An ADHD morning routine can sound daunting, but it isn’t. It’s just about keeping certain things in mind that we often tend to overlook. If you’d like to just watch me go into those things, you can do so here.
And if you’d like to listen to those things, you can do it with the player below, or by listening to the podcast on your favorite platform.
So what should your ADHD morning routine entail? Well…
You need to eat breakfast
Sooo here’s the thing…I know that we’re probably told to eat breakfast in way too many articles, but that’s only because it really is important for everyone. It’s doubly important for ADHD brains, because we often forget to eat.
Generally, we’re either too keyed-in on what we need to be doing, or our meds hide the fact that we’re hungry until it’s too late. Breakfast can be a really tough one, too, because a very high number of ADHDers tend to struggle with insomnia due to a burst of energy at night, and that’s not exactly welcome in a largely diurnal (fancy word for “preferring to be awake during the day”) society. So when you’ve already got a lot of problems with daytime sleepiness or fatigue, also having to pick through the overwhelming number of breakfast food options can be too much. It’s why many will either skip the meal altogether, or wind up picking something that doesn’t add much value, like donuts and coffee or sugar cereals.
Here’s the thing, though: to help us get through the day, studies show that we probably need more of certain nutrients than others do. Protein, Omega-3s, Zinc, and Magnesium are all perfect things to consume in the morning because they can help with everything from energy to management of hyperactivity. So eating breakfast has got to be a part of your morning routine.
Next up…
You need a plan
Planning for the day is kind of important for everyone, but it’s especially important in the case of an ADHD morning routine. You need to write it down. You need to have an idea of how your day will go. And this is why:
You need to have an idea of how you intend to use your energy
If you’ve been around for any amount of time, I’m a huge proponent of planning according to your ultradian rhythm. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, this means that you need to plan tasks according to how your energy ebbs and flows throughout the day. And for an ADHD brain, this is paramount.
Whether you’re medicated or not, your brain and body will have times wherein it focuses better, wherein it has more energy for movement, and wherein it’ll want to just lie on the floor and do nothing. If you know how this works, you can plan your day for maximum effect.
This also allows you to hack your brain a bit, in that ADHD brains do better with realistic expectations of the energy they will be expected to use. So, if there’s an expectation ahead of time that you have to, say, go grocery shopping, there’s a better chance that you expect to use that energy to do it.
You need to ensure that you can plan your meals
Remember the whole “don’t forget to eat” thing? That goes for lunch and dinner, too. And the best way to make sure that you don’t forget those things is to make sure that they’re already planned into your day at certain times. It sets those expectations, and it gives you a clear step to take when the time rolls around. It also keeps your energy going throughout the day, as long as you make sure that those meals include the nutrition mentioned earlier.
You need to have an end-time in place
This may not be as big a deal if you work somewhere with set hours, but if you work at home, or if you work for yourself, you need to have an end-time in mind for the work portion of your day. This helps you stop when you need to stop, and it also will leave you time to schedule for yourself, which is just as important as all the time you probably plan for others.
If you struggle with finding time to plan your day, link it to something you do every morning anyway, even if it’s just brushing your teeth, or right before you get to work. “Better half-assed than no-assed,” I always say.
And lastly, to round out your ADHD morning routine:
You need a supportive setup
The term “supportive” can be defined in a number of ways, depending on the person in question, but the point is to make sure that the place you mainly head to every morning is set up for you, your brain, and your overall needs. This can mean including:
- Fidget toys
- A whiteboard or post-it notes
- A space to walk around when you start struggling to focus
- Reference sheets or calendars to remind you of important events and information
You want to make sure that where you’re headed has what you need. It’s the best way to make sure that your morning gets off on the right foot.
A note about why I didn’t add movement or exercise:
Movement is very important for ADHD brains. There is no doubt about that. However, not everyone can work out in the morning – I sure as hell can’t. So this is not necessarily part of a great morning routine for everyone. I prefer to work out in the afternoons, if I get to it. Some prefer to do so before bed. So while I highly suggest adding some sort of movement to your day, I’m not going to suggest that you add it to your morning unless that works for you.
And hey…if you need a little help getting your mornings the way you’d like them to be, feel free to reach out to set up an intake call with me. You can totally do it – it just takes finding methods that speak to you.
Also, if you’re feeling stuck lately, there’s a perfect mini-course for you called Get That Thing Done, which you can find right here.
