The important part of forming habits for me is to start small and not rely on the pleasure that comes from doing the thing. The habit is the entire point. Like if you want to write for an hour a day but can’t get yourself to do it consistently, start off by writing a single sentence a day at the time you would normally write. No zero days. If all you have time for is to write a single sentence that says “I don’t know what to write about today”, that’s fine. It still counts towards the habit. It’ll feel pointless at times, but the alternative is to break the habit, which is significantly more pointless.

Motivation tends to follow action, not the other way around. And I understand that if you’re struggling with executive dysfunction, that “just do it” is about the worst advice possible. But the sad answer is that the solution to executive dysfunction is a personalized mix of medication and selfcare skills developed over a long-ish period of time.

Alternately, ignoring all other parts of your life and living in constant state of overstimulation and anxiety to the detriment of your own physical and mental health seemed to work for me for a while. My only coping mechanism was music and I wrote a shit ton and got really good. And then I burnt out and stopped playing and writing entirely. Would not recommend.