Alternative Models: Essential Three and Split-Screen

Ever feel like your workweeks slide into chaos, no matter how many productivity hacks you try? If you have ADHD—or just a brain that refuses to follow “traditional” time management—you’re not alone.

This week on ADHD-ish, Diann Wingert breaks down the problem of context switching for ADHD entrepreneurs and introduces the concept of “focus days” with three different models to choose from.

Get ready to discover practical, customizable models to help you protect your time, boost your productivity, and work with your brain, lifestyle, and stage of business.  

About the Host

Diann Wingert is a former psychotherapist and serial entrepreneur turned business coach, specializing in helping entrepreneurs with ADHD and other “not-so-neurotypical” brains thrive.

Drawing from both her clinical expertise and personal experience, Diann delivers actionable advice, real-world strategies, and a refreshingly honest perspective on building a business, balancing priorities, and protecting your most precious resources: your time and your creative energy.

Here’s your quick guide to Focus Days, ADHD-style:

The Single Focus Scheduling Method

Think of this as giving every day its own “job”—Mondays are CEO days (big picture, strategy only!), Tuesdays and Thursdays are for clients, Wednesdays for content creation, and Fridays for building connections.

The magic? You get to deeply immerse in one type of work at a time—no more multitasking burnout.

The Essential Three Model: Create, Connect, Consume

Perfect if you don’t want to lock yourself into a five-day structure. Allocate days based on energy: Create (any kind of output work), Connect (people-focused work like client calls), and Consume (input tasks like learning or admin).

You can spread these across your week however you like—and it totally honors both structure and spontaneity.

The Split-Screen Approach

Not all of us can devote a full day to a single focus. With the Split Screen model, you match tasks with your daily energy: deep work when your brain’s sharpest, creative or relational work when it feels right, and breaks when you need them. It’s about flowing with your energy patterns, not fighting them.

Which one to try?

• Are your days packed with interruptions? Go for the Essential Three.
• Thrive with structure? Try Single Focus Scheduling.
• Need max flexibility or have health/family stuff? Split Screen’s your friend.

Protect your boundaries (and sanity):

Most “emergencies” can actually wait. Create clear expectations and communicate your availability so you’re not always on call—this protects your energy, time, and creative spark.

Embrace experimentation over perfection:

Whether you need more structure or more flexibility, give yourself permission to tweak any system. Growth comes from iteration, not rigid adherence. Try one approach for a few weeks, then adjust as needed.

Not-so-fun fact:

Research shows it can take UP TO 25 MINUTES to fully recover your focus after switching tasks. And with ADHD? Yep, it can take even longer. It’s like trying to cook five different cuisines at once—the results are always a little…messy. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Changes Diann made based on her quarterly review during a CEO Day:

• Zoom Pro to Google Meet_savings: $160
• Loom to Konvey_savings: $71
• Calendly to TidyCal: $91

Links to Diann’s three-part momentum series:

• Starting Strong
• Stopping Smart 
• Shifting Smoothly
• Start, Stop, Shift Toolkit for ADHD Entrepreneurs 

If you tried one of the three Focus Day models shared in this episode, let Diann know!  Leave a comment on Spotify or leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Whether you crave more structure or more flexibility, you’ll leave this episode with permission to tailor your week—and your business—to what actually works for your ADHD-ish brain.

© 2025 ADHD-ish Podcast. Intro music by Ishan Dincer / Melody Loops  / Outro music by Vladimir /  Bobi Music / All rights reserved.