What's happening
ADHD messy desk overwhelm hits before you touch anything. You look at the papers, the cables, the mugs and the half-open drawers, and your brain treats the whole lot as one job. One job that big doesn't have a start, so you walk away, make a tea or open your phone. The desk stays exactly as it was, and next time you sit down the freeze hits again.
How to get moving
Pick one pile or one corner. Not the whole desk. Decide that this session is only that pile: sort it into keep, bin and put-elsewhere, then stop. Put a small box next to you for anything that belongs in another room, so you don't wander off and start a second job. When the pile is done, stand up and leave the desk. The rest can wait for another short session.
Important tip
Stopping is the point. A clear corner and a still-messy desk beats an abandoned whole-room tidy that leaves everything halfway. Small wins beat the big tidy-up every time.
This is lived-experience content. It is not a promise that a particular idea will work for everybody.