ADHD definitely doesn't help but I don't find there's a direct link between ADHD & why I procrastinate. The why is personal to me & unlikely to be the same for everyone but I find these kinds of tools & strategies are a means to ignore the why & "get by" without addressing any fundamental issues.
One example (of which there are many) is that external validation as a motivator is a big cause of procrastination in some people - working on things "for others" hits on a lot of complex issues around personal insecurities & ego. The idea that your work will be seen & judged can be a big factor in pressures & subconscious negative emotions around doing the work. Addressing motivation properly involves addressing those insecurities, rather than just "getting on with it" & using a temporary strategy to get it done.
That's an example, but it doesn't apply to everyone & it's never that simple for anyone.
I’m coming to see the root is usually some kind of avoidance, always emotional, often subtle. I think this actually is pretty universal but the specifics vary wildly. It’s taken a while to unpack this. For a long time, when I’d about of a task I was avoiding, I’d just get this wave of a feeling of “ughhh” and turn away.
There’s something the feeling is trying to warn me about, and sitting with it can help figure it out and let it go. A lot of my own stuff stems from school I think. The funny thing is it’s often totally illogical. Like a sense of panic comes up - “oh no! Someone will be mad I haven’t started this yet!” - yes well wouldn’t getting it done avoid that outcome? “no but it’s too late! They’ll yell at me when I turn it in!”. My brain associated “doing the task” with “getting in trouble” in a weird way, and that emotional program runs whenever something vaguely similar comes up.
The surface-level fear might cover up a deeper fear underneath too (something like, I won’t be ok, or good enough, or loved anymore).
One other thing that trips many people up I think is the idea that they shouldn't be feeling "avoidant" about certain tasks that they love, enjoy & are passionate about (why would you). Often that comes down to being more invested in a perfect outcome for those "passion" tasks which ultimately builds more pressure to do it well & associated anxiety around not living up to ones own invented standards. "It's my passion therefore I must not fall short" can be a massive avoidance trigger.
