ADHD Productivity: Before You Switch Planners Again, Do This

New planners, shiny productivity apps, and the promise of finally getting organized can feel irresistible—especially with an ADHD brain that craves novelty and structure.

But before you toss your current system and start fresh (again) it’s worth pausing. There’s something important we need to talk about first. The truth is, it’s rarely about the app or planner itself.

In Episode 318, You Will Discover:

• Why our ADHD brains seek these new planners, apps and tools
• The very real cost of switching systems
• The one powerful question I love to ask myself — and my clients — before we adopt something new.

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

Episode 318: ADHD Productivity: Before You Switch Planners Again, Do This (Transcript)

In years past, this was the time of year when my brain started thinking things like, “Okay, this will be it. This will finally be the time when I can get organized, stay on top of things, finally get my act together, etc.”

While I don’t tend to have that pattern anymore, I still have the same brain that loves fresh starts and new beginnings.

So you better believe when it sees the back-to-school supplies, the new planners, the fresh apps, it takes everything within my power not to completely throw out my entire system and start fresh with something completely new.

I’m guessing you might be able to relate to one of these scenarios, too?!

Often, we find ourselves lit up by the new planner, system, or app. Our brains think something like, “Okay, this is it. This is going to be the tool that gets me on track.”

It’s rarely ever only about the app or about the actual planner. 👉 The specific tool is rarely the reason why we feel off track or scattered.

Can it play a role? ABSOLUTELY. But is it the entire reason? Rarely ever.

When we don’t pause to ask ourselves why we’re switching systems or identify the specific problems we have with our current systems, it’s so easy to get swept up in the allure of something new without actually solving the real obstacle. Without ever figuring out what we actually need.

So in this episode, we’re getting intentional.

The ADHD Brain & Shiny New Things

Let’s be clear — I totally fall into this trap, too. As we know, there is so much dopamine in the chase for a new solution.

When our current system doesn’t seem to be working, of course, we want something that promises to make things easier, smoother, and better. And setting up that new app? It feels productive.

We’re customizing. Organizing. Learning something new. And in the moment, that feels like taking massive action. We think we’re being super productive. However, more often than not, all that time we spend researching, comparing, downloading, and updating is actually procrastiworking.

I’ll speak for myself that what often lies behind that procrastiwork is my ADHD brain trying to avoid doing the actual thing on my list.

It convinces me that if I just get a new app to map out the process of doing my quarterly taxes, I’ll actually feel motivated to do them.

Let me tell you, I will not… The actual act of doing the taxes is still the same, whether it’s listed in a color-coded box in TickTick or the built-in reminders app on my iPhone. The only difference is that I shifted where the task lives.

In fact, I was recently coaching a client, and he had a brilliant analogy to describe this experience.

He was juggling a handful of different apps and wasn’t sure whether he should try to use an all-in-one type of app, because he couldn’t find one he actually liked, or just keep the stack of apps he currently uses, which felt a little scattered.

He said,

“Honestly? It feels like I’m constantly moving apartments. Rearranging furniture, trying out different rooms… but never quite sure where to settle.”

When we’re always switching apps, it’s like we’re constantly moving from one home to another. And we’re not quite sure whether we’ve unpacked the item we’re looking for or if it’s still in a box. If we did unpack it, we’re not sure where it landed. And we end up spending so much time constantly looking for stuff.

As we discussed this further, my client shared this other realization, too: ‘When life feels chaotic, building a new system feels like control.‘

Setting up that system feels like a fresh start. And I think this is one of the reasons why so many of us feel pulled to new systems and solutions during this period of transition from summer to fall, too.

When the real obstacle is a tough transition or an overwhelming season of life, our brains say: ‘Ooh! I know! Let’s build something new to solve for this feeling of overwhelm.‘

But as we’ll explore shortly, that’s the dopamine talking.

So if you’ve ever jumped into a new app hoping it would make everything feel better, it makes perfect sense. Me too.

That’s why today’s conversation matters — Once we recognize these patterns, we can:

• Pause
• Get curious
• Make decisions from intention instead of avoidance, anxiety, or in an attempt to control the world around us

The Cost of Switching Planning Systems

While researching and setting up a new app or planner can feel exciting, it comes with some very real costs. Especially when we’re not switching from a place of clarity or need, but from a place of urgency or emotional overwhelm.

You see, switching systems, even just experimenting with a new one, can drain a whole lot more than we realize.

The executive function cost

Learning a new tool, figuring out how to make it work for your brain, migrating everything over — all of that takes mental energy. And when we’re already running low, that extra load can tip us straight into shutdown.

One of the things that always gets me is the number of decisions required. Decision fatigue can sneak up so fast when we’re researching new options, toggling between task managers, comparing features, and constantly wondering, “Is this the right one?”

Then we need to decide…

• How to categorize our tasks and projects
• How we’ll group things
• Which emojis and colors to use

The decisions are constant, and that demands so much of our executive functions.

The time cost

The time we spend researching new systems, downloading new apps, customizing dashboards, retyping to-do lists — it adds up fast.

Often, that time was carved out of the time we had for the actual tasks we wanted to complete in the first place. Or from the time we had set aside for rest or fun.

The emotional cost

Once the novelty wears off and we still feel behind or scattered, it’s easy to spiral into thoughts like:

• “Why can’t I make anything stick?”
• “I thought this was supposed to help me. What’s wrong with me?”
• “Nothing ever works — I’m just never going to get it together.”

I think one of the sneakiest things overall is that we rarely see or name these costs in the moment.

My brain loves to tell me I’m just “making a small tweak” or optimizing or organizing to make things more efficient. Even more sneaky? My brain tells me, “You know, this is actually your job. You’re an ADHD productivity coach. You need to understand how all these work.” (I’m telling you – it’s endless!)

More often than not, what’s really happening is I’m exhausting my brain mentally, emotionally, and energetically for the excitement of something new, OR the hope that this next tool will finally make things feel easier.

As we all know, since I have heard from so many of you, what really unfolds is that we end up with half-used systems, scattered tools, and more cognitive clutter than we started with.

Let me be clear. I’m not suggesting that we should never switch apps or change our tools. That’s definitely not the case. I’m not saying to never explore new tools. But before we do, I think it’s incredibly important to pause and make sure the reason we’re switching actually serves us.

This brings us to one of my favorite questions — one that has helped me and so many of my clients cut through the noise and get clear on what we actually need…

What Am I Hiring This App to Do?

Let’s say you’re noticing that urge to switch tools. Maybe something isn’t working quite right. Perhaps you’re tempted to start fresh with that new, exciting app you saw scrolling last night. Or maybe — if we’re being real — life just feels messy, and your brain is craving some sense of control.

Here’s the question I want you to ask yourself: What am I hiring this app to do?

It’s such a simple question, but it changes everything.

You see, instead of evaluating a tool based on what it could do, or how many shiny features it has, or how aesthetically pleasing it looks, we get clear on its actual job in our system.

I use this metaphor really intentionally ‘What am I hiring this app to do?‘

Your apps, your planners, your sticky notes — they’re like a team of employees. You wouldn’t hire someone new without knowing what role they were filling, right? So, we want to do the same thing with our tools.

So what’s the job?

• Are you hiring a tool to store your appointments?
• Are you hiring it to capture every random brain dump thought that pops up while you’re doing dishes?
• Are you hiring it to track your routines and rhythms throughout the day?

If we’re trying to make one app do all of that — with no clear roles, expectations, or boundaries, of course, it will feel confusing and overwhelming.

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Coaching Example:

Client 1:

I recently coached someone who was dealing with something similar. She was debating between various apps, physical notebooks, and planners, and she felt incredibly overwhelmed. Her words were something like, “I never know where to look. I don’t know where anything lives. So I give up and go fold laundry.”

We’ve all been there. As we talked through it, we honed in on the apps she regularly used, which turned out to be her digital Skylight calendar, the TickTick app, and her paper planner. So we walked through these tools one by one, and I asked, “What job is this doing?”

The digital calendar? That was her visual schedule — a way to see the day at a glance anytime she was in the kitchen. And, as she explained, as a mom of four very young kids, she seems to spend probably 90% of her day in the kitchen.

So she hired the Skylight digital calendar to track her day and remind her of appointments and where she needs to be.

The to-do app — specifically TickTick — she hired to be her digital task list.

Her paper planner? That got a role shift in her company and now holds the position of providing her big picture overview — the zoom out tool, if you will — so she can see the month overall. It also has space on the edges where she can jot down notes to herself, which she’ll consolidate into tick tick at the end of each week, if needed.

The moment she assigned each tool a very specific job, things felt so much clearer.

She didn’t need to throw out her system or start over. She just needed her tools to stop stepping on each other’s toes.

Client 2:

My other client, who shared the moving apartments analogy I mentioned earlier, similarly explored what he wanted his apps to do, and had another great analogy here (his brain is awesome at analogies, it’s so fun)

He said, “What I really want is a vault. A place to hold everything safely so I know where it lives — even if I’m not ready to act on it yet.”

That vault concept — that desire for something secure, dependable, ready when you need it — is so common for ADHD brains. We want to know we have a place for it all. Even if we’re not going to touch it today.

This meant figuring out the specific job of each tool in his stack of four apps: Evernote, Apple Notes, Smart Tasks, and Reminders.

Specifically, it looked like this:

• Evernote acts as his digital notebook for knowledge and digital management. Long-term storage of digital information.
• Apple Notes is less permanent, acting like a digital sticky note for quick ideas or notes to self.
• Smart Tasks is where he kept his tasks and projects.
• The reminders app is where he reminds himself of the daily things like, “every Thursday, move your car for street sweeping.”

Having everything in just one tool, while that can be helpful at times, isn’t always the answer. In this case, the simplest approach to organizing all his digital content, tasks, and reminders, is found in four separate apps, NOT an all-in-one.

That’s the power of asking “What am I hiring this for?”

When we do this, we…

• Stop chasing “the best app” and start creating a purposeful support system.
• Build a lean team of tools that actually work for us, instead of expecting one poor, overworked app to do five jobs and wondering why it keeps dropping the ball.

Final Thoughts & Next Steps

Here’s what I want to leave you with:… I’m not saying don’t switch systems or that you have to force yourself to stick with something that isn’t working. What I am saying is to do it with intention.

The cost of switching planning systems is real – emotionally, mentally, energetically.

So before you make that switch, I encourage you to pause and ask:

• What do I want this app to do?
• What role will it play?
• Do I already have something doing this job?
• Do I like my reasons for making the change?

And if the answer is yes? If it feels aligned and grounded and supportive? Heck yeah! Go for it!

However, if you realize your brain is chasing dopamine, trying to escape an overwhelming task, or trying to fix a messy season by building a brand-new system… Then maybe—it’s worth pausing first.

Your Homework

Try doing a quick mini audit of the tools you already have. Then take a moment to check in on this…

• What role does each app, planner, and tool play?
• Is anything doubling up?
• Is anything not working?

That reflection alone can bring so much clarity, and it could save you hours of future frustration. Not to mention the mental overhead of bouncing between systems or trying to remember where you put what.

I promise, your future self will thank you.

👉 Want to take these concepts further and apply them to your life? Learn more about how we can work together with my small group coaching program, “We’re Busy Being Awesome,” and one-on-one coaching.

⭐ Need to search for dopamine? I’ve got you covered. Grab my step-by-step guide to create your own dopamine menu. You’ll discover new ways to get that boost without disrupting your productivity stack in the process.