The Minimum Viable Day

If you have ADHD, your hormones are doing the cha-cha, or your feeling burnt out - the idea of a ‘perfect day’ is honestly a bit of a joke.

You know the one.

You wake up calm. You journal. You drink lemon water. You get your gym session in. You do deep work for 3 hours. You meal prep. You finish everything on your list and somehow still have a glowing nervous system and a tidy kitchen.

Meanwhile, in real life…

• you wake up foggy

• you open your laptop and forget why

• you glance at your inbox and your focus evaporates.

• one small interruption turns into a full derailment

• and by 2pm you’re negotiating with yourself like: “If I just reply to one email I’ll be a good person.”

Same.

So instead of building my plans around the fantasy version of me…I built a system for the real version.

The one with fluctuating energy, inconsistent focus, and a nervous system that sometimes taps out before breakfast.

I call it: The Minimum Viable Day.

Not because I’m lowering my standards.

Because I’m protecting my capacity.

And capacity is the real growth strategy.

Why “perfect days” are a trap 

Perfect-day planning creates two problems:

1) It assumes predictability

ADHD doesn’t deliver predictable focus.
Perimenopause doesn’t deliver predictable energy.
Burnout doesn’t deliver predictable motivation.

So when you make a plan that requires predictability, you’re basically placing bets with money you don’t have.

2) It turns one hard day into a shame spiral

When your plan is ‘do everything’, and your energy is ‘do nothing’, your brain fills the gap with a story:

“What is wrong with me?”

“Why can’t I be consistent?”

“Everyone else can handle this.”

“I’m falling behind.”

And shame is not a motivator. It’s an energy leak.

That’s why I like MVD: it’s not built on willpower.

It’s built on design.

(Stop managing time. Start owning your energy 👋)

The Minimum Viable Day (MVD) framework

An MVD is a day that still counts - even when your energy is messy.

It’s simple. It’s startable. It’s shame-proof.

MVD = 3 tiny non-negotiables:

1) One Needle-Mover

The one thing that actually changes something (moves your business or project forward).

Not fifteen “busy tasks.”

One action that creates movement.

2) One Admin

The thing that keeps life from piling up and biting you later.

Because future-you deserves fewer landmines.

3) One Self-Regulation Action

The thing that keeps your nervous system online.

Because if your nervous system is fried, your strategy doesn’t matter.

That’s it.

Not a full routine. Not a 47-step checklist.

A minimum viable day.

How to choose your MVD (without overthinking it)

Here’s the rule:

Pick based on your energy level, not your ideal self.

Try one of these three modes:

🔋 Low Energy MVD (foggy / anxious / overwhelmed)

• Needle-mover: 5 minutes on the most important task

• Admin: one tiny “future-proofing” task

• Self-reg: water + 2 minutes of slow breathing

🔋 Medium Energy MVD (functional but fragile)

• Needle-mover: 20–45 minutes focused block

• Admin: reply to 3 emails / schedule something / tidy one surface

• Self-reg: 10 min walk or sunlight

🔋 High Energy MVD (good day / momentum is available)

• Needle-mover: full focus window work

• Admin: one lingering task you’ve been avoiding

• Self-reg: protein + movement to protect the crash later

The magic is: you still only pick ONE from each category.

Because we’re not trying to “win the day.”

We’re trying to stay consistent without burning out.

MVD menus

Needle-movers (pick ONE)

• write 5 lines of content

• send 1 outreach message

• outline 1 offer idea

• record 3 minutes of a video

• fix 1 bottleneck in your system

• draft the first paragraph (not the whole thing)

• make the first decision (not all of them)

Reminder: a needle-mover is often a start, not a finish.

Admin (pick ONE)

• invoice / check bank balance

• reply to 3 emails (not all)

• book one appointment

• tidy one surface

• confirm tomorrow’s top task

• delete 20 photos/screenshots (mental clutter counts too)

• set one reminder you’ve been “meaning to set”

Self-regulation (pick ONE)

• 10-minute walk / sunlight

• protein + water

• 60-second reset (exhale longer than inhale)

• brain dump

• stretch + music

• shower with no phone

• 5 minutes lying down with a hand on your chest (yes, it counts)

The 3 biggest mindset shifts

✅ 1) You don’t earn rest by finishing everything

Rest isn’t a reward.

It’s maintenance.

You don’t wait until the engine explodes to change the oil.

✅ 2) You build consistency by making days startable

Consistency isn’t “doing a lot.”

It’s touching the thing regularly - in a way you can sustain.

Some seasons you sprint. Some seasons you shuffle.
Both still count.

✅ 3) Shame-free systems beat willpower every time

If your plan requires you to have perfect focus, perfect mood, and perfect energy…

…it’s not a plan. It’s a setup.

MVD is what you use when executive function ghosts you.

“But what if I only do the minimum forever?”

You won’t.

What happens is the opposite:

>When your day feels startable, you start more often.
>When you start more often, you build momentum.
>When you have momentum, you naturally do more.

MVD isn’t a ceiling.

It’s a floor.

It’s how you stop going from all-in to crash to shame to avoidance.

It’s how you stay in motion.

Try this tomorrow: the MVD in 90 seconds

Open your notes app and write:

My MVD for tomorrow:

• Needle-mover: __________________

• Admin: _______________________

• Self-reg: ______________________

Then keep the MVD list visible (lock screen, sticky note, first tab, whatever).

When the day gets messy, don’t renegotiate your whole life.

Just come back to the MVD.

A tiny invitation (hit reply)

If you want, hit reply with:

1. your MVD for tomorrow

2. your most common “derailment point” (starting / switching / finishing / emotional crash)

And I’ll reply with a few MVD options that fit your reality (not your fantasy self).

Because you don’t need more discipline.

You need a plan that works on the days you’re not at your best.

That’s ownership.

- Mel

P.S. If today was a “barely holding it together” day:

Your MVD might simply be: eat, water, one tiny task, regulate.

That still counts.