The Attentive Archive

Codename: The Firefly

In a dark forest scene, a silhouetted figure with short hair crouches amidst dense green foliage and small trees. They are examining a bright, glowing object close to the ground, illuminating the plants and a multitude of shimmering firefly lights scattered throughout the scene.
Photo by Jerry Zhang on Unsplash

Tap here to jump down to the TL;DR

You’ve made it to adulthood. You’ve learned to navigate a world that seems designed for a different life operating system. You even pay your bills on time (mostly). And yet—

Looking at your bank account, you feel a familiar, hollow dread. The money you’d carefully set aside for a car repair? Gone. Spent on a flurry of small, exciting purchases that seemed necessary at the time. That emergency fund you’ve been trying to build for years? Still at zero. You know how important it is for your future security, but here you are.

Or maybe it isn’t about money. Maybe you sent a text at 2 AM that you deeply regret.

Maybe you quit a job without a backup plan because something felt off. Again.

Or you started three new creative projects this month and haven’t touched the one you were certain you’d finish last week.

You’re not a bad person, or even a bad adult. You aren’t irresponsible, reckless, careless, or flaky by nature —despite the insistence of your inner critic.

You’re just especially susceptible to the objectively charming wiles of the most dazzling member of The League of Executive Dysfunctions: The Firefly.

A Double-Edged Sword

The Firefly isn’t a monster like The Vortex or a smug roadblock like The Gatekeeper, they aren’t even trying to hurt you!

The Firefly is the excitable, brilliant friend who shows up with a burst of pure, infectious energy, convinced they’re helping by keeping things interesting. And, since they know what drives you better than anyone else, they’re really good at keeping things interesting.

They’re the “what if” that sparks your best ideas, the spontaneity that makes you, you. They’re the force that allows you to pivot quickly in a crisis, see connections others miss, and embrace the new with genuine enthusiasm and curiosity rather than fear.

But this seeming superpower is very much a double-edged sword.

The same touch of genius that makes you a creative problem-solver is the spark that makes you quit a stable job on a whim. The spontaneity that makes you a fun, adventurous friend is the same spontaneity that leads to risky behavior: social, financial, or physical.

Its powerful force makes you a phenomenal crisis responder but terrible at routine maintenance. The same energy that helps you think outside the box is the energy that makes you abandon the box entirely before it even takes shape.

This is why The Firefly is so tricky. You don’t want to eliminate them because, on some level, you know they’re an integral part of who you are.

But, when left unchecked, The Firefly becomes the underlying force behind some of the most significantly damaging problems ADHDers can have. From impulse-buying and financial insecurity to damaged relationships and, in the most serious cases, substance abuse and self-medicating that lead to struggles with addiction and self-harm.

Official Title: Poor Impulse Control (Impulsivity)

The Firefly’s official file name is Impulsivity, one of the core features of ADHD alongside hyperactivity, both of which fuel the broadly (and inappropriately) named star of the show: iNaTtEnTiOn. (Can you feel me rolling my eyes?)

But impulsivity is more than a simple symptom, it’s a window into how the ADHD brain processes both rewards and time.

Research consistently shows that individuals with ADHD have altered dopamine functioning in key reward pathway regions of the brain. These dopamine differences result in what scientists call “temporal discounting,” the heightened preference for smaller, immediate rewards over larger, delayed rewards.

We discussed the particular phenomenon of Time-Blindness in more depth when we opened the case files on The Time Thief and The Event Horizon, but here’s what that means in this context: The Firefly isn’t trying to sabotage you, they’re trying to save you from boredom.

The ADHD brain has lower baseline dopamine levels and exaggerated dopamine responses. The practical reality of this neurological difference means we experience rewards differently than neurotypical brains: immediate rewards feel disproportionately compelling while delayed rewards feel impossibly distant.

The Firefly is reacting to a brain that needs more stimulation to feel “on,” and that is also preprogrammed to strongly prefer “now” over “later.”

So, while it’s true that impulsivity can have serious consequences, it’s important to remember that it isn’t a character flaw, it’s a compensatory mechanism that’s gone too far.

That terminology might sound a bit abstract, but a sort of funny (and very hyperbolic) example of a compensatory mechanism without restraint can be seen in the 2022 film, “M3gan.” In the film, Allison Williams is a toy-designer-slash-robotics-engineer who inherits her niece after a tragic loss.

Finding herself woefully unprepared for parenthood, she directs her latest creation —a life-sized robot doll called M3gan— to keep the young girl safe. But, without appropriate guardrails in place to keep this objective from going too far, both hilarity and mayhem soon follow.

Like M3gan, The Firefly means well —but meaning well isn’t enough when there’s no pause button.

Modus Operandi (M.O.): Strongest Attacks

The Firefly’s attacks are all about derailing long-term plans for short-term gratification. Let’s break down their four most devastating moves.

The Dopamine Detour

This is The Firefly’s most common attack, and the one that causes the most daily chaos.

You’re working on something important when suddenly —Ohh, that’s on sale!

Five minutes and three purchases later, you’re neck-deep in researching a completely new hobby that you’re definitely going to start. The original task? Abandoned. Your bank account? Lighter.

Instead of a price tag, The Firefly sees a solution or an experience. “This is the thing that will finally get you organized,” or “You’ve worked so hard, you deserve this treat.” They don’t mean to wreck your budget, they’re just genuinely convinced that this purchase holds the key to immediate happiness. The consequences of the credit card bill and the abandoned project are simply problems for a Future You that doesn’t feel real in the moment.

This works on ADHD brains because our reward systems show reduced activation during reward anticipation, making non-immediate rewards less motivating. Plus, when a reward is immediately available, the response is disproportionately strong. The Firefly accidentally exploits this neurological vulnerability, tempting you to prioritize impulsive choices that offer immediate gratification over the long-term rewards that your logic-brain knows this can compromise.

Filter Foibles

In conversations, the urgency of impulsivity can bypass your mental filters, causing you to blurt out the edgy joke, the intimate overshare, or the interruption. Taking advantage of the unbearable pressure of a thought that feels like it must be shared right now.

As you listen to someone else talking, The Firefly latches onto a word or concept that generates a cascade of exciting, related ideas. The need to share these brilliant connections immediately is overwhelming, leading you to interrupt out of a genuine fear that these perfect —but fleeting— thoughts might vanish before they have a chance.

This attack is a collaboration with The Fog (Working Memory Deficits): you know that if you don’t say it or record it somehow right now, you might really forget it forever. It works on ADHD brains because The Firefly leverages that fear, prioritizing impulse over social convention without pausing to consider that it might make you look like kind of a jerk.

The Big One

This is the one to watch out for. The one that can alter the course of your life, and not always for the better.

It’s the genius idea that gets you to drop out of an educational program, quit your job without a plan, or make a major purchase you can’t afford. Or, in more dangerous scenarios, the split-second decision to send the risky message, say the unprofessional thing, get behind the wheel when you shouldn’t, or have unprotected sex with someone you don’t know very well —all because it felt right in that one electric moment.

The Firefly provides the spark, Juggernaut (Hyperactivity) keeps you from pausing to thoroughly consider the consequences, The Time Thief (Time-Blindness) hides how much time is passing until the decision is irreversible, and that’s right about the time you realize The Inspector (Perfectionism) has arrived —just in time for him to shame you for not thinking it through.

Impulsivity in ADHD is strongly correlated with difficulties in behavioral inhibition. That is: the ability to pause and consider consequences before acting. The comforting glow and infectious enthusiasm of The Firefly unwittingly hijack your ability to create space between thought and action.

The Tag-Team

The Firefly is the social butterfly of The League, and easily becomes a powerful amplifier for everyone else’s attacks. Here are some examples:

Juggernaut (Hyperactivity) provides restless, boundless energy. The Firefly provides an endless stream of new directions to point that energy. Together, they create a whirlwind of early-stage projects, half-finished sentences, and exhilarating exhaustion.

When The Inspector (Perfectionism) paralyzes you with impossible standards, The Firefly swoops in to say “Forget that boring, old, difficult thing! Let’s do a fun, new thing instead!”

The Time Thief (Time Blindness) teams up with The Firefly to turn a “quick” online shopping trip into a fascinating rabbit hole that lasts the entire afternoon.

When The Gatekeeper (Task Paralysis) makes starting a task or project feel impossible, The Firefly offers an easy way out (don’t! Do something fun instead!). And when Major Minor (Decision Fatigue) is pummeling you with so many choices that you can’t muster the energy to make a decision, The Firefly is there to pick for you —stopping the discomfort at any cost.

Armor Up: Wards and Counterspells

So, you can’t eliminate The Firefly, right? You’d lose your spark, your creativity, your ability to pivot and adapt, your you-ness. The good news is that you don’t have to!

What if, instead of extinguishing the light, we built a lantern around it? That’s exactly what we need: A lantern can allow us to work-with and admire the brilliance of impulsivity without suffocating it, or letting it set fire to our lives.

As you explore the strategies below, remember we’re not talking about having perfect self-control. We want to create a tiny gap —sometimes just 90 seconds— between the urge and the action. That gap is where your power lives.

Wards (Protective Shields)

The Friction Field: Budget Automation

The best defense against The Dopamine Detour.

Set up automatic transfers from your checking account to your savings and retirement accounts. Make it happen as soon as possible after your paycheck lands. This strategy pays Future-You first, putting your most important financial goals on autopilot and protecting that money from being spent on a whim.

This works because it removes the decision. The Firefly can’t coax you into spending money that’s already gone, so relying on math instead of willpower is your greatest strategy. Research on behavioral interventions for ADHD show that strategies combining immediate feedback, external structure, and reduced reliance on working memory are the most effective, and this one has all three!

đź“Ś Pro-Tip: Automate the Boring Stuff If saving for big purchases is a struggle, break the amount down into monthly or weekly chunks, and set up that amount to be automatically transferred into another separate account named (or nicknamed) after The Thing you want to buy or the place you want to go. This helps the savings goal feel more achievable, and guarantees progress by making sure you don't forget to do it until it's too late!

The Spark Catcher: An Idea Parking Lot

Create a holding tank for ideas and actions. It might be a notebook, a set of index cards, an app, or a folder for voice memos.

When an idea sets off sparks in your brain don’t follow them right away, record them. Write them down so they don’t get lost and, when you have time, flesh them out in as much detail as you can without taking any action.

This has the two-fold benefit of honoring the spark instead of dismissing it (or allowing it to distract you from the work at hand), while also relieving the unbearable pressure to act. Giving you the chance to evaluate it more objectively later, once the initial buzz of impulsivity has worn off.

The Anthropologist

If you’re familiar with my work you probably knew this was coming. The Anthropologist features heavily throughout The League of Executive Dysfunctions series, but it’s a Cornerstone for a reason!

Harnessing your inner Anthropologist is both defensive and offensive (serving as a ward and a counterspell) in our endless endeavor to tame the symptoms of executive dysfunction. This is because, while it’s true that we’re fighting the same fight, the ways that we arrive at the battlefield and the weapons we wield most effectively are often very different.

Thus, knowing yourself is the best strategy of all. Which is great because you don’t need anything to get started right away!

To practice self-anthropology, simply begin to notice without judgement:

What does an impulse feel like? How and where do these sensations show up in your body?

Do impulsive urges that would lead to healthy outcomes feel different than those that could have negative consequences? If yes, how so?

Are there certain situations, tasks, or times of day where you have more impulsive urges? If so, what are they? Why do you think this pattern has emerged?

Have you already implemented some strategies to curb impulsivity? If they’re working well, why do you think that is? If they aren’t, can you spot why?

For me, the presence of The Firefly makes my brain feel itchy and my chest feel a bit tight. If I don’t park the urge somewhere that scratches the itch and makes my brain feel satisfied that “I did something about it”, my attention will flit back to the impulsive thing until I do.

This works because mindfulness training strengthens attention regulation like a muscle. It even has demonstrated efficacy for reducing impulsivity in ADHD by increasing our awareness of the patterns that cause us to take impulsive action.

By learning to spot the physical sensations of an impulse, we practice “self-distancing,” wherein these simple acts of non-judgemental observation create a psychological buffer between the feelings and our identity. Reducing their power by recognizing them as data —not imperatives — gives us the agency to choose how we respond, rather than be carried along by the tempestuous waves of impulsivity and emotion.

Counterspells (Break Glass in Case of Emergency)

Emergency interventions for when The Firefly is just too irresistible, in order from easiest to most complex.

The Purposeful Pause

Deploy a “Pause Potion” as a direct physical intervention to give your brain a 90-second power-up.

Stop. Stand. Drink a glass of cold water. Step outside and take three deep breaths. Do 10 wall-pushups. Hold an ice-cube in your hand for 30 seconds. Meditate for one minute.

Any small action you can take to pull your focus back into the moment creates that critical gap between impulse and action. It works because it breaks the spell without requiring you to think or reason your way out of an impulse when you can use your body to interrupt it!

This is a practical application of stress tolerance skills from Dialectal Behavior Therapy (DBT). DBT has shown surprising effectiveness for ADHD, particularly when it comes to reducing impulsivity and improving emotional regulation. Strong sensory experiences demand immediate attention from our nervous systems, effectively short-circuiting the runaway train of an intense urge and forcing you into the present moment.

The Anchor

When you're most vulnerable to The Firefly—late at night, when you're tired, bored, or emotionally dysregulated— you don't have to go it alone. The Anchor is another Cornerstone that has appeared in nearly every installment of this series, but that's for a reason. Social support is incredibly important.

Call a friend and chat while you do the dishes instead of doomscrolling. Text a partner when you're about to make an important decision. Jump into a virtual body-doubling session when you need to focus. Even just having someone on the phone (or a co-working stream playing) while you work can help.

The simple, passive presence of another person acts as a gentle, external anchor, keeping you grounded when an impulse tries to pull you away. It's not about accountability or confession—it's about presence. Their existence in your space creates just enough external structure to support your internal pause button.

This works especially well for:

đź“Ś Pro-Tip: Pre-Schedule Your Anchors If you know certain times are high-risk (Sunday evenings, late Friday nights), proactively schedule a call with a friend or join a regular body-doubling session. Don't wait until The Firefly shows up to seek support.

Quarantines & Quests: Waitlists, Wishlists, and Side Quests

I think of “The 24-Hour Rule” as a classic, but I’m constantly surprised by people who haven’t heard of it, so here it is —plus a few little twists. We’ll use online shopping/purchasing as an example because it’s an easy entry point for The Firefly, but it maps onto all kinds of situations.

Instead of immediately purchasing, add the item to your cart and close the tab. If you still want it and it’s not going to use money meant for something else, you can choose to buy it after a minimum of 24-hours have passed.

📌 Pro-Tip: Don’t set reminders to revisit the cart. If you forget all about it you’ll know it wasn’t that important. The dopamine came from finding the item, not from owning it.

⚠️ Potential Pitfall: Abandoned-Cart Marketing Many online retailers use automated systems that email you when they see you’ve left something in your cart to remind you that you wanted something. While in some cases this can work in your favor, since they might send you a coupon for a percentage-off to entice you to purchase, I think it’s important to be wary of this tactic. Especially if you are prone to “Ooo shiny and on sale!” purchases.

The best way I've found to combat this style of marketing is to use a Wishlist instead. I have a page in my planner that I use for this purpose, but you can use anything from a notes app to the built-in wishlists many websites have.

🔮Expert Mode: Use a Waitlist Similar to a Spark Catcher, but focused on curbing unnecessary spending. A Waitlist is a holding tank where all the random things you want to purchase will live —waiting until an additional condition is filled before you purchase them. Here are some examples:

Side Quests

This strategy uses our impulse-driven bias for action. Instead of flatly saying no to an impulse, which can feel like deprivation and increase the urge, say "yes, but first..." and turn the prerequisite into a game.

This leverages what's known as the Premack Principle, also known as "Grandma's Rule," a behavioral technique showing that fun activities can be used to reinforce not-so-fun activities. By using the pleasant impulse task as a reward for a boring micro-task or healthy habit, you give yourself a dopamine hit from completing the side quest, which can be enough to make the initial impulse to act less intense.

The key is to make the Side Quest short and achievable, so it turns a moment of derailment into motivation for a small, productive win.

The Satellite: Check-In with Future-You

Use an Alchemy like The Satellite to gain perspective by zooming out from the present and envisioning a very important person: Future-You.

Ask yourself: How will Future-Me feel about this?

Will Future-Me be stressed by this action? Will they be disappointed by this broken promise? Will Future-Me regret sending this message?

This simple set of questions helps connect your present actions to a tangible future where consequences might exist, bridging the gap created by temporal discounting.

The Loyalty Card

Turn impulse control into a game with a tangible reward system.

Get yourself a physical tracker (a couple of jars with marbles or different sized buttons, a punch card, a habit tracker app —whatever calls to you). Every time you successfully deploy a ward or counterspell, be it waiting 24 hours, taking a purposeful pause, saving a spark for later, or completing a Side Quest, you get a point (or a punch, or move an object from one jar to the other).

Once you hit your target number, you can trade those points in for a planned, intentional reward. Productivity researcher and author Chris Bailey has some great examples of what he calls "Habit Points" that I couldn't have put any better, so I'll just quote them here:

The beauty of this system is that you're not fighting The Firefly—you're teaching them that delayed gratification can be just as rewarding. Every marble in the jar, every punch on the card, is proof that you're building the muscle of impulse control while still honoring your need for novelty and reward.

Building the Lantern

Taming The Firefly isn't a one-and-done battle. It's a practice —like strengthening a muscle. Every time you create that gap between urge and action, you're building your capacity for impulse control. And here's the best part: it gets easier.

Not because The Firefly goes away (they won't, and you don't want them to anyway). It gets easier because you get better at recognizing whether their presence is helpful or harmful, better at deploying your counterspells, and better at knowing which tools work for your brain.

Your impulsivity is part of your brilliance. Your ability to see connections, pivot quickly, embrace change with enthusiasm —these are gifts. The Firefly isn't your enemy. They're a friend who needs better boundaries.

Remember: we're not trying to extinguish impulsivity. We're building a lantern around its light and learning to let it illuminate our strengths— without burning everything down.

Every pause is practice. Every counterspell is progress. Every point on your Loyalty Card is proof that you're capable of change.

The goal is security, not perfection. I believe you're completely capable of building a future where you get to choose which sparks to follow.

A close-up on a person's hand holding a red, vintage-style lantern. The lantern is lit from within by a tangle of warm fairy lights, and the person is standing in a field of ripe wheat, with a blurry golden sunset in the background.
Photo by Guilherme Stecanella on Unsplash

✂️ TL;DR

The Villain: Meet The Firefly, the personification of Impulsivity (Poor Impulse Control).

The Conflict: The Firefly is a double-edged sword. It's the source of your creativity, spontaneity, and quick thinking, but also the root of impulse-buys, social regrets (like oversharing), and risky, life-altering decisions.

**The "Why":* This isn't a character flaw. It's a neurological response to an altered dopamine system that strongly prefers small, immediate rewards over larger, delayed ones (a concept called temporal discounting).

The Strategy: You can't extinguish The Firefly without losing your spark. The goal is to build a lantern around its light—creating a small pause between the urge and the action.

The Tools: Use proactive Wards (like automating your savings and using an "idea parking lot") to prevent attacks. When an urge strikes, use Counterspells like "The Purposeful Pause" (a 90-second sensory jolt) or "Quarantines" (like a 24-hour rule for purchases) to create that critical gap.

#Counterspells #Education #Executive Dysfunction #Impulse Control #Impulsivity #Intention #Invisible Illness #Mental Health #Neuroscience #Productivity #Psychology #The League of Executive Dysfunctions #Wards