{"id":13422,"date":"2026-07-24T00:12:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T04:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/ai-prompts-for-adhd-entrepreneurs-the-18-i-actually-use\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T00:12:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T04:12:21","slug":"ai-prompts-for-adhd-entrepreneurs-the-18-i-actually-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/ai-prompts-for-adhd-entrepreneurs-the-18-i-actually-use\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Prompts for ADHD Entrepreneurs: The 18 I Actually Use"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/hop.clickbank.net\/?affiliate=infohatch&amp;vendor=J1R2C\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10614 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px.png\" alt=\"Profit Gen\" width=\"400\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px.png 400w, http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I once ran a paper planner for nine days straight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nine good days. Boxes checked, tasks migrated, the whole system working exactly the way the book said it would. Then I forgot the planner existed. Found it weeks later under a stack of client folders, still open to day nine, and added \u201ccan\u2019t stick to anything\u201d to the running list of evidence I\u2019d been keeping against myself since my twenties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twenty-three years in business. A Master\u2019s in performance psychology. Around twenty coaching clients at any given time. And a planner that beat me.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The planner was built for a brain that stores things. Mine doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s the part most productivity advice gets wrong about ADHD. The advice assumes the hard part is the work. For a lot of us the work is the easy part. The hard part sits on either side of it: starting, choosing, tracking time, and remembering what we already decided.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AI is the first tool I\u2019ve used that takes those four jobs off my plate instead of adding a tenth one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Below are the prompts I actually run, organized by the executive function each one covers. Copy them. Change the details to match your business. None of them require a subscription you don\u2019t already have.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What makes an AI prompt work for an ADHD brain<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The short version: a prompt works when it ends with a decision instead of a menu.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most prompts fail neurodivergent operators for the same reason planners do. You ask a broad question, you get twelve good options back, and now you have a new decision to make on top of the one you were already avoiding. More input on a brain that\u2019s already flooded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So every prompt below is built on two rules.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rule one: give it your context once, on purpose.<\/strong>\u00a0The tools are only as useful as what they know about your business. Before any of this, write one paragraph covering what you do, who you serve, what you\u2019re working toward this quarter, and what you\u2019re bad at. Paste it at the top of any chat, or store it as a saved instruction. That paragraph is the highest-leverage thing you\u2019ll write this month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rule two: make it choose.<\/strong>\u00a0Ask for one answer, not a list. Tell it to pick, and to tell you why it picked.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prompts for task initiation (when you can\u2019t start)<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Starting is where the days disappear. The task isn\u2019t hard. Opening it is.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. The two-minute entry point<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s what I need to get done: [task]. I have ADHD and I stall at the beginning. Give me the single smallest physical action that starts this, something I can do in under two minutes. One action only. No list.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. The bad first draft<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Write the worst acceptable version of [deliverable]. Deliberately rough. I edit far better than I originate, so your job is to give me something to react to, not something good.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. The talk-it-out<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019m going to describe [project] out loud and it\u2019s going to be disorganized. Don\u2019t clean it up yet. Ask me the three questions that would fill the biggest gaps, one at a time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlytorise.com\/the-ai-stack-that-works-with-an-adhd-brain\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"76685\">I run this one as a voice memo on a walk with my dog.<\/a> By the time I\u2019m back at the desk there\u2019s a draft waiting. The finished work stopped waiting on a better version of me and started waiting on a two-minute walk.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>4. The re-entry<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I stopped working on [project] eleven days ago. Here are my notes: [paste]. Tell me where I left off, what the next action is, and what I was clearly avoiding.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prompts for prioritization (when everything feels equally urgent)<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>5. The forced ranking<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are the nine things on my list today: [paste]. Rank them by impact on [current quarter goal]. Then tell me which three I should delete outright, and defend the deletions.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>6. The hourly-rate sort<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sort each of these tasks into $10 work, $100 work, and $1,000 work for a business like mine. Then tell me which single $1,000 task I should protect time for tomorrow.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Craig Ballantyne taught me that exercise long before AI could run it. Most entrepreneurs find sixty to seventy percent of their week sitting in the bottom two tiers. AI just made the sort take ninety seconds instead of an afternoon you\u2019ll never schedule.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>7. The addition filter<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019m considering taking on [new client, offer, tool, or commitment]. Based on what you know about my business and my capacity, tell me what would have to come off my plate to make room for it. Name the specific thing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>8. The one-decision-only prompt<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019ve been going back and forth on [decision] for two weeks. Here are the facts: [paste]. Pick one. Give me your reasoning in three sentences. I\u2019m not asking for options.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>9. The Sunday triage<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s my calendar for the week and my open project list: [paste]. Tell me the one outcome that would make this week count, and what I should cancel to protect it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prompts for time blindness (when an hour and four hours feel identical)<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Time blindness is the one nobody outside the ADHD world takes seriously, and it\u2019s the one that quietly wrecks pricing, deadlines, and family dinners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>10. The honest estimate<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How long does [task] actually take for someone doing it carefully, start to finish, including setup and revision? Give me a realistic range, and then tell me what I\u2019m most likely underestimating.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>11. The reverse calendar<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[Deliverable] is due [date]. Work backwards and give me the dates each piece has to be finished by. Assume I will lose two working days to things outside my control.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>12. The scope check<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I told a client this would take three hours. Here\u2019s the actual scope: [paste]. Tell me if three hours is real, and if it isn\u2019t, tell me what to cut so it becomes real.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>13. The container<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have ninety minutes and this project: [paste]. Tell me exactly what portion of it fits in ninety minutes, and where to stop.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prompts for working memory (when the details leave before you do)<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I had a client call end at 4:15 on a Tuesday and by 4:20 I was standing in my kitchen with no idea what I\u2019d committed to. That was a normal Tuesday for about fifteen years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>14. The call debrief<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s the transcript from my call with [client]: [paste]. Give me four things: a short summary, their core challenge, what we committed to, and the three questions I should open with next time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>15. The pre-call brief<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read my last three sets of notes on [client]. Tell me where we left off, what they were struggling with, and what I promised. Two paragraphs.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I stopped opening calls with \u201cremind me where we left off.\u201d That sentence had cost me more credibility over the years than any mistake I\u2019d actually made.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>16. The decision log<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We just decided [decision]. Write it down as: what we chose, what we rejected, and why. Keep it to five lines so future me can read it in ten seconds.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prompts for follow-through (when the last ten percent never lands)<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>17. The loop sweep<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are my notes and emails from the past two weeks: [paste]. Find every commitment I made that I haven\u2019t closed. List them by who\u2019s waiting on me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>18. The subtraction audit<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s everything I\u2019m currently paying for and everything I do weekly: [paste]. Find the overlaps. Tell me what I can cancel, combine, or stop doing entirely without breaking anything.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That last one paid for itself the first time I ran it. I went line by line through my software and cancelled over $400 a month inside thirty days. The money was the small part. The real win was removing the switching, because ten tabs to finish one task is a specific kind of poison for a brain that loses the thread every time it changes context.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The test any of this has to pass<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A system you have to maintain daily is a system that will eventually catch you on a bad week and punish you for it. I ran that experiment for fifteen years with planners and lost every time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bar is this: the best system is one you\u2019re allowed to ignore for a week, and it still works when you come back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These prompts clear that bar because there\u2019s nothing to maintain. No streak to protect. No app to open every morning at the same time. You use one when you\u2019re stuck, and being stuck is the only trigger you need.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where to start<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don\u2019t take all eighteen. Taking all eighteen is the same instinct that bought the planner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pick the one executive function that costs you the most this week. Starting, choosing, tracking time, or remembering. Run the two or three prompts under it. Keep whichever one you use again without being reminded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlytorise.com\/the-real-reason-you-cant-focus-5-steps-to-fix-it-fast\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"76456\">There\u2019s a gap forming right now between two kinds of business owners.<\/a> One group is using AI to produce more of the work that\u2019s already burning them out. The other is using it to remove that work. The gap between those two groups is about to get very wide.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your brain was never the problem. The tools were built for a different one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pick one prompt. Run it today. Delete the rest until that one sticks.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Galel Fajardo is a business coach, digital marketing consultant, and fractional CMO. He holds a Master\u2019s in performance psychology and works with high-performing entrepreneurs, many of them neurodivergent, who have built businesses that look successful from the outside and feel like a prison from the inside. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/galelfajardo\">Follow him on Instagram<\/a> for more advice on how to leverage AI to get back your time and energy.<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"author-bio-box\" style=\"background: #f8f8f8; border-top: 2px none #cccccc; border-bottom: 2px none #cccccc; color: #333333\">\n<h3><a style=\"color: #555555;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlytorise.com\/author\/galel-fajardo\/\" title=\"All posts by Galel Fajardo\" rel=\"author\">Galel Fajardo<\/a><\/h3>\n<div class=\"bio-gravatar\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2655963d491e1d847741786afc5b2a021accc64efe36ef7366318c041892bdbd?s=90&amp;d=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.earlytorise.com%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fsimplemag-child%2Fimages%2Fperson-placeholder.png&amp;r=g\" srcset=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2655963d491e1d847741786afc5b2a021accc64efe36ef7366318c041892bdbd?s=180&amp;d=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.earlytorise.com%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fsimplemag-child%2Fimages%2Fperson-placeholder.png&amp;r=g 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-90 photo\" height=\"90\" width=\"90\"\/><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/Galel\" class=\"bio-icon bio-icon-twitter\"\/><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/galel\" class=\"bio-icon bio-icon-linkedin\"\/><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@galelf\" class=\"bio-icon bio-icon-youtube\"\/><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/galelfajardo\" class=\"bio-icon bio-icon-instagram\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"bio-description\">Galel lives in Orange County, California with his wife Emily, their two children, and their chocolate labrador retriever named Mikey. He holds a Master\u2019s degree in Performance Psychology, which has helped him coach fellow entrepreneurs and professional athletes. When not on Zoom calls, you\u2019ll find Galel on the beach with his family, traveling in their RV, or umpiring a baseball game. Galel is passionate about helping coaching clients build systems to reduce stress and anxiety, boost sales revenue, and skyrocket their fulfillment and happiness.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/hop.clickbank.net\/?affiliate=infohatch&amp;vendor=J1R2C\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10614 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px.png\" alt=\"Profit Gen\" width=\"400\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px.png 400w, http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I once ran a paper planner for nine days straight. Nine good days. Boxes checked, tasks migrated, the whole system working exactly the way the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13423,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}