ADHD routines that last

By Stephan Eberle · Updated October 8, 2026

This page explains how I think about habits and how Mitia works. It is not medical advice and doesn't replace diagnosis or treatment.

A few years ago I set out to learn Getting Things Done, GTD for short, in a training course through my employer. On paper the method looks made for ADHD. It just never became a habit for me, and at some point I gave up. Back then I didn't even know I had ADHD. So it was simply one more frustration, lined up behind all the others.

Most routine advice assumes you only need to decide properly once. Gym in the morning, reading at night, done. With ADHD it rarely works like that. Not because the will is missing, but because there are more places where the path from intention to action can snap.

Why routines break differently with ADHD

On average, ADHD comes with difficulties in what are called executive functions: starting things, staying with them, planning, switching between tasks. A large review of 83 studies found clear differences with medium effect sizes, while also showing that no single weakness explains ADHD in everyone (Willcutt et al. 2005). That fits the experience that the same routine runs smoothly one day and not at all the next.

Then there's a second pattern many people with ADHD know well: all or nothing. One missed day feels like a failed plan, and one missed day quietly becomes two weeks.

What habit research actually says

The best-known study followed 82 people for twelve weeks, each building one new habit. It took a median of 66 days until the behaviour felt automatic, 18 days for some people and 254 for others (Lally et al. 2010). Two things from that study matter more to me than the number:

• The range is huge. If you're not there after three weeks, you're not behind. You're normal.
• Missing a single day didn't meaningfully set habit formation back. Losing a streak is mostly a feeling, not a step backwards.

Start smaller than feels worthwhile

A routine that only works on good days won't hold. Start so small that it still works on a bad one: two minutes of tidying instead of the whole flat, one page instead of a chapter. More is a bonus, not a new obligation.

Tie the routine to a moment that happens anyway

One simple technique is well studied: decide in advance, as an if-then sentence. "When I've poured my morning coffee, I take my meds." A review of 94 studies found that plans like this clearly improve how often people follow through, with a medium to large effect (Gollwitzer & Sheeran 2006). The situation reminds you of the action, so you don't have to decide again each time.

With ADHD this helps twice, because the anchor can't be forgotten. The coffee happens anyway.

This is exactly what works for me: small, simple things, the same every day. I get up at the same time each morning, and the first moves never change. Let the cat out, switch on the coffee machine, put the kettle on for the kids' tea, wake the kids. Always in that order.

What a routine app should and shouldn't do

Tracking progress helps people stick with things. A review of 138 studies found that people who regularly check their progress reach their goals more often, especially when they write it down or tell someone (Harkin et al. 2016). So an ADHD routine app can genuinely help. But only if what it shows doesn't work against you:

• Partial days have to count. A tick only knows done and not done. Mitia uses a scale from 0 to 5, so two minutes is a 2.
• No counter that resets to zero. A broken streak makes coming back harder, not easier.
• Forgotten days can be filled in. Otherwise the gap in the chart is louder than the week you actually had. In Mitia that's the month calendar.
• Reminders that don't nag. One nudge at a time you chose, not a pile-up of red badges.

Plan for the relapse instead of preventing it

There will be weeks when nothing runs. Illness, holidays, a low. The question isn't whether that happens, but how easy it is to come back. Keep the routine small enough that the first day back isn't a feat, and let the record show what you did rather than what you missed.

When routines aren't enough

Routines and habits are a tool, not a treatment. If everyday life keeps not working, that belongs with professionals who can diagnose and treat ADHD. In the UK, NICE describes how diagnosis and management should look (NICE NG87).