There's a psychological principle called the Zeigarnik effect, and it's the reason you feel mentally exhausted even when you haven't done that much. Your brain keeps every unfinished task active in working memory. That email you keep meaning to send. The follow-up you've been putting off. The project you started and set down. Your brain is quietly tracking all of it, all the time, like background apps draining your battery. For us with ADHD, this is especially brutal because working memory is already limited. So those open loops aren't just annoying background noise. They're eating into the actual cognitive bandwidth you need to think clearly, make decisions, and do the work that matters. The fix isn't doing more. It's aggressively closing loops — especially the small ones — because small closed loops free up real space. And sometimes the easiest way to close a loop is to have somewhere to PUT it so your brain doesn't have to keep holding it. The system doesn't have to be fancy. A notebook, a notes app, a Notion table, a whiteboard — it doesn't matter. What matters is two things: one place where everything lives, and a daily habit of looking at it. Here's the basic structure that works for me, and you can apply it to whatever tool you already have: 1. Everything goes in one place. No separate lists for work stuff vs. life stuff vs. "someday maybe." One list. 2. Due dates are optional and mean something specific. A due date should mean "there are real consequences if this doesn't happen today" — not just "I assigned a date so this wouldn't get lost." 3. Every morning, make a Do Today list. Go through what's due, what's overdue, and what's sitting open. Choose what you're actually doing today and mark it. That's your real list. 4. Prioritize due today over past due. This feels backwards, but it keeps today clean and stops the cascade where everything ends up overdue anyway. My version lives in Notion, but I've run the same logic off a legal pad before. The tool isn't the point. The daily review is the point — because that's what tells your brain it doesn't have to keep tracking everything on its own.

My husband is in the middle of a 5-day Water Fast and I came upon this group directly in the middle of a spiritual conversation with him. The questions @Kasim Aslam asks us to answer... I honestly had a little trouble coming up with answers. Here we go! - Tell us what you HAVE (what makes you awesome?) I'm a mother of 3 children ages 6-months old to 4-years-old and I run a $400K+ e-commerce and info Product Business with my husband. We are in the midst of launching a 2nd business that is strictly digital products. I'm awesome because I can create and build wildly quickly, efficiently, and strategically given our current life (zero babysitters, and we home school). - Tell us what you WANT (what are your goals?!) I want to help 500,000 families achieve their version of financial freedom. I grew up in a single-mother household where rent was 6-months overdue, but we had the latest tech and clothes. Financial literacy was not the norm, and entrepreneurship was not the goal. I believe a lot of families exist in this mindset, and I want to change that. I believe in options and creating a life that is LIFE FIRST, business and money second. I'm learning how to explain this better! 😂 - Tell us what you NEED (what's keeping you from your goals?) I (and my husband) need to community! We need people we can bounce ideas off of. Hearing what's working, what's not. Inspiration. Relatability. Realness. Open to answer questions, feedback, or invites for connection =)

You may be tempted to lurk - in this community, other forums, or in life. You'll do better to participate instead. Worried you don’t have value to add? Start by giving thanks. If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button. Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you. Here’s what’ll happen: 1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void. 2) You’ll encourage them to post again. 3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times. 4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you. 5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others. 6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer. 7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business). Try it and see what happens. Come back and thank me later.

In software there's a concept called the 'Software Development Lifecycle'. If you're not interested in learning about that, you can jump to "The Question" below. Software used to be built using the Waterfall style. In Waterfall development, you plan out the entire program up front. In the 80's they started to move toward a more iterative process. In the early 2000's, the Agile Manifesto was written. Agile spawned a number of dogmatic offshoots. Agile is still the foundation of most software development (I think). In short, Agile is an iterative process where you plan 1 - 4 week 'sprints'. It's encouraged to have the software in a working, usable state at the end of every sprint. That allows the stakeholders to use the software, so that their feedback can guide development. You don't plan the whole thing end-to-end because you know the requirements are going to change during development. You probably recognize these Agile principles. You may be using them without realizing it. I think most entrepreneurs have recognized the benefit (or necessity) of getting something on the market so that you don't build something that nobody wants. During the Daily Sigh yesterday, @Grant Füellenbach mentioned sprints, and I realized that people without a software background may not know what that means nor apply it. *The Question* Do you apply any structure to how you plan and run your business? If not, do you think that may be useful to you? If you don't think it would be useful to you, why not?

Have you noticed the gradual decline of “normal” in places that have historically been seen as the “standard” for modern living? At some point, we each decide where our energy goes. As it gets harder and harder to eek out a living for many, there are really only two main options: 1️⃣ Strive to get better at playing the ‘business as usual’ game 2️⃣ Get out of the game and strive to create new games more aligned with how life actually works Both involve striving. Which one leads to satisfaction? Yes, I AM speaking from privilege. I suspect that if you’re reading this, you have privilege, too. What would happen if we turned our fiery hunger for change inward, from being angry at what’s wrong outside to being compassionate towards what we find inside? Oh man, it’s instantly a completely different world! Ask me how I know. Why does this matter? We are all fortunate to live in a time of unprecedented global transition. If we can focus our energy on growing what’s life-affirming while removing our energy from what’s life-destroying, both in ourselves and in other beings, imagine what we could change! In community gatherings, we can support each other in doing just this, in whatever baby step makes sense. If you felt drawn to this idea, you are not alone. In gratitude, Deborah.