5 Easy Daily Reset Habits for the ADHD Brain

Here are my 5 go to daily reset habits that are easy to do, easy to incorporate into any routine, and help to set you up for a super productive day!

Move your body before beginning any ‘brain heavy’ work.  

Executive functions are often weaker in folks with ADHD, so what can we do?  Well, for starters you can work with a coach to begin to build many skill sets for improving your brain's executive functions.   But what can you do now?  At this exact moment? 

Move your body!  

• Walk, jump, use your rebounder (if you have one) go up and down stairs
• Step outside and breathe in the fresh air (sun or no sun does not matter)
• 2 minute breath work from any breath work app (I love the app Breathe) Its simple to use, offers a few types of quick breath work exercises, gives me the structure I need as it is guided and short, and offers a visual as I go.

Moving your body helps you to get rid of any excess energy or restlessness, it primes the brain for getting into action.   I have a client that swears by her under desk treadmill!

Clear the decks!  As one of my mentor coaches used to say!

What does it mean to clear the decks? It means to remove any distractions that could keep you from being productive.  And It also means removing things that drain your energy or anything that may hinder your progress.  This is, giving your brain a chance to rev up into your work and helps tremendously (read more on transitions in this blog).

Here are a few ideas for ‘clearing the decks’. 

• Go into your office space and look around.  What has the potential to drain you or to distract you? 
• Set a timer for 20 minutes and begin to clear the decks. 
• Move things off of your desk that could be a continuous distraction, take out the trash, go through the task list from yesterday and discard it or carry it over.
• Do any lingering quick tasks if they are under 10 minutes and do not drain you.  Sometimes these tasks are hijacking your brain (these have to be short and quick).
• Remove any tchotchke from your space that makes it feel cluttered
• Get a bottle of water to have handy as you work
• Create a focused to do list (not the task list of the whole day or week - rather a task list of 1-3 things for the next 2 hours)

 Clutter is draining, no doubt about it. Clear your space and keep it free from the distraction/drain of clutter.  This is one of the most simple yet powerful productivity techniques.

Find your timer and use it.

  I love the ‘timed timer’ or the cube timer (they are fun and different to use - gives me instant interest and novelty).  Any timer is good but it must be a - stand alone (not in your phone) so you can see it the whole time, and makes a loud noise when time is up. 

When we use timers they can act like an anchor to keep us working until it goes off...... Even when our brain says “you're good, you did enough, go take a break”.  It can help hold us accountable until the time is up.

• We can set them for short bursts of work when the work feels hard or tedious. It helps us stay focused and on task
• Or longer when we are in our hyper focus as a check in. 
• Timers also help us build our sense of time and how long things actually take.

The key is beginning to know the differences and what you need in each moment and to work with yourself.  Use what you have in the moment without judgment (work mindfulness).  

Keep a dump pad handy and use it.  Every time your brain has a thought that is not related to what you are working on, dump it on your ‘dump pad’.   I share this quick tip with all of my clients - and they all tell me what a powerful yet simple tool this is. 

Our brains are beautifully and brilliantly wired to be active, creative, engaged, interested, and deep…. But sometimes it’s not on the thing we need to be working on in the moment.  

Very often we get distracted by these very interesting yet bombarding thoughts.  We don’t want to stop the creativity or the interest; we just want to regulate it and dial up or down as needed.

Dump lists help us to dial it down when we need, and the list is there  when we want to dial it up.  ADHD is all about regulation!  Regulation of self, of brain, of body, of actions, of emotions, and behaviors.

Reprioritize every few hours in your day.  Know that this is what you do.

The bottom line is.... things change, we need to be flexible and we need to shift at times.  This is an executive function skill called cognitive flexibility, it is weaker in many people with ADHD.

The good news is that we can build this ability and become more flexible in the moment - pivot when we need to without losing productivity and without too much emotional dysregulation (notice I am saying without too much?). 

Very often sudden changes in our day can be dysregulating, but noticing it and working with it is key.  Knowing, I am re-prioritizing myself every few hours helps me to stay in a more flexible mindset.  It builds in a pause moment where I can change directions as needed without as much frustration.

I hope you find this quick list helpful for resetting yourself in order to achieve all that you desire and all that is yours for the taking! 

Reach out if you would like to discuss this more and become even better than you already are!  I am so honored to be on this journey with You!

"The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it's all that matters."- Audrey Hepburn