Happy New Year, friends, and welcome to 2018. How are those resolutions going?
Keeping a resolution up for a couple days is generally pretty doable, but most of us have been through that mid-January lull when they start to drop off. It happens — a lot. Particularly when we get into the mindset that a slip is a failure is a reason to quit, a mindset Dr. B just recently eviscerated.
In this video, How to ADHD explains one way to get better at sticking to resolutions: focus your efforts on creating new routines that incorporate your resolution.
Routine building can be really helpful if you have issues with executive function, which generally come along with ADHD and ASD. Executive dysfunction can make planning, initiating and transitioning between activities extra challenging. But even if that isn’t your struggle, creating a routine can be a great way to turn goals into habits. By consistently pairing a new behavior with something you already do daily, the new behavior quickly starts to become automatic — and that can take you much further than hope and good intentions.
For example, if you’ve resolved to make your bed every day, you might pair it with getting dressed. Every time you get dressed, you make the bed. Repeat it enough, and the latter becomes as automatic as the former. This only works if your resolutions are specific and achievable, though, so if your resolution is less tangible, like “be kinder,” you may need to find another approach.
So check out the video, and nail your first goals for 2018. And remember, if you stumble along the way, it’s no big deal. Success isn’t a sign of never failing, it’s the result of picking yourself back up when you do.