Urge Surfing
Weekly Log

ADHD Executive Function Tools

A structured weekly record for tracking urge surfing practice —
what triggered the urge, how you responded, and what you noticed.

Where This Tool Helps

Most people with ADHD are familiar with the pull of a screen in the middle of a task that requires sustained attention. The urge arrives — to check a notification, open a browser tab, pick up the phone — and the window between feeling it and acting on it is very short. Urge surfing is the practice of widening that window. Instead of immediately acting on the urge, you observe it: where it sits in your body, how strong it is, what triggered it. You stay with the discomfort until it passes without acting on it.

The log here is not a reflection tool — it is a pattern-detection tool. After a week of entries, you will start to see where the urges cluster: which activities, which times of day, which emotional states. That information is more actionable than any single session of willpower. Most people discover two or three specific triggers that account for the majority of their urges. Once those are visible, they can be addressed directly rather than re-fought every day.

The structure below is designed to make data collection fast enough that you will actually do it — five columns, one row per day, completed in under two minutes at the end of the practice session.

How to Use This Log

Fill in the date at the top before you start the week. Setting up the log in advance reduces friction on the days you need it most.
Log start and end time for each session. This column is not about duration — it is about pattern. Urges that appear at 8pm every night are different from ones that appear mid-morning. Time data reveals the structure.
Describe the activities you were doing when the urge arose. Be specific: “writing a report” is more useful than “work.” The trigger is often the task type, not just the time of day.
Name the trigger or feeling as precisely as you can. “Boredom” and “anxiety” produce urges that require different responses. The more specific the label, the more useful the data.
Use the Notes column for anything that felt significant — whether you surfed the urge successfully, how long the discomfort lasted, or what helped. After two weeks, review the Notes column before your next coaching session.