What Consistency Actually Looks Like with ADHD
Redefining consistency for the ADHD brain. Grace over guilt, rhythm over routine.
I had a “good ADHD day” this morning… until it suddenly wasn’t.
I woke up, made pancakes.
Showered. Brushed. Flossed.
Already I was off to the races!
Got dressed and smashed out some content around my side Hussle football x faith.
I was focused, aligned, and ticking boxes.
Then suddenly… I wasn’t.
I got stuck, lying on my bed, accepting defeat.
Frozen. Stuck. Guilty.
Not scrolling, not sleeping, not creating, just trapped in my own mind.
Eventually I took my second med and finally got back into a flow: brainstorming this newsletter, planning football training, re-engaging with what matters to me.
Even with taking that second med, sometimes shame can sneak in and hit when you least expect it.
But here’s the thing…
Before that reset, I felt broken.
I thought, “Why can’t I just stay consistent?”
What does consistency actually look like with ADHD?
Most of us were taught that consistency = doing the same thing every day without fail.
Same habits.
Same schedule.
Same outcomes.
But for an ADHD brain, that model doesn’t hold. Not because we’re lazy or incapable—but because our energy, focus, and dopamine don’t run in a straight line.
We run in rhythms.
The ADHD Rhythm Model:
1. Hyperfocus Sprint’s
We hyperfocus. We go deep. We get things done in bursts. Like my morning.
2. Dopamine Drop’s
The dopamine dips. Our brain stalls. We freeze. Like my mid-day crash.
3. The Reset
This is the turning point. Whether it’s a med, movement, worship, or a micro-win—it helps us shift.
4. The Return
Not back to perfection. Back to momentum.
Real ADHD consistency = returnability.
It’s not about staying “on” every day.
It’s about building systems that let us return without shame.
Because let’s be real—we will fall off.
The real question is: what happens next?
What happens when we do fall off?
Do we stay down and let shame and guilt win?
Or do we lean on grace and rhythm?
Good ADHD Day vs Bad ADHD Day
What This Table Really Means
This table isn’t here to label your days as “good” or “bad” in a moral sense.
It’s here to show the contrast we often experience living with ADHD.
Sometimes we wake up ready to go, we flow, we feel sharp, we get things done.
Other days, we hit a wall.
Everything feels too hard. We disappear into avoidance or shutdown mode. We wonder, what’s wrong with me?
But here’s the truth.
Nothing is wrong with you.
You’re not two different people—you’re just experiencing two sides of the same ADHD rhythm.
The goal isn’t to avoid the “bad” days forever.
It’s to stop judging them and to build systems that let us return from them with gentleness and trust.
Not with shame and guilt.
Because even your “bad” day is still worthy of grace.
But here’s the truth:
You are not your energy levels.
A “bad” day doesn’t undo who you are.
Your value doesn’t rise and fall with your output.
Bad days aren’t proof that you’re failing.
They’re proof that you need systems that forgive. Systems that give you grace not shame.
What’s helped me:
Forgiveness > Shame
Guilt keeps me frozen. Grace gets me moving.
Rhythm > Routine
I work better when I stop trying to copy-paste yesterday productivity.
Micro-wins
On bad days, brushing my teeth counts. Opening the laptop counts.
The 10 Minute ADHD CONSISTENCY RESET RITUAL (THAT I ACTUALLY USE)
In this week’s premium post, I walk you through my exact 10-minute ADHD Reset Ritual—the one I use to gently get back on track when my brain shuts down.
Inside, you’ll get:
The step-by-step ritual ↗️
A printable ADHD Reset graphic ⟲
A voice note walkthrough note 🎤
A bonus reflection rooted in faith ✝
👉 Unlock it by clicking Subscribe below.
(paid subscribers only - Free subscribers click upgrade to unlock the reset ritual premium post)
Final thoughts
ADHD consistency doesn’t always look like routines, streaks, or perfect productivity.
Some days, being consistent is:
Taking your meds
Getting out of bed (even late)
Brushing your teeth
Giving it a go, even when your brain’s offline
Falling off—and still choosing to return the next day
Consistency for us isn’t about doing it every day.
It’s about always finding a way back—no matter how many times we fall off.
If all you did today was take your meds and try—that counts.
You don’t have a consistency problem.
You just have an ADHD brain trying to live in a world that punishes fluctuation.
Let’s build a different way.
Question for you?
Where in your life is God inviting you to rise again, gently and without shame?
If you don’t believe in God:
What would it look like to offer yourself the same grace you’d give someone you love?
Faith Anchor
“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again.”
— Proverbs 24:16 (NIV)
God never expected you to never fall.
He just asks that you rise again—with Him.
💌 So If you found value in todays newsletter and want more ADHD tips and motivation straight to your inbox? Hit subscribe ITS FREE! to stay in the loop with strategies designed for ADHD minds.
P.S. If you found this newsletter valuable, consider sharing it with a friend who’s also navigating ADHD and struggling with consistency. It might be exactly what they need today.
Thanks for reading
Luke
ADHDInsights
I’ve found embracing nested novelty is one of the best ways to create consistency.
So say you wanted to do an action consistently everyday, such as write a blog post.
Now most people don’t want to just do the outcome consistently. They want to do the actions that create that outcome consistently. They want a consistent system. So creating a blog post for them is 10 step processes that never changes.
Now this where I find I and ADHDers fall down. We rage against this systematic ball and chain. We fight and we squirm in order to shake it off. We don’t like doing things the same way twice. We need novelty.
So I’ve found it about nesting novelty in the consistent outcomes you want to achieve.
So say you apply nested novelty to writing a blog post. Every day you might right a blog post but you might use a slight different or dramatically different system every day to achieve that. Yes, you’ll get slight inconsistent quality output, but you’ll have consistent volume output.
I’ll give you an example of how I use this to stick to exercise. I’ve always struggled to stick to resistance trading. Most people have a fixed checklist of exercises they do each day.
But I have a pick’n’ mix checklist. I have something 20-30 exercises I like doing on a list. I then say on the Monday pick the 10 most effective. Then maybe on the Wednesday I’ll pick 7 of the most effective and 3 others I just enjoy. Then on Friday I’ll pick randomly or as I feel like.
This still lets me consistently do resistance training each week. But I still get lots of novelty.
Anyway, sorry for the essay. I hope this helps.
Thank you - this is a great article that nails the consistency challenges of our different brains. I only learned about my ADHD (I got it bundled with Autism as a freebie) about two years ago, and I’m still unlearning a couple of decade’s worth of neurotypical expectations of myself.
I think the daily fluctuations are the most difficult, but I’m doing well with the longer-term fluctuations. For instance, I seem to have a hyper-productive few weeks where I create months of content, which I use scheduling tools to spread out over the following months.
So I am consistent, you just have to look at it on a macro level, not a micro. This post made me think about how I could apply the same thinking and understanding to my day-to-day fluctuations, too.