Do it now

The phrase that gets me out of bed (most mornings).

For a long time, mornings and I were not on speaking terms.

About a year and a half ago, my boyfriend started saying three very annoying, very effective words to me every morning: Do it now. He didn’t yell them. He wasn't demanding anything. He just said them calmly while I buried myself under the covers like I was in full-time hibernation mode.

The routine was painfully predictable. Alarm goes off — snooze. Alarm goes off again — five more minutes. Repeat until an hour has passed, and I’ve somehow convinced myself that being late to the gym means I should simply… go back to sleep. A truly flawless system. 

For a while, I assumed something was wrong with me. I can’t even count the number of times I typed “why am I always tired” into Google. Maybe I was exhausted. Maybe a little depressed. Or my personal favorite diagnosis: lazy. Which made absolutely no sense, considering how motivated I was. Big goals. Endless plans. Color-coded to-do lists. Vision boards screaming disciplined, productive, early-riser energy.

What frustrated me the most was that I knew I was capable of all the tasks I had planned for myself, and I knew the only thing stopping me was simply sitting up in bed. 

What I didn’t know then was how much ADHD was quietly running the show… my show. My brain loves ideas, ambition, and future plans. Transitions? Not so much. Especially the brutal shift from warm bed to functioning human. Mornings felt overwhelming before they even started, and instead of moving, my brain would stall, negotiating, overthinking, asking for “just five more minutes” like it was a reasonable request.

Finding a diagnosis didn’t change who I was; it helped me understand how my brain works. It gave language to things I had blamed myself for and clarity where there used to be shame. But it never became an excuse or a limit. If anything, it gave me permission to stop fighting myself and start working with my brain instead of against it.

Once I realized that, everything clicked. Not in a “problem solved” way, but in a stop-beating-yourself-up kind of way.

I already knew that motivation isn’t the same as momentum. Wanting to do something doesn’t make starting it easier, especially if you have ADHD.

That’s why do it now worked.

It wasn’t inspirational. It wasn’t gentle. It didn’t care how I felt. It cut straight through the mental battles, the excuses, and the internal battles I continued to lose every morning. It reminded me that the hardest part of any plan is making the first move and that waiting only makes it harder.

This isn’t about hustle culture or waking up at 5 a.m. (let’s be realistic). It’s about choosing action over comfort. Starting before you feel ready. Doing the thing while your brain is still busy arguing.

This is for the chronic snoozers, the motivated procrastinators, the people who want more, plan more, dream more, and sometimes struggle with the simple act of starting.

Some mornings, I still hit snooze. I’m only human. But most days, I hear those words in my head, curse them just a bit, and I get up.

Set attainable goals for yourself this new year.

Understand your brain. Work with it.

And when in doubt — do it now.