Head's up, there could be affiliate links ahead!
If you’ve ever poured your heart into something—your business, a hobby, a job—and then one day woken up and felt… nothing, this one’s for you.
I’ve been in that place lately. The thing that once lit me up now feels like a flickering bulb. It’s not burnout exactly—it’s more like my brain just… left the building.
I’ve been running my ADHD-focused coaching business and YouTube channel for more than four years. It’s been a unicorn season: I’ve stayed consistent, grown a beautiful audience, and actually built something that works. For someone with an interest-driven brain, that’s a huge win.
But lately, that energy bunny that keeps me sprinting has run out of juice. And honestly? I’m not sure how to plug it back in.
WHen ADHD Interest-Driven Brain’s Lose Motivation
Here’s the thing about ADHD that I wish more people understood: it’s not that we can’t pay attention. It’s that we can’t pay attention to things we find boring.
When I heard Steven Bartlett say that on a podcast recently, a light bulb went off. That’s exactly what’s happening. I’m not broken, lazy, or ungrateful. My brain has just decided the work that once fascinated me is no longer stimulating enough to hold its focus.
And when your livelihood is tied to your interests, that realization can be terrifying.
The Three Paths We All Know Too Well
When your dopamine supply dries up, three options usually appear:
- Float away from it all – quietly drift until the thing you built fades into the background.
- Burn it down – scorch the earth and start something completely new.
- Push through – white-knuckle your way into burnout.
I’ve done all three before. None of them end well. So this time, I’m trying something different: awareness without reaction.
That’s the sweet spot for change—catching yourself before you overcorrect.
Awareness Is the First Step
It’s easy to externalize the discomfort—blame the algorithm, the economy, AI, or “people just don’t watch long videos anymore.”
But underneath all of that noise is the truth: my interest has shifted. The thrill that kept me creating nonstop has dimmed, and that’s okay.
The goal now is to understand what still feels alive inside my work and what doesn’t. To reconnect with why I started this business in the first place.
Re-Finding My “Why”
I keep a little sticky note on my desk that says:
“Do good things for animals and ADHDers.”
That still feels true. I’m not done. I’m just in the messy middle—the part where clarity comes slowly and creativity asks to be reimagined.
Gone are the days of five-step productivity videos. We don’t need more information; we need more truth. Human stories. Messy middles. Real connection.
So that’s where I’m heading: less polish, more honesty. More experiments.
What I’m Trying Next
Right now, I’m exploring:
- Leaning into short-form storytelling on Instagram where creativity feels playful again.
- Experimenting with new formats (vlogs, day-in-the-life, behind-the-scenes).
- Sharing the experiments while I’m in them—not just the tidy takeaways after the fact.
- Protecting my nervous system so I don’t default into overwork just to feel productive.
The mission hasn’t changed—but how I express it might.
If You’ve lost motivation too
Maybe your “thing” isn’t content creation—it’s your career, your relationship, your creative hobby. Whatever it is, if it’s stopped feeling fun, I want you to know this: you’re not flaky, lazy, or broken.
You’re likely just an interest-driven human navigating a natural shift.
Instead of judging yourself, get curious. Ask:
- What used to feel exciting about this?
- What’s changed in my internal landscape?
- What feels genuinely alive right now?
Awareness is the start of every recalibration.
What’s Next for Me
I’m not quitting. But I’m definitely recalibrating.
I’ll be sharing the experiments I’m trying to reignite my curiosity—what’s working, what’s not, and what it’s teaching me about creative sustainability with ADHD.
Because this part—the drifting, the questioning, the uncertainty—isn’t the end. It’s just the in-between space where your next chapter starts to take shape.
If you’re floating in that space right now too, welcome. You’re not alone.
👉 Come hang out on Instagram where I’ll be sharing micro-experiments and creative resets in real time: @carenmagill
Affiliate tools I use every day in my work:
✅ FLOWN – virtual focus sessions for ADHD brains
✅ Notion – where I organize everything
✅ Descript – edit videos like a doc
✅ Flodesk – simple, beautiful newsletters
Leave a Comment