Have you ever spent the day getting things done… but still avoided the one thing you actually intended to do?
In this episode of ADHD Support Talk Radio, Tara McGillicuddy talks about productive procrastination and how it shows up for adults with ADHD.
Productive procrastination happens when you are taking action on something useful, meaningful, or important — but it is not the task, project, or commitment you originally planned to work on.
It can feel confusing because you are not doing “nothing.” You may be answering emails, organizing something, cleaning, researching, planning, updating a system, or checking another item off your list. You are busy. You are active. You may even be accomplishing something.
But the bigger question is:
Is the task you are doing helping you move toward what you intended to do — or is it pulling you away from it?
What Is Productive Procrastination?
Productive procrastination is different from zoning out, scrolling endlessly, or avoiding everything completely. It often looks responsible from the outside.
You may be doing something that matters. You may be doing something that has value. You may even be doing something that has been sitting on your to-do list for a long time.
The challenge is that it may not be the thing that has the most energy, urgency, or importance behind it right now.
For adults with ADHD, this can become especially tricky because the ADHD brain often responds strongly to what feels easier, faster, more interesting, more urgent, or more immediately rewarding.
That does not mean productive procrastination is always bad.
Sometimes, it can actually help.
When Productive Procrastination Can Help
In this episode, Tara explains that productive procrastination is not automatically positive or negative. Sometimes it can be useful.
For example, doing a smaller or easier task first may help you:
✅ Build momentum
✅ Reduce mental clutter
✅ Stimulate your brain
✅ Create a sense of accomplishment
✅ Move out of stuckness
✅ Prepare yourself to start the bigger task
For some adults with ADHD, starting with a different productive task can create enough activation to move forward. It may give your brain the dopamine, interest, or energy it was missing.
In those moments, productive procrastination may actually serve a purpose. It may help you get to the original task instead of keeping you away from it.
When Productive Procrastination Keeps You Stuck
There are also times when productive procrastination becomes a problem.
You may tell yourself you are only going to spend 10 or 20 minutes on something else. Then suddenly, much more time has passed. What started as a quick task turns into an hour, two hours, or even most of the day.
This can connect with common ADHD challenges like:
✅ Time blindness
✅ Hyperfocus
✅ Task avoidance
✅ Overwhelm
✅ Difficulty prioritizing
✅ Losing track of the original plan
The task you chose may have been productive. It may have been useful. It may have even been important.
But if it pulls you away from the project or task you intended to do, it can leave you feeling frustrated, guilty, or disappointed in yourself.
The Emotional Side of ADHD Procrastination
Tara also talks about the emotional impact of productive procrastination.
Many adults with ADHD are familiar with the cycle of guilt, shame, blame, and self-criticism that can happen after avoiding or delaying an important task.
This can be especially frustrating when you were technically doing something productive. You may think:
“I was busy all day, so why do I still feel like I didn’t do what mattered?”
That is one of the confusing parts of productive procrastination. You may have accomplished something, but the task with the most pressure, energy, or importance is still sitting there.
A Helpful Question to Ask Yourself
One of the key questions Tara shares in this episode is:
Is this helping me do what I intended to do?
That question can help you pause and look at what is really happening.
If the answer is yes, the task you are doing may be helping you build momentum, clear mental clutter, or prepare for the next step.
If the answer is no, it may be time to look more closely at the task you are avoiding.
Ask yourself:
✅ Is this task overwhelming?
✅ Is it unclear where to begin?
✅ Is there a decision I have not made yet?
✅ Is the task too big or too vague?
✅ Am I avoiding something uncomfortable?
✅ Does the other task feel more urgent or rewarding?
Sometimes procrastination is not just procrastination. It may be information.
It may show you that the task needs to be broken down, clarified, re-prioritized, or approached in a different way.
Productive Procrastination, Priorities, and ADHD
This episode also explores how productive procrastination may sometimes point to a prioritizing or time management issue.
There may be times when the thing you chose instead actually does have more immediate weight. It may have a deadline, consequence, or benefit that makes it more pressing than you first realized.
In that case, productive procrastination may not be simple avoidance. It may be your brain responding to urgency, pressure, or energy before your conscious planning catches up.
That is why Tara encourages listeners to look at productive procrastination with curiosity instead of judgment.
The goal is not to beat yourself up.
The goal is to understand what is happening and whether the action you are taking is helping you move forward or keeping you stuck.
This Episode Is Especially Helpful If You…
This episode may be especially helpful if you:
✅ Stay busy but avoid the most important task
✅ Struggle with ADHD procrastination
✅ Lose track of time while doing “quick” tasks
✅ Get pulled into hyperfocus
✅ Feel guilty even after getting things done
✅ Have trouble deciding what to do first
✅ Experience overwhelm around bigger projects
✅ Want to better understand your ADHD productivity patterns
Listen to the Episode
Listen to this episode of ADHD Support Talk Radio and think about where productive procrastination may be showing up in your own life.
Is it helping you build momentum?
Or is it pulling you away from the task, project, or commitment that matters most right now?
About ADHD Support Talk Radio
ADHD Support Talk Radio is a podcast for adults with ADHD, co-hosted and produced by Tara McGillicuddy. The podcast features practical support, insight, and strategies related to adult ADHD, productivity, time management, procrastination, follow-through, emotional overwhelm, and getting things done.
To learn more and listen to past episodes, visit:
To learn more about Tara McGillicuddy, her programs, and her services, visit:
For free ADHD webinars, events, and resources, visit:
Tara McGillicuddy is described by those who know her – clients, fellow leaders, and community – as dedicated to the deep, soulful energetic-level shifts required by life. Whether she’s helping to SEE your life more clearly, identify where you’re stuck, tuning into sacred energies OR she’s helping to build a practical life with tools, structure, physical help and precise action steps, she is committed to giving everything she knows to help you live your best life and to feel fulfilled by it.
Tara has been known and celebrated in the ADHD community for decades of practical and long-lasting shifts in tens of thousands in her communities. The creator of ADDClasses.com, The ADHD Awareness Expo and ADHD Support Talk Radio Tara is one of the longest-standing leaders in the field. Over the years she has also honed her natural skills as an empath. She now also combines the rare gift of sight and energetic knowing.
ADHD Support Talk Radio is an award winning Podcast for Adults with ADD / ADHD. Co-hosts Tara McGillicuddy and Lynne Edris are joined by Adult ADHD experts and they cover important topics related to Adult ADD / ADHD. Podcast guests include Dr. Edward Hallowell, Dr. Stephanie Sarkis, Dr. Ari Tuckman, Laurie Dupar, Terry Matlen and many more.
Tara McGillicuddy is the Producer, Owner and Co-host of the ADHD Support Talk Radio Podcast. You may contact Tara with general questions or feedback about the podcast.
Lynne Edris is the Co-host of the ADHD Support Talk Radio Podcast. You may contact Lynne with feedback about her episodes.