I’ve been journaling for 6 years and I was diagnosed a year ago (which I reflect on sometimes). I used to have multi-month gaps but am more consistent now despite having more responsibilities.

My secrets:

Set a time and place beforehand. Somewhere you know it’ll be quiet and you’LL have time and focus. Consistency is key also. For me, I do when I poop or when I commute. (Unsuccessful: with other people around, at night when tired, during workout)

Also I have a physical notebook that I bring with me most places. I prefer this over a phone. Separation of concerns. Jotting down quick thoughts to journal about later helps with externalization (a useful keyword I learned when reading about our condition). And I can’t mysteriously start browsing the Internet from pulling out my notebook.

Also, experiment. Find out what works for you or things you want to try. Habit tracker. Phone reminders. Recently I tried coupling journaling after meditation, another habit I’m picking up (my mind was blank but I still want to try that again)

I've not been diagnosed, but I think my problem with 'journalling' is that it is far too rigid and structural.

When I put pen to paper in the morning, I am letting my absolute freak flag fly and engage in something that is much more akin to automatic writing.

While journalling no doubt seems to work well for others, I get so much more out of unleashing a torrent of blab or blah and seeing what meaningful stuff pops up. It is just a guaranteed way for the fog to lift from my brain, as I quickly get to the heart of what's bothering me.

The only thing is posterity. Once I'm done, that paper is pretty much burnt after reading - as nobody needs to see that shit. That means it's a little more difficult to track internal progression or regression.

Meditation and qigong were great with slowing things right down as well - but not as immersive and long-lasting as brain purging.

This advice may not be helpful as I'm not a person with ADHD (though I've struggled with deep procrastination), but journalling (and most other regular tasks) can become more difficult if you see it as a task that you "must" do for self-betterment.

I would focus on motivation to start (it can relieve the emotional pain from having negative thoughts cloud your mind all the time), commit to imperfection (just half a page is fine), and reduce small friction in the way (e.g. keep an open notebook in an easy-to-access place with a pen readily available).

Also consider making the act of writing a pleasurable experience. This can be done with a nice pen, doesn't need to be fountain, and high-quality paper. You can also be honest with yourself about whether it's helpful in your experience; you can feel free to stop if it becomes something you dread, versus something you enjoy and look forward to (or at least feel neutral about in tougher times).

Yes, I stopped caring how much I wrote, how it was structured, if it was consistent, etc.

My problem was that I wanted a good journal. I needed to do it properly. It became a disappointing chore.

I write around 3 times per week now, which I’d like to improve still but is a lot better than 3 times per month or much worse.

A few notes, not much detail, beats the hell out of nothing. Opening my journal feels so much better than it used to — like I do have the time, I’m not too preoccupied, and I’m not pressured to do it any certain way.

You might be different, but if I feel I need to accomplish a specific goal or be able to ascertain some measure of success in what I’m doing, it becomes infinitely harder to initiate because I’m a perfectionist to a fault. By relieving expectations of myself I can actually let myself get things done.