We are creatures of routine. Routines and habits help us to feel safe, get tasks done, and contribute toward our self-esteem. If most people have a goal in mind, they will adopt behaviours and plan toward creating the habit, keeping it consistent. Even though we all are guilty of starting and not sticking to things at times, for those with ADHD, this is a continuous challenge and one that needs just as much effort as carrying out the habit itself.

With a new year right in front of us, many people like to start it with new habits and ways of working to achieve goals; this can be incredibly daunting for those with ADHD, which is why we have created the guide below to help build strategies not only to help create a new habit but to keep up with consistency.

Why Building New Habits and Routines is so Challenging with ADHD

Making and sustaining new habits is incredibly difficult for the ADHD brain to comprehend, this is mainly down to the executive functioning of the brain. The executive functions control the frontal lobe area and are responsible for skills such as organisation, working memory, focus, and attention. These don’t work like a neurotypical person’s executive functions do, which leads us to often become overstimulated and overwhelmed very quickly.

Many individuals may get overwhelmed by where to start and cannot break the habit into manageable chunks. They may get bored by the habit too quickly and cannot find the enthusiasm to keep going, or they may have ADHD paralysis and feel the steps in front of them are so vast that they cannot even make a start.

All of this can make forming new habits difficult when you have ADHD, as forming a new habit that sticks requires long periods of focus, attention, and consistency.

Strategies to Adapt in 2025 to Build a New Habit

That’s not to say that forming new habits is off the cards for someone with ADHD. There are numerous strategies you can adopt to help make not only forming your habit successful but sticking with it for years to come. Below are seven strategies you can adopt from a trusted ADHD clinic.

Understand Why You're Creating Your Habit.

This first point you will have likely already grasped, as it probably came from a place of frustration and empowerment. Understand why this new habit means so much to you, what it will give you now and into the future, how creating this habit makes you feel, and why that’s important. Now make it visual so you can’t miss why you’re doing it every day. You could take a photo, write it down, create a chart, or anything that will create inspiration when you need it most.

Get Specific About What Your Habit is.

Decisions are difficult for the ADHD brain, so in order to remove as much decision-making as possible, understand specifically what the defined action of your habit is. It could be that you want to prioritise your sleep, so instead of your habit being “get a better night’s sleep”, it could be all the actions around it that will support you in getting a better night’s sleep. This could be:

• Get into bed before 11 pm.

• Stop all screen time, TV, phones, and laptops, by 10 pm.

• Make a soothing cup of herbal tea at 10.30 pm.

Break Steps Down into Micro-Tasks.

Starting as small as possible is key to ensuring you create a lasting habit. A micro-task is the smallest possible task you can take toward accomplishing your goal, which helps reduce overwhelm. Don’t try and tackle the entire goal at once, break it down into manageable chunks. If your goal is to build muscle, your first micro-task could be to place your weight-lifting gloves and water bottle by the door every night, ensuring that when you leave to lift weights, you have reduced the decision-making time of finding your gloves and filling your water bottle.

Take it One Step at a Time.

Don’t try to create too many habits at once, which can be difficult when we start a new year. Making too many changes is a fast way to overwhelm and ADHD paralysis, meaning that nothing gets done. Make one new habit at a time, and once you find you have the habit ingrained into your brain and muscles, carry it out consistently, then it’s time to think about your next new habit.

Where You Can, Plan Ahead.

Obstacles can make carrying out habits difficult and even come to a standstill. Think through what your obstacles may be before you begin creating your habit and make a plan of how to overcome them so that when you inevitably come up against them, you can reduce your decision-making time and act on it. An obstacle could be that you want to start climbing 3 times a week, but going home after work, getting changed, and collecting what you need could mean that by the time you’re ready, you don’t want to head out of the door again. To overcome this obstacle, you could keep your change of clothes and climbing equipment in the car at all times.

Track Your Progress.

Breaking habits down into manageable tasks means you have a series of actions that you need to follow, which can be hard to keep track of. It can be helpful to use apps or trackers to keep track of which tasks you have completed and what needs to happen next, whilst also helping you to keep focused.

Keep Perfectionism in Check.

Perfectionist tendencies are common for those with ADHD and can often be the very first roadblock to getting started. Keep your new habit in sight at all times and focus on the process, not just the outcome. Evaluate what has worked and what hasn’t and go easy on yourself if you don’t meet your targets every day. It doesn’t mean you have failed and should give up; it means you are trying, and tomorrow is a new day to try again.

How to Build Consistency in Your Habits

The above strategies are a great way to establish your habit, and with a bit of hard work and as much focus as you can muster, along with willpower, we are sure that you can form your new habit and reap the benefits. The next step, however, and one that is particularly difficult for the ADHD brain is consistency. Luckily, we have five strategies to help with this also.

Make a Visual Plan of Action.

This step can link back to the first step in creating your habit and understanding why you are doing it. Make your plan physical so you can see it daily. Plan out the steps you need to take to meet your goal and when you should take them, being specific with the dates you want to meet each step. Include positive self-talk in your plan to keep you positive and motivated. Plan your work toward your new habit down to the finest details to ensure that you keep on track and place it somewhere visible that you know you will see every day.

 Limit Your Choices.

As mentioned previously, decision-making is an action that can stop progress in its tracks for the ADHD brain. If we have too many options to choose from chances are we will lose sight of the original habit we were working on. If your habit is to prioritise drinking more water, then practice making one choice: that you drink a glass of water at every mealtime rather than choosing how much you drink throughout the day. It’s important to keep a goal of how much you would like to drink, but focusing solely on that gives you too much decision-making time.

Piggyback off Other Positive Behaviours.

Think about other positive behaviours you have adopted and made into a habit and use these to mould your new habit. Sometimes called ‘hooking a habit,’ it involves linking your new habit with an already established one, such as if you wanted to take your vitamins every night before bed. You could do this by leaving them next to your toothbrush in the bathroom, so you see them as you’re brushing your teeth.

Continuously Assess Roadblocks.

This comes back to the obstacles we spoke about when forming your habit and you can’t be too meticulous about assessing which obstacles may be getting in the way of you keeping your habit consistent. Once you have assessed what the issue is, you can make a plan for how you will break through and proceed with your goals.

Create a Habit Loop.

Charles Duhigg coined the term “habit loop”, and it involves a cue to initiate a behaviour, the executions of the behaviour, and a reward, all of which help to support your new behaviour. Cues are incredibly important for those with ADHD, that initial something to spark motivation. This could be a post-it note or a phone alarm. The reward is also important for the lack of dopamine in the ADHD brain, and this can be anything that sparks joy for you, such as going for a walk and getting a coffee and pastry or running yourself a hot bath.

The start of a new year can feel incredibly daunting when you have ADHD and don’t know where to start with all the ideas and new experiences you want to try. The important thing is to not be too hard on yourself. Your brain works differently to that of others, so it’s not helpful to measure yourself against them. Would you ask a fish why it couldn’t fly or a tortoise why it couldn’t hurry a bit? Accepting yourself and understanding yourself is the very first step in creating habits. 

ADHD Assessment and Treatment at a Private ADHD Clinic in Manchester

If you suspect that you may have ADHD, our private ADHD clinic in Manchester is home to a clinical team with extensive experience and expertise in ADHD assessments and diagnosis. We offer a comprehensive pathway to ADHD assessment and diagnosis within four weeks or at the pace of your choosing. Our simple step-by-step process employs the three fundamental testing tools required to give the most accurate diagnosis.

If you would like to speak to one of our friendly and helpful team for a confidential chat, contact our private ADHD clinic in Manchester today or alternatively head over to our website and fill out a form so that we can contact you.