419 BITESIZE |The Only Way To Be Consistent With ADHD

Summary

I Have ADHD Podcast

Host: Kristen Carder
Episode: 419 BITESIZE | The Only Way To Be Consistent With ADHD
Date: July 9, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this bite-sized episode, Kristen Carder tackles one of the most persistent struggles for adults with ADHD: consistency. She argues that the secret to being “consistent” isn’t perfection or maximal effort but rather a willingness to do things imperfectly—even badly—when capacity, motivation, or energy are low. Kristen shares personal anecdotes, practical reframes, and compassionate encouragement, all aimed at empowering ADHDers to show up persistently, even if only at 10–25% capacity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Redefining Consistency for ADHD Brains

• Perfection Is Not Sustainable: “There is no way that you can hold yourself to an A plus standard and meet that bar every single day... especially not with a neurodivergent brain. Especially not with energy and capacity that ebbs and flows.” (04:10)
• Persistence Over Perfection: Kristen reframes consistency as persistence, emphasizing that showing up in some form, even with minimal effort, matters more than aiming for perfect results.

2. Valorizing ‘Bad’ Work

• Doing It Badly Is the Key: “Your consistency is highly attached to your willingness to do it badly.” (04:31)
  • Whether it’s working out for 10 minutes, eating one healthy meal, or submitting a manuscript that isn’t perfect, doing “B work” or even “67%” is still progress compared to doing nothing.
• Overcoming All-or-Nothing Thinking: Kristen explains that ADHD brains often imagine only two options: do it perfectly or not at all. She advocates for deliberately choosing the messy, imperfect middle.

3. Confronting Inner Criticism and Shame

• Challenging Self-Judgment: “You’re going to be full of shame. You’re going to be full of self-judgment... I just want you to be like, ‘I hear you. Thank you for your input. I actually don’t agree with you anymore.’” (10:32)
• Talking Back to Negative Thoughts: She encourages listeners to acknowledge, but not accept, the brain’s doubts and self-critical voices.

4. The Value of Minimal Effort (“10% Is Better Than 0%”)

• Finding the Easiest Version: “Ask yourself, ‘What’s the easiest possible version of this? What do I need right now to just take one step forward?’” (07:26)
• Permission to Do the Bare Minimum: Kristen reassures listeners that doing something, even badly, keeps the wheels turning and prevents the start-stop cycle common in ADHD.

5. Personal Example: Producing the Podcast

• Capacity Ebbs and Flows: Kristen shares her own fluctuating capacity due to family and life stress, and how that almost led her to stop podcasting entirely.

• Applying the Path of Least Resistance: Instead of quitting or forcing perfection, she plans to use existing content (reused classes) and pre-recorded intros, reducing her effort to about 25% while still maintaining her output.

  “That is a 25% effort for me... So I have to go find a couple really meaningful, useful classes... but I’m not gonna drive into Philly. I am not going to have to write, you know, out notes in a script for a podcast.” (17:22)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Letting Go of Perfection:

  “We cannot repeat A work every single day. We can't do it. You may have to take a moment and grieve the fact that you can't do it perfectly every day.” (05:13)

• On Minimal Effort:

  “10% is better than 0%. It is every single time. So what’s the 10% version?” (10:18)

• On Self-Compassion:

  “How can I be nice enough to myself to let myself do a meh version? Because so much of this is us holding us back.” (07:37)

• On Black-and-White Thinking:

  “In my adorable black and white brain, I'm giving myself those two options: do it perfectly... or just quit. And, like, neither of those options are good.” (15:36)

• Personal Motivation:

  “This podcast... is a gift to me. I hope you enjoy listening to it. I hope it's meaningful and it's life changing for you. But honestly, it's been a gift to me for seven years.” (13:44)

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Key Timestamps

• [03:06] — Introduction to the concept: “Done is better than perfect” for ADHDers.
• [04:31] — Connection between consistency and willingness to do things badly.
• [05:13] — The impossibility of daily perfection and the need to grieve that reality.
• [07:26] — How to lower the bar practically—doing “bad” versions of tasks.
• [10:18] — Reiterating: “10% is better than 0%.”
• [13:44] — Personal reflection: how podcasting has impacted Kristen and her struggles with sustaining it.
• [15:36] — Realizing black-and-white thinking, offering a real-life workaround for consistency (reusing existing content).
• [17:22] — How reducing the effort to 25% enables persistence and rest.

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Takeaways & Action Steps

• Allow Imperfection: Permit yourself to show up when you’re not at your best. Bad, “meh,” or B-minus work is infinitely better than none.
• Challenge All-or-Nothing Thinking: When you catch yourself thinking it’s perfection or nothing, consciously choose a small effort instead.
• Self-Talk Skills: Learn to talk back to the internal critic. Acknowledge negative thoughts, but don’t accept them as truth.
• Find the Path of Least Resistance: What’s the easiest version of the task you can do right now—what’s your 10% or 25% effort?
• Celebrate Small Persistence: “A little bit of forward motion is better than zero forward motion.” (11:15)

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Final Thought

This episode is an empowering, honest rallying cry for ADHDers to trade perfectionism for persistence, and to build truly sustainable (if imperfect and fluctuating) habits by lowering the bar and welcoming the “bad” days as valuable steps forward.

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For more support, visit ihaveadhd.com.
Check the episode show notes for a link to the full discussion.

Transcript

[Kristen Carter]

This episode is sponsored by AG1. Summer is my favorite season. You all know that. But it's also the season where routines tend to disappear. Different beds, different schedules, travel, late nights. It's easy for healthy habits to get pushed aside. And that's why I keep AG1 with me wherever I go. AG1 is a daily health drink with a multivitamin free and probiotics, superfoods and antioxidants. 1 Scoop 8 to 12 ounces of

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Getting started just takes a few minutes. Complete a short assessment, get matched and schedule your first visit in days, not months. More than 300,000 patients have already found care through Talkiatry. Head to talkiatry.comihaveadhd to get matched in minutes hey, what's up? This is Kristen Carter and you are listening to a bite size episode of

the I have ADHD podcast.

I Am Medicated caffeinated, regulated and ready to roll. This little episode is one of my favorite clips from the podcast.

It's perfect if you're not in the

mood for a full hour long listen

because let's be real, some of us

adhders just don't have the patience for all of that.

But if you are a die hard

listener, think of this as your mid week pick me up.

It's Thursday, y'. All. Friday is right around the corner. If you love this clip, check out

the show notes for a link to the full episode. And remember, my friend, drink your water,

take your meds, grab a snack.

Now let's get rolling.

What does it look like for you to say done is better than perfect? If I can get a D, that's better than a failing grade. Right. Like what. What does that look like for this podcast is certainly not built on A plus work. And your relationships will not be built on A plus work. And your parenting will not be built on A plus work. And your home life and your own career. There is no way that you can hold yourself to an A plus standard and meet that bar every single day. There's just no way to do that. Especially not with a neurodivergent brain. Especially not with energy and capacity that ebbs and flows. Okay, Your consistency is highly attached to your willingness to do it badly. Your consistency, your ability to be persistent and show up over and over and over. Is it. It is so connected to your willingness to allow yourself to do a bad job at something. To just say, okay, I know I can't do it perfectly, but what would it look like to do a bad job? Can I just. Can I give it a little bit of time? What does it look like to actually do a bad job at working out? What does it look like to do a bad, bad job at eating healthy? Like, if I'm going to try, can. Can I do, like, could I have one meal a day that's decently healthy? Can I have 10 minutes of moving my body? That's a quote unquote bad job, right? But it's at least something. Looking around your house, what it does. What does it look like to do? Like a, like my son, a 67%. If I could get a 67% on this, isn't that better than a 0%? All right, your. Your persistence is built on doing things in a way that you can actually repeat. And we cannot. Listen to me. Get in here. Let me hold your hand while I say this. We cannot repeat a work every single day. We can't do it. You may have to take a moment and like, grieve the fact that you can't do it perfectly every day.

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You.

[Kristen Carter]

You might actually have to like, come to terms with that. The reality of that. And as I say, very often reality bites. It does. Like, I would love to be able to do it perfectly every day.

I can't.

I'm not going to be able to. But I will be persistent AF you better believe it. I am going to be so persistent and I'm going to do whatever it take it takes, even if I'm doing it badly, right? So I'm going to show up, I'm going to submit a manuscript for my book, even if it's not a perfect manuscript. And let me tell you, it's not a perfect manuscript. It is not. I could have spent a whole additional year perfecting that manuscript, but I wanted to get that thing done and so I got it done. And it's probably like, you know, b B work. I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. Let's submit. Be work. Or even lower when, when, when you can. Even lower when you can. Okay, so when you're feeling stuck, when you're feeling the wall of resistance, when you're just like, when you're noticing the thoughts of like, I don't have time to get it done, that that thought is actually an extremely derailing thought because we're never gonna have time to get it done. But do I have time to give it a tiny bit? Do I have time to give it 10%? Do I have time to get a 67% on this task? Right. Because I'm never gonna have time to get it done. But can I give it just a tiny bit? I want you to ask yourself, what's the easiest possible version of this? What do I need right now to just take one step forward? What would this look like at a 67%? What requires the least amount of energy from me? What can I give to this that that actually requires the least of out the least amount of energy out of me? All right? Like, how can I be nice enough to myself to let myself do a meh version? Because so much of this is us holding us back. No, you don't get to do a bad version. You have to do it perfectly. No, you don't get to half ass this. You have to give it a hundred percent. No, you don't get to send a quick voice note email. You have to sit down at your computer and you have to put it through ChatGPT and you have to strategically place all of your exclamation. But no, what if we talk back to that voice in our head? What if we say stop? Thank you for your input. I appreciate what you're saying. I don't agree with you anymore. I don't. I don't actually consent to what you're telling me. Just because our brain offers up a thought doesn't mean that we have to grab onto it and think that it's true. So when your brain says no, that's not good enough. No, you don't even have time to start. No, don't even bother because you're not going to be doing it right. I want you to notice those odds that come in. I want you to capture them and say, whoa. Thank you for your input. I hear what you're saying. I actually don't agree with you anymore. I don't consent to this way of thinking anymore. I'm just going to give it a little bit of effort. I'm just going to give it 10% and see where it takes me. 10% is better than 0%.

This episode is sponsored by AG1. If you have ADHD, you probably know this about yourself. When your routine changes, everything can feel harder. And summer is basically one giant routine change. The kids are home, schedules are different, there's more travel, more spontaneity, and honestly, the habits that usually keep me grounded can start to fall apart. That's why I focus on keeping just a few anchors in place and AG1 is one of them. AG1 is a daily health drink with a multivitamin free and probiotics, superfoods and antioxidants.

1 Scoop 8 to 12 ounces of water and I'm done.

The next gen formula delivers 75 ingredients and is clinically shown to support gut health, fill common nutrient gaps and improve key nutrient levels within three months. I love that no matter how chaotic my life feels, I can still give myself that 32nd act of care every morning. It helps me feel a little more steady, a little more supported and a little bit more like myself. I use this every single day. For real. I actually do. And you should too. Visit drink ag1.com I have ADHD. Visit drink ag1.com I have ADHD to get a free ag1 travel case with seven free ag1 travel packs in your welcome kit with your first ag1 subscription order while supplies last. That's drink ag1.com I have adhd.

Repeat after me. 10% is better than 0%. It is every single time. So what's the 10% version. And your brain is going to fight against this. You're going to be full of shame. You're going to be full of self judgment. I promise you, you will. I know you will because I live it and I coach people every day. I just, I know it. You're going to be like, no, that's not enough. No, that's not good enough. You're doing it wrong. You're doing it wrong. And I just want you to be like, I hear you. Thank you for your input. Appreciate what you're saying. Actually don't agree with you anymore. I think that 10% is better than 0%. I think giving it a tiny bit of effort is better than no effort at all. I think my persistence is actually something to celebrate. And I'm going to make just a tiny bit of forward motion here in even if it doesn't get me all the way to the goal. Because a little bit of forward motion is better than zero forward motion. Okay? I'm telling you, I really do think that this is one of the main things that holds us back from being able to be consistent. Because if consistent, and I'm using air quotes for the listening audience, if consistent looks like perfection and perfection is difficult and overwhelming, then we're always going to be in this start, stop cycle, right? When I feel good, when I'm able to do it perfect, I will do it perfectly. But then life happens. Kids get sick, I get sick, I'm tired, my energy and capacity ebb and flow. And then now I know I can't do it perfectly anymore, so I'm just not going to do it. So I stop altogether instead of, you know, going from those great days where I'm able to give it a hundred percent and then allowing myself to have 10% days, 15% days, 67% days, right? When we don't allow ourselves to do it badly, then we prevent ourselves from

doing it at all, right?

Because we want to do it perfectly. And we can for a little bit until life gets hard. And then when life gets hard, I don't allow myself to adjust and do the bare minimum. Like, what if you were allowed? What if you allowed you to do the bare minimum, my sweet ADHD neurodivergent person? What if you were allowed to just do the bare minimum, right? So if I don't allow myself to adjust and to do the bare minimum, then I just stop and kind of give up until I know I can do it perfectly again. And so it's start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, Right, right. Okay. I'm going to use myself as an example here. And I was thinking of this as I was driving in today, and I was like, should I use, Should I say it? Should I not? I'm just going to say it. You know, I'm just always going to say it. So this podcast, I love this podcast. It is a gift to me. It is. I hope you love it. I hope you enjoy listening to it. I hope it's meaningful and it's life changing for you. But honestly, it's been a gift to me for seven years. Years. It's allowed me to do a bunch of research and learn so much and interview amazing professionals and just grow in my own understanding and knowledge. It's pointed me to coaching. Truly, it. It has pointed me to coaching. It's changed my whole life.

But as someone with ADHD whose capacity

ebbs and flows, obviously podcasting weekly, like, putting something out for you every week is a huge task. I'm not different from you. I'm not. I get tired, I get overwhelmed. My personal life right now is hard. In the background of my life parenting my kids, it's. We're in a particularly different, difficult season right now. And I have been wrestling with. Just like, I can't. I don't want to do it anymore.

Just can't right now.

I promise you, I'm not going to quit. But that's where I am, where it's just like, I just don't want to. And I'm realizing that why. The reason why I don't want to is because I'm not allowing myself to take the path of least resistance. I'm wanting to do it perfectly. Of course. Of course I am. I have a right version and a wrong version in my head. If I'm gonna have a podcast, I have to record new episodes every single week. I have to get fancy and dress up. I have to drive an hour into Philadelphia and record at a professional studio to make it happen. Like, there's a lot of perfectionism that I am realizing that is happening for me, Right? And so my brain is going, we either do it perfectly or we take a two month break altogether. And like, that's not. I don't want to do either of those things. I don't have the capacity to do it perfectly and I don't want to take a break. Right? So in my adorable black and white brain, I'm giving myself those two options. Do it perfectly, like, create new content, get super fancy, wear hard pants. Like, all of the things right? Come into Philly, make it a big thing or just quit. And like, neither of those options are good. They're not good for me. They're not good for me. For you. So I'm gonna lead the way here and I'm gonna tell you how I'm actually, like, incorporating this idea of path, of least resistance for me while I'm in an ebb of my life. Okay? So for today, it looked like really just showing up as basic as I could. And I already said this. I'm in sweatpants. I'm wearing the baggy T shirt. I didn't have the capacity to even think about what I was wearing. I was like, whatever. It was, whatever. I'm comfy, all right? And I don't usually allow myself to be comfy. I usually am just like, let's get fancy, let's look cute, let's wear the hard pants, let's wear the best jeans, everything. It's just that for me was like, okay, we're going to do that today. But what I'm going to do over the next couple of weeks, not next week, but for the next couple of weeks, I'm going to take a break from recording brand new content. I'm going to give myself two whole weeks of just. Not just, but of using focused classes, content that is my own, that I have recorded, that has been useful and that people have been like, oh, my gosh, this is life changing. I already have a class in mind that I'm going to use on self sabotage. So we'll be having an episode come out in the near future on self sabotage, and I'm going to reuse some of my material. Do you know what that does for me? I will record a new intro. That's great. It allows me to work at about 25%. That's what that is for me. So I have to go find a couple really meaningful, useful classes. That's great. I have to make sure that it's content that I think you are going to love. And you will, I promise. I'm like pointing to the camera right now. If you're listening, I'm like, you're gonna love it. I'm gonna record a couple intros. Still. Great. No problem. That'll be like, up to date. But I'm not gonna drive into Philly. I am not going to have to write, you know, out notes in a script for a podcast. And I'm not. I'm going to give myself that 75%. I'm going to take that for me so that I can recover right. So I just I want to show you that doing 25% of the work and still allowing yourself to do something is what allows you to be persistent. I hesitate to use the word consistent, but maybe I will use the word consistent because you're still going to get a podcast coming out every Tuesday that the podcast will still drop consistently, but I will be taking the path of least resistance. That is a 25% effort for me.

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[Kristen Carter]

Thanks for listening to this bite sized

episode of the I have ADHD Podcast. If you enjoyed this clip, you'll find a link to the full episode in the show notes. And don't Forget to visit ihaveadhd.com for tons of adult ADHD support. All right, my friends, I had a great time with you today and I cannot wait to talk to you again next week. Bye bye.

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