← Overcoming Distractions-Thriving with ADHD, ADD
Overcoming Distractions-Thriving with ADHD, ADD
Why a Rock-Solid Morning Routine Is a Must-Have for Adults with ADHD
00:18:17
For adults with ADHD, mornings can either set the tone for calm focus, less stressful day…. or become a chaotic scramble that derails the entire day. A consistent morning routine is not a luxury….it’s a non-negotiable structure that creates...
Loading summary
Transcript20 lines
- [00:08]
A
I'm Dave Greenwood and this is Overcoming Distractions. If you are an adult with adhd, a busy professional, an entrepreneur, a high achiever, or just need some strategies to navigate your adult adhd, you're in the right place. Who am I? I'm an entrepreneur with ADHD and the author of two books, Overcoming Distract and Overcoming Burnout. I coach and mentor people just like you, and together we navigate the ups and downs of adult adhd, from getting out of our own way to helping people just like you thrive in the workplace. That's what I do. Want more info on working with me? Hit overcoming distractions.com ready? Let's get to today's podcast.
- [01:03]
B
All right, gang, what's going on? Welcome back to Overcoming Distractions. And I am so glad that you are hanging out with me for a few minutes. And today we are going to get in and out, okay? Because we need to talk about how we start our days, right? So we're going to talk about rock solid or at least getting to rock solid or bulletproof morning routines, because they're a must have for us. I mean, those of us adults with adhd, mornings can either set the tone for calm, a little bit of focus, less stressful day, or they can become a chaotic scramble that derails our entire day.
- [01:58]
C
Right?
- [01:58]
B
You know what I'm talking about. Okay. You know exactly what I'm talking about. And that consistent morning routine for those of us with ADHD, or if we suspect we have adhd, it's just not, it's, you know, it's not a luxury. It's non negotiable. It's structure that creates that clarity piece, like one of my favorite words, right? Momentum. It creates a little bit of stability as we start our day. And I have said this a thousand times, the way you start the day is typically how the rest of the day is going to unfold. And if you actually just hit the pause button and thought about that for a couple minutes, you would 1000% agree with me. So, so we're going to talk real briefly. This is the super simple crash course slash podcast episode on why we need the routines and how we can just kind of gently ease ourselves into it. Because it, it really is, I believe, one of the most important parts of the day. I mean, ADHD executive function. We all have some challenges with executive functions. ADHD impacts our working memory, our impulse control, our prioritization, our organization, remembering things.
- [03:30]
C
Right?
- [03:31]
B
And I think that reliable morning routine is going to externalize those functions, right? It reduces the decision fatigue. It Reduces the overwhelm, it reduces the, oh, crap, I forgot to charge my laptop or make the kids sandwiches, etc. Etc.
- [03:49]
C
Right.
- [03:51]
B
It's stress lowering. I mean, rushing in the morning creates that cortisol spike that we've all heard about and it makes our ADHD even worse first thing in the morning.
- [04:03]
C
Right?
- [04:04]
B
That's not good. That's not good at all. I mean, a solid routine, it's gonna leave, it's gonna lower that, you know, reactive nature, it's gonna increase a little bit, I think, of resilience and you know, remember, chronic high cortisol is not good for you. There's some cortisol in the body is, you know, that's that kind of stress hormone. But, you know, day after day after week after month of that happening to you can actually begin to feel it in your body. So, and you know it, you're going to feel it when you're super, super stressed out. So having that morning routine is absolutely mission critical above a ton of other things in our lives. So it creates a sense of control. You've heard me a million times, if you've listened to me at all about control. And I'm not talking about in the negative, I'm talking about controlling what you can. Because we can't live in that reactive mode all the time, like I just mentioned. And I think sometimes when we have adhd, we can feel like time is just slipping away.
- [05:23]
C
Right?
- [05:23]
B
I mean, I can't tell you how many of you I have talked to who just have a not so good relationship with time. So. So it gives us a little bit of control right off the bat. And I think, you know, kind of a well designed morning or morning routine, it gives us that sense of agency before we kind of get into the day and all the demands start to try and take over.
- [05:53]
C
Right?
- [05:55]
B
And I think you can, over time just build a little bit of habit strength. I mean, I think mornings are ideal for building and even automating in some cases those good habits before everything just kind of floods into our day. The kids work, every other kind of responsibility you have, and even just a couple really solid, even tiny simple wins in the morning, like maybe your laptop was charged and you made your lunch, you know, etc. Etc. The kids got on the bus on time, right? Those little things, I think they build over time and you begin to realize that that is the way kind of things need to be. And then you sit down at your desk, whether you're working remotely or you drive to the office and you feel Just a little better because your day got off on the right track. And I think just being ready for the day is a massive win in our book. So, hey, let's, let's jump to how we can just begin building even a simple morning routine, like just some small, measurable, even some ADHD friendly kind of steps that, that we can do. And I think starting small, that's not so much a compromise. I think it's strategic. For many of us, it's just kind of how we build on something that hopefully is going to last and become second nature to us. I don't think it's smart to sit down, create a completely new way to start your day, and then try to do that the following morning. I'm not a big fan of massive change. So you need to kind of build this slowly and maybe talk about maybe what's important in the beginning. So let's talk about some of these things real quick. So maybe start with an anchor. Not so much a timetable, so to speak, but just a kind of an anchor. You know, what are some of the things that would make you feel better? Hey, brushing teeth, a little bit of stretch. For me, it's coffee. I mean, there isn't even a close second. Okay, are there things that you can do in the same order? I do this all the time, every morning. And I can tell you when I get thrown off, I get thrown off. So maybe it's keep it simple, wake up, hit the bathroom, do a little stretch, maybe have a glass of water. Those things for me tell you real quick, it's me. The coffee machine is on a timer the night before, so the coffee's ready. I have my coffee, I take a shower, I eat breakfast, I sit down, I get to work. That's. That's how simple I've made it. And it makes a massive difference now that I don't have kids in school. It's a little easier there. So the other thing that I think is absolutely mission critical is to have like a home base for things like medications. Maybe it's the water bottle next to them. You need to take those medications. It's deodorant, it's anything else. Maybe you have asthma and you need an inhaler in the morning. Whatever. These things are the things that get you ready, health and hygiene wise. Have a home base for them. Don't put them in a different place every day. That's that organization piece, right? So track the habit, not so much the time. Now I can go both ways on this, but, you know, maybe you need some type of visual tracker or checklist? You know, I've talked to people who did something as simple as literally take a sheet of paper and a Sharpie and a nice bright color like a red or something like that or a blue, and just write out a list in bold letters and put it somewhere where you can't miss it. Maybe that's what we need to do in the beginning to help you kind of build a little bit of consistency over time and track those wins. I can tell you, if you don't have a morning routine and you're just starting to understand that this absolutely needs to be part of your life, don't track perfection. Oh, maybe you did three or four days out of the seven. Cool. Big win. Take it. Please take it. Then as you build your routine, track how long it actually takes to be ready for the day. I know I got a pretty good idea. It takes me 45 to 50 minutes from the time I actually put my feet on the floor to the time I'm actually ready to actually speak with anybody. So maybe building some rewards if that's going to help you. Everybody's different, okay? Everybody's different. I was just talking to somebody who loves to work in a coffee shop, okay? Because that helps them concentrate. That is fresh hell to me, okay? I need complete silence. So the same thing with any type of rewards or anything like that. If you need rewards, build those in. Maybe it's a little bit of inspirational music. Maybe it's, you got to have sunlight in the morning. Maybe it is your favorite coffee or tea or protein shake. And hopefully your brain over time is going to have that reason and maybe want to stick with it, right? And I think we're also responsive to those, responsive to those dopamine cues. So maybe it's a pleasurable result for me. Coffee again. I mean, that's, that's. It's one of my favorite times of the day. Now, Now I don't wake up easy, but when I do and I start having my coffee, then it starts to become one of my favorite times of the day. My rewards. Coffee on demand, hot shower. I'm a simple guy. Keep an eye on the clock, too. Having a routine is great, but you can't take all day to actually get out of the house, right? So you gotta. You gotta be a little conscious of the. Of the clock, so to speak. I would suggest maybe limit the first version of your routine to a time frame. Maybe you give yourself 30 minutes to try and be ready. Maybe need a little more again. I've talked to so many people who all of a sudden it's like two hours and they haven't gotten out of the house yet and then they don't even know what they did. So if you have to remind yourself that you are that person, do that as well. You could use a mantra, which I think many people actually find successful. I know those are a little difficult when in the heat of the moment, but you know, I'm a person who gets up on time, I'm a person who gets out of the house with less stress. Those types of things. Keep reminding yourself of that. And more importantly, maybe you need to start the night before. That's what I do. And that's what I did when, when we had to get to the school bus. So we had to do drop offs at school, we had to have lunches ready the night before. I had to have the coffee machine on a timer, which I still do to this day. We had to charge the laptops for school, etc. Etc. Those things needed to be done to actually bulletproof the morning. So what do you need to get out of the house in the morning with minimal stress? Ask yourself that and write it down. What do we achieve with a solid morning routine? I mean, when us busy people with ADHD consistently win our mornings, I think it creates a ripple effect throughout the day and throughout the week and it actually helps us, I think, increase our meaningful productivity. Maybe it's a little less effort. Maybe getting into work and getting in the zone is a little easier because you don't have to dust yourself off from a, from a shitty morning.
- [14:30]
C
Right.
- [14:32]
B
And I think mornings become that kind of launchpad for, for good work and meaningful work and not so much that, that fire drill.
- [14:39]
C
Right.
- [14:40]
B
I think you actually conserve a little energy and you can actually use it wisely when you actually do have to get to work. I mean, do you really want to get to work tired and with less energy? I mean, I can answer that for you. You will actually, and I'm not a doctor, so let's be clear about that. But I think getting your day off to a good start kind of helps you maybe regulate your emotions a little better. You're not playing catch up, you're not pissed off when you got to work. Maybe you're grounded, a little more proactive and I think that reduces that kind of the ups and downs of our emotions and moods when it comes to adhd. And when we can regulate our mood a little better, maybe we can work a little better.
- [15:29]
C
Right?
- [15:31]
B
You're going to Start the day doing something for yourself, right. And not just reacting to everybody else and everything. And I think that that builds a little more kind of fulfillment out of a life. I think having a solid morning routine and getting to work, wherever that may be, with less stress is going to reduce your overwhelm. It might even reduce your guilt a little bit. And I think again, ADHD brings those kind of, you know, when we miss our intentions and miss the things that we want to do, maybe we, we feel a little guilty, maybe we feel shame. We feel like, oh, I'm a bad person. I can never get out of the house on time. What's wrong with me? We get pissed off at ourselves, right. For starting the day like a train wreck. And a stable morning routine, I think helps break that cycle with regular proof that you actually are capable of having a less stressful morning. So. And I think that just leads to a kind of a long term, kind of internal shift for you and it could be game changing. I've had the same simple but effective morning routine for as long as I can remember. The days where something happens where that gets thrown off, I can tell you I. I don't get much done the rest of the day. It's very hard for me to pull myself out of that. So bottom line is it gets better the more you do it. So just start small, set the coffee machine up the night before, charge your laptop, make your lunch, do a couple quick, simple things, and build upon that, and build upon that until it literally becomes a routine. All right, gang, as I always say, if you need help doing a little bit of problem solving, figuring some things out, I am always here. You just go to Overcoming distractions dot com. Hit that button on the website, right on the homepage. It says, book a 15 minute call with Dave or whatever the hell it says. You know what it says? Okay, Push that button, see if we're a good fit. Because I am confident that I can help you not only in this area, but moving into your days and trying to figure things out and make things less stressful. All right, gang, we'll catch you next time.