Methodology note upfront: this is product research, not academic. Self-selected sample, no control group, no IRB. Take the percentages directionally, not as gospel. That said, 218 responses with open-ended answers surface patterns worth discussing.
Numbers:
- 92% feel overwhelmed at least a few times a month (only 8% said "almost never") - 48% feel overwhelmed weekly or daily - 42% struggle deciding their next priority at least multiple times a week - 50% report neurodivergence impacts their daily work — far higher than I expected - Average self-rating of "productive best" hovers around 3.2/5.0, quality of life at 3.0/5.0
When asked "if you could fix ONE thing about your execution," the dominant answer was focus and context switching - not skills, time management or discipline. Very simple - "too many things, can't stay on one".
The open-ended responses are where it gets interesting. Some patterns:
1. Energy/fatigue as the root, not motivation. People describe "brain fog," "running through water," momentum that dies by Wednesday. 2. External interruptions compound internal state. Family, clients, team pulling focus - but the internal response (overwhelm, shutdown) does more damage than the interruption itself. 3. Neurodivergence is massively underrepresented in the "founder productivity" conversation. Multiple respondents described ADHD-related execution barriers that no productivity framework addresses. 4. Overcommitting as a systemic pattern, not a character flaw. People know they're doing it. They can't stop because saying no feels more dangerous than burning out. 5. Several people explicitly asked for AI help with prioritization and workload management.
Still collecting responses - targeting 300+ before full analysis.
The productivity conversation keeps focusing on discipline, time management and biohacking. This data says the real problem is focus and context switching - and nobody has a good solution for it yet. I'm juggling 10+ tools daily and it absolutely costs me.
What's actually working for you?