This guide is for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), autistic and other neurodivergent founders and leaders. It gives you one clear place for your goals, promises, decisions and people. So you do not have to hold them all in your head.
It is also for anyone who runs a company and has a lot to carry. Start with the part that matters to you today.
The plays in this guide help with five questions:
Direction: Are we focused on the few outcomes that matter most?
People: Does important work have a clear owner and enough context?
Execution: Is the important work moving?
Decisions: What really needs me to decide or step in?
External: Which customers, investors or partners need us to act?
How each play works
Each play starts with a familiar situation. It then shows one way you can set it up in Humble, what may be useful to check and what becomes easier.
These are patterns, not rules. Adapt them to your company, your team and the way you already work.
How every play works in Humble
A few simple principles appear throughout the guide:
01
Capture before it disappears
Get commitments, ideas and context out of your head while they are still present.
02
One clear owner
Many people can contribute, but one person should own the next step.
03
Context connected to work
Attach the objective, person, meeting, note or document to the task.
04
Dates where they matter
Use deadlines for timing and sequencing, and avoid fake dates that create noise.
05
Now / Next / Later
Separate what needs attention now from what can wait.
06
A small tag vocabulary
Only use tags that repeatedly create useful views.
07
Year-specific quarters
Use tags like #Q4-2026, never a bare quarter tag on its own.
08
Attention on exceptions
Focus reviews on blocked, unclear, overdue or decision-ready work.
Chapter 02~4 min read
Design this around how you think
Most founder systems expect you to remember it all. When that fails, the system should change, not you.
These patterns vary from person to person. Use the parts that reduce friction for you, without treating them as a diagnostic checklist.
When this gets hard, the system should respond by
When this gets hard…
The system should respond by…
Working memory
Keeping decisions, promises and notes linked, so they are not just in your head
Time perception
Showing dates, quarters and what is coming up
Task initiation
Turning a vague job into a clear first step, with what you need to start
Attention regulation
Splitting things into Now, Next and Later, so you can take one thing at a time
Context switching
Keeping the person, goal, note and files close to the work
Variable capacity
Showing less on low-energy days, and making it easy to return
Design principles
These patterns show up repeatedly across the plays that follow:
01
Externalise, don't memorise
Put important commitments and context somewhere trustworthy while they're present.
02
One thing at a time
Use Now / Next / Later so the whole backlog doesn't compete for attention.
03
Make tasks concrete
Replace "sort GTM" with "draft the first 10 target accounts".
04
Make time visible
Use real dates, calendar anchors and year-specific quarter tags.
05
Reduce switching
Connect context to the task, person or page.
06
Separate capture from organising
Capture quickly, and add structure only where it helps you find it again.
07
Use evidence of progress
Inspect the record before deciding nothing happened.
08
Give new ideas a waiting place
Save a new idea straight away. Then check it before it changes the plan.
Patterns, not diagnoses
These ideas come from how founders talk about their memory, time, focus and energy, and how they get started. They are not a test for a diagnosis. Each person needs different help. Use the parts that make things easier for you.
Chapter 03~6 min read · three plays
Direction
Are we focused on the few outcomes that matter most?
Founders often carry the company direction in their head. That works until the team grows and people start acting from different versions of the plan.
The plays in this section
Turn your plan into a few priorities.
Keep the quarter connected across teams.
Stop new ideas from changing the plan by mistake.
Play 1: Turn your plan into a few priorities
The situation
You know where the company needs to go. But the plan is spread across slides, notes, calls and your memory. Anyone who was not in the room works from an old version.
One way to set this up in Humble
Create a shared space such as Company Priorities: Q4 2026 through Humble Teams.
Keep it to three to five outcomes.
For each one, add the goal, why it matters, how you will know it worked, and who owns it.
Link the tasks, notes, files and meetings that show how it is going.
Why this can help: once the plan is written down, you do not have to hold it in your head. You do not have to keep explaining it.
Check this
The useful question is: does this week's work match what we agreed?
What changes: the plan lives where everyone can check it. It is no longer only in your head, or in the last meeting where you explained it.
Play 2: Keep the quarter connected across teams
The situation
One piece of work can matter in more than one place. It has a quarter, a team and a bigger project. Building that picture by hand each time uses up focus you do not have.
One way to set this up in Humble
Layer
Example tag
Time
#Q4-2026
Workstream
#GTM, #Product
Initiative
#EnterpriseLaunch
One item, several connections
An Enterprise Launch task could have the tags #Q4-2026, #GTM and #EnterpriseLaunch. It could also link to each key customer. Select + Add link on the task, then search for a customer's name or web address. The work stays in one place, but appears in every view where it belongs.
Why this can help: when your sense of time is not reliable, clear dates help. So do quarter tags with the year in them.
Check this
Ask: what is moving this quarter? Answer it from the work itself, not from a separate report.
What changes: you open a filter to see what is moving this quarter. No one has to write a report.
Play 3: Stop new ideas from changing the plan by mistake
The situation
A new idea or some customer feedback arrives, and it is exciting. With nowhere to put it, it gets lost. Or the team starts working on it, even though no one decided to.
One way to set this up in Humble
Does the new idea change something the current plan is built on?
No
Capture it as a note and keep it as context. It doesn't need to become a task yet.
Maybe
Make a task to test it or explore it. Give it one owner and a date to check it again.
Yes
Write down the decision. Then link the tasks that come from it to the right priority.
Why this can help: saving an exciting idea straight away gives it a safe place to live. It is kept, but it does not become the new plan.
Check this
Before anyone starts: has this been decided? Or does it just feel urgent right now?
What changes: new ideas get a fair hearing. But they do not replace what the team agreed to do.
Chapter 04~6 min read · three plays
People
Does important work have a clear owner and enough context?
People need more than a task. They need the context around it: why it matters, who's involved, what was promised and what already happened.
The plays in this section
Make it clear who owns what.
Keep what you know about people linked.
Focus leadership meetings on results.
Play 4: Make it clear who owns what
The situation
Someone says they will do something. But it never becomes a task with an owner. Weeks later, no one knows if it is happening, or whose job it was.
One way to set this up in Humble
Turn the vague promise into a task with one owner, and add where it came from. Use Who's doing this? to assign it.
Check this: look for
Important work with no owner.
Founder-owned work that could move to someone else.
"Look into" tasks with no concrete next step.
Why this can help: a clear next step makes things less vague. It is easier to start, for you and for the person doing it.
What changes: less of your work depends on what people remember.
Play 5: Keep what you know about people linked
The situation
Notes, follow-ups, files and tasks about one person or company get scattered. So before your next conversation, you rebuild it all from memory.
One way to set this up in Humble
In Humble, you can link a note to the person, the task it led to and any web page it mentions. Then you can find the note from any of them:
Q3 pricing follow-upShare
Call with Sam — discussed renewal terms and the timeline for the Q3 pricing update.
Today, 2:14pm
Add tagAdd relationship
Related to
Pricing page
humbleai.com/pricing — the public pricing page Sam was reviewing during the call.
Linked 2 days ago
Follow up
Send Sam the updated proposal and confirm renewal terms before end of week.
Due in 2 days
#QAShared with Alex +1 other
Sam Torres
Sales lead at Acme Co, and main contact for the Q3 renewal conversation.
Acme Co · Sales
acme-inc.com
linkedin.com/in/samtorres
Hover over or tap a circle to see what's connected
Check this: before a conversation
What happened last time?
What did I promise?
What do they care about?
What is still open?
What changes: before a conversation, you see the history in one place. You do not have to try to remember it.
Play 6: Focus leadership meetings on results
The situation
In leadership meetings, people often take turns to give updates. This is slow and uneven. It is also hard to remember later.
One way to set this up in Humble
Use leadership time for what needs the whole group. That means priorities that need attention, big changes, blockers, decisions and work that needs other teams. In the meeting, turn each item into the right thing in Humble:
Decision→Note→Action→Task & owner→Deadline
Check this
At the end of the meeting: does each decision have a note? Does each action have an owner, and a deadline if timing matters?
What changes: the meeting leaves a record you can check later. You do not have to remember what was said.
Chapter 05~6 min read · three plays
Execution
Is the important work moving?
Founders can become the company's status system. Humble can help you check what you can already see. Then ask people only for the views or facts that are missing.
The plays in this section
See progress without asking for updates.
Keep initiatives moving.
Manage by exception.
Play 7: See progress without asking for updates
The situation
A status update means someone has to stop and explain where things are. But most of it is already in Humble.
One way to set this up in Humble
Before you ask for another update, look at the project, person, team or initiative. An initiative view might show this:
Back to notes
Project: Enterprise launchPK
Goal: 5 enterprise customers by 31 Dec. Owner: Priya K.
Related items
TASKS
Propose new pricingDraft launch planLegal sign-off
LINKS
Launch plan v2
TAGS
#EnterpriseLaunch#Blocker
Only what needs help
A project view: the goal, the owner, the connected tasks and documents, and a #Blocker tag on what needs help.
What to look for
Progress first. Before you ask for another update, look at the project, person, team or initiative.
Problems only. Use #Blocker or #NeedsAttention only for things that really need help.
One shared picture. Link the goal, target date, owner, files and tasks.
Check, do not guess. Look at the record before you decide nothing happened.
Check this
Before you ask anyone for an update: what can I already see? Then ask only for what is missing.
What changes: fewer status conversations. The ones you still have are about what is really missing.
Play 8: Keep initiatives moving
The situation
An initiative can stop moving and no one sees it. No one chose to drop it. No one asked the right question about it.
One way to set this up in Humble
Check this: on review
What moved since last time?
What's stuck?
Who owns the next step?
What needs a decision?
What depends on it?
What changes: a review question finds the stall early. You do not have to wait for someone to notice.
Play 9: Manage by exception
The situation
Your company may have a lot of work going on at once. If you give all of it the same attention, it gets hard to see what matters.
One way to set this up in Humble
Now
Work tagged #Blocker or #NeedsAttention. These are the few real exceptions.
Next
Initiatives that are moving well. They do not need you this week.
Later
Work that is done or paused. Keep it as a record. You do not need to keep checking it.
Check this
Ask: does this really need me, or is it moving fine without me?
What changes: the system can hold a lot of work. You see only the few things that need you.
Chapter 06~7 min read · three plays
Decisions
What really needs me to decide or step in?
As a founder, your time is best spent on work that needs you. That means work that needs your judgement, authority, relationships or taste. Other work needs a better owner or a later time.
The plays in this section
Record a decision clearly.
Sort what actually needs you.
Capture before it disappears.
Play 10: Record a decision clearly
The situation
You make a big decision in a conversation. A few weeks later, no one can remember why. Not even you. The decision stays, but the reason is lost.
One way to set this up in Humble
Keep a decision note in the same shape each time:
Question
Why now
Options
Evidence
Owner
Decision date
Decision and reason
Actions that follow
Check this
Not every decision needs the full template. Use it when the reason will help you later.
What changes: you can look at the decision again later. You do not have to hope you remember it right.
Play 11: Sort what actually needs you
The situation
Everything that reaches you feels urgent. It all arrives in the same inbox, the same task list and the same head.
One way to set this up in Humble
Do
Needs your judgement now.
Delegate
Needs another clear owner.
Defer
Valid, but not now.
Remove
No longer worth keeping.
Why this can help: a short Now list is easy to see. The rest of your list does not all ask for your attention at once.
Check this
Look at each item on your list that is still waiting. Ask: which of these four does it belong to?
What changes: your attention goes to the few things that really need it. It does not go to whatever is in front of you.
Play 12: Capture before it disappears
The situation
You think of a task, an idea or a useful link while you talk or browse. If you do not capture it in the next few seconds, it is gone.
One way to set this up in Humble
Capture the task, note, link or thought straight away.
Link it to the person, project or page when it helps.
Why this can help: fast capture takes load off your working memory. You can organise it later, when you have more energy.
Check this
The rule that matters: capture needs to be faster than forgetting.
What changes: you lose fewer good ideas and next steps. You save them before you forget them.
Chapter 07~7 min read · four plays
External
Which customers, investors or partners need us to act?
Founders deal with investors, customers, partners and advisers. They also hear market news and make small promises in quick conversations. These relationships need context and follow-through, not just goodwill.
The plays in this section
Run fundraising as a personal investor CRM.
Keep customer context connected.
Organise work with partners and service providers.
Capture signals before you act.
Play 13: Run fundraising as a personal investor CRM
The situation
What you know about each investor is scattered across LinkedIn messages, email threads and your memory. Before you contact someone again, you have to rebuild the whole story.
One way to set this up in Humble
When you view an investor's profile on LinkedIn, add them to Humble.
Link the person to their fund and to your Fundraising workstream.
Add tags for the stage, sector or theme they invest in.
Add notes on what they invest in, your past conversations and anything else to remember.
Add a real deadline for when to contact them again.
When you make a decision, ask: which customers said something about this, and can I find it?
What changes: you can find customer feedback by the question it affects. You do not need to remember who said it.
Play 15: Organise work with partners and service providers
The situation
You meet with an accountant, lawyer or partner. Then requests and deadlines arrive by email. You answer them one at a time, and no one can see what is still open.
One way to set this up in Humble
After a meeting with people outside the company, ask: what did we promise? Who on our team owns it? When does it matter? What context do they need? If accountants, lawyers or other service providers need access, use a Humble Teams shared space. Keep their requests, documents, deadlines and your replies together there.
Check this
Ask: does this provider need their own shared space, or is one thread of tasks enough? Create the space only when several people really need the same context.
What changes: open requests from outside providers are in one place. Both sides can check it. They are not lost in an email thread that only you watch.
Play 16: Capture signals before you act
The situation
You hear some market news. Maybe a competitor did something new, or customers act in a new way. You may want to react at once. But it is not yet clear if it changes anything.
One way to set this up in Humble
First, capture the news as a signal. Before you act, ask which assumption it changes. This is the same "does it change an assumption" question from the Direction chapter.
Check this
Is this a pattern, or just one data point?
Which assumption in the current plan does it affect?
Does it need a decision, or can you just watch it for now?
What changes: market news has a place to go. You do not have to ignore it or change your whole plan at once.
Chapter 08~3 min read
The neurodivergent founder operating rhythm
A simple rhythm works better than a perfect system. Use the example below as a starting point, not a fixed plan.
Daily: decide where your attention goes
You might review:
Today's promises, meetings and decisions.
Blockers that only you can clear.
The small number of tasks in Now.
On a low-energy day, make the Now list smaller. You do not have to force yourself through it.
Monday: check the quarter
It may help to review:
#Q4-2026 and this week's outcomes.
Your attention: what is really in Now.
Possible blockers, before they get urgent.
Midweek: check key initiatives
Blockers and work that is ready for a decision.
Anything that needs more context to move.
Leadership meeting: decide and unblock
Use the meeting to make decisions and clear blockers. Do not use it to repeat status updates. Decisions become notes. Actions become tasks. Owners become assignees.
Friday: finish open items
A short review might ask:
What moved this week?
What needs to move to Next or Later?
Look at the record before you decide nothing happened.
Protect breaks and rest
Breaks are part of planning your energy. They are not a reward for finishing everything. Put them in your calendar before the day fills. Leave time to rest after hard meetings. You do not have to fill every free slot with another commitment.
Some neurodivergent founders hyperfocus, or only notice late that they are tired. Then it is easy to miss the signs that it is time to stop. A break in the calendar is more reliable than waiting to notice you need one.
Chapter 09~4 min read
How to organise this in Humble
There is no one right setup. The structure below is a starting point, not a set of rules. It helps keep your system simple and easy to search.
Create a shared space through Humble Teams when different people really need access to the same work. A shared space sets who has access. It is not just another way to filter. Depending on your stage, you might have a few of these:
Company Priorities
Leadership
Fundraising, while you are raising money
Big initiatives that cross teams
A few big customers or partners
Accountants and other service providers who need to see requests, documents and deadlines
Useful tags
Time
#Q4-2026#Q1-2027
Workstream
#GTM#Product#People#Finance#Fundraising
Type, only where useful
#Decision#Blocker#NeedsAttention
Never use #Q1 or #Q4 on their own. The same quarter number returns each year. Then old work and new work get mixed together.
A tag is useful when it helps you find or review something again and again. If you cannot name the view or question it helps with, you may not need it.
Connected integrations
Connect tools such as Linear, GitHub, Outlook and Google Calendar. Humble adds the activity that matters to your timeline. You can see work from other tools next to your tasks, notes and decisions.
Start with one useful view. As you use it, you will see what you need. Then add more detail. A complex system does not help if no one trusts it or uses it.
2–5 minAdd three current priorities: the outcome, why it matters and who owns it. A rough first version is fine.You'll have: a short list of what matters now, where you can see it.
5–7 minAdd a tag for this quarter with the year, such as #Q4-2026. Add only the workstream tags you already need.You'll have: this quarter in view, with no tag you could confuse with next year's.
7–10 minChoose what goes in Now, Next and Later. Put only what needs you right now in Now.You'll have: a Now list you can trust. It is not a long list where everything asks for attention.
That's enough to begin
Create a Humble Teams shared space only when other people need access. Link more work, people and context as you use Humble.
The end state
You should be able to answer:
What needs attention today?
Are we focused on the few outcomes that matter?
Does important work have a clear owner?
What really needs my judgement?
Which outside relationship needs action?
You provide the judgement. With Humble, your brain has less company context to hold, link again and rebuild by hand.
See how it works in Humble
The plays in this guide use features that Humble has today.
See how Humble shows how your priorities, people, decisions and follow-through connect.
Building with AI? humble.builders shows how founders keep their AI chats next to their work.
This guide is for ADHD, autistic and other neurodivergent founders and CEOs. It is based on the work Humble supports today. It uses the same "Using Humble by role" approach as our guides for chiefs of staff and for executive and personal assistants.
It shows one practical way of working. It is not an independent or complete account of neurodivergence or of starting a company. Each founder, team and organisation works in its own way. Use the parts that help and change them to fit you.
The guide describes Humble as of September 2026. Some product details may change over time.
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