ADHD and planning ahead: Finding the balance between now and the future

When you’re running a business and living with ADHD, the future can feel like an abstract concept. We’re told that to run a successful business we need to plan ahead and strategise. But five-year plans? Vision statements? Working with these concepts is hard when the future seems so far away. They start to lose all meaning, especially when the present moment offers so much more reward.

I’ve been working with a client who wanted to create a five-year plan leading up to a significant birthday. She wanted direction rather than feeling she was just drifting along without purpose. However, for her, as with many people with ADHD, long-term planning is hard. It holds no immediate promise of the dopamine hit ADHDers often seek.

Planning for the future can be too distant to feel real - and too restrictive to allow for spontaneity or possibility. For others, though, it’s the opposite: they love dreaming big but then struggle to follow through.

Structuring goals for the ADHD mind

The thing about long-term planning is that vagueness gets you nowhere. To make real progress, you need to be specific, but not so rigid that you lose the joy of the present.

After my client had mapped out her big goals, I asked her what her goals would look like if she only had five years. Her face fell and she said quietly, ‘well, I wouldn’t do any of that’.

The issue wasn’t that her aspirations were ‘wrong’ or that the planning she’d done was wasted. It was a reminder that we can’t know how long we have and that the balance between planning for the future and living in the present is everything.

Planning with purpose 

I’ve worked with clients who’ve spent years self-sabotaging, weighed down by ‘shoulds’ and the belief that they just need more ‘discipline’. And of course, living every day as if it’s your last isn’t the answer either. That’s exhausting and unsustainable. There’s a middle ground, and that’s planning with purpose. This leaves space for play.

‘ADHD people don’t age’

Recently, another client said something that made me smile: ‘ADHD people don’t age.’ She went on to explain: ‘I think it’s a willingness to be silly, spontaneous, impulsive, and sometimes even outrageous. We say things out loud that other people are only thinking’.

We talked about these traits as strengths and the importance of acceptance. The sense of playfulness and curiosity that, when paired with direction and purpose, becomes powerful. As she put it, ‘if you never aimed for goals, you’d achieve less. Plan for it as if you don’t have time to get there’.

Bringing play and purpose together

Whatever you do, bring play and dopamine into every day. It’s not about choosing between the long-term and the now, it’s about learning to hold both lightly.

A few practical ways to make long-term planning work for an ADHD brain

1. Think in shorter cycles

Five years might feel like a lifetime away. Try mapping your plan in six-month or one-year blocks instead. You’ll still be moving in the right direction, just with regular, more-frequent check-ins that can keep the dopamine flowing.

2. Anchor your plans in emotion, not just logic

Ask yourself how you want to feel in five years rather than what you want to achieve at the end of that time. Emotion-based goals are far more motivating when dopamine is in short supply.

3. Use ‘micro-visions’

If the big picture feels blurry, create tiny snapshots of what progress might look like. For example, winning a new client project, redesigning your workspace, or simply feeling more organised. This helps you connect today’s actions with tomorrow’s results.

4. Make the planning process rewarding

Pair boring planning sessions with something enjoyable like a favourite drink, music, or working in a cafe. Your brain gets a hit of dopamine just for showing up.

5. Build in spontaneity

Leave space in your schedule for curiosity and creativity. A sense of freedom keeps you engaged with the plan rather than rebelling against it.

Effective business planning with ADHD

You don’t have to choose between being playful and being purposeful. The trick is to hold both. Plan just enough to give your goals direction, but stay open enough to enjoy the journey.

If you’re a business owner with ADHD and are feeling stuck between your big-picture vision and the daily realities of running your business, this is the kind of balance we explore in coaching. Let’s talk about what would make your next few years meaningful and doable. Why not book a call to see how we can get your goal planning working for you?