My Focus Menu: A Lifeline for Foggy Brain Days
Some days, my brain boots up like a decade-old laptop.
Nothing loads properly. The cursor just spins. Everything feels… foggy.
I know I need to do something. But I can’t remember what. I open my to-do list and immediately want to close my laptop forever.
That’s when I use my Focus Menu.
What’s a Focus Menu?
It’s not a to-do list. It’s not a schedule.
It’s a short, personalized list of tasks that:
✅ Are low-pressure
✅ Give me momentum
✅ Are broken into categories like “brain-dead,” “creative,” or “executive function needed”
On days when executive dysfunction kicks in, I don’t have to figure out where to start. I just look at the menu and pick something my brain can do.
Why It Works for ADHD Brains
ADHD isn’t a motivation problem — it’s an initiation problem.
The Focus Menu sidesteps that by taking away the need to prioritize or plan in the moment.
It meets you where you are. Foggy, restless, scattered? There’s something on the menu for that.
How I Use It
Mine lives on a sticky note in my Notion dashboard. It looks like this:
🧠 Brain-dead tasks
- File receipts
- Clear 3 browser tabs
- Rename a Figma layer (just one)
- Move laundry into dryer
🎨 Creative tasks
- Sketch a rough idea for the site
- Write one sentence of a draft
- Make a dumb meme
- Pick a colour palette to steal
📈 Adulting/Executive
- Check bank balance
- Email reply (pre-written, just hit send)
- Book that overdue appointment
- Update billing info on one site
💡 Bonus: Dopamine hits
- Queue up a playlist
- Take a 7-minute walk
- Text someone a meme
- Make coffee like it’s a ritual
The Rules Are Simple
- You don’t have to do anything. The menu is here when you need it.
- You can swap items in and out whenever your life changes.
- If all you do is cross off one “brain-dead” task, that’s a win.
This isn’t about productivity. It’s about giving your brain something to grab onto when everything feels slippery.
And if you want more low-effort tools like this, subscribe to The Focus Loop — we don’t do hustle culture here.
