The document is open. You know exactly what needs to be written. You've been staring at it for 40 minutes. You've refilled your water, rearranged your desk, and checked the weather in three cities you'll never visit. This isn't a motivation problem. It's a task initiation problem, and it's one of the core executive dysfunctions of ADHD.
Task initiation is a brain function, not a choice
Task initiation — the ability to begin a task independently and on time — is one of six core executive functions identified by Dr. Thomas Brown. It requires your prefrontal cortex to generate what neuroscientists call "activation energy": the neural push that moves you from intention to action.
In ADHD, the prefrontal cortex is underactivated. Neuroimaging research shows reduced blood flow and glucose metabolism in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of adults with ADHD, particularly during tasks that require self-directed initiation. Your brain's starter motor doesn't fire on demand.
Why "just start" is useless advice
"Just start with something small" assumes your brain can generate activation energy at will. It can't. That's the disability. Telling someone with ADHD to "just start" is like telling someone with a broken leg to "just walk." The starting is the impairment.
What actually provides activation energy
Tiny commitments. "I'll work on this for 5 minutes" is a fundamentally different neural proposition than "I need to finish this project." Five minutes is small enough that your brain's cost-benefit calculator doesn't reject it. And once you're moving, continuing is easier than starting. This is why UpOrbit's 5-minute timer exists. It's not a productivity hack. It's an activation ramp.
Body doubling. Working in the presence of another person provides external accountability that your internal systems can't generate alone.
Novelty and stakes. ADHD brains respond to interest, urgency, novelty, and competition. If you can make the task new, you're feeding your brain the dopamine it needs to initiate.
Breaking it down absurdly small. "Write the report" is paralyzing. "Open the document and type one sentence" is achievable. When you break tasks down until each step feels almost embarrassingly small, you're reducing the activation energy required to near zero.
The shame spiral trap
The longer you can't start, the worse you feel. And the worse you feel, the harder it gets to start. Shame consumes the same prefrontal resources you need for initiation. Breaking the cycle requires interrupting the shame, not powering through it.
Nobody with ADHD task paralysis is lazy. Lazy is choosing not to act. Task paralysis is being unable to act despite wanting to. The neuroscience is clear on this.