Organized Chaos, your Guide to ADHD 🧠

Hey there, 

Welcome to the first edition of my newsletter, “Organized Chaos,” and thank you so much for supporting me! As one of my first subscribers, you’ll find a little present waiting for you at the end of this email. 💕

Now, let’s talk about why habits are not the solution to ADHD, and what you should work on instead:

You see, neurotypical people build habits and get rewards.

The world is tuned to how their brains work, and all the books are filled with advice they can use to succeed. Sometimes they fail, sometimes they don’t.

ADHDers try to do things the same way, because it’s all we know. But it doesn’t work the same, and we get no rewards.

It’s difficult for us to do things the neurotypical way.

🌟 So do things the ADHD way! 🌟

Instead of focusing on changing your behavior to establish new habits, begin by altering your situation and circumstances. Consider: How can you integrate this habit seamlessly into your life? How can you make it work for you?

Let’s say you want to stop eating sugary snacks.

Neurotypicals may just “decide to stop” and succeed, but it’s not enough for us to “decide” to stop snacking. We deal with impulsivity and binge eating all the time!

So to make this habit work in your life, consider making some adjustments first:

1. Remove all sugary snacks from your home, or have someone hide them away from you.
2. Don’t buy any sugary snacks and don’t go to the snack section in the store to feel tempted.
3. Don’t shop hungry.
4. Prepare food in advance so you don’t feel like snacking.
5. Offer yourself other nice options so you don’t feel like you’re missing out. Go on a little deep dive and find some healthy and tasty snacks that are not filled with processed sugar.
6. Motivate yourself with reminders around your home, speak to other people about your plans, read books, and watch videos that inspire you to keep going, and check off your successful days off on a habit tracker or a piece of paper you hang up on your wall.
7. Try doing a 7-day challenge, then do a 30-day challenge, etc.

These are just some of your options, you don’t have to do them all.

My point is, you shouldn’t be working on the “stop snacking” habit, causethat’s hard. You should be adjusting your circumstances, environment, and life, in a way that helps you stop snacking, without all the executive function required to “just stop”.

Once you’ve done that, you can experiment with the neurotypical habit building strategies. But don’t be rigid, and adjust your expectations, cause life is chaotic and only siths deal in absolutes.