this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2023
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ADHD

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What are your morning routines and reset routines? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by Teodomo@lemmy.world to c/adhd@lemmy.world
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After having success with a sleep routine (that starts 1 hour earlier from when I want to fall asleep) and seeing someone mention morning routines and reset routines ("A reset routine is something you do when you're feeling super unfocused") I wanted to know yours, so that I can better craft and tailor mine.

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[–] tdawg@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)
  1. Wake up on time (6am)
  2. Water
  3. Coffee
  4. Work before anyone else gets online to distract me
  5. Morning meetings
  6. Go on a long walk (I do 3 miles but you do whatever works for you)
  7. Lunch & give my cat some attention
  8. Afternoon work now that everyone else is in a food coma and won't bother me
  9. At around 3~4 I do something fun like practice guitar to start unwinding from work
  10. food and socializing until bed time (8pm)

If at any point I get off track then I immediately go on another walk (this one can be shorter but it's better if it isn't). To ensure I go to bed on time (and by extension wake up earlier enough to be the first one online) I need to go on a walk everyday (no excuses).

I've always found it important to keep my socializing to a minimum while working. For whatever reason I hit executive fatigue a lot faster when I've been messaging people (especially multiple people) online

I've also found that heat kills my routine since it prevents me from sleeping properly. Sleep is the key to everything. Without good consistent sleep all of your symptoms will be worse

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I find that caffeine is wildly counterproductive, after the first week of daily consumption. Like, absolute total executive lockup.

[–] krellor@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I think most people drink too much coffee, which leads to tiredness, crashing, and dependency. Once I started thinking in terms of servings of caffeine instead of cups of coffee, I found a good balance that let's me enjoy coffee without needing it every morning or afternoon crashes. At home I make a French press using 2tbsp of coffee beans. When I get a coffee while out, I opt for an Americano with two shots. Both of which should be about 120mg of caffeine (give or take).

Most people drink 12-16 ounces of coffee as their morning "cup" which is more like 150-200 mg of caffeine. Often more, and often followed up with a cup later in the day or a caffeinated soda or tea.

Ymmv, but I've enjoyed being able to have coffee in my routine once I found a way to manage the amount of caffeine.

[–] Teodomo@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Sadly I have never felt any effect drinking coffee, so I haven't drank much all my life. I recently tried it again too after reading so many people with ADHD swear by it. Once again, felt nothing during or after, and I was pretty attentive to its possible effects that whole day.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I cannot manage one tea a day if I consume it every day.

I have far more emotional resilience when I am not consuming caffeine. I have more self-control and I am less impulsive; those should be obvious consequences. I also need less sleep, and I am more resilient in the face of a night or two of lost sleep. I feel worse, but I function far better.

[–] tdawg@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I only get that way if I have any after lunch. Coffee dehydrates you so it's important to be careful with it

[–] meco03211@lemmy.world -2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Coffee dehydrates you

I've heard this before but not sure I believe it. Coffee is mostly water. I think the reasoning is that it will trigger your body to urinate sooner than normal after consuming it. But this won't dehydrate you if you aren't urinating more than what you're consuming.

Is there some reputable source for that?

Edit: Found my own source. Seems like I was correct unless someone can proffer more substantial evidence.

https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/diet-nutrition/does-coffee-dehydrate-you

[–] tdawg@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's a weird argument to make. Many things are mostly water, like humans for instance. That said, you are more than welcome to experiment and do your own research if you find this implausible.

[–] meco03211@lemmy.world -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

But you aren't drinking humans or food. You still need to drink water outside of eating. No one would warn you that you could become dehydrated from eating a steak.

[–] tdawg@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Listen mate, I'm not a scientist. If you want to argue whether something does 'x' 'y' or 'z' thing then you really should be going elsewhere. This is a community for ADHD. I gave tips on how I manage my ADHD and some of the drawbacks of my particular method were brought up. I addressed those concerns to the best of my ability. If you would like to learn the scientific exact truth of something then you should be seeking an expert opinion. One that I cannot in fact offer. This is not the time or the place to be debating the qualities of watery-ness

[–] meco03211@lemmy.world -2 points 1 year ago

Yet you were the one to re-engage saying it was "a weird argument to make". If you don't know either say so or don't comment. Turns out coffee doesn't dehydrate you. I linked an article in my original comment. It's weird to try calling someone out for an argument you're wrong about, but here we are.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sea water is mostly water, do you doubt that it dehydrates you?

[–] meco03211@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Salt water extracts water from you because your liver can't process water that salty. So yes you would end up urinating more than you drink. If the same were true for coffee, you'd likely be told to stop drinking it or there'd be heavy recommendations to increase your normal water intake to counter the loss. Technically you could drink salt water as long as you supplement with much more regular water (ignoring the horrifically increased salt intake).

Salt water vs caffeine have very different mechanisms.

[–] MrPoopyButthole@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 year ago

After all that walking you must have a dream butt

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 year ago

I sulk for three or four months. That usually does it.

[–] Khanzarate@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Honestly the best thing I've done for my mornings isn't even a routine per se, it's just "No social media".

Texting is fine, texting does the social I forget. Getting distracted is fine, as long as it's something where I am and not a screen. Being bored is fine, when I'm bored I'm likely to try to think of things to do, which reminds me of the things I already have on my list to do.

I'm pretty bad at this rule, but the days I manage to stick to it are good days. I can have social media once I start the things I'm actually doing and have made some progress.

I just use a lot of phone alarms for stuff I absolutely cannot forget.

[–] Teodomo@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

What’s your reset routine?

I don't have one either but the place where I saw this gives this example: "meditation, exercise, journaling, playing music and making some tea"

[–] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 year ago

For every hacker and social engineer: Hello.

7am wake up, breakfast and tea, getting ready for work
8am or 8:30 am Commute. Depending if I do groceries on my commute to work or not.
9am work until lunch
lunch - 6pm commute home
7pm give or take arrive at home
Procrastinating tasks until 7:30 or 8pm
8pm Suddenly getting active. Either consuming media or browsing lemmy
11pm/12am Bedtime
Rinse and repeat Mo-Fr

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Just having got back on a normal time to wake up this morning when I have a fucked up sleep schedule I just force myself to stay awake until I am 8 hours from when I want to wake up. It usually works. Although, there are the times where I'll pass out at a reasonable time, but then wake up 14 hours later. And that actually feels so much worse than only getting 2-4 hours of sleep. Body just feels like shit after a sleep that long.

Having dogs helps with the routine. My routine is their routine. Up, dressed, potty for me, walk and potty for them, food for all.

[–] Teodomo@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I used to do that but as I get older it's harder to stay awake and just brute force it. I started using a sleep routine I found online that's basically: 1 hour before the time I want to fall asleep at I'll turn off all screens (computer, cellphone). Have a warm, relaxing bath. Optionally write in a paper whatever is in my head (like stuff to do tomorrow) so that I can take it out of my mind. Dim the lights if you can. Optionally meditate. Then read a book until it's the time I want to fall asleep at. Go to bed, if I didn't fall asleep in 20 mins then read for 30 min more and try again until eventually you fall asleep. Works pretty well and fixes my sleep schedule in a couple of nights (something unthinkable for me for most of my life).

But having that fixed doesn't magically help everything else. I find out that when I wake up at morning it's still dreadfully difficult to do whatever I'm supposed to do. That's why I'm looking for morning routines to help me just start doing it without getting distracted. And reset routines in case I do become unfocused so that I don't just straight up lose the rest of the day if possible.

[–] krellor@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

I don't know if it will help you, but I worked to develop the habit of putting everything i need to do on a calendar and then doing what my calendar tells me. So if I want to get a paper or a presentation made the next morning, I will put it on my calendar with a realistic time block like 9-11. In the morning my routine is get up, bathroom, vitamins, hair, exercise routine (walking or short exercise routine from my phone app), coffee. Critically, I don't have the coffee until it is time to sit down and work, so I sit down to my with with the French press and start working. That usually sets me up for a good productive morning.

[–] BenLeMan@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

I don't have a morning routine (although I probably should have one) but setting an alarm and getting up when it sounds is working quite well for me. To reset my brain, I take naps. Sometimes several a day, although they are mostly short (30min). Here, too, setting an alarm helps.