The ADHD Blogger’s Guide to Chasing Passive Income (Without Losing Your Mind)

Let’s be real for a hot minute, if you’re reading this, you’ve probably got seventeen browser tabs open, three half-finished blog posts in your drafts, and a growing collection of “passive income” courses you bought at 2 AM but never actually started. Welcome to the club! Population: every ADHD entrepreneur who’s ever convinced themselves that this time will be different.

I see you there, fellow squirrel-brain. You started a blog with grand visions of becoming the next big thing, maybe even quitting your day job to write about your passion for vintage teacups or cryptocurrency trading strategies. But somewhere between choosing the perfect theme and getting distracted by that fascinating rabbit hole about how penguins sleep, the motivation fizzled faster than a Diet Coke left open overnight.

And here’s the kicker: at the time of writing this blog post, I still haven’t earned a penny yet. Not one. But I’m genuinely looking forward to the day I make my first real affiliate sale. It might only be £1.15, but the buzz you get when you have ADHD from small wins is worth all the work. That tiny notification, that first proof that someone clicked on something you recommended and actually bought it? That’s going to feel like winning the lottery, even if it barely covers a cup of tea.

The ADHD Blogger’s Paradox

Here’s the thing about having ADHD and running a blog: our brains are simultaneously our greatest asset and our biggest saboteur. One minute we’re typing away at 2,000 words per hour because we’ve hyperfocused on the perfect analogy about why starting a blog is like trying to fold a fitted sheet while riding a unicycle. The next minute, we’re staring at a blinking cursor, wondering if we’ve forgotten how to form sentences, and maybe we should reorganise our entire content calendar instead of writing that one post we’ve been avoiding for three weeks.

The passive income dream makes it even trickier. We want money flowing in while we sleep (preferably enough to afford that fancy coffee machine and maybe therapy), but passive income isn’t actually passive at first. It’s more like “massively active income that eventually becomes somewhat less active income if you don’t abandon it halfway through, like that guitar you bought in 2019 and the one in 2007, oh and one in 1999.”

When Brain Fog Rolls In Like an Unwelcome Houseguest

Brain fog is like having your thoughts wrapped in cotton wool while someone plays lift music in your head. You sit down to write your next brilliant post, and suddenly you can’t remember what you had for breakfast, let alone how to structure a compelling argument about why your readers should care about your latest obsession.

Here’s what works when the fog descends:

• Lower the bar until it’s practically on the ground. Instead of a 2,000-word masterpiece, write 200 words. Instead of researching 15 sources, use one. Instead of crafting the perfect headline, use “Some Thoughts About Things I’m Thinking About Today.”
• Voice memos are your friend. When typing feels like performing brain surgery with oven gloves, talk to your phone instead. You can transcribe it later when your brain comes back online.
• Embrace the messy first draft. Give yourself permission to write rubbish. You can’t edit a blank page, but you can definitely polish a terrible one.

The Overwhelm Monster and How to Tame It

Overwhelm hits different when you have ADHD. It’s not just “I have a lot to do”, it’s “I have seventeen different income streams I want to try, forty-three post ideas, six courses I should take, and also I should probably learn TikTok, but first I need to organise my desktop because how can I work in this chaos?”

The overwhelm monster feeds on our tendency to see all the possibilities at once. We don’t just want to write a blog; we want to write a blog, start a podcast, create an online course, write an ebook, build an email list, master SEO, become a social media influencer, and probably learn how to make those fancy latte art patterns whilst we’re at it.

Here’s the antidote: Pick one thing. Just one. I know it goes against every fibre of your ADHD being, but trust me on this. Choose one income stream to focus on for the next three months. Not three years, three months. Your ADHD brain can handle three months without getting too twitchy. This is working for me so far.

Procrastination: The Art of Productive Avoidance

ADHD procrastination is an art form. We’re not just sitting around doing nothing, we’re doing everything except the thing we’re supposed to be doing. We’ll clean the entire house, reorganise our sock drawer, and learn the history of paperclips before writing that blog post about productivity tips.

The trick is to make procrastination work for you:

• Productive procrastination is still productive. If you’re avoiding writing but you’re responding to comments, updating your about page, or brainstorming post ideas, you’re still moving your blog forward.
• Use the two-minute rule. If something takes less than two minutes, do it now. Reply to that comment, share that post on social media, or jot down that brilliant idea before it escapes.
• Procrastinate with purpose. If you must avoid your main task, choose a blog-related task to avoid it with. Clean your media library instead of your kitchen.

Finding Your ADHD Superpower in the Chaos

Here’s what neurotypical productivity gurus won’t tell you: ADHD can actually be a blogging superpower if you learn to work with it instead of against it. Our brains make connections that others miss, we hyperfocus on things we’re passionate about, and we’re not afraid to be authentically ourselves (sometimes to a fault).

Embrace the hyperfocus. When it hits, ride that wave. Cancel your plans, order a takeaway, and write until your fingers hurt. Those 4,000-word deep dives into niche topics? That’s your ADHD brain showing off.

Use your natural curiosity. We’re the people who research rabbit holes for fun. That random tangent about the history of blogging platforms might become your most popular post.

Be authentically scattered. Don’t try to fit into the “expert blogger” box. Your readers connect with you because you’re real, not because you have all the answers.

Practical Systems That Actually Work (Most of the Time)

Forget complex productivity systems that require seventeen different apps and colour-coded categories. Here’s what actually works for ADHD brains:

The “Good Enough” Content Calendar: Plan one week at a time. Any further out and you’ll either forget about it or change your mind completely. Use whatever system you’ll actually check: a sticky note, your phone’s notes app, or scribbles on your hand.

The Dopamine Hit Tracker: Keep a list of small wins. Posted today? Tick. Got a new subscriber? Tick. Fixed that broken link you’ve been ignoring for months? Double tick. Our brains need those frequent rewards to keep going.

The Emergency Content Kit: Prepare for those days when your brain feels like soup. Keep a list of easy post ideas, half-finished drafts, and templates you can fall back on. Future you will be grateful.

Making Peace with Inconsistency

Here’s the hard truth: your posting schedule will never be as consistent as those productivity bloggers tell you it should be. Some weeks you’ll publish five posts, other weeks you’ll forget you have a blog. That’s not failure, that’s ADHD.

Instead of fighting it, work with it. Be upfront with your audience about your inconsistent schedule. They’ll appreciate the honesty, and you’ll feel less guilty about those inevitable quiet periods.

The Long Game (Even When Your Brain Lives in the Now)

Passive income takes time, which can be challenging when your ADHD brain craves instant gratification. The key is celebrating the small milestones along the way. Your first pound earned, your first affiliate sale, your first month where you didn’t completely abandon your blog, these are all victories worth celebrating.

That £1.15 I’m dreaming about? It represents so much more than the money. It’s proof that this chaotic, inconsistent, beautifully ADHD way of blogging actually works. It’s validation that someone found value in the rambling thoughts I managed to wrestle onto the page between bouts of procrastination and hyperfocus.

Remember, every successful blogger you admire started exactly where you are now: staring at a blank page, wondering if anyone will care about what they have to say. The difference is they kept going, even when their brains were being difficult.

Your ADHD isn’t a bug in your blogging system; it’s a feature. Embrace the chaos, work with your brain instead of against it, and remember that done is better than perfect. Now close those other sixteen tabs and write something. Even if it’s terrible, at least it’ll exist, and that’s more than most people can say.

P.S., If you made it to the end of this post without getting distracted, give yourself a gold star. Seriously. You’ve earned it.