Welcome to Momentum Monday on a Sunday! đ„ł
(We gotta start today to get momentum for tomorrow! đ)
Yes, this email is a little long. Take 5 minutes to read it and start taking back control of your week. The empowerment is worth it, I promise!
This is your weekly dose of inspiration and practical strategies to kick-start your week and get the ball rollin’!
This email series is meant to be a gentle nudge, helping you find those little sparks of momentum you need to get in the groove. Whether it’s a handy hack, a practical strategy, a new tool, or a thought-provoking idea, my aim is to empower you to navigate your week with a bit more ease and a lot more confidence. We’re not looking to make massive, overnight changes (which, let’s be real, is super unrealistic for most of us)âwe’re just looking to take those first small steps, no matter if you’re ready to conquer the week or just barely rolling out of bed.
To open this series, weâre focusing on something that might not seem obvious at first but is super powerful: the 5pm-9pm habits that shape how smoothly (or chaotically) your 9am-5pm runs. This is always the first line of defense I recommend to fellow ADHDers who are constantly waking up with feelings of overwhelm, anxiety and dread! Iâm taking inspiration from James Clearâs Atomic Habits to show how small actions in the evening can set you up for success the next day.
Want to dive deeper into your specific “brand” of ADHD?
Why Brain Dumping/Night Before Prepping?
For a lot of us, mornings can feel like a whirlwind on a good day and a straight up hurricane on a bad day, with thoughts racing, decisions piling up, and a general sense of overwhelm before we even get started. That’s where brain dumping and prepping the night before shows up to save the f*cking day – literally! When you offload your thoughts and prep your essentials the night before, you’re giving your brain a much-needed break from having to hold onto all those little loose ends.
Here’s why it works:
Clears Mental Clutter/Helps Reduce Anxiety: Brain dumping before bed helps clear out the mental “junk drawer” of random thoughts, to-dos, and worries that can make it hard to relax or sleep. Once itâs written down, your brain can stop holding onto it.
Reduces Morning Overwhelm: By prepping in the evening, youâre saving yourself from having to make a ton of decisions when you’re still waking up. This reduces decision fatigue and gives you more energy to focus on what really matters.
Creates a Smoother Start: When youâve laid out your clothes, packed your bag, and prepped your essentials, you remove those “Oh no, where are my keys?!” moments. This creates a calmer, more controlled start to your day and bonus – starts to build self trust.
Builds Momentum for the Day: Starting your morning with a âplan-ishâ and less stress sets a positive tone, helping you get into a groove more easily. It’s like setting up a mini-win before your day even begins, which can boost your confidence and productivity.
Brain dumping and night-before prepping are simple, quick actions, but they can have a huge impact on how smoothly your mornings (and ultimately your whole day) flow.
Side note: when you start doing this it will feel unfamiliar and even maybe a bit infantile. Keep doing it anyway. The more you do it the less of a pain in the ass it will be and the more “this is just what I do” it will become.
Key Evening Habits to Implement
Brain Dump the Bones of Your Day
Before you head to bed, take a few minutes to dump all the random thoughts, to-dos, and worries rattling around in your head. Then take a look specifically at the “to-dos” but only for tomorrow. Once you can see your options, then pick 3 key things you would like to tackle the next dayâyour “bones of the day.” Everything else is overflow and you can fill in the lesser important tasks between the tasks you have deemed to be a priority, or just move them along to later in the week when you have more capacity/energy. It’s a way to give your brain permission to offload the mental clutter so you donât wake up completely overwhelmed and not knowing where to start because there are too many options. Having this âplan-ishâ already laid out can give you the momentum you need to stay out of ADHD paralysis.
Tip: Keep a notepad or use your phone to jot down these key items. Don’t worry about being super detailedâjust capture the main things that you’d feel really good about getting done tomorrow. Also…BE REALISTIC.
Set Out Your Clothes for Tomorrow
This might seem super simple, but decision fatigue is real, especially in the morning when youâve got 10 other things on your mind. Choosing what to wear the night before removes one more decision from your morning load.
Tip: Check the weather so youâre not scrambling for a raincoat when youâre already running late!
Prep Your Morning Essentials
Anything you can do the night before to make your morning easier is a win. This could be laying out your keys and bag by the door, prepping your coffee machine, filling your water bottle, or putting your lunch together. Little things like this may seem insignificant, but they add up to a smoother, more streamlined morning.
Set Clear Intentions for Your Morning Routine
Having a mini-plan for how you want your morning to go can help reduce that groggy “where do I even start?” feeling, that can easily lead to doing nothing, aka ADHD paralysis. Whether itâs “make coffee, journal for 5 minutes, and walk around the block” or something as simple as “brush teeth, make breakfast, and get dressed,” set a few non-negotiable, âmomentum tasksâ to get the ball rolling.
Action Item:
Tonight, take 5-10 minutes to brain dump your “bones of the day,” lay out your clothes, and prep one morning essential (like your keys, bag, water bottle or coffee). Youâll be amazed at how these tiny actions can help make your morning feel so much smoother.
Tip: Catch the Cue, aka catch when your brain lies to you and says âitâs fine, I can just do it in the morning, Iâll wake up a few minutes earlier.â No you wonât. Itâs a lie and itâs likely a pattern that is keeping you stuck. Do it the night before when there isnât so much pressure. And try to do it 5 out of 7 days for at least a full week. This leads to more self trust, which is a whole other topic. đ
These small evening habits are your secret weapon for less stress/overwhelm and more chill in the morning!
OK. Now you’ve got a piece of what you need to make tomorrow just a little bit easierâso tonight, take 5-10 minutes to brain dump, prep, and set yourself up for a smoother start. It wonât be perfect because perfect doesnât exist and actually sets us up to fail, but itâs moving the needle towards making life a little less chaotic, one step at a time, by doing something that is actually in your control.
Iâd love to hear from youâwhatâs one thing youâre going to try tonight to help your tomorrow run smoother? Hit reply and let me know! And if youâre ready to take a deeper look into strategies like these to better manage your ADHD, feel free to book a free call with me. Letâs make life a little more manageable, together.
I’m also launching another cohort of my 6 week group coaching program, ADHD Academy, starting the second week of October. (Ladies only for now). If you’re interested take a look or shoot me a message and we’ll get things sorted!
Until next time,
Leah đ¶ïž