Sleep is the “night fuel” for your body and mind. During the day, we need a variety of fuels, but at night we need sleep—quality and quantity matter. It’s hard to work, take care of small humans, make meals, see your family, have some relaxation time, and get enough sleep. Let’s take control of the different factors that affect your rest by doing a sleep inventory. Mark the items that apply to you. Asses Where You are At What is your sleep like now? It’s hard to fall asleep I fall asleep as soon as my head touches a pillow I want to sleep all the time I fall asleep during the day I take long naps I wake up in...
How is it going? We are going to take a few minutes to think about what has gone right since starting this planner and the skills introduced. Identify a day or week that felt particularly good and consider what you did that week that made a difference. How can you have more days or weeks like that? Did it help to have a number or marker of progress towards a goal? What made you feel motivated? Review the list of skills we’ve covered so far: Setting up a schedule that works Checklists Macro-planning vs Micro-planning Accountability planning Brain Dumping Check-out vs Re-charge Pre-planning for future schedule Re-charge practices Starting a new habit Re-visit and prepare for next week by checking on your macro-level...
Here’s a scenario: You decide you want to start eating a healthy breakfast. Your excited about how this is going to make you feel, but when you wake up, you go through the old motions. You do what you’ve always done and grab some mini donuts from the bag in the kitchen before heading out the door. Midway through your morning, it hits you — UGH, you wanted to make a different choice and didn’t remember. Does that seem familiar? Do find yourself wanting to start a new habit or routine, but in the moment you keep forgetting to do the thing? Make a plan Sometimes succeeding in a new routine is about planning in advance. What can you do now...
"I should just stop what I am doing and take the time to eat" is NOT a reasonable expectation of yourself as someone with ADHD. You will experience overwhelming moments and periods of hyperfocus -- so prepare ahead of time to handle it successfully. Let's start with some basic truths about ourselves: Eating on a regular schedule helps your body regulate mood, and any medications you take. This is particularly true for any time-sensitive medications for ADHD, depression or anxiety. When you don't eat regularly due to hyperfocus, and you lose track of time, your body will feel sluggish once you do eat as your body works to get back to a healthy baseline. When you are overwhelmed by the decisions or...
Practice this re-charge. What is your energy level right now? Do you feel like a hummingbird, a sloth, a grizzly bear, a worker bee, or something else? Take time to think through how your body physically feels. Scan your body, posture, gut, breathing, head/neck/shoulders. Are you carrying pain or tightness? Are you breathing shallowly instead of taking clean, deep breaths? Are you holding tension in your back? Are you bouncing and fidgeting out of boredom or anxiety? Mark the spot below that feels most like your energy right now. What about your mental energy? Is it early in the day, mid-day, or late at night? How awake are you? Is this a good time for focus, or are you winding...