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Without strong routines and habits my life would be a mess and I would still be working at McDonalds. With ADHD I need routines and habits to not fall into the

Without strong routines and habits my life would be a mess and I would still be working at McDonalds. With ADHD I need routines and habits to not fall into the abyss. Maybe it works for some people, but not me. E: also I used all those habits and routines to achieve my own goals and run a business for a decade.

candiddevmike 2y ago
What happens when life circumstances make these morning routines difficult or impossible to perform occasionally?
- rqtwteye 2y ago
  Then you adapt to the new reality. If you worry about changes making something impossible you can't start anything.
  - kohbo 2y ago
    This is a very non-ADHD mindset
    - llamaimperative 2y ago
      I guess in that case, it's hopeless, don't try, since you can't have absolute certainty of the imperviousness of your new routine then just continue improv-jazzing through life. Is that better? Of course that's utterly insane. If you have ADHD then you should be putting more effort into routinization, not less and certainly not making up reasons that you can't even try.
      - viridian 2y ago
        This reads as needlessly hostile, maybe from assuming the worst interpretation of what kohbo is saying. Charitably, I read it as 'Telling someone to get good at the thing they are struggling with doesn't work'. This is similar to the oft seen adages of 'just do things to make you happy to fix your depression' met with sarcastic 'gee thanks, I'm cured' responses. Certain habits, skills, etc, might be more important for some people to focus on than others to manage debilitating effects, but that importance comes with the consequence of those same feats being harder.
        llamaimperative 2y ago
        “What do you do if your habit framework gets jostled” “You adapt to it — don’t let fear of inevitable challenges prevent you from starting” “No thanks I have ADHD” Okay, what other possible answer is there? There’s no way to guarantee your habits don’t get jostled and there’s no method to correct it than adapting. Any specific adaptation method is also notably harder for ADHD folks too. Yes, it is harder, that’s why in order to succeed at this thing one needs to work harder. Any Quick Tip that’d make this easier for an ADHD person would make it easier for everyone else too, ergo it’d be the default advice, and it’d still be harder for an ADHD person to apply. I think it's fair to say "you adapt" is ~useless advice for everyone, FWIW.
      - rchaud 2y ago
        > If you have ADHD then you should be putting more effort into routinization Despite the insistence of many in our parents' generations, ADHD is not a disorder of not applying oneself hard enough.
        llamaimperative 2y ago
        I didn’t say it was.
  - bitexploder 2y ago
    You need a certain amount of flexibility anyway. Travel happens, etc, when running a business. I know I will be less productive and just plan podcasts or whatever in an airplane. It’s okay to relax during travel for me. I get my thinking and work done other times.
- pjc50 2y ago
  Some people get thrown off by that happening and it ruins their day. Such is life.
  - bitexploder 2y ago
    That is part of ADHD. Knowing you just can’t function the same in some environments. Plan ahead, know your routines and such resume when you are back to a more controlled environment. Set expectations with business partners, work deadlines, etc.
- art-not 2y ago
  During Covid when my entire routine process was disrupted by work from home where I couldn’t do my daily thing I basically became the least productive person on my team. On days where my morning is severely disrupted basically the whole day is shot. I generally can adapt to long term new situations by inventing new routines but I fall apart without structure. I’ll be the first to acknowledge it’s a bad thing but it is what it is. I’m sure the commenter above is similar
- asoneth 2y ago
  Personally it takes me a couple days to re-cement a routine after missing a day. Which means I can maintain my routines as long as I don't miss more than a day or two a week. I used to schedule a weekly rest day with no routines and no checklists, but now with kids I just let those days fall as needed. The real issue is skipping several days in a row. If I drop my routines for a weeklong vacation it takes more than a month to build them back. One thing I've discovered for myself is that the routine doesn't decay as quickly if I at least maintain a placeholder. For example, even if I don't have time to do an exercise routine I can usually do five pushups. Even if I can't meditate for ten minutes, I can still sit and breathe for a minute. Even if I can't do all the dishes before bed, I can scrape them off. That makes it much easier to resume the routine. It doesn't deepen the rut but it does prevent it from being washed away.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- matwood 2y ago
  I roll with it. I look at things like 80/20. If I'm following my routines 80% or more of the time, I'm doing well.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- bitexploder 2y ago
  I can do everything with pencil and paper and have done so for a many years now.

candiddevmike 2y ago

What happens when life circumstances make these morning routines difficult or impossible to perform occasionally?

rqtwteye 2y ago
Then you adapt to the new reality. If you worry about changes making something impossible you can't start anything.
- kohbo 2y ago
  This is a very non-ADHD mindset
  - llamaimperative 2y ago
    I guess in that case, it's hopeless, don't try, since you can't have absolute certainty of the imperviousness of your new routine then just continue improv-jazzing through life. Is that better? Of course that's utterly insane. If you have ADHD then you should be putting more effort into routinization, not less and certainly not making up reasons that you can't even try.
    - viridian 2y ago
      This reads as needlessly hostile, maybe from assuming the worst interpretation of what kohbo is saying. Charitably, I read it as 'Telling someone to get good at the thing they are struggling with doesn't work'. This is similar to the oft seen adages of 'just do things to make you happy to fix your depression' met with sarcastic 'gee thanks, I'm cured' responses. Certain habits, skills, etc, might be more important for some people to focus on than others to manage debilitating effects, but that importance comes with the consequence of those same feats being harder.
      - llamaimperative 2y ago
        “What do you do if your habit framework gets jostled” “You adapt to it — don’t let fear of inevitable challenges prevent you from starting” “No thanks I have ADHD” Okay, what other possible answer is there? There’s no way to guarantee your habits don’t get jostled and there’s no method to correct it than adapting. Any specific adaptation method is also notably harder for ADHD folks too. Yes, it is harder, that’s why in order to succeed at this thing one needs to work harder. Any Quick Tip that’d make this easier for an ADHD person would make it easier for everyone else too, ergo it’d be the default advice, and it’d still be harder for an ADHD person to apply. I think it's fair to say "you adapt" is ~useless advice for everyone, FWIW.
    - rchaud 2y ago
      > If you have ADHD then you should be putting more effort into routinization Despite the insistence of many in our parents' generations, ADHD is not a disorder of not applying oneself hard enough.
      - llamaimperative 2y ago
        I didn’t say it was.
- bitexploder 2y ago
  You need a certain amount of flexibility anyway. Travel happens, etc, when running a business. I know I will be less productive and just plan podcasts or whatever in an airplane. It’s okay to relax during travel for me. I get my thinking and work done other times.
pjc50 2y ago
Some people get thrown off by that happening and it ruins their day. Such is life.
- bitexploder 2y ago
  That is part of ADHD. Knowing you just can’t function the same in some environments. Plan ahead, know your routines and such resume when you are back to a more controlled environment. Set expectations with business partners, work deadlines, etc.
art-not 2y ago
During Covid when my entire routine process was disrupted by work from home where I couldn’t do my daily thing I basically became the least productive person on my team. On days where my morning is severely disrupted basically the whole day is shot. I generally can adapt to long term new situations by inventing new routines but I fall apart without structure. I’ll be the first to acknowledge it’s a bad thing but it is what it is. I’m sure the commenter above is similar
asoneth 2y ago
Personally it takes me a couple days to re-cement a routine after missing a day. Which means I can maintain my routines as long as I don't miss more than a day or two a week. I used to schedule a weekly rest day with no routines and no checklists, but now with kids I just let those days fall as needed. The real issue is skipping several days in a row. If I drop my routines for a weeklong vacation it takes more than a month to build them back. One thing I've discovered for myself is that the routine doesn't decay as quickly if I at least maintain a placeholder. For example, even if I don't have time to do an exercise routine I can usually do five pushups. Even if I can't meditate for ten minutes, I can still sit and breathe for a minute. Even if I can't do all the dishes before bed, I can scrape them off. That makes it much easier to resume the routine. It doesn't deepen the rut but it does prevent it from being washed away.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
matwood 2y ago
I roll with it. I look at things like 80/20. If I'm following my routines 80% or more of the time, I'm doing well.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
bitexploder 2y ago
I can do everything with pencil and paper and have done so for a many years now.