Written in August 2025
ADHD makes routines hard to stick to; actually just remembering what steps there are and in what order is hard enough without having to manage distractions, dopamine lows and the pinball machine of our brains firing thoughts in all directions.
The cruel irony is that the ADHD brain does very well with some kind of a routine – knowing what comes next can help us avoid our excellent roaming attention leading us to distractions. However, we often need some novelty to keep us interested.
I consider myself pretty lucky in this regard when it comes to neurotypes. My AuDHD means I really need to stick to routines and set ways of doing things (even down to the order of the browser tab windows during my morning routine) and this helps a lot with executive function-heavy tasks. Personally, I struggle a lot more with transitions between tasks, and this is where I’m going with this blog…
What helps is having a rhythm for the day, rather than a set routine. A rhythm is much easier to stick to because you build that rhythm around your own natural rhythms, your own times when you’re most productive. I use transitional tasks as my rhythm, with yoga being the thing that gets me from the morning routine to the next thing, and cups of tea being another frequent placeholder in the day. A cup of tea gives me the chance to sit down (briefly) and check my list, cross off what’s been done and choose the next thing.
I’ve learned that putting those transitional tasks in my day helps me work through the to-do list much more effectively**. The transitional tasks help my brain put down the task I have just done, and move onto the next one. Sounds simple and in essence, it is. All I am doing is addressing the task initiation inertia that often plagues the life of ADHDers and autistic people. It’s a real problem with my AuDHD because the way the traits manifest makes transitions and initiation difficult a lot of the time.
So, while I might have set routines for the morning, and for going to bed (I really need to start brushing my teeth earlier but that whole palaver is something I really struggled with as a transitional task and I’m not going to push my luck with it), during the day I could be a bit structureless, and end up getting loads done, but nothing that I was meant to do.
Your rhythm might be similar, it might involve transitional tasks, or it may look more like taking time to stim or to reset the mind/body connection with some breathing exercises or stretching. It could be setting a timer to spend 20 minutes playing a game on your phone, or spending a few minutes writing in a gratitude journal, on a feelings tracker or some other kind of grounding, resetting type activity.
P.S.
An exception to this rule is actually this article. I’ve made my morning cup of tea and sat down, and I am actively breaking my morning routine to write this, because my ADHD part is dominant this morning and needs to get this out. Letting my brain lead is a really useful approach, and one of the reasons I put too many things on my to-do list – I can do what my brain is in the mode for. When I finish this, I’ll go right back into the rest of my morning routine, because I need to. I know what comes next, so it’s easier to settle back into that groove.
**A little aside on to-do lists: I never cross everything off. I don’t intend to, instead I give myself choice within the things that need doing, and what doesn’t get done swaps to tomorrow. I use a simple bullet journal style, which you can read all about here.