New Year, New Goals? Let's Talk About What Actually Works for ADHD Brains
As an ADHD coach, January is my busiest month. My inbox fills with messages from people who are fired up, inspired, and ready to make this year different. They've bought new planners. They've watched the motivational videos. They've written down their goals in detail.
And I know that by February, most of them will be right back where they started, convinced once again that they just don't have enough willpower or discipline.
But here's the truth I wish everyone with ADHD understood: The traditional New Year's resolution approach is neurologically incompatible with your brain. And once you understand why, you can build something that actually works.
Why New Year's Resolutions Are Particularly Brutal for ADHD
Dr. Russell Barkley, one of the world's leading ADHD researchers, explains that ADHD is fundamentally a disorder of executive function—specifically, the ability to hold future consequences in mind while making decisions in the present. When you set a goal on January 1st for something you want to achieve by December 31st, you're asking your brain to maintain motivation across a timeline it literally cannot hold in focus.
The New Year's resolution structure makes this even worse. Everything starts on the same day. Everything feels urgent and important. And everything requires the same finite pool of executive function that's already in short supply.
Dr. William Dodson, who specializes in ADHD in adults, describes how the ADHD nervous system requires novelty, interest, challenge, or urgency to activate. On January 1st, you've got novelty in abundance. By January 15th? That novelty has worn off, and suddenly you can't remember why you cared about meal planning or going to the gym.
The Fresh Start Effect (And How to Actually Use It)
Here's what's interesting: Research by Professor Katy Milkman and colleagues on the "fresh start effect" shows that temporal landmarks like New Year's Day genuinely do help people pursue goals. The psychological reset is real.
But for ADHD brains, we need to harness that energy differently.
Instead of using January 1st to set a year's worth of goals, I help my clients use it to set up systems that will create fresh starts all year long. We're not trying to sustain motivation for 365 days—we're building in regular resets every week, every month, every season.
A Different Approach to New Year's Goal Setting
Resist the Urge to Fix Everything at Once
I know how January feels. You're energized. You want to overhaul your health, career, relationships, finances, and living space all at once. The dopamine is flowing, and it feels possible.
Dr. Ari Tuckman, an ADHD specialist, emphasizes that people with ADHD often underestimate how much executive function everyday life requires. When you pile on multiple new habits simultaneously, you drain that reserve fast.
My rule: Pick one domain. Just one. Yes, you have ADHD and can think about seventeen things at once—but you can only build one new habit at a time.
Make Your Timeline Absurdly Short
Instead of asking "What do I want to accomplish this year?", ask "What do I want to accomplish by February 1st?"
Better yet: "What do I want to accomplish this week?"
Dr. Edward Hallowell, who has ADHD himself and has written extensively about it, talks about the importance of breaking everything down into "ridiculously small steps." This isn't about lacking ambition—it's about respecting how your brain processes time.
One of my clients wanted to "get healthy" this year. That's not a goal—that's a recipe for shame. By February 1st, she wanted to have moved her body for 15 minutes three times per week. That's something her brain could actually track.
Create Dopamine Checkpoints
The research is clear: ADHD brains need frequent positive feedback. Dr. Barkley recommends making future rewards more immediate and tangible.
Instead of one big annual goal, I have clients set up what I call "monthly micro-goals" with built-in celebration points. Finish each month? You get a reset and a reward. The goal isn't to white-knuckle through to December—it's to succeed twelve times.
Build Your Accountability Before You Need It
Here's what typically happens: You set goals on January 1st. You do great for a week, maybe two. Then you miss a day. Then another. Then you're too embarrassed to tell anyone, so you just quietly quit.
Dr. Tuckman's work emphasizes that external accountability isn't a weakness for ADHD—it's an adaptive strategy. But you have to set it up before motivation fades.
This week, while you're still energized, tell someone specific what you're doing and ask them to check in. Join a body-doubling session. Set up automatic reminders. Don't wait until you're struggling to build the scaffolding.
What to Do Right Now (Yes, Right Now)
Since we're in early January and your brain is probably spinning with possibilities, let me give you a concrete framework:
Step 1: Write down everything you want to change this year. Get it all out. Don't edit yourself.
Step 2: Look at that list and ask: "Which one of these would make me feel most relieved if I made progress on it by February?" Not most impressive. Most relieved. Pick that one.
Step 3: Define what "progress by February" actually looks like in behavioral terms. Not "be more organized"—that's not measurable. "Process my email inbox to zero twice this month" is measurable.
Step 4: Break that into a weekly action. What would you need to do each week in January to hit that February target?
Step 5: Schedule the first instance in your calendar right now. Specific day, specific time. "This Wednesday at 2 PM" not "sometime this week."
Step 6: Text one person and tell them what you're doing and when. Make it real outside your head.
Step 7: Set a calendar reminder for January 31st to review and adjust. You're not locked in forever—you're committed for one month.
The Gift of Starting Over
Here's the perspective shift I offer every client in January: The New Year isn't special because it's your one chance to get it right. It's special because it reminds you that you can always start over.
People without ADHD might be able to set a goal on January 1st and steadily work toward it for twelve months. You probably can't, and that's okay. What you can do is start over every month, every Monday, every morning if needed.
Dr. Hallowell talks about the ADHD brain's need for novelty and fresh starts. You're not broken because you can't maintain the same level of enthusiasm for a year—you're designed to need regular renewal.
So yes, use the energy of early January. But use it to build a system that will let you harness that "fresh start" feeling eleven more times this year.
What Success Actually Looks Like
By this time next year, I don't want you to have perfectly executed some rigid plan you made in January. I want you to have practiced the skill of setting goals that fit your brain, adjusting when they don't work, and starting fresh without shame.
I want you to have twelve months of data about what energizes you, what depletes you, and how to work with your ADHD instead of against it.
And I want you to stop measuring yourself against neurotypical goal-setting frameworks that were never designed for you in the place.
The goal isn't to become someone who can stick to New Year's resolutions. The goal is to become someone who knows how to set intentions that actually match how your brain works.
That's not settling. That's wisdom.
And it's absolutely achievable—not by December 31st, but by February 1st. One month at a time.
Happy New Year. Let's make this one actually work.
