One Thing Today: Start Small & Keep Going in 2021
New Year’s Resolutions don’t work for ADHD brains. But small changes — made with purpose and realistic expectations — can add up to huge change. Here is a plan for building healthy new habits in 2021 by doing or considering just one thing today.
Click on each image below for more support and resources corresponding to each day’s One Thing, and download the complementary One Thing Today calendar here. Check back each day for a new thing!
Day One: Ask a friend to share a positive memory of you. Reciprocate. additu.de/reclaim-you
Day Two: Walk for 20 minutes today. All good habits start somewhere. additu.de/big3
Day Three: Quell anxiety by choosing organization projects that require large gross-motor skills. additu.de/spark-joy 
Day Four: Check for synthetic dyes in “healthy” foods like salad dressing and popcorn. additu.de/dyes 
Day Five: Say no to an obligation that brings more stress than satisfaction. additu.de/pressures 
Day Six: Exercise first thing. Take medication an hour later to maximize its benefit.
additu.de/exercise-first 
Day Seven: That task you’re avoiding? Do one thing to advance it. additu.de/just-start
Day Eight: Truly listen to your partner — without interrupting or explaining — for 5 minutes. additu.de/listen 
Day Nine: Disarm your brain’s fight-of-flight reflex by playing joyful music. additu.de/fight-flight 
Day Ten: Use a hanging sweater stacker to hold 6 to 10 pre-selected outfits. additu.de/25-rules 
Day Eleven: If you or your partner gets angry, stop the discussion. Go for a walk. Try again later. additu.de/push-pause 
Day Twelve: If you or your partner gets angry, stop the discussion. Go for a walk. Try again later. additu.de/i-am-speaking 
Day Thirteen: Tack up a Post-It that reads: “This will pass. Stay steady.” additu.de/cooped-up 
Day Fourteen: Read “When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing” to explore your natural energy patterns. additu.de/energy 
Day Fifteen: Set up an opportunity to praise your child by making an offer they can’t refuse. additu.de/praise-matters 
Day Sixteen: Exercise routines stick when they make us smile. If you hate yoga, don’t do it. additu.de/move-happy 
Day Seventeen: Move a worry out of your head and onto paper to see it objectively. additu.de/move-worry 
Day Eighteen: Move tasks from your to-do list to your calendar or planner. additu.de/gsd 
Day Nineteen: When anxiety flares, stop to name your emotion with compassion, kindness, and no judgement. additu.de/attention 
Day Twenty: Have you lied to cover up a mistake? Shed self-hate by coming clean to someone you trust. additu.de/chronic 
Day Twenty-One: Remember: 100 years from now, no one will know the difference. additu.de/self-hate 
Day Twenty-Two: Hard-boil eggs for a high-protein snack that’s easy to grab from the fridge. additu.de/food-brain 
Day Twenty-Three: Classify your clutter as friend (keep), acquaintence (keep temporarily), or stranger (remove).additu.de/just-stuff 
Day Twenty-Four: Send a “thinking of you” text to 3 friends you miss. additu.de/connect-today 
Day Twenty-Five: Take a fish oil supplement containing 800 mg of EPA, 400 mg of DHA, and 100 mg of GLA. additu.de/omegas 
Day Twenty-Six: Ask yourself: What stops me from putting away the things I pull out? What destroys my good intentions? addiu.de/find-it 
Day Twenty-Seven: Falling into negative headspace? Stop and list the day’s wins — however small. additu.de/self-defeat 
Day Twenty-Eight: Stop cheating yourself out of deep, restorative sleep by hitting the snooze button. additu.de/rowdy 
Day Twenty-Nine: Normalize emotions by acknowledging yours in specific terms — frustrated, annoyed, anxious — out loud. additu.de/model-emotions 
Day Thirty: Give yourself permission to let something go if the fight is not worthwhile. additu.de/pick-battles 
Day Thirty-One: Repeat after me: “I don’t need ‘fixing.'” additu.de/not-broken 
