This week, Emma shares a few of her favourite ADHD-friendly time hacks – practical tips that can help not just neurodivergent freelancers, but anyone who struggles with focus, procrastination, or that familiar end-of-year overwhelm.
Listen to the podcast episode below, watch it on [Youtube], or scroll down for the summary!
Prefer to read it? Here are the main points!
Struggling to stay on track with your tasks? These ADHD-inspired productivity tricks work for all freelancers, especially when life gets busy. Whether your brain loves a deadline or resists structure altogether, these small tweaks can help you stay productive without feeling pressured.
1. Don’t Read and Leave – Read and Schedule
If you’ve ever followed tidying experts, you might know the phrase “Don’t put it down, put it away.” Emma’s put a freelance twist on that idea:
When a task or email comes in, don’t just read it and move on – decide immediately what needs to happen and when.
For example, Emma uses a tool called Sunsama, which lets her drag emails straight into her to-do list and calendar. That way, every message becomes a clear, scheduled task rather than another mental tab left open.
The goal is to avoid leaving decisions half-made. Once you’ve scheduled when to deal with something, you can stop holding it in your head and future you will thank you for it.
As Emma puts it: “Don’t read and leave – read and schedule.” (And if you can think of a better name for that, she’s all ears!)
2. Don’t Allow Too Much Time
This one’s simple but surprisingly effective: stop giving yourself entire days to get things done.
When we have too much time, our brains fill it, usually with procrastination. Emma admits that if she gives herself all day for a task, she’ll probably start it half an hour before the school run.
Instead, set shorter time blocks and treat them as mini deadlines. You’ll often get far more done in a focused hour than in a loosely structured day.
She shares a great example: when she thought a long housework list would take all day, a surprise “half an hour until visitors arrive” deadline got 90% of it done. Proof that urgency can be motivating and that you probably don’t need as much time as you think.
If you tend to run late, you might be someone who needs to allow more time rather than less, but for many freelancers, especially those with ADHD, time-boxing tasks helps prevent drift and decision fatigue.
3. Body Doubling and Accountability
The final hack is one of the most powerful: body doubling.
Body doubling means working alongside someone else – either in person or virtually – to help you stay focused and accountable. You don’t have to be doing the same task; simply knowing someone’s there and aware of your progress helps keep distractions at bay.
Emma shares how she uses this technique with her friend Gail (@book.doubling on Instagram). They’ll schedule time together, share screens, and quietly get on with their respective projects – in Emma’s case, tackling the book-editing process that doesn’t naturally suit her ADHD brain.
If you struggle to stay on track, try:
Booking a body-doubling session with a friend
Joining a virtual co-working group
Listening to a focused podcast or call-in chat for low-pressure accountability
The key is to create gentle structure and external focus – something that helps many freelancers get started when willpower alone doesn’t work.
Finding the Right Balance
These time hacks are simple, but they work, because they reduce mental clutter, decision fatigue, and self-pressure.
Read and schedule: decide what to do and when, straight away.
Shorten your time blocks: avoid letting tasks expand to fill your day.
Body double: add accountability and structure when motivation dips.
They’re designed for ADHD brains, but they work for almost everyone. The secret is to find small ways to make your day flow better – not harder.
Do you have your own time hacks or focus tricks that make freelancing smoother? Share them in The Freelance Lifestylers Facebook Group or on Discord – Emma would love to hear your ideas.
Affiliate link: Sunsama
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