If routines have ever felt like a setup—something you try for a day or two, then “fail,” then quietly abandon—this session was for you.

In our recent live, Dr. Jim Poole and David Mantica dug into why routines so often break down for ADHD brains… and how to build ones that actually work with a FastBraiin approach: fewer rules, more momentum, and a lot more self-compassion.

Below are the top takeaways—and if you’ve been stuck in the “I know what I should do…” loop, you’ll want to watch the full session. (More on that at the end.)

1) The all-or-nothing trap is the real routine killer

One of the biggest patterns we called out: if the routine can’t be done perfectly, it doesn’t get done at all.

That “all or nothing” mindset sounds like:

• “If I can’t do the full morning routine, why bother?”

• “If I missed a day, I ruined the streak.”

• “If my desk isn’t totally clean, it doesn’t count.”

But ADHD brains don’t thrive on perfection—they thrive on progress you can repeat.

The shift we emphasized:

• Partial completion is still completion.

• Two steps forward matters—even if you didn’t finish the whole list.

• Momentum beats intensity.

A simple example we talked through: cleaning a desk. If you clear part of it, the win is real. And the win creates the next win.

Try this reframe:
Instead of asking “Did I do the whole thing?” ask:
“What’s the next smallest win I can lock in?”

2) “Minimum Viable Routine” beats “perfect routine” every time

Here’s the core strategy from the session: build a Minimum Viable Routine (MVR)—a tiny, reliable baseline you can do even on low-energy days.

Not a 12-step transformation. Not a new identity. Just the smallest routine that prevents your day from becoming total chaos.

Why it works:

• It’s realistic.

• It’s repeatable.

• It creates stability without requiring motivation.

We talked about how mornings can set the tone: when the day starts scattered, it often stays scattered. An MVR helps you “catch the day” before it runs away.

Your MVR might be as small as:

• Brush teeth

• Drink water

• 60-second “what matters today” check

• Put one thing back where it belongs

• Open your calendar and pick your first task (not your inbox)

The goal is not to become a robot. The goal is to create a consistent on-ramp for your fast brain.

3) “Reduce friction” is a superpower (and it starts the night before)

A huge point from the live: routines don’t fail because you “don’t care enough.” They fail because the environment is fighting you.

So we leaned into friction reduction—removing tiny obstacles that derail momentum.

That might mean:

• Setting out what you need the night before

• Removing decisions from the morning

• Making the “right choice” easier than the “scroll for an hour” choice

• Designing your space so it guides you

We also talked about what not to do first thing in the day: email + phone + endless inputs. If your morning begins with reacting to everyone else’s priorities, your focus gets hijacked fast.

Quick friction audit:
Ask yourself: What’s one tiny obstacle that repeatedly trips me up?
Then remove it today—don’t wait for a “fresh start.”

4) The shutdown routine is just as important as the morning routine

This one hits hard for a lot of ADHD professionals: if you never “close the loop,” your brain stays half-on all night.

We talked about how, without a shutdown, you don’t truly recharge—because your attention keeps scanning for what you forgot, what you didn’t finish, what’s waiting in your inbox, what you should do tomorrow…

A shutdown routine doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s simply a signal to your brain: We’re done for today.

A Minimum Viable Shutdown could be:

• Write down the 1–3 things that matter tomorrow (so your brain stops holding them)

• Close your laptop

• Set a hard “no more email” boundary

• Do a 2-minute reset of your workspace

• Pick the first task for the morning (future-you will love you)

The point: you deserve a real stop. Not just collapsing at bedtime with your brain still sprinting.

5) Plans aren’t promises—they’re negotiations

Another truth we named: ADHD days include interruptions. Always. Fire drills. Squirrels. Curveballs. Energy dips. Unexpected meetings. Random urgency.

So instead of creating plans that assume a perfect day, we talked about building plans that assume reality.

A plan is not “proof you’re disciplined.”
A plan is a living negotiation between:

• what matters,

• what’s possible,

• and what today is actually giving you.

That mindset reduces shame and increases follow-through—because it stops turning every deviation into a moral failure.

Want the full context (and the best parts)? Watch the replay.

This blog post gives you the highlights—but the real magic is in the conversation: the examples, the back-and-forth, the “oh wow… that’s me” moments, and the practical way these strategies get explained.

If routines have been a sticking point, the full session will help you:

• break the all-or-nothing cycle,

• build your own Minimum Viable Routine,

• create a shutdown that actually restores you,

• and start working with your fast brain instead of against it.

👉 Watch the full session here:

And if you do watch it, grab one idea—just one—and try it for the next 48 hours. Not perfectly. Just consistently enough to build momentum.

Because the goal isn’t “finally getting it right.”
The goal is building a life where your fast brain can win.