I was having a conversation with a coworker the other day, and it really got me thinking. In the past month or so of being in this new job, I’ve noticed something about myself. Pattern recognition is a huge part of how I manage my ADHD.
Let me explain.
For a lot of us with ADHD, pattern recognition is what helps us realize when things are going off the rails and gives us a shot at fixing it. It’s like this built-in survival skill. We start noticing the same problems cropping up over and over, and if we’re paying attention, we can start figuring out how to avoid them.
For as long as I can remember, I know for a fact that I’ve been late more often than I’d like to admit. At this job, it’s no different. After the first few times of running behind, I started seeing the pattern. If I didn’t prep the night before, if I stayed up too late, if I forgot to take my meds on time, it was almost guaranteed that I’d be late the next morning.
Recognizing those patterns let me come up with ways to break them. I started getting my clothes ready before bed. I packed my backpack ahead of time. I put my medications in a spot where I’d see them first thing in the morning. These little preps help set me up for success.
And here’s the kicker: if it wasn’t for that pattern recognition, I probably wouldn’t have made those connections, and my life would stay in that same frustrating loop.
But, as with all things ADHD, it’s not that simple.
Even when we do recognize the patterns, the ADHD brain often struggles with consistency. The things we need to do, the prep, the habits, aren’t “interesting” to our brain. They’re boring. They don’t provide the dopamine hit we crave. So, we might do them for a day or two, and then the momentum fades. We half-ass it. We skip steps. We slide back into old patterns.
This is totally normal. It’s actually part of how ADHD affects the executive function systems in our brain. Research shows that people with ADHD often struggle with initiating tasks that don’t offer immediate rewards, even if we know they’re important for long-term success.¹ It’s not laziness, it’s neurology.
And pattern recognition isn’t just about seeing our own behaviors. It shows up in other ways too. Ever try watching a movie and not even five minutes in, you already know who’s going to die, how it’s going to end, maybe even the whole plot? That’s pattern recognition. Or noticing when a relationship is starting to sour, picking up on the subtle ways people change how they communicate with you. It’s like reading between the lines, seeing the small nuances before others do. (Okay, maybe that’s my anxiety talking too, but still, the skill is there.)
So if you’re someone with ADHD trying to break out of frustrating life loops, first of all, give yourself credit. Pattern recognition is already a win. Second, know that it’s okay if you can’t stick to “perfect” routines all the time. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s progress.
Every time you catch yourself, every time you tweak your habits, that’s the ADHD brain working with itself, not against it. And that’s something worth celebrating.