ADHD Entrepreneur Tips: Building a Routine
Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room: can we create routines as ADHD entrepreneurs? Or are we setting ourselves up for failure by setting the expectation that we need to have a rigid routine? I think the answer is somewhere in the middle. I can’t think of a catchy name for it right now, so for now, let’s call it routine-ish! 😆 Having a rough outline of a routine but allowing ourselves flexibility is where I find the sweet spot. So how can you find yours?
Adjust your expectations: Most neurotypical advice will tell you a routine is either done or not done. But let’s shift that expectation. When creating routines for anything, build out three levels of your routine. A bare minimum version for the days that’s all you have to give, a middle-of-the-road version for most days, and a top-tier level routine for the days when you’re feeling in the groove.
Find a way to track that works for you (for now): I’ve seen so many different ways to track tasks that you want to get done. Using these different strategies in your routine can be super helpful for our ADHD brains. Here are a few suggestions to track things: sticky note lists (I like the larger lined sticky notes), the notes app on your phone, a whiteboard, habit-tracking apps, or even using plastic bracelets with tags for each item you want to complete. And don’t be afraid to switch things up when you find your current system less motivating or boring!
Focus on how you start your day: How we start our day is most often how the rest of our day goes. If you are taking medication to treat your ADHD, what we are doing when our meds kick in can really help or hurt us. Think about the things that you can do to begin the day that are most likely to set you up for success. Personally, staying off my phone for at least the first hour of the day has been a big help.
Plan your day the night before: Review your tasks and schedule before bed so you can start the next day with a clear plan. Keep in mind that it’s okay to adjust your plan if that’s what you need. You can even create your plan, using the three different levels of completion in step 1.
Create routines with your days: If you can, set up your week so you’re doing the same or similar tasks on the same day each week. A few examples are setting a day for admin tasks, more creative tasks, and any other core tasks you need to do regularly. Set this up based on the energy levels you need for each task and your typical energy level throughout the week. I like to start the week off slowly and have Mondays and Tuesdays for admin, personal errands, and other non-client-facing work, and then I see clients from Wednesday to Friday.
Don’t trust your brain to remember: Seriously, you won’t! And if you’re like me, you’ll get anxious about what you don’t write down or have a system for: alarms, reminders, and time blocked in your calendar/planner. Do what you need to do so you aren’t relying on being able to remember anything. 😆
Try to include exercise in your day: Ideally in the morning to get the mood and energy boost that exercise can give us! This can make it easier to get all the other shit on our lists done!
Schedule Downtime: Plan for relaxation and leisure activities to avoid burnout and maintain a healthy work-life balance. And don’t give yourself a hard time when you are taking that downtime, or try to pack things on your to-do list when you plan on relaxing!
Be Flexible: Allow some flexibility in your routine to adapt to unexpected events or changes. Try not to pack your calendar so you can listen to your body and take some downtime when you need it outside of your scheduled time to relax. If we keep trying to push through when we need to rest, the result could very well be that we get frustrated with ourselves and end up worse off because we didn’t take time to rest.
Pay Attention and Adjust: Regularly check in on how you’re feeling about your routines to see what’s working and what’s not. Adjust and tweak as often as you need to. It’s important to understand that it’s normal for ADHDers to need to regularly switch things up because we get bored of things easily.
Cheers to you and your working on building new systems to help you manage your business and life responsibilities!
