I love Cirque du Soleil, but running a business with ADHD can feel like a 3-ring circus inside your brain that’s not so fun.  

We have countless decisions to make and without a decision strategy in place, our defaults of impulsivity, overthinking, and self-doubt will be running the show. The good news is that there are simple ways to not only make better decisions now, but gain decision confidence for future choices. 

Your ADHD brain is not broken, but it does need the right systems and supports to make more good decisions and develop decision confidence for the future.

So grab your notepad or better yet, just grab my free guide (link below) with all the tools in this episode.  

What to Listen for:

• Speedboat vs. Anchor Mode - Understand your natural decision-making tendencies and how they affect your choices.
• The Traffic Light System - Learn how to categorize decisions into green, yellow, or red lights by their level of risk and impact 
• Setting Time Boundaries for Decision Making - Tips on how to avoid the dreaded research rabbit hole and diminishing returns 
• The Good Enough Rule - Discover how aiming for "good enough" can save you from perfectionism paralysis.
• Tracking Your Decisions- The importance of a decision journal and how it can boost your confidence.

Fun Fact from the Episode:

Making impulsive decisions can sometimes be an ADHD superpower, because dopamine can open up creative problem-solving in surprising ways. 

Next Steps: 

Are you ready to put these strategies into action? Click here to grab your copy of my FREE "Decision Making with ADHD Guide" which includes journal prompts, the traffic light system, and a weekly decision review.

© 2024 ADHD-ish Podcast. Intro music by Ishan Dincer / Melody Loops / Outro music by Vladimir / Bobi Music / All rights reserved. 

Picture a 3-ring circus in your mind and if you have ADHD and are a business owner, that won't be hard. In one ring, there's impulsivity doing acrobatics. In another, analysis paralysis is juggling endless possibilities. And in the third, self doubt is walking a tight rope. Welcome to decision making with ADHD, especially for those of us who are business owners or self employed. Today, I'll be digging into why decision making feels so challenging and more importantly, how to make it easier. So whether you are a self employed solopreneur, small business owner, entrepreneur, independent professional, or creative, you've got a lot of decisions to make.

Let's face it, you are literally where the buck starts and stops. When there's no external structure to lean on because you're the boss, every decision can feel high stakes and your livelihood and that of your team, if you have 1, depend on your choices. So most of us with ADHD traits tend to fall either into the rush to make quick decisions, also called impulsivity, and the regret that sometimes follows, or the exhaustion of overthinking and the pressure of delayed choices. There are 2 decision making extremes. And because you know I love my analogies and metaphors, because they help my brain remember things, and I think they might be more memorable for you too, I'm gonna refer to these 2 extremes as either the speed boat or the anchor.

Now if you are in speed boat mode, the more impulsive type decision maker, you may think of your impulsivity as an ADHD superpower. Because let's face it, excitement driven choices can be very, very stimulating for our brains. It's all about the dopamine. And for many of us, making decisions at high speed opens our creative problem solving up in a very profound way. Many of us also have an intense focus on immediate action, and we really don't like to think much about down the road. People who started a business without a business plan, people who just jumped in and said, how hard can it be or I'll figure it out.

These are the entrepreneurs who tend to be in speed boat mode more naturally. Now these are often the people who are serial entrepreneurs because the more decisions you make impulsively, the more mistakes you make, and the more failures you will create. But if you stay in the game, if you stay in the pool, the pond, the ocean, whatever body of water we're going with, you'll probably eventually succeed. Hidden costs that might really set you back or sink your speedboat are missing crucial details, and this is almost inevitable when we're going too fast Because we're not considering the long term implications of our decisions, they can creep up on us in a rude awakening that was in a blind spot.

There are potential negative financial impacts as well as relationship strain with clients, romantic partners, and any team members we might have. So there are definite pros and cons to impulsive speedboat mode decision making. It's hard to tell how any one individual decision is gonna play out. But I think for those of us who tend to be more speed boaters, we will often justify why this mode creates winning situations because at least we're taking action. And there's a lot of truth to that. Now anchor mode, these are the folks that tend to get stuck in the research Whirlpool. Browser tabs start multiplying like rabbits. Spreadsheets are comparing every possible option.

And when we get into anchor mode, we're seeking the perfect information so we can make the perfect decision. All of this is in service to avoiding mistakes, accidents, failures, and anything we might regret later. The real impact is mental exhaustion, fatigue, burnout, resentment, and missed opportunities. I would say missed opportunities are probably the biggest impact of being in anchor mode. Because while we are trying to get it right, while we are trying to figure out how to make the very best possible decision, someone else who's not burdening themselves with endless research and seeking of perfection will be pulling ahead of us and will continue to be ahead of us every step of the way.

Because, typically, how we make one decision is how we make most, if not all, decisions. So really getting in touch with the missed opportunity aspect of being in anchor mode is a pain point I think many of us really need to get in touch with and be honest with ourself about. Because the ultimate cost is we lose momentum in business. We get fatigued. We get frustrated. We lose confidence in our ability to be successful. And the other piece is, you know, beyond a certain point, decision quality does not improve with more research. So I mean to give you some practical strategies for how to do enough research so that you don't feel like you're being reckless, but not so much that you miss opportunities and lose momentum.

Introducing the practical decision-making framework for ADHD. And again, because I love my analogies and metaphors, this time, instead of the speedboat in the anchor, I'm gonna ask you to think about something that you're very, very familiar with, and that is traffic lights. Green, yellow, and red. You may be color blind. And if you are, my apologies. This one may not be for you. Green light decisions are low risk, low impact choices. Some examples would be, you know, basic client communications, small purchases for your business, daily task prioritization. Yes, these things matter, but they matter a whole lot less than some other decisions we might make.

So for green light decisions, the strategy is trust your gut and decide quickly. If it takes more than 5 minutes, it's not a green light. So, again, green light decisions are low risk, low impact. They're small purchases, small tasks, things that we often do repeatedly, maybe daily or weekly, and these are ones where we want to trust our gut and just decide. Because the consequences of a good decision versus a bad one, when it comes to green light decisions, it's not that big a difference. Next up, yellow light decisions. These are medium or moderate risk and moderate impact. Some examples might be, let's say, investing in a new tool, a new platform, a new software for your business, revising your client agreements, or maybe changing your pricing strategy, or a new product, a new offer, a new service. There is more risk and more impact. So with this type of decision, with a yellow light decision, you want to use this strategy.

Boundaries plus limited research. What do we mean by limited, 2 hours to 2 days. What do I mean by boundaries? Define 3 must haves. So for a yellow light decision, let's say it's a new, tool that you're thinking about investing in. Let's say you're thinking about a new CRM or a new project management system, a new website platform. These are all things I've changed in the last year in my business. So I've had to make these very same yellow light decisions. Setting a limit of, on the low end, 2 hours, on the high end, 2 days means you're not going to allow yourself exceed to exceed the amount that you decide. You're simply not.

If you haven't reached a decision by the time you've decided, literally pin the tail on the donkey at that point and pick 1. And because nobody really wants to pin the tail on the donkey, when you set that time limit and you take it seriously, you get the job done. You get the decision made. You have enough time, not endless time, but not impulsive either. And the importance of the decision criteria, the boundaries, the must haves is by deciding those before you begin to contemplate your options. What are the 3 must haves? What are the 3 outcomes? What are the 3 most important criteria that the particular tool that you are evaluating must meet?

We can't get too much into the minutiae and trying to make it the absolute perfect best decision you've ever made, because when it's a yellow light decision, it has moderate impact on your business. And what I find is one of the most popular I'd say common not popular. One of the most common ways I see business owners hold themselves back and burn themselves out is by making all decisions in the same way. And what they typically do is treat all decisions as though they were our next category, red light decisions. They treat all decisions as though they were high risk and high impact, when the fact is the vast majority just aren't. So what is a red light decision? Well, some examples might be hiring a team member, making a major pivot or rebrand, or a significant investment in your business.

Now for this, you're gonna need a more structured approach, because the stakes really are higher. They don't just, quote, unquote, feel like it. Your research time limit will be between a week and a month. And while that might seem like a broad range, some people can confidently make a red light decision in a week's time. Others need more time to process, need more time to chew, need more time to percolate, need more time to research, and perhaps need more time to consult with trusted advisors, but no more than a month. And we gotta be serious about this because a red light decision I've seen can go on endlessly for years even. We wanna use external support for red light decisions, whether that's a coach, a consultant, a mentor.

Oftentimes, professional advice from at least one other person, whether it's an ongoing relationship or someone that you hire to give you a one off second opinion will often help you make this red light decision and be confident about it without letting the decision making period go on indefinitely. When you're making the decision, even with that feedback or professional advice, it's often helpful to break down pros and cons, and many of us also like to use worst case scenario planning. That's not for everybody, if you've got a great imagination and you tend to be anxious, you might not want to do the worst case scenario planning. Just saying.

Now when it comes to creating personal decision boundaries, I have created rules for myself that have absolutely been game changing because analysis paralysis is probably one of the most costly things we can indulge in in business even though it may seem absolutely necessary simply because we're so accustomed to it. Some possible personal decision boundaries that you might consider are putting specific limits on research. I often joke that most of us don't know the difference between research and a rabbit hole, and I'm not joking about that. So I set specific research limits with specific time blocks. I define how many information sources that I'm going to avail myself to, and I will also identify the minimum viable information I need.

So I take a look at whether it's a green, yellow, or red light decision, set a time block, decide what sources I'm going to explore, and set a minimum standard for how much information do I really need. Now if you are a more impulsive decision maker, you're going to want to set a minimum standard for what is the minimum amount of viable information you genuinely need based on whether it's green, yellow or red. If you're an overthinker, if you're a perfectionist, if you're a ruminator and a second guesser, then you're gonna want to establish a maximum because you are gonna be more likely to do too much.

Now, here's another one that I think is absolutely phenomenal. The good enough rule. Now, as a former overachiever, a plus, gifted student, you know, overdoer of everything. I refer to myself as going through my academic, career as preparing for, an advanced placement test when it was actually pass fail. One of the biggest changes I've made in my own business and life in the last number of years is good enough criteria. What is my acceptable level of risk? What are the nice to have versus need to have features or outcomes in the decision? And intentionally going for a 70% confidence rule. I have 70% confidence that this is the right decision.

Now, if you are a perfectionist, 70% is going to feel like a hard pass, hard fail for you. But when you apply it to a green light decision, it is low risk, low impact. I think that's exactly the place to start. Good enough. So it's like with the green light decisions using kind of the pass fail rule, because I think pass is about 70% right? If you get a 70%, you pass. Nice to have versus need to have. It's really hard to peel yourself away from those perfectionistic standards, but they are costing you and they're costing your business as well. So lastly, a couple of other personal things, and this is everybody's different when it comes to these things, but I don't make any important decisions after 8 pm.

Some people say 9 pm, some people say 6 pm, but I just know that my brain is at diminished capacity after 8 pm, so I don't make important decisions after 8. I also don't have important conversations that lead to decisions after 8. Too many sleepless nights have taught me it's just not a good thing. Anything that I'm going to invest more than $500 on, I'm going to sleep on it first. That's one of the reasons why I don't pressure someone who has a free consultation with me to decide on the spot, on the call. Are we going to work together or not? I expect them to sleep on it, because I don't want someone signing up to work with me on impulse.

Chances are, the next day, they're gonna wish they hadn't and that's not a great way to start a relationship. So sleeping on decisions over $500. Hey, if you've got plenty of coin, your minimum decision might be 1,000 or 5,000. 1,000. But having an amount that you just don't allow yourself to make an impulsive decision has saved a lot of people's sanities and their relationships. And also having a maximum of 3 opinions per major decision. One of the other ways I see many entrepreneurs slow themselves down and make their business more effortful than it needs to be is seeking out just a seemingly endless number of outside opinions. Sooner or later, you're going to have people conflicting or contradicting each other's opinions.

And then people end up getting even more opinions. I go with the rule of 3 and I think it becomes easier the more you do it. So if you decide to adopt the rule of 3, then you do it across the board. Now, if you are now looking at 17 different options for everything, minimum, 3 is going to seem very extreme and probably impossible. So if you're looking at 10 or 20 or 30 different opinions, scale it down accordingly. Maybe go to 10, and then over time down to 5, and then down to 3. The more drastic we are, the less likely we're gonna stick with it.

All of this is intended to bring about greater decision making confidence. I mean, strategies are great, but they have to have a purpose, and the purpose is to build your decision confidence. Now, if you're anything like me, you tend to forget that you made a good decision. You tend to kick your butt about the bad ones. So if you are a person who's willing to keep a very simple journal, and I know not everyone is, but a simple tracking decision, a simple decision journal, where you only include the date and the decision. Key factors that influenced your choice, what your expected outcome is, the actual outcome, which you will fill in later, and any lessons learned. Now there are people who are never gonna do this.

There are people who are never gonna journal or track anything because they think they're just too busy. But even if you can hand this off to an assistant or do it in the form of a voice note on your phone, if you're not a person who likes to write things down or enter them into spreadsheets, keep the voice notes and listen to them again later. Because having this database of decisions, whether it's in a journal, whether it's in a spreadsheet, or whether you listen to your voice notes once a week, that would be the lowest impact way of doing this. The easiest way to do it is just send yourself a voice note. Date, decision make made, key factors that influence the decision, what you expect the outcome to be.

Later, after you've listened to it, enter the actual outcome, and if you learned any lessons from it. We all tend to forget our lessons learned, and we tend to forget our good decisions. Having a tracking system like this in whatever form you choose will build your confidence because you're literally creating a database with that purpose in mind. If you review your decisions monthly, celebrate the good ones, learn from the less than optimal month ones in a mindful way. And again, mindfulness is open, curious and without judgment, then you can start tracking the different types of decisions you make that consistently work out well, building your confidence and enhancing your decision making strategy for the future. Because as your business grows, the outcome and of impact of your decisions will grow as well.

So it's really, really helpful to start tracking them in the earlier stages so that you build that decision making confidence muscle. If you can create in your own mind this perspective that every decision is an experiment, I think it's one of the most exciting things about being an entrepreneur, is looking at our business, looking at our decisions, looking at our programs, products, services, our marketing strategies, our price points, our offers, our ideal clients as experiments. In that framework, every choice is data collection. And let's be honest. Most business decisions, especially for solopreneurs, are reversible.

The future you will be more experienced. The future you will have more information if you're paying attention and tracking your outcomes so that you can learn from both your good decisions and your less than optimal ones. I think this is also really helpful in terms of this. Let's call it the future self perspective, where you separate your identity from your outcomes. Because we understand that mistakes happen, right? We all make mistakes and mistakes in this framework of everything as an experiment is just a valuable data point. In fact, a mistake is just as valuable in terms of the information it gives you as a huge success.

Perfect decisions don't exist. Sometimes we get lucky. Sometimes we'll make a decision impulsively that turns out great. That doesn't necessarily validate impulsive decision making. Sometimes we're just lucky. But when we can separate our identity from our outcomes, we can truly allow ourselves to be curious, to take risks, and to not see failure as reflecting on us, but simply feedback. So a quick recap of our key takeaways. Think about whether your decision making style tends to be more speedboat, impulsive, or anchor over thinker.

Consider using and implementing the traffic light system for different types of decisions based on how important they are and the impact that they're likely to have. Consider building your decision making confidence by using a decision journal, whether that is a spreadsheet, an actual physical journal, or voice notes on your phone. Remember, your ADHD brain is not broken, but it does need the right systems and the right supports to be able to make more good decisions and develop more confidence in decisions you make in the future. Are you ready to put these strategies into action? I wanna make it easy for you to make these solo episodes as actionable as possible.

So I've created a decision making with ADHD guide that includes journal templates, the traffic light system, and a weekly decision review prompt, and more. All you have to do is click the link in the show notes to get your guide and start practicing making decisions more confidently and with less stress, until next time. Remember, every decision you make can build your confidence muscle. So keep experimenting, keep learning, and keep growing.