The Struggle to Start

Why getting going is harder than it looks.

You know the feeling. The task is sitting right in front of you: an email that needs a reply, a report that needs finishing, or even something simple like tidying the kitchen. You want to do it. You’ve probably even thought about doing it several times. But when the moment comes to begin, it’s as if your brain hits a wall. You can’t quite make yourself start, no matter how much you intend to.

This struggle to start is one of the most common and misunderstood experiences for people with ADHD. It’s not about laziness, poor motivation, or lack of care. It’s about a particular executive function skill called task initiation; the brain’s ability to move from thinking into doing. When this skill doesn’t come easily, even small tasks can feel enormous.

Task initiation is one of the lesser-known executive function skills because it tends to hide behind other challenges. When someone struggles to begin, it can look like poor planning, procrastination, or low motivation. In reality, the difficulty often sits in the space between intention and action, that split second where the brain needs to switch gears and start moving. Because we often measure success by outcomes rather than the process of getting there, this subtle skill is easy to overlook. Yet without it, even the best plans stay stuck on paper.

The challenge often lies in the transition. Starting requires mental energy, clarity, and a certain level of emotional readiness. If the task feels overwhelming, boring, uncertain, or emotionally loaded, the ADHD brain resists. You might find yourself circling the task instead, making tea, checking messages, or finding something suddenly “more urgent” to do. On the surface it looks like avoidance, but underneath it’s often the brain’s way of protecting itself from discomfort or overstimulation.

The hardest part is often the emotional weight that builds up around this pattern. Guilt, frustration, and self-criticism can quickly creep in, creating even more resistance. When you understand that this difficulty is neurological rather than moral, it shifts everything. You can begin to see the pattern with more compassion and curiosity, rather than blame.

Coaching can help by creating a space to explore what sits beneath the hesitation. Together, coach and client can uncover the real barriers, whether it’s uncertainty, perfectionism, or emotional overload, and experiment with ways to make starting easier. Sometimes that means breaking tasks into smaller pieces, clarifying next steps, or finding moments of interest and reward that help activate the brain. Over time, this gentle awareness helps reduce the struggle and bring more ease to the start.