127: Little Jolt of Joy – Don’t Give Up!

Don’t Give Up: How to Catch Up When You’ve Fallen Behind on Your Own Challenge

If you’ve been following along with a 23-for-23 style list, or any month-long mini challenge you set for yourself, and you’ve realized you’re behind, this one’s for you, because I’m right there with you.

Falling behind on my own challenge

I set a goal to do a quick 10 to 15 minute declutter of a small spot every single day this month. By the time I sat down to check in, I’d done exactly five: a junk drawer, a food storage drawer, my purse, a pantry floor, and a pantry shelf. I should have been at 24 by that point. At that moment, I had a choice: give up entirely, or bend with where I actually am right now.

Do the math, then make it realistic

If I was nineteen spots behind at ten minutes each, that’s roughly 190 minutes, about three hours total. I didn’t have three hours that day, but I had a solid hour, and a solid hour repeated over the next few days would get me caught up by the end of the month. If even that feels like too much, there are smaller ways to still call it a win: commit to getting rid of a set number of items total this month instead of daily spots, or count total minutes spent decluttering across the whole month rather than requiring a perfect daily streak, or simply do one single session alongside someone else and let that count as your win for now, then aim for two next month.

Consistency isn’t the only path to progress

We talk a lot about how “consistency” can feel like an ugly, unreachable word for ADHD brains, if you can’t repeat something every single day for a month, it can feel like it doesn’t count at all. But there’s real value in the end-of-month sprint, in figuring out how to recover lost ground in bursts rather than writing off the whole effort because the daily streak broke.

Borrow momentum from other people

Being part of a group where someone else is actively checking off their own progress creates a kind of body-doubling effect, seeing someone else post “just did number sixteen” makes you want to catch up too. If you don’t have a group like that, even one accountability partner checking in with you can create the same pull.

Your practical, actionable step

Look at whatever goal or challenge you set for yourself this month and are behind on. Instead of abandoning it, pick one realistic way to close the gap, a set number of items, a set number of total minutes, or just one more session done alongside somebody else, and let that count as a genuine win rather than measuring yourself against a perfect streak you didn’t hit.

Until next time, don’t give up, and continue to choose joy.