ADHD and Goal Setting: Why I Ditched SMART Goals
How experimenting taught me more about myself than years of trying to optimize my life.
Once upon a time, many moons ago, I ran a blog called The 12 Experiments, which involved trying a new personal experiment every month. There was a month of dancing (my favorite!), a month of cooking, and a month of 5 a.m. mornings.
Conclusion: not for me.
The idea came about after a lifelong battle with setting goals and then failing to follow through with them. I couldn’t understand why the standard approaches to accomplishing things never seemed to work for me. SMART goals and New Year’s resolutions have always failed me.
Whenever I created elaborate criteria for myself—meditate for 30 minutes every morning—I would eventually rebel. I could practically feel an authoritarian dictator taking over, and suddenly I didn’t want to be oppressed by this ruler I had invented for myself.
Is some of that related to my ADHD tendencies? Probably. Is some of it because I’m a creative person who likes novelty and freedom? Also probably.
Whatever the reason, I couldn’t seem to fall in line with all these rules. And instead of questioning the rules, I tended to conclude that I was the problem.
Why can goals be difficult with ADHD?
ADHD can make the distance between wanting to do something and actually doing it surprisingly complicated.
Executive functioning affects things like getting started, organizing steps, estimating time, shifting attention, and sticking with something after the initial excitement wears off. You might become completely absorbed in something fascinating for hours and then somehow be unable to answer an email that takes five minutes.
Add a rigid goal to the mix and something you genuinely wanted to do can suddenly start feeling like an obligation.
That doesn’t mean people with ADHD can’t set goals or use structure. Of course we can. But if traditional systems repeatedly leave you feeling inconsistent, lazy, or like you’ve failed yet again, it might be worth experimenting with the system instead of endlessly blaming yourself.
If SMART goals work for you, by all means keep going.
But for neurodivergent and creative people who find themselves rebelling against rigid systems, maybe a playful experiment is more your flavor.
Why experiments instead of goals?
The year I did my 12 Experiments, I developed a completely different relationship with goals.
Experiments lower the bar. Instead of hitting numbers or meeting protocols, you’re just trying something out.
Experiments also feel less permanent, in a good way. You’re trying something for now and seeing what happens. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, you’ve learned something about yourself.
Maybe it’s partly semantics, but the mindset feels completely different to me.
Experiments feel curious. Goals can sometimes feel judgmental.
Did you hit your marks?
NO! YOU FAILED!
An experiment asks a much more interesting question:
What happened?
And sometimes experiments accidentally turn into habits that last much longer than you expected.
If I had set a goal of becoming a concert violinist, I probably would have given up in month two. Instead, I experimented with fiddling. I rented a violin, found a teacher for a month, and followed the joy.
Seven years later, I’m still playing.
Try turning your next goal into an experiment
Instead of asking:
How do I make myself stick to this?
Try asking:
What could I experiment with?
Maybe instead of “I will exercise four days every week,” the experiment is “For two weeks, I’m going to try exercising in the morning and see what happens.”
Instead of “I need to meditate for 30 minutes every day,” maybe you experiment with ten minutes, walking meditation, an app, a class, or whatever makes you curious enough to actually try.
Pay attention to what you learn.
Does accountability motivate you or make you rebel? Do you need novelty? Does making something easier make you more consistent? What time of day does your brain actually cooperate with you?
And if the experiment doesn’t work, instead of asking “What’s wrong with me?”, you get to ask:
“What did I learn?”
That shift—from judgment to curiosity—is ultimately what I find most useful.
The point isn’t to finally become the perfectly optimized, endlessly consistent version of yourself.
It’s to understand yourself well enough to build a life that actually works with you.
So, what’s one experiment you’d like to try this month?
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ADHD can affect executive functions involved in starting tasks, regulating attention, estimating time, organizing steps, and staying engaged when something is no longer interesting or immediately rewarding. This can create a frustrating gap between wanting to do something and consistently following through.
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They can. SMART goals provide useful structure, but no single goal-setting system works for everyone. Some adults with ADHD may find that overly rigid goals increase perfectionism or make an activity feel like an obligation. A more flexible, experimental approach can be another option.
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Yes. Therapy can explore the patterns underneath procrastination, overwhelm, perfectionism, self-criticism, and inconsistent motivation. The goal isn't simply greater productivity; it can also be developing self-understanding and finding strategies that better fit how you function.
Interested in ADHD therapy?
I work with adults with ADHD around overwhelm, procrastination, perfectionism, burnout, relationships, self-trust, and building a life that works with the way their brain actually functions.
