Am I the only one who struggles with good habits? Or is this another fun fact about ADD/ADHD slanted brains?
Bringing this up as a talking point is important. Understanding all aspects of our brains help us to understand that we are not alone in our struggles.
When I talk about maintaining good habits, I’m talking about the elephant in the room: distraction. It’s the one over-riding point that deters us from reaching goals and following through.
Table of Contents
- Personal hygiene & self care
- Not making the bed
- Spreading mess
- Habit trackers, yeah or neah?
- Conclusion
Personal hygiene & self care
Yep, I’m going there – personal hygiene. I’m going to be very honest with you. I don’t like to shower, wash my face, or brush my teeth. Why? Because I want to squeeze every second of time to save for brain fun.
I want to watch that TV show, or chill, or jump on the Internet, leaving me too tired to do all the pre-bedtime things that I should. Predictably, I trudge off to bed, crashing.
I know, it’s poor planning on my part. I know this about me, so I know the answer is to do bedtime routines right after the evening meal. This means before settling in on the couch. This approach has helped, without too much push back from my brain.
The only thing I get excited about for the shower is knowing I can get some good shower thoughts going. Silly, but that’s the way my brain thinks, and probably yours, too.
How about the stuff that’s good for your health? Drinking eight glasses of water a day, exercising, taking your vitamins. *Brief inner struggle going on* Anything that interrupts my flow, my precious brain time, had better me a good one. Wait – my health is a good reason.
Have you ever heard of keystone habits? That means you connect one habit with another one – one that comes more easily. Keystone habits act as a foundation for building other good habits and can have a surprisingly wide-reaching impact. We may not even realize the other good habits that are being formed in the progress.
For example, I divvy out the vitamins at the end of the day (they’re in those little 7 day pill keepers). As wonderful as my husband is, he won’t take vitamins unless I give them to him. I won’t take my vitamins, either, but taking care of him (good habit) reminds me to take care of me. For the most part, it works.
You have to work with your brain and not against it. If you also struggle with folllow-through on personal care, then talk it out with yourself. Find the Aztec Hole that you can get into that will be the solution your brain will accept.
Not making the bed
Correct me if I am wrong, but making the bed takes time. Our brains make choices, and my brain just can’t spare the time to make the bed. This is not lazy, I have other highly important things to do besides making my bed, right? You get me, I know you do.
I am fully capable to take the 45 required seconds and make my bed. However, that 45 seconds would cut into my early morning routine of thinking and idea churning. Makes perfect sense to me. I just love the way by brain thinks.
Seriously, me making my bed ebbs and flows. When I am on a particularly hot trail of a new project, it shows. I literally fly out of my bed in the morning, ready to dive in. My husband just asked me why I’m not tired in the morning. I have so much to look forward to, that’s why!
Then I might have a month that the bed gets made everyday. I make no apologies about my bed-making habits!
Spreading mess
I have a reputation. If I’m going to cook in the kitchen, it will look like a tornado hit it. Then there’s my husband, neatly doing what he does best, making amazing meals (with little mess).
That’s pretty much how I roll for everything I do: painting, craft projects, refinishing furniture, doing the taxes etc. etc. At least I’m consistent.
We could bend to the will of our housemates, trying our best to lasso it in a bit more, or they can just accept our brain the way it is. I’m rooting for the latter. In fact, it makes me happy that they accept me for who I am. Of course my messy habits annoy and frustrate them, but they know it’s my process.
You should see the space I am in now! Clothes spread out, papers, a coffee cup, books. Just like a mad scientist, there are exciting happenings going on while pounding on the keyboard. The deeper I am into the creative process, the messier my environment gets. I accept it. I’m going for the ideas, not a clean space.
I’ve got Albert Einstein to back me up on that.
Habit trackers, yeah or neah?
Whatever system works for your brain, go for it. When I say “habit tracker” I’m talking about marking off daily checkboxes, or filling in circles, or tracking with an app on your smartphone. Like how much water you drank – did you get your 8 glasses in?
I start with paper systems and every time within a week, they are discarded. That’s me, maybe they work for you. I think my brain is resisting structure, I really do.
My response to getting more water in, was to buy a fancy water bottle with a visual intake reminder on. These cups are also used for health reasons when knowing water consumption is critical.
Did that work? Sort of. For reasons I can’t explain, I am now drinking out of a quart Mason jar. Well, I do know why I use it, to avoid micro-plastics. But my brain likes shiny things, and this is glass. I like seeing the very plain visual of that water level – not the marks. I also like seeing the mass of the water. I know, it seems silly.
Maybe the marks make me feel like a failure, or that someone is telling me what to do (that can be a road block right there for many people). Again, work with your brain, instead of against it. If your brain wants a Mason jar, give it a Mason jar!
Conclusion
Good habits are within your reach. Get there by making your own rules. It’s a brain thing, don’t try to fight it!
