10 Micro Habits for Productivity ADHD Brains Really Love

I’m going to be real with you.

 

Do I have my life together? Absolutely not. But these tiny micro habits for productivity trick me (and sometimes my family, friends, neighbors, etc.) into thinking I do.

 

As a woman with ADHD, big routines are completely overwhelming. And the thought of starting a big routine makes me give up before it even begins.

 

Enter micro habits for productivity and actually getting things done. 

 

What are micro habits, you ask? Well, they are teeny, think microscopically small, doable actions that snowball into a “my life is semi-functioning” vibe.

 

Micro habits work because they:

• Make you feel amazing with quick dopamine wins.
• Require minimum effort and low decision-making.
• Help you to build momentum without a boulder’s worth of pressure on your back.

If you’re tired of trying to be productive but failing or procrastinating because the thought of being productive exhausts you, these micro habits are made for you.

 

 

 

What Are Micro Habits (and Why Do ADHD Brains Love Them)?

So what’s the difference between a habit and a *micro* habit?

 

To put it simply, micro habits = “barely-there” actions that deliver outsized benefits.

 

Micro habits are magic for ADHD because:

• Quick wins = an unbeatable dopamine hit.
• Low friction = increased likelihood that you’ll be more consistent and eliminates complicated routines.
• Small = accomplishing doable tasks, even on meltdown days.

For example, making your bed in an unofficial, not perfect way still totally counts (throwing the blanket over messily still gives the brain a sense of order).

 

 

 

 

 The 10 ADHD-Friendly Micro Habits for Productivity

 

 

 

1. Make Your Bed (Messy Counts)

Listen – there is a reason why make your bed is listed on all 16 trillion productivity articles, podcasts, and books.

 

It’s because *it works*. It’s a low lift way to start your day with a win (and boost your mental health) without doing too much.

 

Your bed doesn’t need to be made to Pinterest levels of perfect. Just quickly pulling the covers up to the head of the bed and smoothing out the creases does wonders.

 

Making your bed is an ADHD win because it instantly upgrades your environment and helps your busy brain to feel less chaotic, even temporarily.

 

Also, nothing beats the small comfort of getting into a made bed at the end of a hectic and finally finished day.

 

 

 

2. 1-Minute Tidy-Up Before Leaving a Room

When you think of cleaning up, does it make you want to run screaming out of your house?

 

If so, it’s because your brain is thinking that you’ll need to do it *all* for a cleaning session to be impactful.

 

Luckily, this isn’t true, and a 1-minute tidy up can do a lot more than you may realize.

 

Rather than planning to clean for hours (or days), try committing to doing a 1-minute tidy up before leaving a room.

 

This could be tossing trash, putting your shoes by the door, or throwing dirty laundry into the hamper.

 

This super-fast productivity hack for ADHD tricks your brain into thinking that you’re a responsible adult.

 

Even a spring clean starts with tiny wins.

 

And, hey, it may even be the catalyst for doing a deeper clean that your ADHD brain can tolerate.

 

 

 

3. Glance at Your Planner (No Pressure to Fill It In)

Two facts about me: 1. I buy a planner every year. 2. My planners collect dust (multiple times) throughout the year.

 

I know I’m not alone in this, but planners have a tendency to go unused if you don’t make specific efforts to use them.

 

To combat this, I highly recommend glancing at your planner every *single* day.

 

Even just opening the cover of the planner counts as glancing at it. You can get bonus points for actually using the planner to, well, plan.

 

For an ADHD hack, you can take it a step further and write one already-done thing inside for a micro dopamine hit and a brief moment of pride.

 

It’s a simple daily habit to start and springboard into productivity from.

 

 

 

4. Drink Water Before Coffee

Are you one of the one billion people who drink coffee every day? You likely are.

 

Do you make a concerted effort not to drink coffee before you drink water? Probably not.

 

Do yourself and your ADHD brain a favor and make your first sip of the day hydration before caffeine jitters.

 

Drinking water before coffee helps to make you more hydrated and helps to fight off the inevitable caffeine crash.

 

Hydration is a game-changer ADHD micro habit for an afternoon reset, too.

 

An easy hack – keep a water glass by the coffee machine or kettle. That way, it’ll be hard to forget to hydrate first.

 

 

5. Turn On a Favorite Playlist While Getting Ready

Music is a deeply underrated and underutilized tool.

 

If you’ve ever played music while you’ve cooked, cleaned, or gotten ready for a night out, you understand how a song (or ten) can completely change your mood and environment.

 

Use the crazy power that music has to change how you feel by turning on your favorite playlist while getting ready every morning (not just for a night out).

 

Music = a low-lift sensory cue that shifts your energy.

 

*Also* ADHD brains love pairing tasks with soundtracks. Work and bill-paying playlists, anyone?

 

 

 

6. Quick Skincare = Instant “Together” Vibes

Over the years, I’ve made the mistake of thinking that a skincare routine that doesn’t include 10 steps isn’t worth doing.

 

This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

 

In reality, when I followed a basic and quick skincare routine, it was just as effective (if not more) as the exhaustive one.

 

Do yourself a favor and eliminate the 10-step routine (or the thought that you need one).

 

Your skincare could be as simple as: splash water on your face (or use a gentle cleanser), rinse, moisturize, done.

 

Want to trick yourself into keeping your quick skincare going? Store basics in multiple spots (like the bathroom, your purse, and your desk).

 

 

 

7. Light a Candle (Or Switch On a Cozy Lamp)

I love lamps. Overhead lights scream ‘work.’ I avoid them whenever I can.

 

To make my space cozy, I manipulate the lighting.

 

Whether I use my beloved lamps or a candle or two, I use the sensory anchor of sight to change my mood and control my environment. I highly recommend using adjustable bulbs so that you can truly control your lighting (warm lights are everything).

 

For ADHD, you can use lighting to signal “work time” or “relax mode.”

 

Using a candle? The smell + light = a command to your brain that you’re resetting *now.* Like an evening routine, lighting cues can shift your energy fast.

 

 

 

8. Add One Thing to Your To-Do List You’ve Already Done

There’s few better feelings than checking something off on your to-do list, especially if you have ADHD.

 

Life gets busy. Well-intentioned plans fall through.

 

Because of this, I don’t *always* check items off my long, ambitious to-do list, so I reverse engineer it.

 

I regularly add one thing that I’ve already completed to my to-do list just to get the satisfaction of checking it off.

 

For example: Brushed teeth→ check; Walked outside for 10 minutes→ check, and so on.

 

Forgive me, but the dopamine hit still feels amazing. ADHD brains crave dopamine, so I “fake” the win. It still counts.

 

 

 

9. Lay Out Clothes the Night Before

Do yourself a favor. Stop spending precious minutes standing in front of your closet deciding what to wear every day.

 

One of the simplest and most effective micro habits for productivity is to figure out what you’re going to wear the night before. Take the step of laying out your clothes the night before.

 

Doing this practically erases morning decision fatigue (aka sifting through tens of shirts and bottoms for 12 minutes unnecessarily).

 

Even laying out sweatpants counts. Just do it the night before to reap the benefits.

 

Take it a step further and plan your outfits for the next few days (or week) to free up even more mental space.

 

 

 

10. Walk Around for 2 Minutes After Sitting Too Long

How often do you sit down and realize, hours later, that you haven’t moved?

 

I’ve had periods where I’ve been super sedentary (haven’t we all), and it’s *not* the best. Chalk it up to ADHD hyperfocus, which basically means forgetting that your body exists.

 

To overcome my tendency to sit and sit, I build two minutes of movement into each hour.

 

It prevents sitting too long, resets focus, boosts energy, and helps to lower restlessness.

 

Need a reminder? Consider setting an alarm or smart device to remind you to get up every so often.

 

 

 

The Takeaway

You don’t have to be a 5 AM routine person to “optimize” your routine.

 

Adding micro habits for productivity to different areas of your life can amount to sneaky yet effective wins that can make your ADHD feel much less chaotic and much more together.

 

Each tiny habit that you build translates to one brick in the semi-put-together wall of your life.

 

If you like micro habits, habit stacking makes them even easier.

 

Try adding one or two of these tips to your life as a start, and see if you don’t feel like your life feels a *tiny* but more “together.”

 

Pair these micro habits with quick mindset shifts for extra momentum.

 

Your ADHD brain and future self will thank you.