Having healthy habits is key to a happy, fulfilling life. They help improve balance and boost your mental and physical well-being. Adding certain habits into your daily routine can be life changing, making you more positive, productive and boosting your overall wellness. However, if you have ADHD, your symptoms and executive function challenges can make it difficult to follow some habits and routines that work for neurotypical brains. From complex morning routines to mental to-do lists, digital reminders and more, click to read more about the habits that don’t work for ADHD brains and what to do instead.
8 Habits That Don’t Work for ADHD Brains
1. Complex Morning Routines
Having multi-step routines can be a struggle for those with ADHD, especially when it comes to a morning routine. Routines with too many steps (drink lemon water, journal, meditate, exercise, make breakfast, etc.) can be too overwhelming and fall by the wayside, especially if you’re rushed for time in the morning. Choose one or two habits that help you feel good and that you can stick to. For example, taking a morning walk and making a healthy smoothie. Make it simple and easy to do consistently so you’re more likely to follow through.
2. Strict Schedules
While some neurotypical individuals thrive on rigid schedules, the ADHD brain can quickly become overwhelmed with a tightly packed daily plan. You do much better with novelty and can become burnt out with strict routines. A flexible schedule that allows for autonomy can be much more beneficial for people with ADHD. Allowing for movement, breaks and unexpected distractions can create a better mindset and boost productivity. Having a job with autonomy can be game-changing for those with ADHD.
3. Mental To-Do Lists
Due to executive functioning challenges the ADHD brain has trouble with working memory and forgetfulness. Relying on a mental to-do list for tasks, appointments and deadlines is a surefire way to forget things. It’s important to get your to-do list out of your head and onto paper (or into an app). Many individuals with ADHD find a paper and pen the best tool for keeping track of their to-do lists, but figure out whatever works best for you, whether it’s a whiteboard, notebook or productivity app.
4. Multitasking
ADHD and multitasking have a complicated relationship. Multitasking requires dividing attention, prioritizing tasks, and shifting focus between tasks. ADHD symptoms such as inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity make it hard to juggle between tasks at the same time. The constant switching between tasks can create a high cognitive load on the brain, leading to mental fatigue and lower productivity. While multitasking may feel productive, it actually leads to more errors and lower task completion, especially for those with ADHD. Focusing on one task at a time helps reduce overwhelm and get more done.
5. Digital Reminders
While digital reminders such as calendar notifications, alerts and app reminders can be helpful for some people, they can also be ignored, snoozed or become background noise. A constant stream of reminders can lead to reminder fatigue, where the alerts are eventually tuned out. Try using physical/visual reminders such as sticky notes, white boards or strategically placed items. ADHD brains respond well to visual cues and the consistent use of physical/visual reminders can help you develop new habits and routines.
6. Long Work Sessions
Long work sessions that require sustained focus are tough for ADHD brains, as they become mentally fatigued more quickly. Challenges with attention and completing tasks make longer work sessions harder to complete. Taking breaks during work sessions is much more preferable for ADHD because it helps maintain focus, prevents mental overload and can improve attention and alertness. Use the Pomodoro Technique that breaks work into focused intervals (25 minutes of work followed by 5 minute breaks). You can even work in shorter intervals if you find that helps with your productivity.
7. Self Determination
Executive functioning challenges make it difficult for individuals with ADHD to regulate attention, emotion and motivation. These executive function struggles make it tough to initiate, organize and sustain effort on tasks, as well as stay focused on a goal. On top of this, dopamine levels are typically lower in ADHD brains than neurotypical brains. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in reward processing and motivation. The lower levels can lead to a lower drive to get tasks done. Fully relying on self determination can lead to frustration and burnout. Instead, it can be helpful to use external assistance like body doubling to help complete tasks.
8. Working in Silence
For some people with ADHD, working or focusing in silence can be a challenge. The ADHD brain often requires the right level of stimulation to regulate dopamine levels and improve focus. For others, noise and certain sounds can be distracting, so it’s important to find what works for you. If you find it hard to work in silence, try focus playlists, white or brown noise, or even working from a cafe. Finding the right background noise can make you more productive.
Some habits just don’t work for the ADHD brain. Finding the right alternatives can make you more productive and lead to a more fulfilling life.
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