Why You Know What To Do But Still Can’t Start (with Eric Zimmer)

The ADHD Skills Lab

Presented by Understood.org

You already know what needs to get done.

It’s not a knowledge problem. It’s not a lack of ideas.

But you still don’t start.

Instead, you overthink it, wait to feel ready, or tell yourself you’ll do it later, again.

Eric Zimmer is the creator of The One You Feed, an award-winning podcast with 50M+ downloads and 800+ conversations on behavior change. He is the go-to voice on sustainable habit change, and his work shows what actually works when willpower doesn’t.

In this episode, Eric and Skye break down why that gap between knowing and doing is so common with ADHD, and why trying to “think your way into action” usually makes it worse.

They get into:

  • why motivation often shows up after you start, not before
  • what’s actually happening when you feel resistance to simple tasks
  • how to begin when your brain is telling you “not now”
  • and a more realistic way to build momentum without relying on willpower

This isn’t about forcing yourself or waiting to feel motivated.

It’s about understanding why starting feels so hard, and what actually helps you move anyway.

If you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Everyone Gets a Juice Box: For Parents of Neurodivergent Kids.

Listen here: https://lnk.to/everyonegetsajuiceboxPS!adhdskillslab

Connect with Eric: https://www.oneyoufeed.net/ https://www.instagram.com/one_you_feed/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericzimmer/ https://www.youtube.com/@TheOneYouFeedPod How a Little Becomes a Lot (Book Page)

About ADHD founders for ADHD founders.

Interesting in working together? You can click here to receive a free bottleneck audio session and learn more about what we do. https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com/unstuckaudiosession

Diagnosed with ADHD at the start of her PhD, Skye Waterson spent years researching what actually works and writing about it for thousands of founders. The pattern she kept finding: ADHD business owners don't have a focus problem, they have an operations problem, because the whole business runs through their own head. Now she and her husband, former programmer Robert Waterson, work as fractional COOs for those founders. They find the bottleneck, hire the fix, and build the system that holds.

Subscribe to our Newsletter - https://unconventionalorganization.substack.com/

Follow us on Instagram - @unconventionalorganisation

Visit our website - https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com/

More description

Presented by Understood.org

You already know what needs to get done.

It’s not a knowledge problem. It’s not a lack of ideas.

But you still don’t start.

Instead, you overthink it, wait to feel ready, or tell yourself you’ll do it later, again.

Eric Zimmer is the creator of The One You Feed, an award-winning podcast with 50M+ downloads and 800+ conversations on behavior change. He is the go-to voice on sustainable habit change, and his work shows what actually works when willpower doesn’t.

In this episode, Eric and Skye break down why that gap between knowing and doing is so common with ADHD, and why trying to “think your way into action” usually makes it worse.

They get into:

  • why motivation often shows up after you start, not before
  • what’s actually happening when you feel resistance to simple tasks
  • how to begin when your brain is telling you “not now”
  • and a more realistic way to build momentum without relying on willpower

This isn’t about forcing yourself or waiting to feel motivated.

It’s about understanding why starting feels so hard, and what actually helps you move anyway.

If you're enjoying ADHD Skills Lab, you may also enjoy Understood.org’s new podcast, Everyone Gets a Juice Box: For Parents of Neurodivergent Kids.

Listen here: https://lnk.to/everyonegetsajuiceboxPS!adhdskillslab

Connect with Eric: https://www.oneyoufeed.net/ https://www.instagram.com/one_you_feed/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericzimmer/ https://www.youtube.com/@TheOneYouFeedPod How a Little Becomes a Lot (Book Page)

About ADHD founders for ADHD founders.

Interesting in working together? You can click here to receive a free bottleneck audio session and learn more about what we do. https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com/unstuckaudiosession

Diagnosed with ADHD at the start of her PhD, Skye Waterson spent years researching what actually works and writing about it for thousands of founders. The pattern she kept finding: ADHD business owners don't have a focus problem, they have an operations problem, because the whole business runs through their own head. Now she and her husband, former programmer Robert Waterson, work as fractional COOs for those founders. They find the bottleneck, hire the fix, and build the system that holds.

Subscribe to our Newsletter - https://unconventionalorganization.substack.com/

Follow us on Instagram - @unconventionalorganisation

Visit our website - https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com/

2026-04-06 37 min
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