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This ADHD morning routine helps you get ahead by 11AM

Sasha Hamdani MD

143,526 views

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Your morning routine isn't failing because you're undisciplined. It's failing because you've been asking the wrong version of you to run it.

I'm Dr. Sasha Hamdani, a board certified psychiatrist who specializes in ADHD and has it myself. In this video I break down why ADHD mornings start at a deficit (lower morning cortisol, higher cognitive load for the same tasks) and why the fix isn't a better sequence of habits. It's a system your evening self builds so your morning self doesn't have to decide anything.

We cover pre-commitment devices, why external friction beats willpower, how to build for your worst morning instead of your best one, and what to do when shame turns one missed morning into a lost week.

If mornings have felt like a personal failure, this one is for you.

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20 Comments

@GrowthoperatingLab 2 months ago

7700 views in a day because this content actually hits different. The ADHD community needed someone like you talking about this stuff in a way that doesn't feel overwhelming. This is genuinely one of the most practical morning routine videos I've seen.

@claudiabTV 1 month ago

Wow… SHAME KILLS EXECUTIVE FUNCTION. Lightbulb! 🎉 New sub, DrK super fan and now yours too… thank you! My dad was a psychiatrist, so cool having two awesome ADHD psychiatrists discuss this in such a relatable, kind, fun/ny way! Ps sorry to hear about your retainer ouchie! I have one coz I grind at night, but less so these days with less work pressures and BF dramas in my life thankfully! 😊

@Luv4beauty 3 weeks ago

YOU'RE....MY....HERO!!!! My life has been nothing short of a disaster after 'retiring' a few years ago! Yes I knew I had ADHD! But there is so much to navigate with this lovely personality trait it's overwhelming! I can relate to every....single....thing you mention. I'll be watching your videos on REPEAT to get my life in order....once and for all! So....THANK YOU!! 🙏🙏

@pattymontgomery6317 1 month ago

I was listening to this episode in the car on the way to a Bible study. Fifteen minutes into the drive I realized it starts NEXT Monday. 😂. Your "shame stops executive functioning" mantra went through my head, so I laughed at myself, and decided to head to a coffee shop for a decadent coffee and cookie. Now I'm taking advantage of the blocked out time to work through my weekly schedule and thank the Lord for the extra time to do this. Thank you!

@TheBirjo 2 months ago (edited)

Currently beating myself up for a bad morning so this was really helpful to hear and learn.

@khanboss-h2e 10 days ago

If you constantly overthink conversations, decisions or small mistakes, try Anwen Reid’s anxiety quiz. The result might help you understand where that reaction is coming from.

@brittanyyynicoleee 10 days ago

I’ve been diagnosed with severe anxiety and just depression for years now. ADHD is starting to sound more like my issue. I watched your episode with Mel and it really hit home. This video too. It makes so much sense to me.

@mdp_lady 2 months ago

I was diagnosed st 47…it’s been two years and am enduring menopause. I didn’t realize how much my ovaries kept me functional until now. Estrogen and progesterone kept me functional and resilient than I am now. I’m in HRT but man, do I miss my ovaries. Anyway you can dive into this topic of how our ovarian hormones affect ADHD for better or worse? Thanks for all you do, Dr. Hamdani!

@federicaranieri2768 1 month ago

Wow you hit the nail on the head. I’ve been diagnosed one month ago, I’m 33. Mornings have always been the hardest for me: always waking up late, rarely well rested (cause of course my mind decides that 4am is a good time to do some brainstorming), endless moments of doomscrolling, breakfast lasting an hour cause I keep getting distracted…and then boom it’s 11am and I accomplished nothing. I realized only now thanks to your words that shame is the feeling that has accompanied me throughout this time. The shame of not being able to “adult” as I should, that bleeds into the rest of the day and then weeks, finally leading to burnout and depression. In a vicious endless circle. I’m on medication now but things don’t just magically change with a pill, do they? I guess what I’m trying to learn now in this new chapter of life is how to turn down the volume of shame in my head and understand better the role of medications in it. Thank you so much for your wisdom ❤

@HipsyJ 3 weeks ago (edited)

I set an alarm for a couple of hours before I need to start to get ready. I sit, look at the trees, drink a coffee. I cannot just get up and start my day. If I oversleep and have to rush, it’s always a mess for me. I forget things, leave the house without my phone etc. I’ve arrived at work with odd shoes / boots on several times. Those are rarely my best days.

@bridgeparenting 2 weeks ago

“Shame kills executive function” this! I see this in myself and my kids when they feel like they’ve failed or disappointed someone.

@Lillian.Gao. 1 month ago

I almost cried watching this bc of how much every. single. word. resonated with my being! Especially how you explained tje role of shame — I really thought I was the only one who got this shameful of herself for missing mornings. I definitely needed that validation. 🙏

Also very validating to learn that ADHDers are just chemically prone to low decision fuel / decision fatigue in the AM. Sometimes, I beat myself up for struggling to decide whether to brush my teeth first or put on my day’s outfit first.

@sinman3189 2 months ago

This video came at the perfect time. I’ve been tracking and journaling my sleep for the past two weeks to optimise it, and your Ulysses analogy from a previous video has been incredibly helpful.

Last night I finally had the best sleep I’ve had in a long time (8hrs, balanced deep:REM:light, and a low resting heart rate, but most importantly, less anxiety in the morning!). Then voilà! After finishing my morning routine, I saw that you’d uploaded this video.

Thank you!

While I was celebrating finally figuring out the routines and baseline that help me sleep, this video also reminded me that I’m not alone when setbacks trigger shame. It helped me remember that there’s always a way to ground myself again, and that one bad night doesn’t mean the whole system has failed.

I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Thank you for your videos, they’ve been incredibly helpful. It’s such a gift to have insights from a psychiatrist who also has ADHD, and who can explain the science while giving advice that’s genuinely relatable.

@DariaAgnieszka 2 months ago

You did put a sticker on the sole thing that I now realize has ever worked for me in the morning. Funny thing is, the morning issues have been with me since FOREVER. I could literally fall asleep while sitting, in the middle of pulling my socks on while getting ready for primary school. And obviously, I was getting heat for that. Fun.
On a more positive side though - this shows me that evening preparations are actually the right direction. It also explains why my mornings after the evenings on which I have some exercise classes suck - I have too little time to prep for the morning. I already noticed that & started rearranging my weekly schedule, but this fits really nicely & increases my motivation to follow through. A great vid, as always!

@gabs190 4 weeks ago

These examples truly hit home. I get it, thank you!

@JMA864 11 days ago

Dr. K, I’ve never seen anyone talk about using exercise-type interval timers for non-exercise routines. I stumbled on this idea by accident and it has TOTALLY changed my mornings and bedtimes. I have a timer on my Kindle Fire (which doesn’t have social media or games). It talks to me and tells me the next thing, so I don’t even have to be looking. I can back up, go forward, and pause. It’s easy to modify if a sequence isn’t working. I don’t have to check anything off and then uncheck it for the next day.

Big takeaway: I hated routines because it was TOO BLOODY HARD to remember what the routine was supposed to be.

I actually go looking for my Kindle to start my bedtime routine now…and it’s lasted a couple months so far…🤞🤞🤞

@tiaralonee 1 month ago

I really appreciate your real life examples of how this looks. I felt so seen. Definitely needed this :)

@Thissidequestlife 2 months ago

This video is use useful! I know this sounds like I need total hand holding but I would truly love it if you could make a step by step video on how to make this morning routine. How to decide what things are really important. What to habit stack these things to things we already do and how to build in a failsafe for days when things are not just waking up depleted but they're so bad they're a retaining cutting into your gum bad. Thank you

@PetyaPetrova-y3y 3 weeks ago

Yeeeeesss! Yeeesss to every word! And thank youuu! Finally someone to explain how I feel so well... Thank you!

@Sarcasaurus76 1 day ago

Jackal here: it was Ulysses (Greek: Odysseus) and they were sirens. 😉

I'd never heard of the term, but Ulysses Pact helps my brain remember to do things that will make my future self happier. 🤯