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Stop Planning Your Days

Last week, I showed you the 3 Energy States Framework—Creative, Management, and Maintenance.

This week: How to plan with this system.

The Problem with Daily Plans

Your week probably looks like this:

Monday-Tuesday: Plan 3 hours. Brain says no. Do 30 minutes. Feel like a failure.

Wednesday: Brain cooperates. Hyperfocus 8 hours.

Thursday: Exhausted. Zero hours. Beat yourself up.

Friday: Manage 2 hours. Feel behind.

The result: You worked 10.5 focused hours but feel like you failed 4 out of 5 days.

The truth: You didn't fail. The system failed you.

Daily plans assume your ADHD brain shows up consistently. It never will.

The Weekly Target System

Here's what works:

Set a weekly target of focused hours. Track daily. No daily requirements.

Example: 15 focused hours by Sunday night.

What counts:

• Creative Energy (writing, strategy, deep thinking)

• Management Energy (tax prep, organising, implementation)

What doesn't count toward your target:

• Maintenance Energy (cooking, cleaning, caring for family)

But here's the critical part: You track Maintenance hours to.

Why Track Maintenance Hours?

This changes everything.

You track all three:

• Creative (counts toward target)

• Management (counts toward target)

• Maintenance (doesn't count, but you SEE it)

Then you realize:

"I worked 50 hours this week. Only 20 were focused work. The other 30 were maintenance—cooking, cleaning, caring for family. I'm NOT lazy. I'm just counting the wrong things."

For women 35-60 with care responsibilities, this is huge.

You've been beating yourself up for "only" logging 2 focused hours on days you spent 8 hours doing maintenance work that HAD to get done.

The tracker shows the full picture

Same Week, Different System

Old way (daily planning):

• Monday: Failed (0/3 hours)

• Tuesday: Failed (0/3 hours)

• Wednesday: Success (8/3 hours)

• Thursday: Failed (0/3 hours)

• Friday: Almost (2/3 hours)

• Total: 10.5 hours, feeling like I failed most days

New way (weekly targets):

• Target: 15 focused hours

• Monday-Tuesday: 0 focused + 14 hrs maintenance (life is running)

• Wednesday: 8 focused hours (8/15, halfway there!)

• Thursday: 0 focused + 7 hrs maintenance (still on track)

• Friday: 7 focused hours (15/15, target hit!)

• Weekend: Bonus 2 hours

• Total: 17 focused + 29 maintenance = 46 productive hours

Same work. Zero guilt. You can see you worked 46 hours total—not lazy, just living life.

How to Start

This week:

1. Choose your target (start with 10-15 focused hours)

2. Each day: Log Creative, Management, AND Maintenance hours

3. Watch your running total

4. End of the week: See the full picture

After 4 weeks, you'll discover:

• Your focused hours vary wildly but average out

• You consistently do 30-40 hours of maintenance every week

• Total productive hours are always 50-60

• You're not lazy—you're just counting the wrong things

Weekly Target Tracker

I've created a tracker that shows ALL THREE energy states.

What you'll see:

• Focused hours vs target (Creative + Management)

• Maintenance hours (the full picture)

• Total productive hours (proof you're not lazy)

This is the tool that shows you the truth: you're working way harder than you think

What We've Built

Over three weeks:

Week 1: Your brain isn't broken. You're using the wrong system.

Week 2: Match tasks to your 3 Energy States.

Week 3: Stop planning days. Track weeks. See the full picture.

Together: Your ADHD Operating System.

You're not trying to be more disciplined. You're learning to work WITH your brain.

That's the difference between burning out and building something sustainable.

Focus on what matters

Jim

Download your complimentary PDF of the first two chapters.

Readers Review

“I also love this brilliant approach to self-help. It is so much less abrasive and aggressive and allows for some serious growth and change to happen. Setting the key points and call to action and change against the backdrop of real life and the story of his late diagnosis and how he evolved from there was beautiful and extremely effective”. - Anthony Avina

Download your complimentary PDF of the first couple of chapters.

Or, if you want to buy a copy. 

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Expect the Best,

If you’ve got a second, I would love to hear your thoughts and comments. [email protected]  I reply to every email.

This site is not intended to provide and does not constitute medical, legal, or other professional advice. The content in this newsletter is designed to support, not replace, medical or psychiatric treatment. Please seek professional help if you believe you may have Mental Health Issues.

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