There are more jobs to do. I know. 🔗 **Source:** [There are more jobs to do. I know.](https://www.samalderson.co.uk/life-and-energy/more-jobs/) > [!note]+ Document Notes > ```yaml > tags: [ADHD, energy-management, mental-health] > author: Sam Alderson > source: samalderson.co.uk > reference: [https://www.samalderson.co.uk/life-and-energy/more-jobs/] > date created: 2026-02-17 12:00 > ``` > > # 🏷️ Title: There are more jobs to do. I know. > <!-- deep-read:sections start --> ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📚 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### 🔗 References - Include links cited in or relevant to the article. --- ## 📝 Summary - What happened: The author describes how ADHD turns everyday chores and rest into cycles of overexertion, crash, and guilt, especially when reminded “there are more jobs to do.” - Why it matters: It reframes “laziness” as fluctuating capacity and high activation costs, not lack of care. - Key stakeholders: People with ADHD, their partners/housemates, caregivers. - Risks and tradeoffs: Pushing through can “borrow from tomorrow,” leading to crashes and relationship tension; doing less can increase visible mess and external judgment. - Bottom line: Shame doesn’t create capacity. Support, tiny starts, and respecting rest make sustainable action more likely than pressure and guilt. --- ## 📖 Main Content - Core argument: The phrase “there are more jobs to do” amplifies guilt rather than helping someone with ADHD act. The real bottleneck is not knowing tasks exist, but initiating and sequencing them under fluctuating energy. - ADHD & activation cost: The author explains the internal steps behind “just do a little”: noticing, prioritising, switching tasks, managing distractions, and fighting shame. On low-capacity days, this activation cost can use the entire “energy budget,” echoing spoon theory. - All-or-nothing pattern: They describe two modes—doing everything until burnout, then doing nothing while feeling constant guilt. “If guilt created capacity, I’d be unstoppable.” - Energy as money: Energy is treated like a budget: some days are funded, others are overdrawn, and big sprints are like borrowing with interest that arrives as multi-day crashes. - Impact of reminders: Statements like “there are more jobs” land as a verdict on character (“you’re failing as a person and partner”) rather than a neutral nudge, triggering a threat response and shutdown. - Practical alternatives: The article proposes collaborative, concrete approaches: - Name the goal, not the failure, e.g. “[What’s the one thing that would make the house feel better tonight?](https://read.readwise.io/read/01khnt83gh4m3k234wxe6c9rka?endLexposition=0002G_00000-000r&startLexposition=00026&emphasizeText=What%E2%80%99s+the+one+thing+that+would+make+the+house+feel+better+tonight%3F)” - Offer limited choices to reduce decision fatigue, like “[Do you want to do dishes or laundry?](https://read.readwise.io/read/01khnt83gh4m3k234wxe6c9rka?endLexposition=0002S_00001_00000-000R&startLexposition=0002I&emphasizeText=Do+you+want+to+do+dishes+or+laundry%3F)” - Make the first step tiny (one counter, a few cups). - Use body doubling—having someone present while starting. - Treat rest as maintenance that prevents crashes, not a reward. - Self-talk and scripts: The author offers scripts to use when resting with guilt, when someone says “there are more jobs,” and when sensing an all-or-nothing spiral, e.g. “[If I push right now, I’ll lose tomorrow.](https://read.readwise.io/read/01khnt83gh4m3k234wxe6c9rka?endLexposition=0002w_00005_00000-0015&startLexposition=0002u&emphasizeText=If+I+push+right+now%2C+I%E2%80%99ll+lose+tomorrow.)” - Uncertainties: The essay is experiential rather than clinical; it doesn’t quantify how universal these patterns are across ADHD populations, nor compare with non-ADHD experiences of burnout. It also doesn’t address medication/therapy directly, staying focused on day-to-day dynamics at home. --- ### 🗒️ Notes - Opening: The line “There are more jobs to do” doesn’t inform the author; it “[gives my guilt a microphone](https://read.readwise.io/read/01khnt83gh4m3k234wxe6c9rka?endLexposition=00008_00004-000S&startLexposition=00002&emphasizeText=gives+my+guilt+a+microphone.)” and highlights the gap between knowing and doing, which is where their ADHD “lives.” - Rest guilt: Rest is often accompanied by harsh internal commentary (“you should be doing something,” “you’re wasting time”), turning rest into punishment rather than recovery. - Opting out vs crashing: External comments can imply the author is choosing not to contribute, while internally they’re actively trying to avoid crashing so hard they “lose the whole week.” - “If you could do it, you would”: The author emphasises they don’t enjoy living in a messy house; non-action is because they “can’t find the start,” can’t find the sequence, or the task is tangled with shame, so avoidance feels safer. - All-or-nothing trap: - Two modes: “do everything all at once until I fall over” vs “do nothing for weeks while my brain thinks about it constantly.” - On “sparkling fuel” days they become hyper-productive but overdo it, leading to a crash where even small decisions feel like “wading through wet sand.” - Guilt reframes fluctuating energy as moral failure: “As if energy is a moral choice.” - Fluctuating capacity: - Standard advice—“just do a little every day”—assumes a stable baseline. For ADHD, “every day” can be a trap because low-capacity days make even “a little” too much. - The author lists invisible cognitive steps behind “do a little”: notice, decide it matters, choose a start, switch tasks, manage scattered thoughts, track steps, and handle the “shame soundtrack.” - They frame this as activation cost, aligning with spoon theory: on bad days, paying that cost alone empties the tank. - Reframing goals: - Instead of “what needs doing?” they ask “what is actually possible today?” Sometimes the honest answer is extremely modest (drink water, take meds, one plate in the dishwasher). - These small acts are about “keeping the lights on,” not giving up. - Energy as money: - Some days come with a solid budget; others start overdrawn due to sleep, stress, hormones, sensory overload, or previous overexertion. - Classic ADHD pattern: spending everything in one go when finally moving, out of fear they won’t be able to restart later. - Borrowing from tomorrow “works” short term (big reset days) but tomorrow arrives “with interest,” leaving them flattened. - Hidden cost of pushing through: - Completing a job may cost the ability to do anything else for days: the real price appears in mood, patience, focus, and coping. - They’re trying to avoid turning their body “into a debt collector,” seeking ways to work that don’t sabotage the rest of the week. - Message to non-ADHD people: - Chores must still be done; the piece is not a request for exemption or applause for basic functioning. - Central claim: “[shame doesn’t create capacity](https://read.readwise.io/read/01khnt83gh4m3k234wxe6c9rka?endLexposition=0001k_00000-002R&startLexposition=0001S&emphasizeText=I%E2%80%99m+trying+to+explain+something+more+specific%3A+shame+doesn%E2%80%99t+create+capacity.)”; pressure doesn’t reliably produce action. - “There are more jobs” is factually true but emotionally catastrophic because it lands as a verdict on personhood. - Verdict perception triggers threat responses (freeze, panic, escape), making the nervous system the real problem rather than the chore itself. - Real-life patterns: - Rest becomes a “courtroom” when the line is spoken. - Guilt-powered action leads to one frantic task, then worse crash. - Attempting “the right job” leads to task-hopping and half-finished chores. - Sometimes they shut down entirely (stare, scroll, dissociate) to escape feeling judged. - From outside it looks like the reminder “didn’t work”; inside it “worked too well” by activating shame and shutting down sequencing. - Better levers than pressure: 1. Name the goal, not the failure: - Replace “there are more jobs” with collaborative prompts (“What’s the one thing that would make the house feel better tonight?”). 2. Help choose: - Narrow choices (“dishes or laundry?”) is easier than open-ended “sort the kitchen.” 3. Shrink the start: - First steps like “clear one surface” or “put cups in the sink” generate momentum and dopamine. 4. Body doubling: - Having someone present, not supervising, for the first five minutes often helps dramatically. 5. Respect rest: - Rest is “how I prevent the crash that takes me out for days,” a necessary part of the system, not indulgence. - Scripts for coping: - Resting with guilt: remind self “I’m restoring capacity,” “If I push right now, I’ll lose tomorrow,” “I can do one small thing after I rest, but I can’t do everything.” - When hearing “there are more jobs”: ask to pick one priority, clarify the emotional impact of the phrase, or request help choosing a first step. - When sensing all-or-nothing: explicitly name the pattern and ask for help stopping at “enough,” or use a ten-minute timer and call it a win. - Closing: - The author wants a life that “works with my brain instead of constantly punishing it into compliance.” - They’ve tried shame and pressure; these yield burnout, not consistency. - They’re practising small starts, fewer expectations on low-capacity days, rest without trial, and focusing on what’s possible rather than impressive. - Core line: “If guilt created capacity, I’d be unstoppable. It doesn’t. So I’m learning to stop handing it the microphone.” --- ## 📚 References - Sam Alderson – “There are more jobs to do. I know.” (original article): https://www.samalderson.co.uk/life-and-energy/more-jobs/ - Spoon theory (context for energy budgeting): https://butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/ - Body doubling and ADHD (general context): https://chadd.org/for-adults/adhd-and-body-doubling/ --- ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - Paragraph A: The author already knows there are more chores; what they lack is the ability to reliably start and sustain them, and reminders just amplify guilt. - Paragraph B: Because ADHD creates fluctuating energy and high mental overhead for starting tasks, shame-based pressure undermines both rest and productivity; gentle structure, tiny starts, and respectful support work better. --- ## 📰 Newsletter In this week’s note, we’re zooming out from code to capacity. Sam Alderson’s essay on ADHD, chores, and “rest guilt” is a powerful reminder that contributors and maintainers aren’t machines: energy fluctuates, and activation cost is real. For WordPress teams, that means: - Designing contribution paths with tiny first steps. - Treating rest as maintenance, not a perk. - Favouring clarity and small, concrete asks over vague “do more” pressure. If you’re running docs sprints, triage sessions, or contributor days, consider explicit “enough for today” goals and buddy body-doubling for sticky tasks. Sustainable contribution beats heroic burnout every time. --- ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Add “tiny first step” versions of all tutorials and contribution flows (e.g., single-PR paths, one-issue sprints). - Build workshop materials around capacity-aware planning: how to pick one small win per session. - Update examples and quickstarts to include estimated effort and “minimum viable success.” - Run a campaign normalising low-capacity days for contributors; measure impact on contributor retention. - Encourage co-working/“body doubling” sessions for contributors via scheduled livestreams or open calls. - Collect feedback on which asks feel like “verdicts” vs support and adjust messaging. #### OSPO - Embed capacity-aware language in contribution policies (e.g., respect for rest, “no obligation to reply immediately” norms). - Include neurodiversity and fluctuating capacity considerations in training on open source participation. - Ensure vulnerability response and governance processes don’t rely on individual heroics. - Track maintainers’ workload to avoid chronic overdrawn “energy budgets.” - Formalise backup/rotation for critical roles to prevent burnout crashes. - Align KPIs with sustainable velocity rather than constant growth. #### Community - Offer structured co-working sessions (virtual and in-person) as a built-in body-doubling mechanism. - Provide simple, low-pressure “good first tasks” with very clear first steps. - Coach maintainers to use supportive language (“one priority for today?”) instead of vague “there’s more to do.” - Give sponsors realistic narratives about sustainable pacing and rest. - Run incident drills that assume someone may be at low capacity and need backup. #### WordPress - Core: Tag and design issues with explicit micro-starts; favour smaller, more frequent changes. - Core Performance: Prioritise automation and tooling that reduce cognitive load for routine checks. - Core AI: Include “capacity and cognitive load” as a risk factor in responsible AI guidelines. - **Core Program Team:** Timebox initiatives and declare “enough” milestones to avoid all-or-nothing sprints. - Mobile: Shape backlogs as small, well-scoped tickets; encourage devs to stop at “enough.” - Playground: Use it for quick, low-friction experiments so contributors can succeed even on low-capacity days. - Community: Add guidance for organisers on neurodiversity, rest spaces, and low-pressure participation. - Training: Build “10-minute wins” lessons; explicitly normalise stopping there. - Marketing: Avoid “hustle” language; emphasise sustainable contribution. - Support: Offer scripts and macros that model supportive, non-shaming responses to slow replies or partial fixes. - Design: Produce UI patterns that help users do one clear, small step at a time. - Documentation: Break long pages into small, clearly chunked tasks; highlight “start here” callouts. - Photos / TV / Polyglots: Offer micro-contributions (1–2 photos, one caption, one string) as valid endpoints. - Accessibility: Document checklists that can be done in 10–15 minute segments. - Meta / CLI / Hosting / Tide / Openverse / Themes / Plugins: For each, define tiny, self-contained tasks and encourage capacity-aware maintainership. #### The WPOCC - Create fellowship tracks that explicitly include rest and boundary setting. - Fund microgrants that support boring-but-essential maintenance without requiring crunch. - Offer governance clinics on building capacity-aware expectations into community norms. - Experiment with milestone-based stipends that don’t reward unsustainable heroics. ### FAIR - Technical independence: Prioritise tooling that lowers cognitive overhead (e.g., automated provenance checks). - Policies: Include anti-capture clauses that prevent any one over-functioning group from becoming a bottleneck. - Productised governance: Ship charters and scorecards that explicitly track sustainability and maintainer capacity. --- ## 🧪 Hypotheses - H1: Collaborative, specific phrasing (“one small win”) leads to more completed chores than generic reminders (“there are more jobs”). - H2: Providing very small, concrete first steps increases task initiation rates for people with ADHD. - H3: Body doubling significantly improves both initiation and completion of household tasks in ADHD households. - H4: Treating rest as planned maintenance (vs earned reward) reduces the frequency and length of post-sprint crashes. - H5: Scripts that reframe guilt reduce perceived shame and improve self-reported wellbeing in ADHD adults. --- ### 📊 Methodology - Study design for H1: - Randomised controlled trial in ADHD households: compare standard “reminder” phrasing vs collaborative, goal-focused phrasing. Measure tasks completed and subjective stress. - For H2: - Within-subject design: participants alternate weeks using “big tasks” vs broken-down micro-steps. Track initiation latency and completion rates. - For H3: - Cross-over experiment: weeks with scheduled body-doubling vs solo weeks. Use self-reports and time-use diaries. - For H4: - Longitudinal study: introduce “rest as maintenance” planning, track energy levels, crash days, and function over months. - For H5: - Pre/post intervention with scripted self-talk; use validated scales for shame, anxiety, and self-compassion. --- ### ❓ Questions - How common is the all-or-nothing productivity pattern across different ADHD presentations? - Which specific phrases most reliably trigger shame vs support in domestic contexts? - How much body doubling can be virtual (video calls, focus rooms) while retaining effectiveness? - What role do meds and therapy play in reducing activation cost vs changing internal narratives? - How can non-ADHD partners be taught to recognise early signs of “borrowing from tomorrow”? --- ### 🔮 Future Research - Quantitative mapping of activation costs across types of tasks (domestic, admin, creative). - Experiments comparing different micro-start strategies (timeboxing, object-based starts, environment tweaks). - Long-term studies on rest practices and burnout trajectories in ADHD adults. - UX studies on tools/apps designed explicitly around fluctuating capacity and guilt reduction. --- ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Clinicians and coaches can teach scripts, micro-starts, and energy-budget framing as concrete skills. - Policy: Workplaces and institutions could adjust expectations around consistency and recognise neurodivergent capacity patterns. - Security: On-call and incident response roles should avoid relying on people perpetually “borrowing from tomorrow.” - Education: Schools could design homework and assessment with small, discrete steps and body doubling built in. - Funding: Grants and sponsorships could explicitly value sustainable pacing rather than heroic throughput. --- ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment - Reading level estimate: Roughly late high school (Flesch–Kincaid ~9–11) due to long sentences and emotional nuance. #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Mainly text; implicit metaphors (energy as money, spoons). - Improve: Add diagrams for energy budgets, activation cost steps, and the all-or-nothing cycle. #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: None directly. - Improve: Provide an audio narration or short podcast-style summary. #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Rich metaphors (“guilt a microphone,” “debt collector”), clear scripts and examples. - Improve: Add a short glossary (activation cost, spoon theory, body doubling). #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Actionable scripts and small-step examples to try. - Improve: Checklists and mini “experiments” readers can run at home. #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Coherent argument from experience; cause–effect between shame and shutdown. - Improve: Simple flowcharts or tables mapping phrases → emotional response → behaviour. #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Focus on partner/household dynamics and collaborative phrasing. - Improve: Discussion prompts for couples/housemates to review together. #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Reflective tone, internal scripts for self-talk. - Improve: Add journaling prompts about rest guilt and capacity mapping. #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Minimal; indirect via “energy budget” metaphors. - Improve: Use analogies from ecosystems (overharvesting vs sustainable growth). --- ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment *(Applied to an ideal web presentation of this article.)* #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Clear headings and lists would likely help navigation. - Improve: Ensure proper heading levels, language attributes, and descriptive alt text for any illustrations. #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Static article likely keyboard-accessible by default. - Improve: Confirm visible focus indicators and logical tab order for any interactive elements. #### Contrast and readability - Present: Depends on site theme; text-centric layout usually fine. - Improve: Ensure sufficient contrast, generous line height, and font size. #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: Modern responsive design should help. - Improve: Test at 200% zoom, ensure no clipping; honour prefers-reduced-motion. #### Media and captions - Present: Primarily text. - Improve: If audio is added, provide transcripts and captions. #### Forms and interactions - Present: Likely minimal (e.g., comments). - Improve: Clear labels, error messages, and touch targets if forms exist. #### Standards reference - Map checks to WCAG 2.2 AA, especially 1.4.x (contrast), 1.3.x (structure), 2.1.x (keyboard), 2.4.x (navigation). --- ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Focused on ADHD and domestic life in a likely Western context. - Improve: Acknowledge diverse family structures and cultural expectations around chores and rest. #### Inclusive language - Present: Non-gendered, candid, and self-referential; avoids stereotyping others. - Improve: Add brief definitions for specialised concepts for non-native speakers. #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Strong validation of ADHD experience and fluctuating capacity. - Improve: Clarify that experiences vary; invite perspectives from other neurotypes. #### Representation - Present: Single first-person narrative. - Improve: Reference a range of ADHD experiences (e.g., parents, elders, different housing contexts). #### Psychological safety - Present: Validating tone, no shaming; names shame as harmful. - Improve: Gentle content note up front for discussions of burnout and self-criticism. --- ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Causal chain: The author clearly maps “shaming reminder → perceived verdict → threat response → shutdown,” which aligns with basic nervous system models. - Inductive strength: Multiple concrete examples support the general claim that shame doesn’t create sustainable capacity. - Analogical reasoning: Energy-as-money and spoon-theory analogies clarify “activation cost” and fluctuating capacity. #### Fallacies - No obvious formal fallacies; the piece is explicitly autobiographical, so generalisations are largely framed as “my experience,” limiting overreach. - Potential hasty generalisation is softened by using personal narrative instead of universal claims. #### Tone of voice - Tone: Candid, self-aware, slightly darkly humorous (“I’m not asking anyone to…applaud me for breathing”), and compassionate. - Swearing is used sparingly to emphasise frustration and authenticity rather than to attack others. --- ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: The author does not deny chores need doing; they explicitly affirm this. - Attack: They do not attack others; criticism is directed at patterns (“shame,” “pressure”), not people. - Reverse victim/offender: They resist framing themselves as a passive victim; instead, they explain constraints and ask for more effective collaboration. There is no attempt to flip responsibility for harm onto others; rather, they highlight mutual goals (a cared-for home and a functional nervous system). --- ## 🎯 Conclusion The essay argues that for ADHD brains, the bottleneck is not awareness of tasks but the cost of starting them under fluctuating capacity. Shame, pressure, and vague reminders undermine both rest and action, while tiny starts, collaborative framing, body doubling, and respect for rest enable more consistent, humane functioning. Readers can experiment with reframing requests, shrinking first steps, and treating rest as essential maintenance rather than a reward. --- ## 🧱 Refactor Appendix (append after 🎯 Conclusion) ### 📚 Literature Split Pad - Purpose: Stage Konik CEE units that become per-source Literature notes. - Split level: **H3**. - Include verbatim quotes under 25 words and a [view highlight] link. ### [H1] Shame rarely creates sustainable capacity > [!quote] [There are more jobs to do. I know.](https://www.samalderson.co.uk/life-and-energy/more-jobs/) by [[Sam Alderson]] via [[samalderson.co.uk]]. Published 2026-02-17. > “I’m trying to explain something more specific: shame doesn’t create capacity.” Two lines: context and use. Cite data if relevant. [view highlight](https://www.samalderson.co.uk/life-and-energy/more-jobs/#H1) #xref #articleseed ID:rw_[MISSING] ### [H2] Small starts support momentum with ADHD > [!quote] [There are more jobs to do. I know.](https://www.samalderson.co.uk/life-and-energy/more-jobs/) > “A first step isn’t ‘clean the kitchen’. A first step is: clear one surface…” Two lines: context and use. [view highlight](https://www.samalderson.co.uk/life-and-energy/more-jobs/#H2) #xref ID:rw_[MISSING] --- ### 🔖 Atomic Split Pad (Zettel Candidates) - Purpose: Promote reusable claims into Atomic notes. - Split level: **H4**. - Each item: one idea, present tense, specific, testable. #### [Z1] Shame-based reminders reduce ADHD task capacity - In ADHD households, shaming language about chores often triggers threat responses and avoidance. - Pointer to article. - Links: [[ADHD]] [[Motivation-and-Shame]] #### [Z2] Tiny first steps increase task initiation - When first steps are very small and concrete, ADHD adults start chores more often. - Pointer to article. - Links: [[ADHD]] [[Activation-Cost]] --- ### ✏️ Fleeting Queue (Extract by Selection) - Purpose: Capture quick actions or sparks for Fleeting notes. - Extraction: **Select one line** → “Refactor: Extract selection to new note (content only).” - Keep each line short and self-contained. - [F1] Test micro-start checklists for household chores — context/https://www.samalderson.co.uk/life-and-energy/more-jobs/ #fleeting #inbox - [F2] Design body-doubling co-working blocks for contributors — context/https://www.samalderson.co.uk/life-and-energy/more-jobs/ #fleeting #inbox - [F3] Write scripts that reframe rest as maintenance — context/https://www.samalderson.co.uk/life-and-energy/more-jobs/ #fleeting #inbox --- <!-- deep-read:sections end -->