The ADHD Back-to-Routine Reset: Why Transitions Feel So Hard (and How to Support Yourself)
August always feels like a season of change. The summer slowdown ends, kids head back to school, work ramps up, and suddenly our calendars look a lot fuller.
For ADHD brains, this transition can feel overwhelming. Not because you’re not trying hard enough, but because your brain processes change differently.
Why Transitions Hit Hard with ADHD
Here’s the truth: ADHD isn’t about laziness or lack of discipline. It’s about executive function, the mental system that’s supposed to help you capture, organize, and plan.
When transitions happen, that system gets overloaded.
Time blindness makes the shift feel like it comes out of nowhere.
Too many new steps at once trigger overwhelm.
Disrupted routines knock out the supports you’ve been relying on.
This isn’t a character flaw. It’s executive dysfunction. And instead of trying to “push through it,” what you need is an external support system, a prosthetic for your executive function.
Why Traditional Tools Don’t Stick
Most advice out there says: buy a planner, set earlier alarms, try a new productivity app.
But here’s the problem: those tools assume your internal executive function is running smoothly. For ADHD, it’s not. That’s why you buy the planner, get excited for two weeks, and then abandon it, it wasn’t designed for your wiring.
Enter the Prosthetic Executive Function®
This is the system I created because I needed it myself. Just like someone with a missing limb uses a prosthetic for mobility, ADHD brains need a prosthetic for executive function, an external system that holds what our brains can’t.
Instead of relying on memory or motivation, this system helps you:
✨ Capture everything that’s pulling at your attention.
✨ Organize it visually so you can actually see what matters.
✨ Plan step by step in a way that works with ADHD time-blindness.
This isn’t about rigid rules or Pinterest-perfect organization. It’s about building an external brain you can rely on, so transitions don’t derail you.
Back-to-Routine Support for ADHD
When routines change, whether it’s back-to-school, a new job, or even shifting seasons, here’s how to support your brain:
Use your capture system daily to unload thoughts and tasks before they spiral.
Rely on your visual mind maps to keep time and priorities visible at a glance.
Anchor your day with moments planning (morning, afternoon, evening), instead of overwhelming to-do lists.
These strategies aren’t hacks, they’re prosthetics. They let you move through transitions
without feeling like you’re drowning.
It’s not about fixing you, it’s about building a system that works for you.
It’s not about fixing you, it’s about building a system that works for you. Your brain isn’t wrong. It simply needs an external support system that matches how it truly operates.
That’s what the Prosthetic Executive Function® is designed to do: give you clarity, structure, and a way to capture, organize, and plan without burning out. Clarity doesn’t come from changing who you are, it comes from building the right system around you.
And that’s exactly what I’ll be teaching in my upcoming course, Chaos to Clarity, coming September 2025.
