It’s 8:00 a.m. and your phone dings with two emails that both look “super important.” Then you remember you still haven’t submitted that monthly report. And there’s a half-dozen personal to-dos rattling in your head—buy groceries, pay bills, schedule a dentist appointment. For ADHD minds, the sense that everything is equally urgent can be paralyzing. But there’s a way out of this swirling chaos.
Below is a fresh, narrative-style take on how to prioritize when the entire world seems to demand your attention at once. You’ll see real-life stories, discover mini-strategies from ADHD-friendly thought processes, and learn how a specialized app called Forget can make the difference between meltdown and momentum.
The Day Everything Felt Urgent: A Quick Story
Meet Alex. He’s an ADHD entrepreneur juggling clients, a side hustle, and a personal life that sometimes feels like a second job. One morning, Alex woke up to a sea of red notifications: slack messages flagged as “urgent,” unsorted emails labeled “ASAP,” and a sticky note on his fridge screaming “RENEW DRIVER’S LICENSE TODAY.”
Swamped by tension, he bounced from one half-finished task to the next. By evening, he was mentally drained yet felt like he’d accomplished almost nothing. The tasks still towered, all screaming for immediate attention. Sound familiar?
In a moment of exasperation, Alex recalled reading that “not all tasks are created equal—some only feel urgent.” So he set out to test a more deliberate approach. Step by step, he transformed that day of meltdown into a practical system he could apply anytime life threatened to bury him again.
Step 1: Separate True Urgency from “Feels Urgent”
When ADHD is in the mix, every ping can feel like a 911 call. At first glance, emailing a coworker back might carry the same weight as paying your credit card bill. But guess what? Not everything truly explodes if left untouched for a few hours.
The Quick Audit: Glance at each item in your mental or written list. Ask, “Is there a consequence if this doesn’t happen today?” If no real consequences loom, it’s not a top-tier priority.
Brutal Honesty: ADHD can generate a sense of panic around deadlines—often artificially. Taking a moment to do this quick audit helps to pop that panic balloon and guide you back to rational planning.
Alex tested this by looking at his fridge note: “RENEW DRIVER’S LICENSE TODAY.” In truth, he realized it wasn’t actually due for two weeks. He’d simply fixated on it because the note was plastered at eye-level. That revelation freed his brain from some of the day’s tension.
For more on how ADHD brains warp time perception, see Time Blindness Explained: Why ‘Next Week’ Means Nothing to ADHD Minds. If your brain can’t sense how soon “soon” actually is, it’s easy to label everything as urgent.
Step 2: Do a “Value-Impact” Check
After you weed out tasks that aren’t truly urgent, the next step is to rank them by their impact on your goals. For ADHD folks, personal interest often dictates how quickly we tackle a to-do, but that can lead us astray.
Value vs. Time: Which tasks will bring the biggest payoff for the effort you invest? For example, finishing a client proposal might carry far more weight than reorganizing your sock drawer—even if the socks are bugging you right now.
Emotional Pull: ADHD can cause you to chase the easiest or most interesting tasks first. But easy and interesting doesn’t always align with high impact.
In Alex’s story, he realized that finishing his client presentation held far more weight for his career than responding to every Slack message instantly. Even though Slack felt more urgent (because the “ping” sound demanded attention), the real champion was that client deck.
Step 3: Group Tasks into Tiers
Tier A (Critical)
Deadlines that carry painful consequences if missed.
Items directly tied to your top goals or immediate well-being.
Tier B (Important, But Not Catastrophic)
Tasks that still matter but won’t torpedo your life if delayed by a day or two.
Tier C (Low Priority / Nice to Have)
Items that can be deferred or delegated with minimal fallout.
Once you label tasks this way, the ADHD swirl of “Everything must be done now!” starts to calm. You create mental lanes for urgent stuff and less-pressing items, turning an avalanche into smaller, organized piles.
For instance, Alex placed “Submit monthly client report” in Tier A, “Renew driver’s license next week” in Tier B, and “Research new note-taking app” in Tier C. This clear structure peeled away the sense that all tasks demanded immediate attention.
Step 4: Shuffle the Deck with Time Constraints
Imagine each Tier A task is a playing card. ADHD brains often freeze when seeing more than one “ace” in their hand. Rather than tackling them all at once, stagger them throughout the day:
Pick one Tier A item to start with (the one with the nearest real deadline or the biggest payoff).
Set a short time window—maybe 25 minutes if you’re comfortable with a Pomodoro-style approach (like the one described in The Pomodoro Technique, ADHD-Style: Tweaks for Better Focus).
When the timer ends, take a brief break or do a smaller Tier B task as a mental palette cleanser.
Repeat. In Alex’s case, he used 20-minute blocks to push his client report forward, interspersed with a few 5-minute intervals where he handled quick Slack messages from colleagues. That way, the urgent tasks got top billing, but smaller tasks didn’t vanish entirely.
Step 5: Use a Tool That Reflects Reality, Not Just Your Aspirations
It’s easy for ADHD brains to create an overstuffed to-do list that sets us up for failure. You write 15 tasks down with the intention to do them all today, then blame yourself when you manage only five. A more effective approach: build a to-do system that:
Forces Realistic Time Blocks: If you have eight hours, you can’t realistically cram in 14 hours of tasks.
Allows “One-Click” Rescheduling: Because, let’s face it, ADHD or not, life happens—deadlines shift, new tasks pop up.
How Forget Can Rescue Your Day
Forget is an ADHD-friendly productivity app designed around these exact pitfalls. It features:
A Floating Window: Always on top, so your top task is never lost behind other tabs.
Today vs. Later View: Instead of flooding you with everything at once, it pushes non-urgent tasks into the “Later Box.” Perfect for tackling Tier A and B first, then checking Tier C if time allows.
Timeboxing Made Easy: Quickly assign a timer to any task. ADHD minds often need that external measure of “X minutes left” to stay anchored.
Progress Bar Visual: A simple but powerful reminder that time is passing—helpful if you struggle with time blindness.
For Alex, switching from a chaotic list system to Forget was a game-changer. Now, he starts his workday by scanning Tier A tasks in “Today,” sets a 25-minute timer for the biggest item, and moves anything non-urgent into “Later.” This shift slashed his sense of panic by at least half.
Step 6: Double-Check Your Choices (Midday and Late Afternoon)
Our best-laid plans can crumble by lunchtime, especially when ADHD impulsivity creeps in. One email triggers a rabbit hole of research; a phone call spawns three new tasks. Midday and late-afternoon check-ins help you steer the ship back on course.
Midday Check: Are you on track to finish your Tier A tasks? If not, do you need to park some Tier B or C tasks to another day?
Late-Afternoon Check: Which tasks still carry pressing deadlines for tomorrow? Bump them up or schedule them with a time block.
If you’re used to ignoring the clock altogether, consider using a quick daily framework like the ones outlined in The ADHD Morning Routine: Creating Structure Before Distractions Begin. A short midday routine can help you reevaluate priorities before the day slips away.
Step 7: Build “Recalibration” Breaks
While it might seem counterintuitive to take breaks when everything is “urgent,” ADHD brains often benefit from short, purposeful pauses. Constant firefighting can lead to mental fatigue, making you less effective overall.
Types of Recalibration Breaks
Movement Breaks: A quick walk or some desk stretches. Pairing motion with mental rest can reignite clarity.
Fidget & Reflect: Grab a silent fidget gadget (like we explored in Fidgeting with Purpose: Physical Tools that Improve ADHD Focus) and spend a minute thinking, “Am I truly focusing on the most urgent tasks right now?”
Micro Social Breaks: A 30-second text to a friend or a quick Slack check—just be sure to keep it short so you don’t slip into a rabbit hole.
Alex discovered that scheduling a five-minute break after every major task let him return fresh and decisive to the next one, preventing that meltdown of “What do I do next? Wait, everything is urgent again!”
A Different Approach to Deadlines: “Next Action” vs. “Final Deliverable”
Here’s a critical mental shift: the final deliverable for a big task (like “Finish research paper”) can feel as monumental as climbing Everest. But the next action might just be “Outline the introduction” or “Gather 5 references.” Splitting big tasks into micro-steps:
Alleviates the dread of “huge project.”
Provides quick wins that keep your ADHD motivation alive.
Lets you reevaluate priority at each micro-step—maybe the introduction is enough for one day, and you can tackle references tomorrow.
For a deeper dive into chunking massive tasks, see Breaking Down Big Goals: Small Steps for the Overwhelmed ADHD Brain. Pair those strategies with the priority tiers mentioned earlier, and your to-do list morphs into a set of clear, doable steps.
Watch Out for “Priority Creep”
Priority creep is when tasks you initially labeled as “Tier C” somehow sneak back up the ladder. Maybe you find them more interesting, or a colleague suddenly begs you to do them. ADHD impulsivity can latch onto these side tasks, overshadowing real Tier A items.
Three Quick Guards Against Priority Creep
Ask “Why Now?”: If a low-priority task is calling your name, question the urgency. Did something change, or is it just a tempting distraction?
One-In, One-Out Rule: If you must add a new Tier A task, consider demoting or deferring another. We only have so many hours.
Use “Later Box” Religiously: If a new task truly isn’t urgent, stash it for later. In Forget, moving items between “Today” and “Later” only takes a click. That’s often enough friction to remind you not to tackle it prematurely.
Alex nearly fell victim to priority creep when a friend texted him about an exciting volunteer project. It sounded fun—and was definitely important in the grand scheme of life—but not urgent for that hectic Tuesday. He tossed the volunteer project into his “Later Box” in Forget and stayed on track with client tasks.
Celebrating Tiny Triumphs for ADHD Motivation
ADHD brains thrive on positive feedback loops. When you cross out a priority item, acknowledge it—seriously. A small, silent fist pump or a gold star on your digital planner can keep you pumped for the next urgent duty. Think of it as fueling your dopamine to tackle the next item.
Ways to Celebrate
Tick a checkbox in your productivity app. (In Forget, you can see tasks vanish from “Today” with a satisfying relief factor.)
Jot a quick “win” note in a daily journal.
Tell a friend or coworker you just wrapped up a big milestone. A little external validation can go a long way for ADHD motivation.
Alex realized that every time he finished a “Tier A” item, it wasn’t just a drop in the ocean—it was a victory worth cheering about. This shift helped him keep momentum without succumbing to the usual ADHD sabotage of “Eh, let’s just do something else now.”
Alex’s End-of-Day Recap
How did Alex’s day wrap up after all these strategies?
He knocked out the critical client report (Tier A).
He responded to a handful of urgent Slack pings.
He realized the driver’s license renewal could happen next Monday, no meltdown required.
He had enough time to address some Tier B tasks—like finalizing a budget spreadsheet—but left the “research new note-taking app” (Tier C) for another day.
By 5:00 p.m., Alex felt that sweet sense of accomplishment. The entire day, he used a combination of quick mental audits, time-blocks, and the “Today vs. Later” approach in Forget to keep his tasks from overwhelming him. The meltdown he’d faced that morning was nowhere in sight.
Frequently Raised Questions (A Short Q&A)
Q: What if everything truly is urgent?
A: Then your best bet is triage. “Urgent” might still break down into which tasks are truly catastrophic if not done vs. which tasks are just important. If absolutely every item is dire, timebox them in small increments so you at least inch forward on each.
Q: I get bored with important tasks. Any tips?
A: Layer in interest: do a quick movement break, pair it with music (if it doesn’t distract you), or use a fidget tool. Also, shrink the task into micro-steps. Once you feel the momentum of finishing a piece, it’s easier to keep going.
Q: How do I handle urgent tasks that pop up midday?
A: Pause. Evaluate whether it truly outranks your current Tier A. If it does, shift your schedule. If it’s not more urgent, politely schedule it for tomorrow or place it in the “Later Box.”
Final Word: Turning Panic into Priority
Overcoming the ADHD “everything-is-urgent” vibe isn’t about ignoring new tasks or working 24/7. It’s about learning to sift through the noise, letting real urgencies float to the top, and handling them in small, doable chunks—while gently deferring or delegating the rest.
Key Takeaways
Spot the difference between actual urgency and emotionally fueled panic.
Classify tasks into tiers, and schedule them realistically.
Deploy breaks and time-blocking to maintain focus without burning out.
Use an ADHD-friendly productivity tool like Forget to keep daily tasks visible and to shuffle less important stuff into the “Later Box.”
When you consistently apply these approaches, days that once felt like a constant scramble become more structured. Your ADHD mind may still crave novelty and stimulation, but at least you won’t be drowning in false alarms. Just like Alex, you’ll find your own rhythm—moving from meltdown to measurable progress, one well-prioritized to-do at a time.