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Padre Dave Poedel's avatar

Yes, you described me pretty well. I turn 69 this week, and sorry but it doesn’t get any easier. I have learned to accept myself as my crazy brain presents me to myself….got that? I am a Lutheran Pastor and I believe, teach and confess that God loves us as He made us. So we who have hyperactive right brains tell marvelous stories (sermons for me) that are not in any way linear, but rather like a mosaic. That means I can celebrate when I actually do all of the things on my calendar (at least the ones I remember to put on the calendar in my phone (I am an Apple product fan since 1983) but I don’t beat myself up anymore when an appointment someone makes with me disappears from my calendar app but I remember it anyway…or not….Just remember that God loves you as He made you, medications that are useful are a blessing and….what was I writing about again? God loves you! Enjoy your life!

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Lari's avatar

I’ve struggled with creating routine for my whole life, constantly falling off and back into unfulfilling habits. What I have found most helpful are the following:

1. Create ‘anchor habits’ which are those things you do no matter what that give you a sense of achievement. For me, the main one is getting onto my yoga mat every day, even if it’s only for 5 minutes, no matter what time of day it is. I also make sure I drink a glass of water every single morning when I wake up and I am trying to anchor writing in my journal before bed.

2. Make your routine task-based instead of time-based. I have a series of ‘blocks’ I need to work through every day and it doesn’t matter what time I start my day, I just work through those blocks in order. Sometimes it means time is taken away from certain things (depending on work schedule) but once I dropped the reliance on clock time, I find I am able to work through all my blocks most days, which keeps me on track for future days.

3. Meds. Meds have helped more than literally any self-help book or article ever can or will and I will advocate for people to go on meds whenever possible! ADHD meds have been shown to dramatically assist more than 80% of those who take them and getting rid of the stigma around mental health medication is so so so important for our well-being and success!

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