Habits, Rituals, Routines: Build a Foundation for Managing ADHD

How do you do you?

Your habits, rituals, practices, and routines build the foundation for managing ADHD, because they create the external executive function supports that ADHD requires to navigate daily life.

And because you create them, they are an expression of who you are. They ground you in what is important to you.

For much of my life, I thought people were “born that way.” People who ran were “runners;” people who focused on nutrition didn’t ever want a donut. It took actually interacting with some of those folks to realize they had created a way of being for themselves.

As I learned to try new ways of doing life, I learned I was not a finite, already-determined being. I could be that kind of person! Or, my version of it.

For example, after a youth of aversion to exercise or sports, I discovered “aerobic dance.” I loved music, and I loved moving to music, and I found that I loved feeling more limber and stronger. I have kept up some kind of workout to music ever since.

What I notice over time is, not only does keeping up an exercise practice make me stronger - more physically able to navigate the world - but I also feel stronger about my capability to navigate the ups and downs of life.

For me, my workouts are “doing the work.” It is “work,” but it is also work I choose, that I enjoy, and I feel good about doing. I don’t ask myself if I “feel like” doing it! I make it a practice, because doing it makes me feel good about myself. And in a world where I don’t always feel good about myself, having this regular practice that I do feel good about becomes an anchor and source of strength for me.

Exercise and nutrition habits or practices are just examples; it could be anything you choose to feed your spirit. It could be playing music, or meditation or prayer, or a routine around planning your day.

What routines and habits do you already have in your daily life that strengthen your foundation? If you want to create a practice, think of something that you enjoy some aspect of, that is do-able with not too much adjustment, and that you feel good about once it’s done. Then see how your practice affects the rest of your day, and how you feel about yourself.