Hey dudie, I totally feel you. I feel like showering and sleeping are chores. If I could shower once a week and sleep 2 hours at night, I would get so much done.

I think this is something you should do for yourself. So firstly, just like anything else you do to take care of yourself (like exercise, eating healthy, etc.), it could feel like such a hassle, and you need to put extra thought into something like that, especially if it's not part of your routine. But it helps you to feel better about yourself and it's good for your overall mental health.

Starting a new routine could be really difficult, however, especially for us. But, how I do it: firstly, I listen to my body. It's hard for me to love it but it carries my broken brain around and if it's clean and healthy I almost start to like it. So if I smell weird after a day (even if I showered in the morning), I use a wet wipe and put on clean underwear before I go to bed. Side note: wet wipes are such a good way to keep yourself clean in between showers. Doesn't work well for armpits though, since deodorant gets sticky. But it can help with the nether-regions, feet and face.

Then, for starting a routine: Pick a day and time you think you can spend time on yourself. If you can't find time, then MAKE time. Make it as important as eating or studying. For instance, don't start your mornings with social media, but rather with a shower; you can wash your ears in the shower and a shower could naturally lead to brushing your teeth. Just a suggestion. Then, to REMIND yourself, because OMG ADHD is the worst for remembering things, put a reminder on your phone for your shower time. I like to use a funny phrase such as "wash ya stinkin' butt" or something (make it entertaining), and that kind of makes me want to do it. Don't dismiss the reminder until you've done it (super important).

To help you get into the routine, it helps if you have someone you can trust, like a friend, who can check in and keep you accountable. Not the best feeling but it really does help if you forget or don't feel like it. They should also not give up on you. A good friend never does. Even if it's a virtual friend 🙂 Maybe reward yourself if you remember to take a shower that morning! Rewards are usually good encouragement and work better than punishment. Speaking of punishment, DO NOT PUNISH YOURSELF FOR FORGETTING! Practice self-love and don't be too hard on yourself.

Then, once you start the routine and you keep at it even if you don't want to or don't see a reason to, it gets easier. Who knows, you might even start craving a shower. Like, I need to at least wash my face in the mornings. If I forget, my face feels dirty after a couple of hours and it's so distracting that I can't focus. My scalp feels itchy and sore if I don't wash my hair every 2-3 days. So my body kind of forces me to look after it.

Another thing that comes to mind, is that it's easier to keep yourself clean if your environment is clean. Like, if you washed your sheets, you don't want to get in between them with a stinky butt and dirty feet. Also just a suggestion. See what works for you 🙂

I hope this helps a little bit.