You’ve probably heard of the motivational quotes to “just get 1% better every day” or “be consistent; consistent, imperfect action is better than occasional perfect action”. While these mantras are helpful and good ways to live, they can seem impossible to execute if you have ADHD. I know they do for me. 

For people with ADHD, sticking to a schedule can be really challenging. We can get really into the zone and work for seemingly 14 hours non-stop on something we are passionate about. But doing that something every day, even for just 30 minutes a day seems so hard to actually do. If you’ve ever felt disappointed, frustrated, or mad at yourself for failing to form new habits, or stick to a routine, you are not alone, and you are not hopeless. Having ADHD means that routine becomes boring for us. So how do we make sure to accomplish all of our goals? Well let me tell you how to stay on track even while traveling!

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO BUILD HABITS?

Forming habits and maintaining routine can be challenging for people with ADHD due to the nature of the disorder. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is responsible for executive functions such as organization, planning, and decision-making. These functions are crucial in forming and maintaining habits, which is why individuals with ADHD struggle with habit formation.

One of the core symptoms of ADHD is impulsivity, which can make it difficult for individuals with ADHD to control their actions and stick to a routine. You may have difficulty inhibiting impulsive behaviors and instead engage in activities that provide immediate gratification, such as checking social media or playing video games. This can lead to procrastination. 

Hyperactivity can also make it challenging to stay focused on a task or activity for an extended period. Individuals with ADHD may feel restless and fidgety, which can lead to distraction (especially with that instant gratification again) and interfere with habit formation.

Additionally, individuals with ADHD often struggle with organization and planning, which are critical components of habit formation. You may have difficulty prioritizing tasks, breaking them down into manageable steps, and creating a schedule to follow. This can make it challenging to establish a routine and stick to a habit.

Finally, ADHD can cause difficulty with working memory, which can make it challenging to remember to complete a habit regularly. You may forget to complete the habit/goal, I know I have before.

But do not worry. These traits are necessarily bad. 

HABITS ARE OVERRATED

Habits are extremely useful for completing your goals. However, if the process of forming habits causes you more distress and anxiety, or makes you feel like a failure, forget about it! Habits are not the only way to accomplish your dreams. Sometimes the process of building habits can seem like yet another task on your to do list. In reality, habits should be a means to achieve your goals; if you make forming a habit a goal in itself, you may find it harder to achieve your end goal. Building a habit takes a lot of effort, thought, and discipline in itself. If you find yourself failing to follow through with all of your ambitious plans, it can be discouraging– which leads to more procrastination and inaction. Instead, focus on building what works for you. If you can build a habit, great! If not, try to form or follow a system that works for you instead. 

ADHD-FRIENDLY SYSTEMS TO GET YOUR WORK DONE

Individuals with ADHD often struggle with traditional work systems that prioritize linear, step-by-step processes, and structure. However, there are several ADHD-friendly systems of working that can help individuals with ADHD maximize their productivity and success.

Here are some systems of working that can be helpful for you:

• #1: Time Blocking: Time blocking involves scheduling specific tasks for specific times of the day. This system of working can help individuals with ADHD manage their time more effectively and reduce the likelihood of procrastination. Let’s say you set aside a two hour time block to design your website. For those two hours, that is the only thing you can do. Do not multitask, no matter how good you are at it. Do not check your phone, or your email. Do not think about what you have to do when you are done with these two hours. Do not think about your laundry, or lunch. Just design your website for these two hours, and once it is done, maybe take a break or move right into your next time block to answer your emails, or write a report you need to. Maybe every Monday from 7-9pm you review your past week and set your goals for the next week. 

• #2: Pomodoro Technique: The Pomodoro Technique involves working in 25-minute blocks with short breaks in between. This system of working can help individuals with ADHD maintain focus and avoid burnout. A lot of med-school students cite this method as being the most effective for working. Try it out if you are interested. Personally, I tend to work in an all-or-nothing manner. This method does not work for me because once I take a break, I get distracted and find it difficult to get back into the zone. However, if you struggle to stay focused on the one subject you are supposed to be paying attention to, it could be beneficial to concentrate on it for 25 minutes, take a quick walk around your apartment or office space, and then work for another 25 minutes. 

• #3: Getting Things Done (GTD): GTD is a productivity system that involves breaking down tasks into smaller steps and organizing them by context. This system of working can help individuals with ADHD manage their workload and reduce feelings of overwhelm. Work backwards from what you want to achieve. Just do the easy, fast tasks first to get them out of the way. Or set up your work, so when you are ready to sit down and grind, that is all you have to do (like when you write your header on your essay before actually writing the whole paper). 

• #5: Kanban: Kanban is a visual productivity system that involves organizing tasks on a board with columns for “to-do,” “doing,” and “done.” This system of working can help individuals with ADHD visualize their progress and stay on track. It can provide great incentive to accomplish tasks if you get to see your “done” list growing, and your “to-do” list shortening. It is also a great way to see all of the errands you need to accomplish so you do not forget about them. 

• #6: Bullet Journaling: Bullet journaling involves creating a customized journal that includes to-do lists, notes, and calendars. This system of working can help individuals with ADHD organize their thoughts and prioritize tasks. You can buy a little journal specifically for planning, and then make sure to place it where you can always see it. Maybe in front of a mirror you look at in the morning, or on your bed-side table. When you wake up or before you go to bed, list out what tasks you need to get done. Then, in the morning, write out in which order you want to accomplish the tasks, or just which task you really need to do soon. Once you start writing in your journal, it will be easier to use that energy to keep going and accomplish the tasks written down. 

• #7 Collaborative Work: Collaborative work like working with a team or partner can help individuals with ADHD stay accountable and motivated. Maybe go study in a cafe or library, where you see others working, inspiring you to also do so. If you are in a work space where others are concentrated, you won’t be as susceptible to falling to your desire to go watch youtube videos or scroll on instagram. 
• Sometimes I would bring my laptop to my friends’ apartments where they would be hanging out, as the fact that I was the only person who had my laptop out motivated me to quickly focus on getting my work done so I could put the laptop away and socialize with everyone. People with ADHD tend to love to wait until the last minute to work on a task, as the stress of the upcoming deadline is the perfect motivation to accomplish your tasks. For this reason, self-imposed deadlines never worked for me as I didn’t actually have to turn any work in, but bringing my laptop to social situations where others are not working gave me the same sense of urgency to finish my work. 

• #8: Mind mapping: Mind mapping is a technique that involves visually organizing information and ideas. This system can be helpful for individuals with ADHD who struggle with linear thinking and may benefit from a more visual approach. Mind mapping can help individuals with ADHD generate ideas, break down complex tasks, and stay organized. 

• #9: External cues: External cues are reminders and prompts that individuals with ADHD can use to stay on task. These cues can be as simple as a post-it note or an alarm on a phone. They help individuals with ADHD stay focused on their goals and reduce the risk of forgetting important tasks. Do not trust that you will remember what you need to do– write it down. Put it somewhere you can see it. Set alarms as reminders. Put your to-do list near your glasses. 

• #10: Fall behind, and then catch up. In my personal opinion, I believe this is the most sustainable and rewarding system for ADHDers. As I’ve said before, upcoming deadlines usually provide us with a sense of urgency that we need to accomplish a task. For this reason, we procrastinate, and then, when a deadline is fast approaching, we hunker down and grind out a 10-page paper all at once. We can have all the time in the world to accomplish a task, but sitting down every day to accomplish a little bit of the task just doesn’t work. So, if you have a goal you really want to accomplish, don’t try to force yourself to do it every day and lose your excitement for it. Instead, set loose deadlines and goals. Let yourself fall behind on completing a goal, and when you do get a sudden burst of inspiration to accomplish it, go all in. Work on that goal obsessively for 10 hours straight. Make that goal your side hobby for a week. In essence, ‘catch up’ all at once. Instead of doing a little work everyday, do a lot of deep work at once. Don’t get 1% better everyday, get 90% better in one day. Make sure to prime yourself for accomplishing your goals, so set your goals somewhere you can consistently see them. Remind yourself of what you want to accomplish regularly. But do not force yourself to accomplish all of those goals at once. Instead, look at your goals, think about or see what the results of your goals will look like, and have that in your subconscious. Then, when inspiration hits, after consistently seeing your goal, hyperfocus on learning all you can about it. This method removes all of the disappointment you feel when you can’t keep up a habit, and reminds you that you will get around to your goal. Just like this method worked for you in highschool, it can work with your personal goals. Fall behind, and then catch up and even get ahead. 
• This video explains this concept really, really well: https://youtu.be/A2sS00egAzg. 

• #11 Change your environment. Remember that your environment is a huge factor in your success. If you relax, sleep, and scroll through social media on your bed, trying to then consistently do work on your bed may not work for you. Same with your home in general. If you keep trying to form a habit, or follow a system, and you cannot seem to follow through, change your environment. Instead of attempting to convince yourself to start working whilst at home, go to a cafe and pull out your computer. Try to associate one environment with one task, especially if you are often on the go. There is actual science that backs up how this helps you stay on task. You can rewire your neural pathways and form habits by associating a location with an action. Maybe every time you tan by the pool, you read a book. Everytime you need to plan your week, you go to the cafe right near your house. 

• #12 Just Show Up. If you want to start working out, but the task seems too daunting, just get to your gym and walk 5 minutes on the treadmill. That is your new goal. That is your task at hand. Just get there, walk 5 minutes, and then leave. You don’t even need to do more. But you will probably want to, since you just drove all this way. Or maybe you’ll just do 10 minutes more. And then you might as well lift 2 sets of weights.  And so forth… Even if the first 10 times you do this, you actually only walk on the treadmill for 5 minutes and then go home, you are building the habit of consistency. Of showing up. Showing up/starting is 60% of the battle. Just write your paper for 3 minutes. Just jog one lap around your building. In fact, if you want to start being really consistent, do not let yourself do more. For a month, at 10am, everyday, do a task for 3 minutes. Do not let yourself go over. You are getting yourself to start showing up, and do what you set out to do. Then, once you get comfortable and consistent, you can start working for longer. You will find it becomes a million times easier to keep it up. 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, individuals with ADHD can benefit from using ADHD-friendly systems of working to maximize their productivity and success. These systems prioritize flexibility, visual organization, and short-term goals, which can help individuals with ADHD manage their symptoms and work more efficiently. Timeboxing, Pomodoro technique, Kanban boards, mind mapping, and external cues are just a few examples of systems that can be helpful for individuals with ADHD. Experiment, and mix and match! What works for one person may not work for another. Don’t get discouraged, work with, and not against, yourself and your habits. Build routine around your personality, instead of trying to magically become a ‘new’ person with ambitious plans you will not be able to integrate into your life. You got it!