Amazing question—and the answer, of course, is different for everyone.

But I'll try to answer as efficiently as possible.

A break is any moment you take to recollect your thoughts, energy, or focus.

Yes, it's nice to have intentional breaks built into your schedule, but if you're neurodivergent, then it's most likely going to have to be intuitive.

Intuitive meaning depending on how you're feeling in the moment.

It's practically impossible to know if something is going to tire you out after 30 minutes or an hour on this upcoming Friday, you know? We just don't have that kind of foresight.

So, really, building in breaks into your schedule means not packing your day with a bunch of things do to.

For me, it usually means only timeblocking half the day with stuff to do, so that I can be sure everything will get done.

Personally, I don't include chores into my time blocks, but you can if you want to.

Personally, I do include my morning routine and nightly routine into my calendar, but not each individual task. It just gets one timeblock called "morning/nightly routine" with the task list as the description.

Throughout my day, I take breaks every 45 minutes or so—even if it's just to stop looking at the computer screen and think for a second.

Usually, though, I recommend getting up (if you can), drinking some water, and maybe doing a quick stretch/head roll/stim to release some excess energy.

It's all about knowing when you're hitting a wall.

That's when to take a break.

When you decide to come back is based on:

Which are all individual skills in and of themselves.

Taking breaks in a world that doesn't support neurodivergent minds is a complex problem, because there are multiple layers to sort through.

Give yourself the time (years), space (hour-by-hour), and grace (all the time) to figure it out.

Remember: Learning how to live takes a lifetime.

Literally the only difference between someone thinking I'm lazy & unmotivated vs. someone thinking I'm highly ambitious & focused is if they understand ADHD or not.

My Everyday Sensory Kit

I like to think I'm a pretty incognito neurodivergent person, though I'm definitely not trying to hide it.

I just think my neurodivergence isn't everything I bring to the table — but only when I take care of my neurodivergence first.

That's the Catch-22:

My neurodivergence is everything until it's taken care of.

So here's how I take care of my sensory sensitivities so that neurodivergence doesn't become my entire life.

1. Noise-Cancelling Headphones (Headgear)

At a whopping $250, my Sony WHMX4s are absolute life-savers.

I use my headgear turned off most of the time.

Yes, they double as headphones, but their primary use is keeping my sensory world calm even when the world around me is noisy and chaotic.

2. Water Bottle

My water bottle doubles as sensory gear, because it gives me something to hold onto.

Having a water bottle is acceptable is every circumstance, so my hands always have something to do.

When you’re fidgety like me, something to hold onto can be incredibly grounding.

3. My Meds!

I hope this one is obvious, but here’s what my meds help with:

They help a lot, to say the least.

4. Weed

I placed weed in a different category to make a point, but it technically falls under “my meds” for me, because it helps with everything I mentioned in meds.

5. Stim Toys

I keep toys on-hand pretty much 24/7.

Some would call it childish, but those people don’t understand the purpose:

Stim toys help me stop biting my nails, bouncing my legs, and looking anywhere but the person speaking.

6. Nintendo Switch

Speaking of toys, let’s talk about real toys: My Nintendo Switch.

My Switch is in my sensory kit because I use it to escape and calm down in stressful environments.

Even in the midst of a busy airport, if I have my headphones + Minecraft, I can be peaceful.

7. Hoodies

Hoodies keep my arms warm and shape boxy.

It’s hard to identify if I’m a girl or a boy in a large hoodie—which is exactly what I like.

They’re part of my sensory kit because hoods actually help my hearing sensitivity, and they double as great sun shields.

I'd love to know what's in your sensory kit!

A Very ADHD Morning Routine

Today, I published a newsletter about my ADHD morning routine, and I figured you might want to see it.

There's a few different versions, because I wanted to show how my routine adapted as I learned what worked for me and what didn't:

Here's what I learned:

Ultimately, ADHD is all about giving yourself grace to figure things out.

You won't get it right the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth time.

That's normal.

You're normal.

It's fine.

If you struggle to start things, lower the bar to make it fun.

Here’s a few examples:

Doesn’t have to be perfect try 1.

Just get yourself to try.

That’s what lowering the bar does.

It gets you to try.

An ADHDer's Worst Reasoning

"Well, I can’t think of a reason not to do it, so I guess I have every reason in the world to do it!"