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Tiny Actions

When mood is low, the usual order reverses: you can't wait to feel motivated before you act, because the motivation comes after the action, not before. So you start tiny — and you build around what you actually enjoy, not what you 'should' do. Five minutes on a special interest counts more than a chore.

What's drained out lately?

Things I've stopped doing that used to matter or feel good

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Tiny, interest-led actions

Tiny means under ten minutes. Lean on your interests — they're fuel, not a distraction. Note your predicted vs actual mood (0–10).

This week

Row 1

  • Tiny action: ____________________
  • When: ____________________
  • Predicted mood (0–10): ____________________
  • Actual mood (0–10): ____________________

Row 2

  • Tiny action: ____________________
  • When: ____________________
  • Predicted mood (0–10): ____________________
  • Actual mood (0–10): ____________________

Row 3

  • Tiny action: ____________________
  • When: ____________________
  • Predicted mood (0–10): ____________________
  • Actual mood (0–10): ____________________

Row 4

  • Tiny action: ____________________
  • When: ____________________
  • Predicted mood (0–10): ____________________
  • Actual mood (0–10): ____________________

Example: '10 minutes on my model trains after dinner.' Predicted mood 4/10 → actual 6/10. The doing moved it, not the waiting.

What I noticed

Did doing it shift the mood, even a little? Anything that surprised me?

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Interest-led beats 'productive': Monotropism — deep focus on what absorbs you — is fuel. Time on a special interest is a legitimate, often better, activation activity. It doesn't have to be a chore to count.

Go deeper

Ready for more? These lessons pick up where this worksheet leaves off.

  • Motivation and the Wall of Awful, from The Adult ADHD Course. Why starting is the hardest part with ADHD — the Wall of Awful, activation energy, and the interest-based engine — plus what actually helps you begin.
  • ADHD Rarely Travels Alone, from The Adult ADHD Course. ADHD's common companions — anxiety, depression, autism (AuDHD), and sleep — and how to untangle which thread is which so each gets the right help.
  • The Monotropic Mind, from The Neurodivergent Brain. Monotropism explained: attention tunnels, autistic inertia, deep interests, and overload — rooted in Wenn Lawson's work.
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