Speaker Katie McManus (business strategist and money-mindset coach) reframes the idea of "laziness," arguing it is often misapplied—especially for people with ADHD where executive dysfunction and low dopamine, not moral failure, explain inaction. She situates the "lazy" narrative as historically tied to industrial labor incentives and contrasts that with human limits on sustained productivity. Practical guidance: perform an "energy scan," address low energy/dopamine (nap, eat, rest), and lower unrealistic productivity expectations as a business owner.
Chapters
Stop calling yourself lazy. You're not. You're literally one of the most hardest working people that I actually don't know because I'm on TikTok and you're a stranger. But still, I know. And how do I know? Well, hello. I help ADHD business owners make more money in less time with fewer distractions. I'm Katie McManus, business strategist and money mindset coach. And let me tell you, we have some really messed up beliefs when it comes to laziness. Now, if you have adhd, then I hope you already know that sometimes when you're calling yourself lazy, you're actually in executive dysfunction. Like literally your executive function in your brain is not letting you get up and do the thing. And that's because you don't have enough dopamine. And having an improper amount of chemicals in your brain to do the thing is not laziness. But whether you have ADHD or not, laziness really isn't a thing. The whole concept was invented by people who wanted their workers to be more productive because they made more money off of them. And no one wants to pay someone $10 an hour to just sit there staring off into space, not doing anything. But that's literally not. Humans work, we're not machines. We're not designed to be productive for eight hours straight every single damn day. And here's where it's really hard for new business owners. You have been taught from a very, very young age that you need to work a 40 hour work week, Monday through Friday, 9 to 5, maybe more. And when you start your business, you hold yourself to the same standard, but you completely forget that as a business owner, you don't have someone telling you what to do. You literally have to do all the strategic thinking and planning and then all the executing as well. And that takes a ton of brain power and it also takes creativity. And when are we our most creative? That's right, when we're resting. When we allow ourselves to rest and give our brains a break. That is when we have our best ideas. And not to get all conspiracy theorist on you, but maybe that's why employers don't want you to have any rest time, because maybe you'll get some ideas and you'll quit. So the next time you start calling yourself lazy, here's what I want you to do. Do an energy scan. See if you actually are just effic in energy or dopamine. And if you are, go and take a nap or eat something or do something that will replenish you. And if the problem isn't that you're low on energy or dopamine, then maybe you're holding yourself to unrealistic standards on how much work you should be getting done in a day. And please, just cut that out. And remember that part of being a business owner sometimes is just taking a nap.
