Creating a fitness routine . . . for my brain

Last month, I deconstructed my weight training habit to find out what factors have helped me stick with it for over a year.

This month, I wanted to apply what I learned in order to develop a new set of habits. Since I’m trying to be less scattered and focus on improving my mental health, I asked myself, if I can commit to a physical fitness routine for my body, why not create a mental fitness routine for my brain?

After a month of self-examination and research, I decided to emphasize two main areas: managing my ADHD and improving my happiness. Below are the habits I’ll work on to support these efforts:

Managing ADHD

Resource: Taking Charge of Adult ADHD, Second Edition by Russell Barkley, PhD

Practice mindfulness meditation: One of the major impairments Barkley discusses in relation to ADHD is with emotional self-regulation. We all have negative, emotional reactions to certain events. ADHD makes it harder for me to control how I deal with those reactions. Meditation, Barkley says, can help with this and other impacts of ADHD.

Buy time before responding: There are times when I say something impulsively, then wish I had said it differently or not at all. Certain techniques will give me time to collect my thoughts, such as first restating what I heard.

Feel the outcome of a task before starting: Often, when I’m faced with a daunting task, I will do just about anything to avoid it. In the future, I’ll ask myself, “What will it feel like when this is done?” and try to embrace that feeling to help propel me forward.

Break larger activities down: Another way to deal with challenging tasks, especially ones that are time consuming, is to break them down into smaller parts. Then I’ll have a better sense of how long it will take to reach my objective and I can enjoy my progress with each completed step.

Boosting Happiness

Resource: Habits of a Happy Brain by Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD

In her book, Breuning discusses what she calls the “four happy chemicals,” along with several suggested habits to help boost each. Below I’ll share the author’s definition of each chemical and the habit I’ll cultivate to help to boost it.

Dopamine: "the joy of finding what you seek"

Celebrate a small victory: Although parts of my job are challenging, I view many of the day-to-day activities as mundane. Celebrating positive outcomes, even small ones like achieving the objectives of a meeting, can help me boost dopamine.

Endorphin: "the oblivion that masks pain"

Stretch: I dislike stretching, particularly in problem areas where I need it the most. Yet the book claims that if I stick with it every day and don’t overdo it, the resulting endorphin rush will help me enjoy and even look forward to the act.

Oxytocin: "the comfort of social alliances"

Honor commitments: Trust is a key component of forming strong social bonds. If I say I’m going to do something, I want to push myself to follow through, even if that means working overtime or staying up late. I expect this conviction will also teach me not to overcommit.

Serotonin: "the security of social importance"

Notice my influence: I often wonder what I could be doing with my life to make more of an impact on other people, which makes me feel that what I do now isn’t enough. Stopping to observe the positive results of something I’ve done, however small, will help me feel I’m making a difference.

How I’ll make these habits stick

I reviewed the questionnaire I created last month to help me define the location, timing, and other factors to help me maintain these habits. Below is a summary of my plan:

Habit	Timing	Location	Reminder
Meditation (10 minutes)	Every morning (wake up 15 minutes earlier than usual)	Bed	Alarm
Buy time before responding	During virtual meetings	Office	Post-it note on monitor
Feel the outcome	When starting a new task	Office	Post-it note on monitor
Break it down	Day planning (end of workday) and as needed	Office	Post-it note on monitor
Celebrate small victory	When completing a task	Office	Post-it note on monitor
Stretch	Immediately after work on non-workout days, as desired during breaks	Living room	Calendar event
Honor commitments	Day planning (end of workday) and as needed	Office	Post-it note on monitor
Notice my influence	During meetings, when reviewing email	Office	Post-it note on monitor

At a glance, I wonder if I’m trying to do too much at once. However, for most of these activities, the time commitment ranges from a few seconds to two minutes; and the others (meditation and stretching) are habits I’ve wanted to develop anyway. If something isn’t working out, I can always adjust as I go.

I feel good about the strides I’ve made in taking care of my body. It’s time to make the same investment in my brain.