Cognitive Overload and ADHD: 4 Tips To Handle Overwhelm

Have you ever looked at your summer calendar and felt that wash of overwhelm trying to creep in? The graduations and end-of-year recitals, the camp reminder emails piling up in your inbox, the cousin’s wedding, the work projects that somehow all wrap up before the holiday weekend, the friends who want to “finally get together now that the weather’s nice.”

On paper, none of it is bad. In fact, a lot of it is really good. And also, when our ADHD brains try to hold all of that cognitive load at once, thinking about summer can quickly become a space for our brains to slip into full-on overwhelm.

Today we’re talking about exactly this: the familiar experience of summer overwhelm, why our ADHD brains can find this season especially heavy, and four strategies to help us lighten the load so we can actually enjoy what’s in front of us.

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

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In Episode 358 we’re exploring:

• Why summer creates unexpected cognitive overload for ADHD brains
• A brain dump and four-container strategy to clear your mental load
• How white space works as a genuine ADHD support (not a luxury)
• The one-decision-at-a-time shift for navigating decision fatigue
• Why saying no protects your capacity for the things that matter most

Why Summer Creates Cognitive Overload for ADHD Brains

The go-go-go of Maycember has largely ended, and many of us are now facing this shift into a more loosely structured season. And I think this is true even if your work hours don’t actually change.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that the summer vibe can be a hard one to pin down. As a kid, summer felt like a real shift. I would go to camp, spend long days outside with my friends, and everything about the season felt different. There was more freedom, more play, and a real sense that life moved at a completely different pace.

And as I’ve been thinking about summer lately, I realized there’s still a part of me that carries that same expectation as Paula in her 40s. Some part of my brain still thinks summer should mostly involve hanging out at the lake, making random crafts, getting ice cream, and doing whatever sounds fun that day. (Which still honestly sounds amazing.)

And sure, some of that absolutely can be part of summer. But also — adult life still exists. Work still exists. Responsibilities still exist. There are graduations, end-of-year recitals, weddings, trips, family plans, and all the logistics that somehow pile into a season that’s “supposed to” feel relaxed.

And I think that’s where summer can get surprisingly overwhelming for our ADHD brains. Because on paper, a lot of these things are good things. Fun things. Things we want to do. But our brains are also trying to hold all of the transitions, all of the decisions, all of the planning, and all of the open loops at the exact same time while also trying to be present enough to actually enjoy the season.

That’s what we’re addressing today. Four strategies to support ourselves through the fullness of summer without all the overwhelm, so we can actually experience it instead of looking up in August, wondering where it went.

4 Strategies to Reduce Cognitive Overload This Summer

1. Brain Dump and Sort Into Four Containers

The first thing I invite you to try is a complete summer brain dump. And when I say summer brain dump, I mean everything. Not just what’s happening at work or for your kids or your travel plans. Everything.

For some people, that might seem quite overwhelming in and of itself. Give yourself space and time to write it all out, or use something like Wispr Flow* to talk it out in your app of choice. It’s my favorite talk-to-text app and makes brain dumping much easier if typing feels like a barrier. (This is an affiliate link – I only share what I personally use and love. Try the pro version for 14 days, free. No credit card required.)

When we’re holding our summer mental load entirely in our heads, our working memory is doing an exhausting amount of work. Every time we remember the orthodontist appointment we still need to schedule, our brain spends energy. Every time we wonder if we already RSVPed to the cookout, our brain spends energy. And it’s so easy for us to either lose track of these threads completely or grip them so tightly we can’t think about anything else.

Here’s the specific experiment: Grab a piece of paper or open a fresh note in your phone. You might also open up your calendar or planner to see what you’ve already logged. Set a timer for ten to fifteen minutes and get curious about everything your brain is currently tracking for the next two to three months.

Some prompts to get started:

• Trips and travel logistics, even loose ones
• Kid logistics: camps, childcare, school transitions, summer activities
• Social events you’ve said yes to, and ones you’re still deciding about
• Work projects, deadlines, summer schedule shifts
• Home and seasonal stuff: AC servicing, garden, summer wardrobe, that pile that’s been by the door since April
• Personal things: birthdays, doctor appointments, the book you wanted to finish, the friend you keep meaning to call
• The “I really need to look into…” thoughts that keep popping up

For most of us, this list is way longer than we expect. And that’s the point. Until we can see the full picture, we can’t make real decisions about it. We’re just guessing while overwhelmed.

Once everything is on paper, the next move is to sort items into four containers:

• Must-do: The stuff that genuinely has to happen. Fall sports registration has a deadline. The trip that’s already booked and paid for. Things where the consequences of skipping are real.
• Want-to: The stuff that lights you up, that you’d be sad to miss. The one trip you really care about, the friend dinner you’re excited to host, the concert you’re genuinely looking forward to.
• Maybe later: The stuff you do want to do at some point, but perhaps this season isn’t the season for it. Maybe you want to repaint the kitchen, and also, knowing how hot it gets where you live, maybe that’s a better project for fall when the windows can actually be open.
• Let go: The stuff that’s on the list because it feels like you’re supposed to do it. Or because someone else added it to your plate and you haven’t said anything yet. You were voluntold to do it. Or because past-you committed and present-you is regretting it.

That last category is where most of us get stuck. Letting go is where most of us have to practice the most. And I encourage you to get curious about what’s actually a must-do versus what’s a “feels-like-must-do.” A lot of cognitive overload with ADHD is wrapped up in obligations we never actually signed up for or wanted. We just inherited them.

You might find that some things move buckets the longer you sit with them. And I’m guessing you may find a few more things you can drop into “maybe later” or “let go” than you originally thought.

2. Protect White Space on Purpose

This one is counterintuitive. When we’re overwhelmed by everything we need to do, the last thing we want to add to our calendar is more nothing. But for our ADHD brains, white space is a non-negotiable support, not a luxury.

Our brains need transition time. If you’ve been listening to this podcast for any stretch of time, you’ve probably heard me say this a lot, because transitions are super challenging for me. Every shift from one activity to another, from one social mode to another, from work to play, takes executive function. And summer, despite its relaxed reputation, is actually packed with transitions.

The invitation here is to schedule white space and buffer time on purpose. Block off the morning after the trip. Block off the evening after the cookout. Block off the day before houseguests arrive. Treat these blocks as appointments with yourself and do your best to keep them rather than filling them with things you can “squeeze in real quick.”

For many of us, when we’re triaging our calendars, our default is to pack them. To say yes to back-to-back plans because the calendar has open slots. What if we tried the opposite? What if open slots are already booked? Booked with rest. Booked with the buffer our brains need to actually be present for the things we said yes to.

If you want to go deeper on what rest actually looks like for ADHD brains, check out 7 Different Types of Rest.

3. Make One Decision at a Time

An area that used to trip me up a lot during this season was the number of decisions I had to make. And in particular, decisions about travel. I felt absolutely stuck in that decision spin cycle. Where to go, when to go, who’s coming, what to pack, what to wear, what to bring, who’s watching the dog, did we book the rental car, did we tell the neighbor, what time should we leave.

And while travel is my particular sticking point, I think similar decision pileups come up again and again for our brains. When we try to make all of them at once, we flood our executive function and, depending on your overwhelm type, you might freeze completely, or bounce from one thing to the next without ever landing anywhere, or say yes to everyone else’s preferences so you don’t have to decide (but then never actually get your own opinion heard), or try to control everything by making every tiny decision immediately — and completely deplete yourself in the process, often making decisions you end up needing to re-make because you didn’t have all the information yet.

Regardless of your specific overwhelm type, there’s one shift I find incredibly supportive for all of us. And that’s starting to ask: “What’s the next one decision to make?”

Not all of the decisions. Just the very next one. It might be “do I actually want to do this trip at all?” It might be “what dates work?” It might be “how much time do I have for baking the day before?” Whatever the next decision is, that’s the only one we’re making right now.

Once that one is made, the next one usually reveals itself. And then the next one after that. This is how we move through complex planning without flooding our executive function: one decision, then a pause, then the next.

If much of your overwhelm comes from a backlog of unmade decisions, you might try a similar brain dump: list the decisions you need to make, then focus on one and ask, “What is the next single decision to make here?”

4. Give Yourself Permission to Opt Out

I want to offer a different way to think about saying no.

For a lot of us, it carries a lot of weight. It can seem like selfishness, or disappointment, or proof that we should be able to handle more than we can. But often, saying no is simply an honest reflection of capacity.

When we keep saying yes to things that don’t actually fit, we usually pay for it somewhere else. We lose the weekend we needed to recover. We rush through the work or the relationships that matter most to us. We start feeling resentful, stretched thin, or like we’re constantly trying to catch up. Or we start dropping balls or needing to cancel at the very last minute because it truly just doesn’t fit.

When we say yes past capacity, it’s pulling energy and resources from somewhere, whether it’s our rest, our focus, or our patience with those we love — and with ourselves.

When we get clearer about our limits, saying no becomes a way to protect what matters most. It helps us make cleaner decisions about where our time and energy actually go, instead of accidentally using them up on things we never meant to prioritize.

A script that tends to work well: “I need to pass on this one, but thank you so much for thinking of me. I really appreciate it.” Or, if you genuinely do want to say yes sometime down the road: “That sounds like so much fun, and I would love to at some point. It won’t work for me in the next few months, but could we circle back in August or September?” (And only offer that one if you genuinely mean it.)

Simple and clear is enough. Most people don’t need a long explanation. The discomfort usually comes from our own brains trying to manage everyone else’s reaction before it even happens.

And even though it’s probably a well-worn idea by now, I keep coming back to it because I think it’s true and it continues to help me: when we’re able to say no to the “let go” tasks, we create more space and presence for the full-body yes activities we actually want to do.

How to Put This Into Practice

Let’s bring this all together. Our four strategies for navigating cognitive overload with ADHD this summer:

• Brain dump and four containers: Get everything out of your head and sort it into must-do, want-to, maybe later, and let go.
• Protect white space: Schedule buffer time before and after events and treat those blocks as real appointments.
• One decision at a time: Focus on the very next decision, not all of them at once.
• Permission to opt out: Saying no protects your capacity for the things that genuinely matter.

I encourage you to start small. Pick the one that feels most relieving when you imagine doing it. That’s the one your brain is asking you to start with.

If your shoulders dropped at “brain dump,” start there. Set a ten-minute timer this week and empty your head onto paper. If you felt your chest open at “permission to opt out,” start there. Look at one thing on your summer calendar that you said yes to out of obligation and consider whether it’s still a yes. Or choose one area where you want to make decisions and start with the very first one.

Truly, it doesn’t matter where you start. The important thing, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, is to start with just one. Take that first step and notice how you feel. If you feel a slight shift, a little less overwhelmed, you might consider taking the next step, because that’s how we move through the things: one step at a time.

Resources From This Episode:

• Discover Your ADHD Overwhelm Type – Free Quiz!
• Try out Wispr Flow

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Work With Me:

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

More ADHD Resources:

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

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