The 10-Minute Reset Ritual for Busy Adults with ADHD

When you're busy but not actually getting anything done—bouncing between emails, texts, Slack messages, and tabs—the problem isn't time management. According to Dave Greenwood, host of Overcoming Distractions, it's the state you're in. Overwhelm, information overload, low energy, and a loss of motivation combine to create a scattered brain that starts looking for relief rather than priorities. The instinct is to push harder, but Greenwood argues that's exactly the wrong move. The better response is a deliberate, structured pause.

What's Actually Happening in Your Brain

Greenwood is clear that he's not a doctor or therapist—just someone with decades of self-employment experience and ADHD. But his description of the underlying mechanism is practical: during these scattered moments, your brain isn't broken, but it is in overload. Too many inputs, too many decisions, too many open loops. When that happens, you stop looking for priorities and start looking for relief. That's when task-switching kicks in—checking email without answering it, avoiding hard tasks, or escaping to YouTube or social media. The brain is essentially trying to soothe itself, but the relief is temporary and the underlying state doesn't change.

The Five-Step Reset Ritual