How To Zoom In & Get Specific With ADHD: Step By Step

How often do you look at a big project and think to yourself, “I have no idea where to start!”

If you have an ADHD brain like mine, it’s probably more often than you’d like.

You see, breaking down large projects into smaller tasks demands a lot from our executive functions. 

And since ADHD significantly impacts our executive functions, that means it’s literally harder for our brains to do this.

So if you ever find yourself thinking, “I know what to do, but I can’t seem to start,” it makes sense.

You haven’t done anything wrong.

Your brain just needs some different support.

And that’s exactly what we explore in episode 208 of the I’m Busy Being Awesome podcast.

Tune in now and discover an ADHD-friendly approach to get started on that big project with less confusion, overwhelm, and procrastination. (Yes, really!)

You can listen to the episode above or stream it on your favorite podcasting app here.   

Prefer to read? No problem! Keep scrolling for the entire podcast transcript. 

In This Episode, You Will Discover

• Why we feel overwhelmed when facing a big project with ADHD
• A simple, step-by-step process that helps you break down the project into manageable steps
• Specific examples demonstrating how to implement the process in real-life situations

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Episode #208: How To Zoom In & Get Specific With ADHD: Step By Step (Transcript) 

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. This is part two of our two-part series, all about navigating overwhelm. As I mentioned in last week’s episode, overwhelm is a rather familiar experience to those of us with ADHD and ADHD tendencies. We know it all too well. For some of us, it’s a daily occurrence, which, let’s be honest, can be both physically and mentally exhausting in and of itself.

Now, I think about the experience of feeling overwhelmed as an important signal from my brain and body that I have reached my capacity. I cannot take in any more information.

My prefrontal cortex has left the building. I need some kind of break. If I was a glass, you could not pour anything else in it because I’m full; I’m at capacity.

This signal of overwhelm from the brain and the body reminds us that it’s time to step back and take care of ourselves. It’s a reminder to pause, and regulate, and self-soothe.

This experience of overwhelm can really throw us off our groove.

Side note – the moment I said that, I started thinking about the opening scene from Emperor’s New Groove when Emperor Kuzco is all, “Hey – you threw off my groove!”

But seriously, when we experience that big wash of overwhelm, it can really derail us. It can leave us feeling frozen or stuck, or we end up distracting ourselves from the work we actually want to do.

And because of this, I decided to carve out space in both last week’s episode and this week’s episode to provide you with specific examples and tools to help you navigate overwhelm emotion whenever the emotion arises.

I like to think of them as tools in your ADHD toolkit that you can pull out whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed to help ground yourself, find some clarity, and then take the next step forward in the direction you want to go.

Last week, I gave an overview of two different situations where we feel most overwhelmed

First is when we get swamped in the tiny details. We get lost in the weeds, and we convince ourselves that there’s a right choice or a best decision to make. We worry about all the tiny details, and we lose sight of the big picture.

As a reminder, this is where the phrase “you can’t see the forest for the trees really comes into play.” We’re so focused on each of the specific trees that we forget there’s an entire forest when we pull back just a little bit.

And that’s exactly how we talked about navigating this particular flavor of overwhelm last week.

When we find ourselves spinning in uncertainty we want to…

• Pull back from the details.
• Get out of the weeds and remind ourselves of the big picture and what matters most.
• We want to pull back and ask ourselves, “What actually matters here?” “What is most important?” “What does ‘done’ look like?”

From there, we remind ourselves where we tend to get lost in the details of whatever the particular situation is – whether it’s deciding between colors and images for your PowerPoint presentation or what clothes to pack for your vacation – and we intentionally carve out time for those details after we’ve reached our level of “done.”

We don’t ignore these details entirely – because they’re important to you. But we don’t let them take up all of your time either. Instead, we get the project or task to your defined level of “done” first, so that you could technically move forward on the presentation or take the vacation if you had to.

But you also intentionally allow yourself time to focus on the details – to choose the colors or put together different outfit combinations or research a couple of different options before making your final decision when the timer goes off.

When you step back in this way, you help your brain remember there is a forest. You help your brain step back from the details of each individual tree, and you see the forest as a whole, which allows you to create clarity, prioritize what’s essential, and start taking action, one step at a time.

If you have not yet listened to this episode, I highly encourage you check it out here > Episode 207: How To Avoid Overwhelm & Getting Stuck In The Details

This Week We’re Zooming In

This week, we’re taking the opposite approach. Because the other situation in which we often feel overwhelmed is when we’re essentially frozen in the big picture.

So often, we have these big, brilliant ideas come to us. (We are idea machines, after all.) And while these ideas completely light us up, and we can’t wait to get started, we also can’t figure out how to do so.

We know we want to start, but we can’t seem to do it.

This is because our brain has a really hard time with the process of sequencing.

We have a hard time breaking down the overarching picture into smaller more bite sized steps and doing so in an order that makes sense.

So instead of doing that, we write on our To Do List on a Tuesday at 10:00 am:

• Start business.
• Declutter the house.
• Or, in the case of one of the examples we’ll look at today, plan for the next school year.

These tasks are way too big. We don’t know what they mean. And the brain has no clue where to even think about beginning. So we don’t.

Instead, we spin in confusion; we might procrastinate AROUND the work with similar busywork. And most likely, we also beat ourselves up for not doing the thing even though it’s on our schedule for the day.

We think something like, “What’s my problem? Why can’t I just get started? It’s not that hard. I know what I need to do.”

The truth is, your brain doesn’t know what to do. It has a general idea of the direction in which you’re headed, but it doesn’t know how to get there.

An analogy you’ve maybe heard me use on the podcast before is that it’s similar to someone writing on my to-do list for tomorrow: Drive to Seward. That’s it. Now I have no idea where that is. I don’t know the state. I don’t know the direction in which I’m heading. It just says, drive to Seward.

Now, I do technically know what I need to do. I know I need to drive to Seward, but I literally know nothing else.

And because of this, we know we need to break it down – otherwise there’s just no way I’m going to get to the right place.

So maybe I do some research, and I learn that Seward is in Alaska. Good to know; now I know I’m driving North.

Then I do some more research, and I figure out where in Seward I’m going. Maybe I get an address so I can get my turn-by-turn instructions with a better idea of when I’ll get there and how long my drives will be each day.

With that additional information, I can start making more specific plans.

But until I start breaking down the steps and gaining more information about what I need to do, one step at a time, there’s no way in the world I’d get myself to Seward.

Well, the same is true with that big presentation your boss wanted you to complete for Thursday or the brilliant redecorating project you saw on Pinterest that you bought all the supplies for but don’t know where to start. We’ve all been there.

And the secret to getting yourself into motion is zooming in. We need to get smaller. We need to get specific.

So, what does this look like? And how do we do it?

In a very meta way – let’s zoom in and get specific about this big-picture idea of zooming in and getting specific. Let’s talk it through with some examples.

In my three-day training, Overwhelm to Action, last month, one of the topics we explored on the live coaching call focused on preparing for the following school year.

We had several professors on the call, so I not only saw people asking questions about this very topic in the chat, but also one of the people I coached live also wanted some help moving through the overwhelm when she thought about the planning process so she could dive in and get started.

Of course, I remember that feeling of overwhelm so strongly when it came to getting ready for my classes each semester, too. I left academia in July of 2021, but every August and December, I still feel a minor panic/rush from my brain thinking, “Oh no! Are all my syllabi ready? Do I have everything uploaded on the course website?”

Preparing for something that unfolds over a longer period of time, whether it’s courses throughout the school year or all the activities and plans for your family throughout the fall – can feel especially challenging for our ADHD brains.

Why? Because it’s not only taking that big picture project and breaking it up into smaller pieces, but it also takes into account…

• Planning and structuring projects and readings and knowing how much we can get done within a certain amount of time.
• Prioritization of deciding what readings to include and what topics to explore, and which ones to leave out when everything seems equally important.

I remember thinking when I designed my history of protest music course, “How can I possibly choose just 16 weeks of artists and topics?! There is SO MUCH to look at!”

The same is true whether you’re planning a class, you’re mapping out your family’s fall schedule, or you’re a small business owner planning out your next quarter and the different product launches for the following season.

This type of situation can feel extremely challenging for the ADHD brain, and it’s one where zooming in and getting specific is especially effective. So let’s talk about how to do this.

Zoom In & Get Specific With Project Steps

1. Where Are We Going? What’s The Goal?

For whatever project or plan it is that you’re creating, we need to know where you’re going.

So just as we talked about with this strategy of zooming out in episode 207, when we zoom in, we still want to know what done looks like.

Where are you going?

What is the end product we’re creating?

If we think about planning out the coming school year as our example, we might start by saying,

“I have all of my classes planned out for both the fall and the spring semester. And that looks like each class having a syllabus where I’ve identified all the projects and assessments, the weekly readings, and the information I want to teach during each lecture.”

Great. We know what “done” looks like.

2. Zoom In

Now we can zoom in a little bit. I like to think of it as if you are looking at Google Maps, and you’ve just entered the address where you are now and the address where you’re headed regarding preparing for the school year ahead – what done looks like.

Now we’re essentially seeing one red squiggly line from one point to the other. Now what we want to do is zoom in one click. Again, if you think of Google Maps, and how you can click on the + or the – button to zoom in further on a map and see a little bit more detail, we’re zooming in one more click.

So, rather than planning for the entire year, let’s plan for just the semester.

We’ve zoomed in one click, and we know we’re looking at one semester.

Now, let’s zoom in one more click to figure out how many classes we’re planning, which classes are brand new, and which ones you’ve taught before.  

For the sake of this example, let’s say you’re teaching three classes, and one of them is new. Great. Then let’s zoom in one click further.

As we zoom in, perhaps we zoom in specifically on the new class since we’ve never taught it before, and we want to have more time to think it through. We know we can zoom back out and look at class number two and class number three next.

But for now, we’re zooming in a little further in our turn-by-turn instructions to see greater detail about this one class in fall semester or this one project you’re exploring for Q3 in your business.

As I just alluded to, I know I’m talking about planning a semester, but remind your brain that you can use this approach for any big project you’re working on.

Another Example:

You own a clothing boutique and you’re mapping out your new products for the upcoming quarter, you might zoom in on one type of clothing or one brand at a time.

Or maybe it’s by season, and you zoom in on the late summer season, then back-to-school clothes, then early fall when everybody wants to wear really cute fall sweaters and boots, but it’s still way too hot to actually wear them, so it’s more like summer clothes but in fall colors, etc.

So again, even though we’re using an example of planning a semester, it can really be any type of situation where the project feels big, and you don’t know where to start. You can follow the same process.

3. Keep Zooming In Until You Need To Take Action

So if we return to our example with the new semester, and we’ve zoomed in on the classes, and we’ve identified the one new class, we’re going to press the little plus button and zoom in one step further on our new class to learn even more information.

Each time we zoom in, we get even more specific in our steps.

Please note: We haven’t taken action in any of the other areas yet.

All we’re doing right now is zooming in again and again and again to create greater clarity of where we’re at and what needs to be done first.

And we’ll keep zooming in until we get to a point where it’s clear that we’ve reach a place to take action – where we can’t move forward until we’ve taken that step.

When we look at “plan your school year” on our schedule, there is no clear action step. So we keep zooming in until we get to the level of specificity that the brain easily knows what to do.

Now that we’ve zoomed in on one class, we might ask ourselves questions like,

• What are the specific learning objectives?
• What do you want to ensure your students walk away knowing by the end of this class?

In other words, what matters most? What’s the most important thing about this class?

4. Decide Your Learning Objectives

We need to decide what our learning objectives are before we can move on to the next thing.

In this example of planning the semester, our first action was making decisions about what specific learning objectives we want for that class.

If we go back to the clothing brand example, maybe it’s deciding what specific brands you want to work with that season.

(As a side note, I have no idea if that’s actually accurate or not. While I’m very well versed in course design, I’m much less so in staying on top of fashion trends as a small boutique owner… Probably not the best example for me to choose, but hopefully, you get the idea.)

So, let’s go back to the area I know well.

5. How Will You Measure Your Success?

Let’s say you took that first action step and you identified your 5-6 learning objectives; now what?

If we’re not sure what to do, that means we need to zoom in one click further. We need to get more specific.

If you’ve identified your learning objectives, perhaps you zoom in further and ask yourself:

• How will I measure these learning objectives?
• How will I know whether the students have successfully learned the material?

Perhaps you have a combination of different learning assessments. Maybe you have a couple of papers, a couple of tests, and a presentation. Great. Now let’s zoom in one step further.

When are these different assessments due? Assign those dates.

Now from here, you might find that you zoom in even further on one specific assessment.

Maybe we zoom in and we ask ourselves, what is the different content and information that the students need to learn between the start of the school year and the first assessment?

Then you identify that information, and you make decisions about what you will teach, what they will read outside of class, etc.

Once you’ve decided on all of that information for assessment number one, you then move to assessment #2 and ask and answer the same questions.

So as you can hear, this is a very methodical approach to going from the big picture to zooming in, one click at a time, until you get to an action point.

Once you reach that action point where you can’t move forward until you take action, that’s your next step. Take that step, and then zoom in the click further. What’s next?

If This Exercise Feels Challenging…

Slow down and keep going step by step

Whenever you get stuck, and you notice your brain spinning or you start slipping into overwhelm thinking, “I have no idea what to do next,” challenge your brain to zoom in one click further.

Chances are, we’re too big, and we’re too vague. If the brain doesn’t have direction, and it doesn’t know where to start. So zoom in.

Also, take it slow. Give yourself space to go step by step.

This exercise that I’m describing here is incredibly demanding on the ADHD brain.

It is challenging. With practice, it becomes more familiar. But it’s very easy for the brain to slip into overwhelm with big projects like this, especially if the step-by-step process is not super familiar or well-practiced yet.

Ask yourself…

I also want to mention that in situations like this, it can feel challenging to simply get ourselves to slow down and map out the step-by-step. Your brain will say things like, “This will take way too long. I don’t have the time to do that kind of step-by-step process.”

And if your brain offers thoughts like that, I’d invite you to ask yourself – with all the love in the world – “how’s that story working out for you?”

Whenever I notice my brain thinking something like, “I just don’t have time for this…” I’ll lovingly ask myself,

• How’s that thought working out for you?
• Is it getting you moving forward at all? (Spoiler alert – it NEVER helps) What if we give breaking things down a try?

Because honestly, whenever I notice myself resisting breaking down steps and whenever I think to myself, “I don’t have time for this. I just need to get started.” it’s essentially a bright neon flashing sign indicating that it’s even more important that I slow down and make time for it.

In fact, that’s exactly what I DO need to do to move forward efficiently.

A Reminder That This Process Takes Practice

I will also mention that this process of breaking down tasks is a skill that takes practice, and it’s a great one to practice with a coach or your partner, or a safe colleague or friend.

Having somebody sit with you who encourages you to pause and verbally process through the steps as you break things down can be really supportive for an ADHD brain. It’s one of my favorite ways to work through big projects myself. So don’t be afraid to put in some extra scaffolding for your brain if that feels supportive for you.

One More Example of Zooming In

All right, let’s talk about one more example to put this exercise of zooming in into practice.

In the chat from day two of overwhelm to action last month, somebody shared that they often find themselves spinning, stuck in the big picture when it comes to planning and long to-do lists.

They said they can’t seem to take action on the priorities and instead feel really stuck. And I know for a fact that this is such a relatable obstacle for nearly every single ADHD brain in different areas of our lives. The struggle is real.

I want to address this from two different angles.

1. You know your task, but can’t seem to take action

The first is if you already know your priority task, but you can’t seem to get your brain to take action on it.

For example, perhaps you have a long To Do List of tasks, but you know without a doubt that completing all the charts for work by the end of the day is number one on that list.

There’s no question in your mind, that is the most important thing. But for whatever reason, you’re finding yourself checking e-mail, helping out other people on their projects, doing other administrative tasks that you would normally avoid at all costs.

Essentially, you’ve noticed that procrastiworking has taken over, and you can’t seem to get started on the one thing.

What do we do here?

The good news is that this is the exact same process we just talked about with planning out the school year. What’s likely happening is that your brain is too overwhelmed thinking about this big project – in this situation, getting all the charting done by the end of the day.

We know what done looks like. The charts are done and submitted.

So now, how do we zoom in? How do we make it smaller?

For example, maybe you zoom in by timeline, and you work first on Monday and Tuesday of last week, then Wednesday and Thursday of last week, then Friday of last week and Monday of this week.

Then you zoom in one click further to create even greater clarity about the task and what needs to be done about Monday and Tuesday’s charts, and you keep zooming in until you find the first action step.

So essentially, it’s the same approach we explored with planning for the school year. If you know the priority on your long To Do List, but you’re just not taking action on it.

Chances are the project is too big and you haven’t broken it down far enough, so the brain doesn’t know where to start.

Now there could be other reasons why you’re stuck as well, but it’s a pretty safe bet that if this is work you genuinely want to do, a key way to help create traction and take action is to zoom in and give your brain more specific instructions.

2. Everything seems important, and you have no idea what to pick first

What can we do?

What happens when you don’t know what’s most important?

You have 47 things on your To Do List, and everything legitimately seems equally important. Or maybe you can identify four things that can wait, but the remaining 43 items all seem like a fire.

What do we do? This is a big area that I explore in depth with my clients both 1:1 and in We’re Busy Being Awesome.

In fact, I have three key ways to really help your brain quickly clarify your priorities and where to first put your attention based on what’s on your list, what feels most supportive for your brain, and what works best for your work style.

I don’t have time to get into all of that today since this episode is already long enough. But I do want to offer some powerful clarifying questions to help you quickly identify what goes at the top of the list.

So again, if we are stuck in the big picture of a massive to-do list of all the things you want to get done, we want to zoom in one click for clarity.

And to do this, I first encourage you to look at your list and ask yourself,

What are the tasks that have actual deadlines – either set by you or somebody else?

These items belong at the top of your list.

You may be rolling your eyes think, “duh,” of course the things with due dates go at the top, but pause for a minute.

How often do you actually slow down enough to separate that out and really make it clear in your mind? I know if I’m not intentional about it, the answer is essentially never.

Now as you go through your list and you identify the deadlines, if you find items that don’t have a deadline, you can either

A) give it a deadline and include it in the ranking, or

B) intentionally decide that this task or project can wait. If there’s no deadline – whether decided by you or somebody else – it’s probably not as critical.

So we’ve identified priority by deadline. Now let’s zoom in one click further after.

Looking at your list, ask yourself:

Which of the items on my list require my attention this week?

And really pause with this question.

Your brain will absolutely want to say that you need to get them all done this week, (and also, it will probably genuinely think you CAN get all of it done with plenty of time, and you could probably even add a few more things to the list, no problem.)

While that may be true, I challenge you to pause with each task that’s left on your list and identify what items need to happen this week no matter what?

What requires immediate attention today?

Once you have that list identified, then we zoom in with one more click.

Ask yourself, from this list of items that must happen this week, what requires immediate attention today? From this list of weekly tasks, what must I take action on today?

Again, your will likely want to say that everything should happen today.

This is a totally normal response from ADHD brains that love all-or-nothing thinking. But again, we know that’s likely not the case. In fact, it’s very unlikely that everything on your list requires immediate attention today.

(As a side note, if it is true, and you have dozens of things that must happen today, your next step might be learning more about delegation and asking for help. And for that, I would highly recommend checking out episode 108 of the podcast, which I will link to in the show notes for ways to help you ask for help with confidence.)

But chances are, there are only a handful of things on your weekly list that absolutely must happen today. So identify those.

Zoom in one click further and ask yourself, “With this first task on my list:

Ask yourself those same three questions for the remaining 2-3 other non-negotiables on your list for that day.

And just like that, you’ve gone from a list of 47 things that all seemed like a fire to a clear action plan for today with where to focus your attention,  where to start, and the specific steps to take.

If you’ve ever find you start spinning or feeling overwhelmed, ask yourself,

• Do I need to zoom in one step further?
• Do I need to get more specific?

Reminder – You Can Always Zoom Back Out When Needed

If you’re stuck in the weeds of all the steps for each project that day, you can zoom out and remind yourself, I have three non negotiable tasks today. That’s it. I’m focused on these three things.

Then choose one. Zoom in until you find the first action step, and take that step.

Recap

These zoom-in and zoom-out strategies in your toolkit pair really well together.

You may find that you use both at different times as you work on bigger projects and tasks. And that’s beautiful. That’s why you have both. They’re intended to work together.

With practice, you’ll start knowing immediately which tool to grab in any given situation so you’re navigating that overwhelm with much greater ease.

Alright, my friends, that’s going to do it for us this week. If you’re ready to take these concepts deeper and apply them to your life, I invite you to learn more about my small group coaching program, We’re Busy Being Awesome. And if it sounds like a great fit for you, you can add your name to the waitlist so you’re the first to know when the next cohort begins. 

Also, have you grabbed my free ebook called 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain? It is filled with actionable strategies to help you reduce your overwhelm, reclaim your time, and get things done. Grab your copy HERE!

Until next time, keep being awesome, I’ll talk with you soon.