Need structure in the morning

[Prairiefrontporch]

Would love to hear morning routines.. I’m a mom with adhd who needs a lot of sleep so nothing to early lol Thnx

[STEM_Dad]

My morning routine isn't good. I wake up on time, but I'm barely functioning and have no motivation.

Then, when I realize I'm running late, I get up in a panic and rush though shower and breakfast, and then I feel bad on my long commute because of my lateness.

I think I have a delayed circadian rhythm. It got worse when I moved and changed time zones.

~~~

I hope that somebody here has a good morning routine that might be inspiring.

[Prairiefrontporch in reply to STEM_Dad]

Thanks. I seem to always be getting up later than I planned too. I feel like if I could conquer that, and have a better start to the day , I would be a lot better off.

[Crocket2030]

I hear you loud and clear. Living with ADHD as an adult is extremely challenging. It is a daily fight to control all that is around you, and all that is not around you. As a parent with ADHD, I understand and feel for you. Whatever time you wake up, the key that works fore is to wake up at least 30 minutes before your kids wake up. This way YOU ARE IN CONTROL of the day. Not the world around me.

I am a morning person, so for example my kids have to be out of the house by 6:30 a.m. So to make sure I have control, not my ADHD. I am up 1 hour before hand. That works for me. 30 minutes or 45 minutes may work better for you.

To do that, waking up 30 to 60 minutes in advance of my children waking up. I set two alarms each 15 minutes apart and I make sure that I get up on the second alarm. In the beginning I used to make sure my 2nd alarm was not within arms reach. I had to get out of bed to turn it off. No matter what!

As a person who has ADHD my internal conversation with myself doesn't allow me to fail them by failing to get them to school on time.

In that time, that's 60 minutes for me. I do things step by step .

1. I first get showered and dressed.

2. I make sure that my kids are showered and dressed.

3. I make us breakfast. It doesn't matter if it is something as simple as scrambled eggs or a bowl of cereal.

4. Make sure lunch's are made and ready. 5. Make sure Backpacks are loaded, charged laptops, notebooks, school books, etc.

6. Take the kids to school.

Hopefully this post helps you with a better idea of what a routine could look like for you. This is just one example of daily routine that I do on a daily basis and have been doing for a long time compensate and assist with my ADHD.

[Doomann]

Hi Prairiefrontporch

Test my dyslexia much?

I'm graveyard so typically wake-up to my wife unconsciously kicking me in her sleep she will raise her leg high in the air then let come down like a hammer usually get up about an hour early say 530 pm then I start my wake-up routine before work I rub her back down with hemp lotion and tiger balm get her back to sleep and then immediately take my adderall then I go have my morning pot of coffee, play video games for about an hour and a half then get the wife up maker her coffee get her dressed give her oxygen, insulin, ice water and edibles (you know pot treats) for pain. Then make her lunch make my lunch take a shower and get dressed hand her our meal shakes for breakfast then out the door for work.

Thanks for reading

Doomann

[emiL1234]

I prepare at night like it's time to go to work. In the morning, I set my alarm clock a bit too early so I have time to chill in bed. I park at work early and look at stupid stuff on tik tok so I relax before work.

[FuzBuz]

My morning routine has been a work in progress for about a month. It's simple, but sometimes challenging to do consistently. I don't have kids, so not sure how helpful my routine might be to you, but ideally it looks like this:

- At 8pm the night before, I take my magnesium and 1mg melatonin supplements with the intent to be in bed by 10 (advice from my sleep doctor since my natural circadian rhythm is 12-8/9)

- Up at 6, take vyvanse

- Open blinds and turn lights on low level in my office area (I work from home)

- Either write in my journal if I have something to say, or read whichever graphic novel I'm reading at the time

- On weekends or particularly busy weekdays, I'll use my journal to organize my day, triaging my tasks so that the most important things get done first

- Work starts at 7

- Somewhere between 7 and 8, I'll make coffee using my kettle and french press. This was the foundation of my routine. I accidentally discovered I enjoy ritualistic coffee making, and so I built the rest of my morning routine around it. Even if I miss every other step in my routine, this one stays consistent

- I finish with some basic stretches and body warmups as maintenance for my chronic pain and the fact I work at a desk

My biggest challenge (after quality of sleep) is mustering the willpower to get up and stay up. Pretty much my whole life I've relied on the anxiety of missing something or letting others down to spring me out of bed. I'm really trying to focus now on the fact that I want to be up early and do these things for myself. Based off my experience, the only advice I can give is to build a morning routine around a really stable morning-based pattern of yours, if you have one. And if you don't, envisioning your ideal morning might help you create one.

[sophiebrodie]

Let me just say first, I am not a mom. I am a student, so it may be really different. I don't know your normal morning.

A few things that help me:

*"Link" things! For example, leave your keys by your pills (if you take them). That way, when you get your keys, you see your pills and think, "Oh right my pills!"

*Shower at night. It saves you time, and (at least for me) helps me wind down. It doesn't majorly affect the way your hair looks, but make sure you dry it first.

*Get to sleep earlier, if possible. I do 8pm, 9pm on a work day/weekend. It makes getting up easier. You can put your kids to sleep earlier, if you'd like (IDK their age.) Everyone should get sleep!

*If you commute with your car, try the app Waze. It gives accurate times of when you'll be there, and shows alternate routes to get around traffic. Put it on so you'll know when you have to leave for work to get there on time.

*Work backwards (this helps me a lot). If you have fifty million things to do, get a piece of paper and list them all out. Put the time you need to leave for work at the bottom. Give each item a reasonable amount of time to do it. Stack it all up, and you'll see when you should wake up, and what time to do things. Set up alarms on your phone that say "dishwasher" or "make lunch" at that time.

*Help your kids be more self-sufficient, if that's possible. Teach them to make their own lunch (don't let it just be candy, though...), do some of the chores, whatever is appropriate for their age. It takes time off of your hands, and teaches them responsibility. IDK, I'm not a parent, this is how I was raised.

Hope this helps!