A simple ADHD daily routine that takes ten minutes

Most ADHD daily routines look great on Monday and are gone by Wednesday. Too many steps. Too many apps. Too much to remember, which is funny when you think about it.

The one I've kept is ten minutes a day, split in two. I open the day, and I close it. That's it.

Why two check-ins beat a full plan

A full plan asks you to decide everything up front. My brain doesn't work that way. Two short check-ins do the opposite. They meet me at the start and at the end, and my assistant carries the rest in between.

I think of it like a crew running a ship. The watch opens, the watch closes, and everything that happened goes in the log. Nothing gets left behind, because everything lives in one place.

The opening: five minutes when you start

You tell your assistant it's time to open the day. Then it:

1. Tells you what day it is and what's on.
2. Reminds you where you left off.
3. Points at anything that has been sitting too long.
4. Asks what one thing would make today feel worthwhile.

One thing. Not a list. For me, the best part is step two. Every session starts by reading yesterday's notes, so I never have to explain my life twice.

The closing: five minutes when you're done

This is the one that matters most, and the one people skip.

• What got done?
• What didn't, and why? No judgement, just the record.
• Did anything new turn up that needs writing down?

Then it all goes in today's note. Everything my assistant knows about my life, it knows because a closing wrote it down. That's why the next morning picks up right where I left off.

My day ends when I say it does

Here's rule four, and I care about it a lot. My assistant never tells me to go to bed. It never tells me to stop, and it never says "leave it for tomorrow". I keep odd hours, and some nights, fixing it at eleven is the right call.

The closing happens when I decide the day is done, not when a clock says so.

What if you miss a few days?

You will. I have. Don't try to rebuild the missing days; that's guesswork, and guesswork in your notes is worse than a gap. Just tell your assistant you've been away and ask it to help you pick back up.

The gap is fine. That's rule seven: remember the bonfire.

What to do next

Tonight, before you're done, try the closing. Three questions: what got done, what didn't, and what's new. Write the answers in one place. Tomorrow morning, read them first.

This is my own experience, not a doctor's advice. The kit has both check-ins written out, ready to use.