Thoroughly ADHD
I'm Alex Delmar, a certified ADHD coach and person with ADHD. I'm here to share what I've learned so other people with ADHD can enjoy better lives!
Thoroughly ADHD
The R-Word That Changed My Life With ADHD
Feeling overwhelmed by the chaos of endless decisions, unfinished tasks, and the nagging sense that you're forgetting something important? You're not alone. For those of us with ADHD, our days often feel like a constant battle against our own minds.
The game-changer? Routines. Yes, I said it—the dreaded R-word that ADHD brains typically resist because it sounds boring, repetitive, and restrictive. But what if I told you routines are actually the secret weapon that could reduce indecision paralysis, minimize wasted energy, and ensure you're focusing on what truly matters? As someone with ADHD who's currently going through a motivation slump, I can personally attest that my routines are the only thing keeping my life from descending into complete chaos.
Structured routines work brilliantly for ADHD brains because they provide the external scaffolding we desperately need. They compensate for our executive function difficulties by eliminating constant decision-making, reducing procrastination, easing transitions, and freeing mental energy for more complex thinking. When we successfully follow routines, we gain a genuine sense of accomplishment without the shadow of forgotten tasks hanging over us. Plus, consistent routines improve sleep quality, which positively impacts concentration, memory, and overall well-being.
Ready to develop your own ADHD-friendly routines? Start small with just a couple of important tasks, arrange them in a logical order, and link them to something you already do automatically every day. Write out your plan, post it somewhere obvious, and remember to reward yourself when you follow any part of it. Approach it as an experiment—keep what works, adjust what doesn't, and build gradually. Your future self will thank you. Subscribe to Thoroughly ADHD for more strategies to transform ADHD challenges into strengths, and join me every Tuesday for new insights!
What if I told you there is a way for you to reduce the number of hours you spend frozen in indecision and reduce the amount of energy you waste racing from one unfinished, unimportant task to another, while neglecting things that really need to get done? A way to be confident that you are doing the right thing at the right time? A way to be healthier, happier and achieve more? I have the answer. I'm Alex Delmar, a certified life coach and person with ADHD. Welcome to Thoroughly ADHD, where I help other people with ADHD enjoy better lives.
Alex Delmar:Now, don't get upset. I'm going to use the R word ... Routine.
Alex Delmar:Routines provide the external structure that those of us with ADHD need to navigate our daily lives effectively, and yet we treat it like a bad word. We fight it because it sounds boring and because our brains aren't excited by repetition. But I'll tell you lately I've been having a really hard time motivating to do, well, anything. A nd what's keeping everything in my life from collapsing into total chaos? I have a morning routine, a midday routine and an evening routine that cover core health, hygiene, household maintenance and crucial work responsibilities. Am I doing anything extra these days? No. Am I doing every aspect of each routine every single day? Also no. But I'm able to muster up the energy to, for the most part, follow my routines because these are tasks that I've already established are the most important, in the most efficient order. So I'm confident that, no matter how long this "blah phase lasts, nothing will pile up to the point of overwhelm as long as I rely on my routines.
Alex Delmar:Routines are so effective for us because they act as an external scaffolding for our ADHD brains, providing structure and predictability. That helps compensate for our difficulties with executive functions, those skills that help us plan, organize, prioritize, manage time, control impulses and regulate emotions. With a routine in place, we already know what to do next, how to start, and about how long it will take us to finish, eliminating the need to constantly make decisions, figure out priorities and remember tasks. The predictable sequence saves time, minimizes the opportunity to be distracted, reduces procrastination, forgetfulness, anxiety and overwhelm, makes transitions easier and it frees up mental energy for more complex thinking and problem solving.
Alex Delmar:When we successfully follow our routines, we gain a sense of accomplishment without the shadow of worrying about what important thing we forgot about. Getting stuff done without someone nagging us fosters a sense of autonomy and boosts self-esteem. And, as mentioned in a previous "Thoroughly ADHD episode titled why Can't I Get to Bed on Time, establishing a consistent sleep schedule as part of your routine leads to better quality sleep, which positively impacts your concentration, memory, productivity and overall well-being.
Alex Delmar:To develop your own routines, start by deciding which tasks are most important to you and your well-being, put them in the order that makes the most sense and link the first one to something you are already doing every day, like waking up in the morning. Start small, with just a couple of items, to establish your routine and then build on it. As always, I recommend you write out your plan and post it somewhere obvious, and remember to reward yourself when you follow any part of it. To increase your likelihood of success, it will be helpful to use the scientific method of ADHD symptom management, so you'll start with an imperfect plan, observe how it goes and then keep the parts that work, tweak the things that aren't quite right and dump the aspects that don't work for you.
Alex Delmar:I'm Alex Delmar and this has been "Thoroughly ADHD. I know your time is valuable, so I hope you found something useful here and that you'll like follow and make it part of your routine to come back each Tuesday. Thanks for listening.