ADHD and Mornings

The struggle is real.

Making Your Bed

There is an amazing speech by Admiral McRaven in 2017 at a college graduation where he says the words "if you want to change the world start off by making your bed." Now this is amazing advice... for everyone who doesn't suffer from ADHD. Unfortunately even though I occasionally steam press the corners of my sheets, fluff my pillows to perfection, and wash my comforter at 2:00 AM (hyper fixation) doing something as simple as making my bed every morning sometimes feels impossible (executive dysfunction).

The “Experience” of Waking Up with ADHD

This morning my alarm went off at 6:45 A.M.

My To Do List:

Laundry

Clean Out the Fridge

The perfect day for some, but not for me. When my alarm went off I curled up in a ball and tried to go back to sleep. These felt like ginormous commitments and I felt ashamed and burdened. Ashamed because logically I know I can complete these tasks. I know that all I have to do is carry my laundry basket to the washing machine, put my clothes in, put laundry detergent in the soap dispenser, and turn on the machine. All I have to do is grab a trash bag and put the expired food from the fridge in there, and throw them away. All I have to do is follow the steps. Yet I couldn’t. Not right away.

I got out of bed at 9:52 A.M.

Today I have only done half of my laundry. I am proud because starting my laundry is a huge achievement. I even folded some clean clothes and put them away, but this way of living is not sustainable… for anyone.

If You Want to Change the World Start off by…

When Admiral McRaven said that all I have to do to be successful is make my bed every morning, my heart sank. I can’t do that. That is, heartbreakingly, beyond my capabilities. So I would like to change Admiral McRaven’s words.

If you want to change the world, start off by doing. One. thing.

In reality: there isn’t one tip, trick, list, or routine that will whisk away all our problems when it comes to ADHD. ADHD is a ruiner of routines and repetition. So it is okay when mornings suck, when you can’t get out of bed, and when you can’t do the things you know you are capable of. One thing. Just ask yourself to do one thing, even if that one thing is making chicken nuggets or getting dressed.

Tips, Tricks, Lists & Routines

• Changing alarm ringtone spontaneously

• Time blocking

• To- do lists

• 10 minute timers

• Putting things you’ve already done on your to-do list

• Writing down the breakdown of your tasks on your to-do list

• Jumping jacks

• Stimming (listening to one sound or doing the same repetitive thing until your task is done)

• Self Reward system

• Start by doing a task that is less important than the ones on your list

• In desperate situations, call your mom, dad, friend, or sibling to hold you accountable