The essentials
A calm starting point
- A minimal routine serves a purpose, rather than just removing arbitrary steps.
- Two or three core steps with a clear starting point are often enough.
- Standard and extra versions can add to it without invalidating the smaller ending.
01
What separates a minimal routine from a makeshift solution
Deliberately define a useful smaller version in advance. On a demanding day, you do not first have to decide what still counts.
It has an ending of its own
The routine ends after the last core step. You can add extras, but completion does not depend on suddenly finding more energy.
It protects a specific function
For example, the evening routine ensures medication is taken and the next morning is prepared. Its purpose determines which steps remain core.
It is allowed on ordinary days too
You do not have to save the minimal routine for a crisis. A busy day of appointments or shifts is an equally valid reason to choose the smaller sequence.
02
Build the smaller version with four decisions
Start from the purpose and visible ending, rather than the complete wish list, and work backwards.
1. Write its purpose in one sentence
For example: ‘After this routine, I can safely go to bed’ or ‘I can leave home with the essentials’. Avoid goals such as ‘Get my life under control’.
2. Choose essential steps
Choose at most three actions without which the purpose would not be met. Self-care and safety come before cosmetic improvements.
3. Make the first step smaller
Starting should be possible without more planning. ‘Get ready’ becomes ‘Get water’ or ‘Open the bag and put the keys inside’.
4. Visibly separate extras
Put standard and extra steps under their own headings. They remain available without quietly becoming conditions for a successful ending again.
03
Test the routine on real days with little capacity
A sequence can look minimal on paper and still ask too much at the moment that matters. Test it where you need it.
Observe time and decisions
Measure more than minutes. Also count points where you had to search for materials, choose an order or work out what a next step meant in practice.
Make the trigger visible
Connect the routine to an event or object that actually appears. A small routine you need to actively remember remains hard to find.
Avoid a later penalty
If you only complete the core, there is nothing to catch up on the next day. The standard version is an option for another day, rather than an outstanding debt.
A practical example
Example: an evening routine in three sizes
Its purpose is to get to bed safely and avoid having to improvise the next morning entirely.
- Trigger
- After your last bathroom visit, stay in the bathroom for the next step
- Minimal
- Medication, brush teeth, check alarm
- Standard
- Minimal, plus prepare clothes and bag for tomorrow
- Extra
- Reset the kitchen and read for ten minutes
- Valid ending
- After checking the alarm, the minimal routine is complete
Scope and reliable sources
This page combines lived experience with general information. It does not replace diagnosis or treatment. Official health information is available from the German federal guides on ADHD and autism.
Written by Max Anton Schneider, founder of meinsystem.app. About Max
Sources for the background information
- NIMH: ADHD in adults ↗Overview of possible difficulties with planning, organization, time management and finishing tasks.
Published and reviewed on · About the author