I'm Tom Collins. I built a £5 million drinks company from my garage, and I've experienced task paralysis so severe that I once stared at a single email for three hours without typing a word. After my ADHD diagnosis at 45, I spent four years learning how to work with my brain instead of against it. Now I help other business leaders do the same.

In this guide, I'll share the exact strategies that helped me break through task paralysis—not theory from textbooks, but practical techniques that work in the real world of business.

What Is Task Paralysis?

Task paralysis, sometimes called ADHD paralysis or executive dysfunction, occurs when your brain knows what needs to be done but cannot initiate the action. It's like standing in front of a wall you need to climb, but your body refuses to move.

Research shows that task paralysis stems from executive function deficits in the prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain responsible for planning, organizing, and initiating tasks. For people with ADHD, this region functions differently, making it extraordinarily difficult to start tasks even when the consequences of not starting are severe.

Key Insight

Dr. Russell Barkley, a leading ADHD researcher, describes this as a "disorder of performance, not knowledge." You know what to do. You want to do it. But the bridge between knowing and doing is broken.

The Three Types of Task Paralysis

Task paralysis manifests in three distinct ways, and understanding which type you're experiencing is the first step to overcoming it.

1. Decision Paralysis

You have multiple tasks competing for attention, and you cannot decide which one to start first. Your brain cycles through options endlessly, creating a mental traffic jam where nothing moves forward.

2. Initiation Paralysis

You know exactly what needs to be done—there's no decision to make—but you cannot start. This is the most common form for business leaders. You sit at your desk, stare at the screen, and feel physically incapable of beginning.

3. Overwhelm Paralysis

The task feels too big, too complex, or too vague. Your brain cannot break it down into manageable steps, so it shuts down entirely. This often happens with open-ended projects without clear boundaries.

The Five Strategies That Actually Work

After years of trial and error, I've identified five strategies that consistently break through task paralysis. These aren't productivity hacks—they're neurobiological workarounds designed specifically for ADHD brains.

1. The Two-Minute Start Rule

The biggest lie your brain tells you is that you need to complete the entire task right now. You don't. You only need to start for two minutes.

Set a timer for two minutes. Tell yourself you only have to work on the task for those two minutes, and then you can stop. No judgment. No pressure. Just two minutes.

What happens is this: starting is the hardest part. Once you're in motion, your brain often stays in motion. The two-minute commitment removes the pressure of completion and focuses solely on initiation—the exact point where task paralysis occurs.

Example from my business:

I once had a client proposal that I couldn't start for three days. I set a two-minute timer and told myself I'd just write the client's name and company at the top of the document. That's it. Two minutes later, I'd written three paragraphs. The proposal was finished within an hour.

2. Externalise Everything: The Wall Method

Out of sight, out of mind. This is the ADHD reality. If a task isn't visible, it doesn't exist. This is why apps, digital to-do lists, and productivity systems fail for most people with ADHD—they require you to remember to check them.

Get a whiteboard, a large piece of paper, or a corkboard. Put it somewhere you walk past every single day—your bedroom, your kitchen, your office entrance. Write down your top three tasks for the day in large, visible letters.

The physical presence of the task list triggers your brain to engage with it. You don't have to remember to check an app. The tasks are there, in your face, impossible to ignore.

3. Body Doubling: The Power of Presence

Body doubling is the practice of working alongside another person—either in person or virtually—while you complete a task. The other person doesn't help you. They don't coach you. They just exist in the same space, working on their own tasks.

The presence of another person provides external accountability and structure. Your ADHD brain, which struggles to generate internal motivation, borrows motivation from the external environment.

4. The Five-Senses Reset

When task paralysis hits, your nervous system is often in a state of freeze—a stress response where your body shuts down. To break out of freeze, you need to reset your nervous system using sensory input.

Pick one or two senses and engage them deliberately: hold an ice cube, look out a window, play music, smell coffee, or eat a strong mint. This interrupts the freeze response and brings you back into your body, making it easier to initiate action.

5. Shrink the Task to Absurdity

If you cannot start a task, it's too big. The solution is to make it smaller. And if it's still too big, make it smaller again. Keep shrinking it until it becomes absurd—so small that your brain cannot resist it.

Instead of "write the proposal," shrink it to "open the document." Instead of "open the document," shrink it to "find the file." Instead of "find the file," shrink it to "turn on the computer."

By breaking the task down into steps so small they feel silly, you remove all resistance. Your brain cannot argue with "turn on the computer." It's too easy.

Final Thoughts: You're Not Broken

Task paralysis feels like a personal failing. It feels like laziness, weakness, or lack of discipline. It's none of those things. It's a symptom of ADHD—a neurobiological condition that affects how your brain initiates action.

The strategies in this guide work because they're designed for ADHD brains. They don't require willpower, discipline, or motivation. They provide external structure, reduce cognitive load, and work with your neurobiology instead of against it.

You're not broken. Your brain just needs to bat left-handed.

Ready to Overcome Task Paralysis?

If you're a business leader struggling with task paralysis and want personalised support, I offer one-on-one ADHD coaching specifically for entrepreneurs and executives.

How to Overcome Task Paralysis with ADHD: A Business Leader's Guide