Why Waiting to Feel Ready Doesn’t Work (and What to Do Instead)
For neurodivergent brains, readiness is overrated.
There’s a quote I love (that I also kind of hate because it’s annoyingly true):
"Action precedes motivation."
Not the other way round. Not “Wait until you feel inspired, then begin.”
It’s: “Begin, and the inspiration might show up on the way.”
(Being a massive nerd I also love the quote from 'Dune' - Mood's a thing for cattle or for making love.)
Which is rude, honestly. Especially if your brain doesn’t do starting.
Because for many neurodivergent folks — ADHD, autism, burnout, or any cocktail of the above: initiation is the wall.
It’s not that you’re lazy, or unmotivated. It’s that something as small as picking up a pencil or opening a file can feel like wading through wet cement.
The Trap of “Readiness”
The world often tells us to wait until we “feel ready.”
But for people with executive function challenges, that’s like asking a car to start before you turn the key. You can’t wait to feel ready, because the readiness doesn’t come until you’re already in motion.
The idea that you need motivation before you begin creates a kind of self-blame spiral:
“Why can’t I just start?”
“Why don’t I want this badly enough?”
“What’s wrong with me?”
Nothing. Nothing is wrong with you.
You’re just trying to operate in a world that expects linear cause-and-effect from a brain that works more like a web of delayed ignition points.
Flip the Script: Behaviour First
Instead of waiting for the feeling to arrive, try this:
Start with a micro-action and let your brain catch up emotionally.
Draw a single line. Open the notebook. Move your hands. That’s it.
This is the behaviour-first model of motivation. For neurodivergent people, it can be a lifesaver. Not because it bypasses difficulty, but because it makes room for imperfection, weird pacing, and the truth that “doing” often leads to “wanting.”
Tools That Can Help
The 5-Minute Rule:
Tell yourself you’ll do the thing for just five minutes. No pressure to finish. Just start the timer. If that’s too much, try two minutes or even just one.
(If timers are stressful, skip them and just commit to the next breath’s worth of action.)Environmental Cues:
Clear your workspace. Set up the materials. Open the laptop. These are nudges — scaffolding your brain so the task becomes less abstract, more real.Habit Stacking:
Link your creative time to something you already do: your morning cuppa, a stretch, the end of lunch, let the transition become the bridge.
If You Still Can’t Start...
Sometimes the block is information.
Lack of motivation isn’t a moral failure — it might be:
You’re overwhelmed
You’re bored
You’re afraid it won’t be good enough
You’ve hit burnout, and your brain is rationing energy
All of these are real. Valid. But they’re not fixed states — and they don’t have to decide your whole day.
Sometimes, beginning — even clumsily — helps you find out what’s actually going on.
Begin Before You’re Ready
So if you’re waiting to feel ready?
Try flipping it.
Begin, then see what follows.
You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t even have to finish.
Just start — with kindness — and see if a spark arrives.
Even if it doesn’t, you’ve still shown up for yourself. And that’s not nothing.
That’s everything.
If you’d like a soft, no-pressure place to practice just beginning, Neurodivergent Art Club might be for you.
We meet every Thursday, 2–4pm (UK time) on Zoom.
It’s a quiet co-creating space where you can bring any project - drawing, mending, admin, staring into space - and be gently witnessed. No awkward icebreakers. No expectations. Just kind humans making things alongside each other.
Sometimes, the easiest way to start is with company.
Come as you are. Cameras optional. Tea encouraged.