The gap between wanting to be productive and actually starting can feel like a massive wall when you have ADHD.
We’ve all been there, scrolling through 51 hobby ideas at 9:30 AM while our “Big Rock” tasks sit untouched.
Sara Joelle, the self-proclaimed Spokesperson of the Squirrels, joined us to break down the science of the “round number trap” and share the signature methodology she’s used to build her copywriting business while managing a neuro-spicy brain.
If you’re ready to stop making excuses and start making momentum, it’s time to talk Tiny Tasks ‘Til Ten.
Meet the “Spokesperson of the Squirrels”
Before we dive into the method, we have to talk about the woman behind the term.
Sara Joelle—copywriter, marketing mentor, and unapologetic ADHDer—has built an entire brand around the concept of “Squirreling.”
For Sara, a “Squirrel” isn’t just a cute metaphor; it’s a way of life for the neurodivergent brain. It represents that frenetic, high-energy, easily-distracted state where you’re “squirreling all over town” working 60 hours a week but somehow still feeling like nothing is getting done.
After being diagnosed at 26, Sara stopped fighting her brain and started building systems that actually worked for it. Today, she helps fellow squirrels stop using their ADHD as an excuse and start using it as their greatest competitive advantage.
Want to hear it straight from Sara?
We sat down with Sara Joelle on the Life Goals in Progress podcast to talk about all of this — how she got diagnosed, what life looked like before the systems, and how she built a goal-setting approach that actually works for her brain. She gets into Tiny Tasks ‘Til 10, themed days, and the difference between using ADHD as an excuse versus an explanation.
Hit play above or go listen to the Sara Joelle interview on Apple Podcasts and learn more about Sara at Between The Lines Copy.
The 9:16 AM Paralysis
If you’ve ever been diagnosed with ADHD (or, as Sara puts it, you suspect a “family of squirrels is making a nest in your brain”) you are intimately familiar with the Round Number Trap.
It goes like this: You finish your coffee, drop the kids at school, or close the tabs from last night’s doom-scrolling. You look at the clock. It’s 9:16 AM.
Your brain, in its infinite, neuro-spicy wisdom, decides that 9:16 is an “illegal” time to start work. You can’t start a project at 9:16; that would be chaos. You decide, with the best of intentions, that you will start your “real” work at 10:00 AM sharp.
But then, the “Gap” happens. Between 9:16 and 10:00, you spend forty-four minutes squirreling. You check the fridge. You scroll through Threads. You look at 51 different hobby ideas.
By the time 10:00 AM actually rolls around, you’ve used up your limited supply of morning focus on nothing, and the “Big Rock” task on your to-do list feels more daunting than ever.
Enter the signature method Sara Joelle has been using for four years: Tiny Tasks ‘Til Ten.
The Science: Why We Hunt for Dopamine
For the squirrel brain, the struggle isn’t a lack of ambition; it’s a dopamine deficiency. As Sara explained during our chat, everything the neuro-spicy brain does is essentially a search for a hit of dopamine. It’s why you crave sugar, why you’re a “one-take wonder” when a project is exciting, but why you can’t seem to open a spreadsheet if it feels “boring.”
Standard productivity advice tells us to “Eat the Frog,” to do the hardest, most soul-crushing task first thing in the morning. For a neuro-typical person, that might work.
For us? It’s a recipe for immediate burnout and avoidance.
Tiny Tasks ‘Til Ten flips the script.
Instead of eating the frog, you’re feeding the squirrels. By spending the first hour of your day on “Quick Wins,” you are effectively drugging your brain with the dopamine it needs to function. You aren’t “procrastinating” on the big stuff; you are warming up the engine.
I feel like the bigger struggle for me was helping other people understand what was going on with me… not making it sound like I was making an excuse all the time. I’m doing what works for my own brain. — Sara Joelle
What Qualifies as a “Tiny Task”?
A Tiny Task is any administrative or personal “nag” that takes less than 10 minutes to complete. These are the tiny ghosts that usually haunt the periphery of your brain while you’re trying to do deep, creative work.
Your Tiny Tasks ‘Til Ten Menu might include:
- Unloading the dishwasher while the coffee brews
- Sending that one-sentence “checking in” email to a client
- Posting a pre-made graphic to your Instagram Stories
- Paying that one bill that’s been sitting on your counter for weeks
- Responding to a Slack message you “read” three days ago
- Archive 10 old emails or unsubscribe from 3 newsletters you no longer read
- Reply to 5 DMs or comments on your latest post
- Schedule a dentist or hair appointment
- Water the plants that look a little thirsty
The Power of the Hard Stop
The brilliance of Sara’s method is more about the cut off.
At 10:00 AM, the window slams shut. This is the “Hard Stop” that prevents the tiny tasks from becoming the only thing you do all day. If you have twenty tiny tasks and you only get through five, the other fifteen are dead to you until tomorrow morning.
This creates a psychological boundary. During the Tiny Task block, you have permission to be “productively distracted.” You can jump from the dishwasher to an email to a social media post with total freedom.
But once that round number hits, the 10:00 AM you were waiting for, the momentum you built allows you to pivot into full GO mode. You’ve proven to your brain that you can finish things. You’ve cleared the mental clutter.
Now, you’re ready to lock in.
3 Steps to Implement Tiny Tasks ‘Til Ten Tomorrow
Build Your “Squirrel List”
Throughout the day, when a tiny, annoying task pops into your head, don’t do it. Write it down on a dedicated Tiny Task list.
Ignore the “Big Rocks“
From the moment you sit down until 10:00 AM, the massive projects don’t exist. Your only job is to be a crossing-off machine.
Respect the Pivot
When the clock hits 10:00, shift to your Themed Schedule. Because you’ve already “won” the morning, the friction of starting the big project will be significantly lower.
From the Episode:
It’s a dopamine driver. You get to cross off your tiny little tasks… they won’t be haunting you throughout your day because you have a dedicated time block to do them. — Sara Joelle
The Verdict: Momentum Over Perfection
If you are waiting for the “perfect” time to start, or if you’re constantly frustrated that you can’t “Eat the Frog” at 8:00 AM, give yourself permission to try a different way.
Tiny Tasks ‘Til Ten is going to do more for you than just checking more off a list. It allows you to get out of your head, and give yourself momentum without force.
What is the one tiny task that’s been haunting your brain this week? Put it on your Tiny Task list for tomorrow morning, and let us know how it felt to finally cross it off.
-> DM us on Instagram @LifeGoalsMag and let us know if you try this ADHD-approved method for getting things done.
-> Listen to the Life Goals in Progress podcast available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.