Forming new habits isn’t easy, and ADHD makes establishing and maintaining habits especially difficult. Executive dysfunction as well as ADHD symptoms like disorganization, forgetfulness and difficulty focusing make habit forming a serious struggle. Enter: habit stacking. Habit stacking can be really beneficial when you have ADHD. The technique takes existing habits and has you pair them with habits you want to form. It reduces the mental load of learning new behaviours and makes it easier to add new habits into your daily routine. Here are 10 ADHD habit stacking strategies you need to know and how to get started.
What Is Habit Stacking?
Habit stacking is a strategy for creating new habits by stacking them on top of existing habits. You identify a habit you already consistently do (brushing your teeth, making your morning coffee) and add a new behaviour after or during it so that it becomes part of your routine. The existing habit acts as a cue, reminding you to perform the new habit. This makes it easier to maintain and eventually the new habit becomes part of your regular routine.
You can also use habit stacking to discourage negative habits. For example, let’s say when you wake up in the morning, you grab your phone and scroll social media. You can take advantage of this trigger by inserting another behaviour such as putting on a morning meditation. So you can still grab your phone, but instead of scrolling, you use that time to practice mindfulness.
10 Benefits of Habit Stacking for ADHD Brains
- Establishes a structured, predictable routine
- Reduces mental load
- Improves attention
- Enhances memory
- Reduces feelings of overwhelm
- Combats forgetfulness and distraction
- Better time management
- Easier to actually form and maintain new habits
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Boosts confidence and enhances quality of life
How to Get Started with Habit Stacking
1. List your current habits
Create a list of habits you currently have. This may include making your bed, brushing your teeth, making coffee or tea, getting dressed, making breakfast, packing lunch, etc. List habits that you perform consistently without much effort. These anchor habits serve as the foundation for habit stacking.
2. Choose your new habits
Decide what new habits you want to integrate into your routine. These habits should reflect your goals for a healthier lifestyle. For example, reading, going for a walk, meditating, or flossing. Make sure they’re meaningful to you and contribute to your wellness and personal growth. If you have trouble getting certain tasks done, such as unloading your dishwasher, these should be on your list of new habits as well.
3. Pair complementary habits
Now it’s time to pair (or stack) your habits together. It’s helpful to stack complementary habits together so it makes sense to your brain and doesn’t require too much mental power. Habit stacks should be easy for your brain to understand. For example, if you want to incorporate flossing into your routine, you can do it after you brush your teeth. If you want to get better at unloading the dishwasher, you can unload it while your morning coffee is brewing in the kitchen. If you want to get into the habit of walking more, take a walk after you eat lunch.
4. Start small
When getting started with habit stacking it’s best to start small. Start with one habit stacking pairing and add on more as the first becomes habitual. Trying to start too many new habits at once can lead to burn out and a loss of momentum. You should also start small when it comes to time increments, such as 2 minutes of meditation or a 10 minute morning walk. Over time, you can increase the duration of your habits.
5. Be consistent
Consistency is key when it comes to forming new habits. Commit to making the habit part of your routine, even when it feels hard. For example, you may be having a hectic morning and be tempted to skip flossing your teeth, but would you ever leave your house without brushing your teeth? You have to get into that mindset. The new habit has to become a non-negotiable for you, even on challenging days, for it to really stick.
6. Adjust if needed
Track your progress with your habit stack to see what’s working and if you need to adjust. With the flossing example, maybe you realize that flossing your teeth in the morning is too much of a struggle because of timing. In this case, you may want to switch to flossing your teeth after your nighttime brush. Be open to changing up your habit stacking combinations to find what works best for you.
7. Reward yourself
The ADHD brain loves rewards, and rewards can help make your new habits more effective. The reward should be immediate and enjoyable to help reinforce the behaviour and make it more likely for you to continue it. For example, after your morning walk, reward yourself with a coffee or snack, or after you read 10 pages of a book, reward yourself with a piece of chocolate. You can also treat yourself to larger rewards if you’re consistent with a new habit. For example, if you floss everyday for 2 weeks, you can treat yourself to a new pair of shoes.
11 ADHD Habit Stacking Strategies That Work
- When you wake up, do a 2 minute meditation
- After brushing your teeth in the morning, floss your teeth
- While you’re waiting for your morning coffee to brew, unload the dishwasher
- After making your bed in the morning, place a book on your pillow to remind you to read at night
- While you’re making breakfast, place your vitamins on your plate to remind you to take them
- After you eat lunch, take a walk
- When you leave work, walk or drive to a fitness class to workout
- While listening to a podcast, do dishes
- After you eat dinner, immediately place your dishes in the dishwasher
- Wash your face at night, then wipe down the bathroom counter
- After you get into bed, write down 3 things you’re grateful for
If your goal is to have more healthy habits, try habit stacking to help you form them.
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