Strategies for Getting Started
Written by:
Doug Grundman, BA, BEd, OCT
| April 2026
It is common for students, especially those with ADHD, to experience everyday tasks as an insurmountable mountain to climb. While the natural parent response may be to simply say “just get started,” what is often missing is clear, practical guidance on how to begin. Without a strategy for initiating that first step, students may go through the motions, sitting down at their desk or computer, yet remain stuck, unsure how to move forward.
I’m here to tell you that the challenge isn’t attitude, it’s transitioning from one comfortable activity to another, especially when the next task is not fun.
Stuck at the first step
The difficulty arises when your child knows what to do and how to do it, but struggles to get started.
Task initiation is an executive function skill in its own right, and for many students, especially those with ADHD, this skill does not come easily. Getting started requires shifting attention, managing effort, and tolerating discomfort, all of which can be challenging in the moment.
At times, this difficulty is compounded by what ADHD educator Jessica McCabe describes as the Wall of Awful, the emotional resistance that can build around a task. When this is present, starting can feel even harder, even when the student understands exactly what needs to be done.
As a result, what appears to be a simple first step can feel like the hardest part of the climb.
If you want to delve deeper on this topic, I suggest checking out Jessica’s videos Why Is It So Hard To Do Something So Easy, Part One and Part Two.
Shifting our lens & empowering students
When we talk about students who really struggle to start a task, what we have to appreciate is that this is not about attitude, nor is it a personality issue. Too often, we label these students as lazy, unmotivated or not caring about their work. Also too often, students internalize this difficulty as a personal failing, adopting a narrative of self-judgment: That is just the way I am, or I am just not the kind of person to get started early.
Empowering students with a new strategy to try offers not only a fresh opportunity of navigating the path up their mountain but also offers them hope. New strategies represent action. Trying new strategies is a reflection of a champion instead of feeling like a victim.
Even if a strategy doesn’t initially work, the point is that the student is engaged in trying and is committed to considering new ways of succeeding. At the end of the day, they can reflect on what they accomplished, rather than solely focusing on what is still left to do.
Reasons why we don’t start a task
There are typically five reasons why not to get started on a task, and only one reason to begin:
Five reasons not to start:
- It is hard
- It is boring
- It is a lot to do
- It is overwhelming
- I’d rather do something else
The one reason to do it:
- It has to get done
It’s easy to understand why the easy choice is to avoid or delay as long as possible.
A strategy for getting started
The alternative to spontaneously deciding to avoid starting the task is to be strategic. When I’m working with students I ask them to consider two options, which I like to call the 3-to-7 approach and the 7-to-3 approach.
3-to-7 Approach
Do I want to feel lousy (3/10 satisfaction) and get started now, and then feel like a 7/10 satisfaction all the way as my deadline approaches?
Starting the task early leads to an initial low feeling, followed by rising satisfaction and lower stress.
7-to-3 Approach
Do I want to avoid the task, which instantantly frees me from the stress (as a shot of dopamine is released) and makes me feel like a 7/10, but then as the deadline approaches, find my stress rising and my sense of satisfaction moving down to eventually feeling like a 3/10?
Starting the task later leads to an initial high feeling, followed by plummeting satisfaction and high stress.
In both scenarios, the student gets both low and high feelings, but the timing is reversed. Students always have the choice, but I like to encourage the 3-to-7 (do it early) strategy.
Action over avoidance
By reframing the challenge of “getting started” from a personal failing to a lack of strategy, we empower students to choose action over avoidance. The power lies in making a strategic decision to embrace the initial 3/10 feeling for long-term 7/10 satisfaction, rather than falling for the immediate dopamine hit of spontaneous procrastination.
Remember, the mountain (or wall) is not who they are — it is merely a task. With a focus on regulating attention and small, conscious changes, every student can find an easier path and develop the champion’s habit of trying each and every day.
Doug Grundman, an experienced teacher and executive function coach, is the co-Director of Executive Function Coaching at Red Oak. As a self-identified ADHDer, he relies on his professional and personal experiences to meet his students where they’re at. His devoted clients appreciate his down-to-earth approach to helping them have less annoying days.