pre-mortems are incredibly useful.

And here’s the piece I think matters most for our brains. A lot of us are carrying a long history of plans that didn’t stick, and our brains have drawn conclusions from that. So when we sit down to plan something new and that doubt shows up, our brain is doing math with the data it has. A pre-mortem gives our brain something to do with that data besides talk us out of starting.

I also believe there’s a specific way to approach one that’s a bit different from the usual process taught in the business world. Because the trouble with asking “what could go wrong” is that our brains are extremely good at generating answers, and not always so good at stopping. We start spinning, we go into all the worst-case scenarios, and we get lost down the rabbit hole of everything that could go wrong. Without a container, the exercise just becomes the spin. And that’s not a super useful pre-mortem, because it can leave us feeling so defeated that we don’t even begin.

So the version I use has a hard cap of three to five, and it’s bookended by two questions about why this matters to us, which is what keeps the whole thing from tipping into catastrophizing. It’s designed to help us feel prepared, without the anxiousness and overwhelm that come from over-preparing for every potential obstacle that could ever happen.

The 5 ADHD Pre-Mortem Questions

Question 1: Why Do I Want to Do This?

Why do I want to go after this goal? To create this big project? To do this experience? Why is it so important to me?

This is not a typical question in a pre-mortem, and yet I think it’s absolutely critical. Before we go into the process of exploring what could go wrong, we want to remind our brain why we want to do it, why we’re willing to be in this experience, and why we want to make this happen.

Getting our mind in this space helps us see the value of going after this goal, and it helps us counteract any doubt that comes up in question two when we start exploring what could go wrong.

What we want to do here, and please hear me, is find at least three to five reasons why you want to do this thing.

So if it’s the basement, maybe it’s: I want to head down to my craft room on a Saturday morning and have the space to spread out and work on projects. I want to be able to walk down there and put my hands on exactly what I’m looking for. And I’d be excited to bring people down there when they’re visiting.

If it’s the presentation, maybe it’s: I want to feel confident and prepared when I stand up in that room. I want my team’s work to be seen by the people who make decisions about it. And I want to know I can prep for something like this and still have my weekend.

Then keep asking: Why else do I want this? Why else would this be amazing? Why else do I want to keep going after this goal or this project?

Question 2: Imagine It Didn’t Go as Planned. What Happened?

Imagine the project, the new routine, the goal, the experience. Imagine it didn’t go as planned. What happened, and what are the top three to five reasons or obstacles that likely caused the friction or tripped you up?

Get curious here and take your best, most realistic guesses.

So say eight weeks go by and the basement looks exactly the same. What happened? Maybe I only ever thought about it on Saturdays, when I was already wiped out. Maybe I didn’t have a step by step plan and instead expected myself to “just get started,” which always overwhelmed my brain. And maybe I never decided where the donation stuff actually goes, so the bags just sat by the door for a month.

Or say it’s the presentation, and I’m up until midnight the night before building slides. What got me there? Maybe I told myself I work best under pressure. Maybe I didn’t really know what I was creating, or what “done” looked like, until I actually sat down to create the slides. And maybe I was waiting on numbers from someone else and never followed up.

Whatever your project or goal is, identify what went wrong, and then brainstorm the top three to five reasons.

And please hear me: there’s no need to do more. We’re looking for the most reasonable three to five that would likely happen, because if we keep going, we’re going to lead our anxious brains right into catastrophizing. We are way too creative. We will think of all the reasons. So, three to five.

Question 3: How Can I Proactively Plan for These Obstacles?

How can I smooth out anticipated friction and create clear backup plans?

This one I absolutely love, and it’s key for helping your brain see, “Hey, we can absolutely handle any of these situations that come our way. We can do this. In fact, I’ve already thought ahead and planned for it.”

Let’s take the obstacles we just named, in the same order.

• For the basement. If the problem is that I only touch it when I’m exhausted, maybe I move it to Thursday evenings when I actually have gas in the tank, or I cap it at twenty minutes with a timer so it has an end. If the problem is opening the door and seeing all of it, maybe I decide ahead of time that I’m only working on one shelf, one corner, one bin, and I don’t look at the rest. And if the problem is the donation bags never leaving, maybe I put the drop-off in my calendar the same week I start, so there’s a real deadline attached to those bags.
• For the presentation. If the problem is doing it all the night before, maybe I schedule three forty-five-minute working blocks and treat them like meetings I can’t move. If the problem is not knowing the ask, maybe I send one email this week asking what decision they’re hoping to make from this. And if the problem is the numbers I’m waiting on, maybe I request them now with a real date attached, and I decide ahead of time what that slide looks like if they don’t show up.
• For a program or a course, if that’s the thing you picked. If the problem is losing track of the timeline and what you’re supposed to do when, maybe you bookmark the login so it’s really easy to find, pin the welcome email in your inbox, add it to your primary sender list so the weekly reminders land where you’ll actually see them, put the call dates in your calendar with the links, and download the workbook so you always know where it is. Then, depending on your preferred level of structure, decide which days of the week you’ll watch the content or work on the materials.

So that’s question three. And notice what we just did there. We took three things that felt like they might sink the whole thing, and for each one we found two or three small, boring, concrete supports. A bookmark. A calendar entry. One person to check in with. None of them are big, and that’s exactly the point. So much of what trips us up is friction, and friction is something we can move ahead of time, while we still have the capacity to move it.

Question 4: On My Lowest Capacity Days, How Will I Support Myself?

When I just don’t have any capacity, how will I be kind to myself? How will I take care of myself?

Please don’t skip this one. We all have varying levels of energy at different times for different reasons, and it’s so critical to plan for the days when we don’t have capacity, when our executive functions don’t show up.

• Decide ahead of time that you refuse to beat yourself up as you work toward this goal or move through this experience. I’m trying, and that’s enough. I’m proud of that.
• Share where you’re at with people who get it, whether that’s a community, an accountability buddy, or a friend, and let them know you could use a boost. If I’m feeling really low capacity, I might also ask what strategies other people are using.
• Check in on your basic needs. Do I need sleep? Am I hydrated? Have I eaten? Have I taken my meds? Do I need some fresh air?
• Treat yourself the way you’d treat your very best friend that day. When things are hard, I would not be verbally beating up my best friend. I’d be really kind and encouraging and supportive, and that’s what I’ll do for myself as well.

And one more thing worth deciding ahead of time: what the smallest possible version of this looks like on those days. For the basement, maybe it’s putting on a podcast and filling one bag. For the presentation, maybe it’s opening the deck, typing the title of the slide I’m dreading, and closing it again. When we decide that in advance, we’re not negotiating with ourselves in the moment, which is usually when we lose.

Whatever your own answers are, I encourage you to pause and recognize: how will you take care of you on your low capacity days?

Question 5: Why Am I Incredibly Proud of Myself for Doing This?

Why am I so proud of myself for trying?

I encourage you to list at least five reasons. Go for ten.

Maybe it’s: I’m proud of myself for finally facing a room I’ve been avoiding for two years. Or, I’m proud of myself for preparing for that presentation instead of white-knuckling it. Or, I’m proud of myself for being someone who continues to learn and grow. I could skip it, and I’m not. I’m proud of myself for leaning in and learning.

Maybe it’s: I’m proud of myself for doing something new even though I feel a little bit nervous. I’ve never done anything like this before, and I’m proud of myself for leaning into my growth edge anyway. I’m proud of myself for actually doing this pre-mortem and setting myself up for success. I’m proud of myself for going through these five questions, when normally I would skip right past them. I’m proud of myself for taking myself and my needs seriously and getting supports that are actually built for an ADHD brain. I’m really proud of myself for taking care of me.

Keep going, and keep finding all of the reasons you’re proud of yourself for leaning in, for saying yes to taking on that project, for going after the goal, whatever that experience is.

Why the ADHD Pre-Mortem Works

After going through these five questions and letting yourself explore the pre-mortem, you have really set yourself up well. Any time obstacles come up, you can come back to this resource. Not only for the strategies and the supports you identified, but maybe even more importantly, to help you stick with it, by reminding yourself why you want to do this, and why you’re so proud of yourself for going all in and trying. Because you’re busy being awesome.

And if you’re reading all of this and five questions sounds like about four too many right now, here’s your one thing. Open a note on your phone and answer question one. Just the why. Just three reasons, for whatever’s been on your mind. That’s it. You can come back for the other four whenever you remember or have capacity.

Your Five Questions, All in One Place

I really do hope you’ll allow yourself some time to explore these five questions for whatever project or goal or experience is on your mind over the coming weeks, whether it’s at work or in your personal life. It’s such a simple yet powerful way to set yourself up well.

1. Why do I want to do this? Why is it important to me?
2. Imagine the project is complete and it didn’t go as planned. What are your top three to five guesses of what happened?
3. Looking at those guesses, how will you set yourself up to avoid those pitfalls, or lessen the impact if they do happen?
4. How will you show up and care for yourself through the rocky moments and the low capacity days?
5. Why are you so proud of yourself for showing up and trying?

If you run this on something over the next few weeks, I’d love to hear what came up for you. Send me a message on Instagram and let me know which question surprised you most.

Work With Me:

• Learn more about private coaching here
• Join We’re Busy Being Awesome (group coaching)
• Enroll in Overwhelm to Action – step by step course for ADHD Brains

Resources From This Episode:

• Episode 360: Personal Retreat Guide for ADHD Brains
• Download the step-by-step quarterly retreat guide
• Overwhelm to Action LIVE

More ADHD Resources:

• Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type – Free Quiz!
• Get the I’m Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
• Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp
• Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
• Discover my favorite ADHD resources
• Access the I’m Busy Being Awesome Planning System

Paula’s Favorite Tools

• Stay focused with brain.fm and get a 30-day free trial. Personalized music, backed by science, designed to help you get and stay in the zone.
• Speechify: my go-to text-to-speech app. One-month free trial plus $60 off a premium subscription if you decide to keep it.
• Todoist: my favorite task manager. Simple, easy to use, and incredible integration with other platforms. Get two months of premium free. No credit card required.
• Wispr Flow: The best tool for talk-to-text. Awesome for verbal processing and saving time. Free trial, no credit card required.
• Magnetic Tile System: My favorite tactile, visual planning approach for ADHD brains.

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