What if we don’t have enough practice? Why rest is a skill you deserve to practice if you have ADHD
- Megs Crawford
- Jul 26
- 3 min read
Last week I took the week off from work. As a business owner, this means I have to think 18
steps ahead to ensure I don’t wake up in a panic on Wednesday night because I forgot to do XYZ. There is a lot of executive function power needed, which means a lot of uncomfortable feelings swirling through my body to prepare for “time off”.
Sometimes I avoid taking the time to do this and say, It’s ok if I just answer all the texts and emails, it’s ok if I just get this one thing done, It’s ok that I log in for a moment. And this lack of boundaries sucks me in to just one more thing, one more task, or a rabbit hole that looks like fun.
All of this could have been a judgment for me in the past, but I now see this as data showing me that I just don’t have a lot of practice yet.
And I genuinely want to be good at stepping away because the moments I spend with my family are important.
What do I practice?
Why is rest important with ADHD?
I practice working on my business, being there for my clients, showing up in the podcast, creating rhythms that allow me to grow in my efficiency and so much more. I practice pausing during the day in smaller capacities. Quiet moments with coffee, journaling reflections, and practicing gratitude. I also practice disconnecting from work to be with my family in the evenings
But a whole week? Not practiced.
I’m familiar with working. It’s familiar to keep going. It’s familiar to just do one more thing. It’s familiar to jump back in to what I know.
I wish I could tell you I had the most amazing week off last week spending time with my family. Don’t get me wrong, I did AND it was uncomfortable. Partially because reading a book that tells me a story instead of self-help feels uncomfortable. Sitting down with my husband and enjoying watching the breeze roll through the trees is something I have often thought about but never make the time to do. Also uncomfortable.
From Google: Practice primarily means performing an activity repeatedly to improve a skill, or actively applying a concept to real-world scenarios.
Is taking a break a skill?
If I’m not practicing time off, could I ever learn how?
If we’re practicing burning ourselves out until our nervous system shuts down and needs weeks to recover, how could we begin to know something different?
If we’re practicing speaking negatively to ourselves, hoping that shaming ourselves enough will finally motivate us into execution, do we even believe there is another way?
If we practice letting our mind have a break, taking deep breaths, and moving a little slower, could this make a difference? (Even if the first week is really uncomfortable.)
What do you want to practice? Maybe having a more organized home? Meal planning so you don’t get to Wednesday night and decide to order takeout? Going to the gym? Meeting a deadline at work? It’s all doable with ADHD and requires a little more than hoping for the best each week.
I jokingly use this example sometimes: when your kids first started walking, and they stumbled, would you push them down and shame them into being better? I hope not! We need baby steps too. We need to celebrate the small wins. And the pauses I have been practicing during my day-to-day have been a huge practice for me to prepare for taking a little more time.
We need baby steps too. We need to celebrate the small wins.
So this week I invite you to practice. What is the bare minimum you could do to show up?
Forgot what you wanted to do in practice? That’s life with ADHD. Come back to it. Doesn’t feel as exciting the next time around? That’s life, and is ok; try again.
Keep showing up,
Megs Crawford
The Perfect Place to Start
is where you and I do that together, one on one.
Megs is a certified ADHD coach, podcast host, and the real, distractible human behind Organizing an ADHD Brain. She helps people stop fighting their brains and start working with them, one small, doable win at a time.
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