ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by symptoms such as inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Establishing and maintaining a routine is crucial for individuals with ADHD, especially during the summertime when regular schedules are disrupted due to school breaks, vacations, and other changes. Here’s why maintaining a routine remains essential for all age groups:
1. Structure and Predictability
- Reduces Anxiety: Summer can be full of unexpected activities and changes in schedule, leading to increased anxiety for people with ADHD. A consistent routine provides structure and predictability, reducing stress and helping them feel more secure.
- Improves Focus: Knowing what to expect daily helps individuals with ADHD focus better on tasks without being overwhelmed by the chaos of a less structured summer.
2. Time Management
- Helps Prioritize: Even without the regular school or work schedule, routines help prioritize activities, making it easier to manage time effectively.
- Avoids Procrastination: Breaking tasks into smaller, manageable parts and scheduling them throughout the day can help prevent procrastination, even during the laid-back summer months.
3. Consistency in Daily Activities
- Regular Sleep Patterns: Maintaining a routine ensures consistent sleep patterns, which are crucial for cognitive function and mood regulation, regardless of school or work being out.
- Healthy Habits: Establishing routines around meals, exercise, and other self-care activities promotes overall well-being, essential during the less structured summer period.
4. Increases Productivity
- Task Completion: A structured routine helps in completing tasks more efficiently by reducing distractions and maintaining focus, even during summer.
- Goal Setting: Routines assist in setting and achieving both short-term and long-term goals, such as summer reading lists, projects, or work-related tasks.
5. Behavioral Management
- Reduces Impulsivity: Having a routine can minimize impulsive behaviors by providing clear guidelines on what to do and when to do it, crucial when usual behavioral cues from school or work are absent.
- Reinforces Positive Behaviors: Consistent routines can reinforce positive behaviors through regular practice and reinforcement, helping maintain discipline during summer.
6. Enhanced Academic and Work Performance
- Study and Work Habits: Routines help in establishing consistent study and work habits, leading to better performance when school or work resumes.
- Deadline Management: Routine helps in managing deadlines and reducing last-minute rushes, even for summer assignments or chores.
Strategies to Establish and Maintain a Routine During Summer
- Create a Schedule:
- Use planners, calendars, or apps to create a daily and weekly schedule, even for summer days.
- Include all activities, from waking up to bedtime, including summer camps, playtime, meals, and leisure activities.
- Set Priorities:
- Identify and prioritize tasks based on importance and deadlines, including summer reading or projects.
- Break larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps to fit into the daily routine.
- Use Reminders:
- Set alarms or reminders for tasks and appointments to stay on track, helping maintain a sense of responsibility.
- Incorporate Flexibility:
- Allow some flexibility in the routine to accommodate summer fun and unexpected changes, avoiding rigidity while maintaining structure.
- Involve Support Systems:
- Seek support from family, friends, or therapists in establishing and maintaining routines, ensuring consistency even during family vacations or trips.
- Regular Review and Adjustments:
- Periodically review the routine to make necessary adjustments based on changing summer activities and needs.
- Reward System:
- Implement a reward system for adhering to the routine to reinforce positive behavior and maintain motivation.
A Personal Example
From my own experience as a mother and wife of ADHDers, and as one myself, routines (albeit one of the most challenging to establish) are a crucial component of navigating your day successfully. As a family, we maintain our bedtimes, wake times, meal times, and medication management during the summer months, even while on vacation, and relax a bit when we are out of town. I also know how a change in routine can cause lots of stress and anxiety. My daughter is now 17 years old, and we have embarked on the college search process. While daunting to say the least, the visits require attentiveness and patience as we traipse through campus after campus. All of the visits are discussed ahead of time and added to a Google calendar invite so that we know what our week looks like before it begins. We take into consideration the time of day when scheduling, and the earlier the better for us. In March and April, we discussed what our summers would look like so that we own our schedule instead of it owning us. We know what it’s like as a family to freak out when you’ve missed a doctor’s appointment because it never made it’s way onto our calendar. We aren’t perfect at it and sometimes balls get dropped, but we celebrate our wins and give ourselves grace in the tough moments.
By following these strategies, individuals with ADHD can benefit from a routine’s stability and structure, leading to improved daily functioning and overall quality of life, even during the dynamic summer months.