Self-employed with ADHD? Build a quieter business.

Three systems that protect a self-employed ADHD adult

1. One inbox, one calendar, one task list

Pick a tool for each. Don't move. Don't add a fourth. Every "this app would solve my problem" is, for an ADHD brain, usually a procrastination disguise. Your future self needs continuity more than novelty.

2. Money on autopilot

• Automated invoicing template — same day the work ships.
• Auto-transfer a percentage of every payment to a tax account (e.g. 25–35%).
• Quarterly accountant check-ins for VAT and preliminary tax.
• Standing orders for pension, insurance, software — set and forget.

3. The weekly review that actually happens

Not Sunday at 8pm with a candle. Friday at 4pm, fifteen minutes, ideally body-doubled. Three questions: what shipped, what slipped, what's the one thing for next week. Steady's weekly check-in is built around exactly this.

Pricing your work without ADHD tax

ADHD adults systematically under-estimate how long things take and over-deliver to compensate for the parts that slipped. Two adjustments help:

• Multiply your time estimate by 1.5–2x before quoting.
• Price by deliverable or value, not hours, where possible.
• Charge a deposit. It funds the boring start. Boring starts are where ADHD businesses die.

Where Steady fits

Steady gives you the daily layer most freelancers stop building once they leave employment: a check-in, a focus block, a wind-down, and a weekly review that survives a hard week. See pricing or the tools page.