The best thing about making a habit of something is you don’t have to decide to do it every day.
Let’s talk healthy habits to help manage ADHD. In this edition of untreated / undiagnosed, we cover:
- Why habits are an effective tool to manage ADHD symptoms
- 4 tips for building strong habits
- A free habit tracker you can use to start tracking your progress and keep yourself motivated!
I started to become mindful of my habits about 6 years ago. I had just graduated university, and started working as a freelancer. It was a huge shift to go from being a student to being a full-blown adult. The bubble that I lived in during school had disappeared, and I found myself overwhelmed with all of the decisions I had to make—both big and small.
Until I came across this great quote by Annie Dillard:
“how we spend our days is how we spend our lives.”
I realized I don’t have to change my entire life; the small changes I make in my daily habits would become the big changes in my life.
Why Do Habits Help with ADHD?
Habits make tasks automatic. This has two advantages. Firstly, it reduces decision paralysis and helps you get a bunch of things done every day without overthinking. Secondly, it leaves no gap for that resistance you feel when you set out to do something, which often impedes task initiation.
I find that by incorporating more and more of my goals into daily habits and routines, I end up getting more done in the long run, without running into as many executive function problems in the short run.
Often, the problem with ADHD is not a lack of motivation or intention, but it’s that jump from deciding to do something, to actually doing it.
Habit-building essentially eliminates the decision-making part of the process and allows you to jump straight into action.
How Do You Start Building a Habit?
Building a habit is not exactly an easy process, and it definitely takes time. It takes anywhere from 18-244 days to solidify a habit. I’d say I fall on the higher end of that range. But ultimately there is no magic number. The key is repetition over time—to stay as consistent as possible, for as long as possible.
4 Tips for Building Healthy Habits
Here are a few tips from James Clear that helped me build a strong routine of daily habits over the last few years.
Firstly, you want to make it as easy as possible for you to do the thing you want to do. Give yourself time in your day to complete each habit. Always start small and build momentum.
This works in reverse too. If there’s a habit you want to break, make it harder to do. Make it so that you’ll have to jump through hoops to do it.
The second tip is to keep reminders all around you.
For example, if you want to read more, carry your book with you in your bag. If you want to go to the gym in the mornings, lay your workout clothes on your desk, so you’ll see it right when you wake up. Fill your environment with cues to remind you of your habits and goals.
Thirdly, don’t miss twice. This is a great rule, and it just means that if you miss one day of practicing the habit, just don’t miss another. Don’t miss two in a row.
I know some people like to build habits by keeping streaks. Personally, this doesn’t work for me. Having to wipe the board and start over at zero feels disempowering. My self-esteem takes a hit and I feel demoralized. It makes it harder, not easier, to get back on the ball, which is the opposite of what you want to do.
You can’t control everything. If something comes up one day, and you can’t find time or energy, it’s fine. Don’t feel badly about skipping a habit once. But, if you do skip it twice in a row, you lose momentum fast. It becomes really easy, to miss it a third, forth and fifth time. And that’s when you really have to start over.
Finally, track your habits. I use a simple habit tracker I made that helps me track my progress and keeps me motivated. Tracking my habits this way has made my tasks into a game. It’s so fun to check off each little box and watch my stats go up.
How You Spend Your Days is How You Spend Your Life
Habits are especially helpful with ADHD because they can circumvent decision paralysis and task initiation problems. To build a habit, remember to make it easy for yourself to do, keep reminders in your environment, never miss two days in a row, and track your progress. By making small changes to your daily habits can change your entire life in as little as one year.
Download Free Habit Tracker
Start building your habits with Habit Tracker by the25thofjune! This is a helpful and fun tracker with a simple layout. To use the tracker, simply open the Google Sheet, make a copy, and add your habit goals!