I have ADHD, and completed tasks are what keep me going. The more they pile up, the more motivated I am.
This summer I asked Wren, the AI productivity coach I built with Claude, to recap everything I did since my last day at Muse Group as a newspaper I could print and read. She called it The Box Times, after the shipping container office I work from. Here is why I did it, the prompt I used, and what it showed me.
Why completed tasks matter so much with ADHD
I was curious why checking things off feels so good to me, so I looked it up. A 2009 study in JAMA, led by Nora Volkow, scanned 53 adults with untreated ADHD and found fewer dopamine receptors and transporters in the parts of the brain that handle reward and motivation.
That resonated with me. A checked box is a reward I can see right now, and there’s something highly satisfying about checking things off and looking for the next thing to tackle. A finished list is fuel.
The catch is the other side of it. If your brain hands out less reward for what you’ve done, it’s easy to lose track of how much you’ve actually done.
The busiest summer of my life
In early June, I was overwhelmed about what my summer would look like and how I would get it all done. I resigned as Head of Editorial at Muse Group with no job lined up. Since then, I promoted my book, The Expert Prompt, rebuilt this website from scratch, and got my consulting business started.
We dealt with a move that involved three houses and three moving trucks, and I made two trips to see family in Delaware and West Texas, working along the way. For some reason, I also fit in projects that were just fun for me, like Corey Spins.
When people asked about my summer, I told them I don’t remember a busier time in my life. But I wasn’t clear on what exactly I had done since June 15.
The prompt I gave my AI coach
I saw someone online create a newspaper of their daily routines and milestones, and I wanted one for the summer. This is how I started the conversation with Wren:
I had a “fun project” idea, inspired by something I saw online.
I’ve worked with you for at least a few months now. I saw someone create a “newspaper” for their daily routines/milestones.
I was thinking it would be super fun to do that with the accomplishments over the past few months instead. So much happened. House, farm house, building a business, etc., etc.
Create a newspaper PDF that I could print and read, recapping things.
Included would be things I was interested in learning. Links I’ve saved.
I will provide photos, too. The move, whiteboards, farm house, the Treehouse, the pecan farm…
Wren asked for the photos she wanted. Everything else came from my to-do list in Todoist and her own running notes. She wrote the words, laid out the layout, and added the details. I had a few minor corrections after the first draft.
What the newspaper showed me
I was stunned by the detail. I showed my wife, who lived every day of it with me, and she was amazed too, by the detail and by the sheer number of things that happened. It made me want to read all six pages. I hadn’t forgotten anything, but the list was longer than I thought.
It showed me something else. Nearly every day this summer, I checked off my daily to-do list completely. That never happened when I was managing my own list. I wasn’t carrying the whole summer in my head, because I knew everything was captured, prioritized, and would be remembered. Wren kept the priorities straight and never let me overload my day with an impossible list.
How to make your own
If your brain works like mine, try it. A short version of the ask:
Recap my [summer / quarter / year] as a newspaper I can print and read. Include what I finished, what I was learning, and links I saved. Ask me for any photos you need.
One honest caveat: Wren could do this because she had months of my tasks and notes to work from. An AI with no record of your work will give you a much thinner paper. Track what you’ve done, and have AI help you sort it out.
I’m going to keep doing this and save the printouts in a folder so I can read them again at the end of the year.
October is ADHD Awareness Month, which felt like the right time to share it. I also wrote a shorter version on LinkedIn.
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