ADHD Energy Management: 12+ Energy Boosting Tips for Adults
ADHD is exhausting.
As adults, we already have a million responsibilities – work, personal commitments, relationships, caring for kids, pets…heck, even watering our plants is another line on our never-ending to-do lists.
But there’s another responsibility lurking in the background: managing life with ADHD.
Distraction, disorganization, impulsivity, emotional dysregulation – all those lovely ADHD symptoms make “adulting” that much more difficult…and tiring.
This post will help you understand why your ADHD makes you more tired, and give you practical tips to manage and boost your energy levels.
Ready to master ADHD energy management?
Let’s dig in!
Why is Adult ADHD So Exhausting?
Just imagine accomplishing one task: getting out the door for work in the morning.
Your alarm goes off at 6:30am, and you hit the snooze until 7am.
You wake up and open up your favorite social media app to get yourself going.
If you struggle with time blindness – a common ADHD symptom – you lose track of time easily. Couple that with an exciting (distracting!) news story coming across your feed, and you’ve lost 20 more minutes of time.
You spring out of bed, and now you’re rushing.
You throw on your clothes, grab a protein bar and head out to your car.
You’re just about to pull out of your driveway, when you realize you don’t have your phone. (Losing things frequently is another ADHD trait).
You throw your car in park and run back into your house.
While saying a few choice curse words, you frantically search the house, tossing clothes onto the floor, flinging doors open and scanning each room.
You’re out of breath now.
You finally find the phone on your bathroom counter.
As you climb back into your car, you realize you’re already tired (physically and mentally), and your day hasn’t even started yet.
So – in short, your ADHD symptoms make everyday tasks harder, depleting your energy levels.
There is also another reason you might have low energy levels: The risk of having a chronic illness is higher in people with ADHD.
Living with a chronic illness and ADHD symptoms makes life that much more difficult.
How Do You Manage Your Energy Levels With ADHD?
A combination of self-awareness and lifestyle changes will help you with ADHD energy management.
It’s helpful to first understand the types of energy you’re working with:
Physical energy: Your capacity to perform the movements your everyday life requires. Walking, bending, squatting, dancing, etc. This involves the strength of your muscles, lungs and heart, and your physical stamina. For example: going to a trade show and standing on your feet for 8+ hours.
Mental energy: Your capacity for processing thoughts, making decisions, listening when others are talking, and making plans for the future. For example: Parenting young kids all day, then listening to your spouse talk about their problems at work.
Spiritual energy: Your drive to create meaning and purpose in your life. For example: spending time journaling, reading, and contemplating your goals.
If you’re not managing your ADHD symptoms well, they will drain all three types of energy for you.
If you can’t manage your time, how are you going to have time to journal and reflect on your life? (Replenishing spiritual energy)
If you’re constantly getting frustrated with yourself, due to losing important items and documents or getting distracted, are you going to have the mental and emotional capacity to listen to your friend or kids?
If you’re always running around, starting tasks butt then getting distracted, your physical energy is going to suffer.
Keep these three types of energy in mind as we move into practical tips to boost your energy levels.
13+ ADHD Energy Management Tips to Kick Exhaustion to the Curb
So you’ve learned why you’re exhausted all the time, but what can you do about it?
The following tips will help you manage, conserve and boost your physical, mental and spiritual energy.
1. Get More (& Better) Sleep
If you have ADHD, you’re more likely to struggle with sleep.
Common sense tells us sleep and a busy, hyperactive mind do not mix well!
And it goes both ways – getting less sleep can make your ADHD symptoms worse.
So how to get better Z’s? Here are a few tips:
Wake up and go to bed at a similar time as often as you can
Avoid caffeine later in the day
Talk to your doc if your stimulant meds are interfering with your sleep
Get sunlight on your naked eyes at some point during the day
Do some form of physical movement every day
Avoid overstimulating activities close to bedtime (read a book vs scroll on your phone)
Keep your bedroom dark and cold
Eat a snack with protein, fat, and fiber before bed (so you don’t wake up hungry)
Take a magnesium glycinate supplement (It may not help, but it certainly won’t hurt)
Go to bed before you get your “second wind”
Get ready for bed earlier in the evening so that you don’t have to drag yourself off the couch to do unappealing tasks like brushing your teeth
2. Move Your Body (in a Way That Feels Good!)
If you’re hyperactive, you probably move around a lot during the day.
Or if you have inattentive-type ADHD, your mind feels hyperactive and restless.
Either way, getting intentional about moving your body will help push your energy levels in the right direction.
Exercise helps create endorphins – those feel-good hormones that lift your mood (and energy).
It also helps you get more restorative sleep.
And if you’re groaning right now trying to picture yourself doing some elaborate 2-hour weight-lifting and cardio routine every day, don’t worry.
You don’t have to be a power-lifter to see an energy boost from exercise – just choose a movement you enjoy, and make some time to do it every day.
(If you really want to up your exercise game, check out the recommendations from the American Heart Association and aim to match it).
Here are some ideas for movement you might enjoy:
Walks in nature (or anywhere, really)
Hiking
Dancing
Roller skating
Riding your bike
Weighted hula-hooping
If you struggle with exercising, see if you can find a friend or co-worker that will do it with you so you have some accountability and added motivation.
3. Reduce Overstimulation
Adult life is inherently overstimulating, but ADHD makes it worse.
Overstimulation happens when you have a lot of sensory stimuli in your environment (noise, kids touching you, bright lights, etc) and it becomes too much for your brain to process.
If you have ADHD, you also get overstimulated by trying to do too many things at once, consuming too much content about a topic you’re obsessed with, or ruminating on stressful tasks or life events.
When you’re overstimulated, you likely feel super irritable and/or mentally drained, and your energy levels tank.
Here are a few ways to avoid getting overstimulated:
Make changes to your environment to reduce sensory stimulation. For example, swap your ceiling light for a lamp, get some noise canceling headphones, etc.
Avoid going into deep curiosity rabbit holes and Googling anything and everything about a topic. Even though it’s satisfying, it’s draining your mental energy. Especially right before bed.
Focus on doing one task at a time rather than trying to multitask.
4. Set Boundaries Like Your Life Depends on It
You’ve heard it said many times: “set boundaries to protect your peace!”
But what does it actually mean to set a boundary?
Setting a boundary means clearly communicating with others about your personal limits, including:
Emotional boundaries
Physical boundaries
Professional boundaries
Communication-related boundaries
Time-related boundaries
Personal boundaries you set for your own behavior
What might it look like in your life to set a boundary? Here are some examples:
Closing your office door and placing a sign on it that says “Please do not disturb - Doing focused work” (Professional boundary)
Placing a note at the end of each email saying “My normal response time for emails is between 24-48 business hours” (Professional boundary)
Letting your family know that you’re turning your phone off between the hours of 11am-1pm every day so you can unplug and enjoy some quiet time (Communication/time boundary)
Telling your close friend you deeply care about them but that you don’t have the emotional bandwidth to listen to her traumatic story at the moment (Emotional boundary)
Using an app to block certain websites on your computer during work hours to keep you focused (Personal boundary)
Boundaries can be set in basically any aspect of your life and relationships – spiritual, financial, material, sexual and more.
An important distinction is that boundaries are for YOU, and outline how you will act. Boundaries do not control others, but instead guide how you will interact with others.
Boundaries can feel aggressive or disruptive after a lifetime of people pleasing. That means you’re moving in the right direction.
The best way to set a boundary with someone is to express your positive regard for the person (or the task, project) first. For example: “I really care about you and I know what happened to you is important. I don’t have the emotional capacity to be a good listener right now, so can we schedule another time for us to connect so you can share your story with me?”
5. Balance Your Blood Sugar
If you have ADHD, you might be so busy that you forget to eat!
But not eating at regular intervals can cause your blood sugar to drop, causing sleepiness and irritability.
To keep your energy levels up, set alarms to remind yourself to eat meals on time, and be sure to include plenty of protein, fat and fiber in each meal or snack to keep those blood sugar levels steady.
Some food is better than no food, so choose the items that will work for your lifestyle. No Martha Stewart style snacks required.
6. Practice Self-Care
We’ve talked about how ADHD symptoms can cause stress.
When you do feel overwhelmed and stressed, what do you do to recharge your ADHD brain?
Maybe you like to take slow, mindful walks with your dog.
Or crocheting scarves.
Or self-care might look like laying in a cold dark room, eating your favorite takeout and watching crime documentaries.
There’s no need to overthink self-care, or feel like it has to look a certain way.
Do you feel happier after doing it? Did it boost your energy at least a little bit?
Then it’s self care.
7. Write Your Feelings (Or Speak Them Out Loud) for Self-Awareness
People with ADHD often feel like they’re “always on the go”, mentally, physically or both!
So it’s not easy to slow down and reflect on your day-to-day energy levels.
But that’s exactly what you need to do to manage your energy better.
Where can you find 2-5 minutes during your day to write about your daily activities and note your energy highs and lows?
Writing about your energy levels will help you identify energy-draining triggers and find your peak energy zone (when you tend to feel most alert and focused), so you can plan your schedule accordingly.
Not big on writing? No worries – you can also speak your thoughts aloud (preferably when you’re alone!) to sort them out, and if you can, use voice notes to record them.
8. Clear Clutter from Your Environment
When you think of boosting your energy, cleaning might not be the first thing that comes to mind!
But think about how you feel when you’re sitting in your kitchen, and you see a giant stack of unopened mail and random clutter piled up on every counter. It’s as if each item of clutter represents another thing on your to-do list that you left unfinished.
Now imagine all that clutter disappears.
Feels like a breath of fresh air, right?
Decluttering can be a real struggle for ADHDers, and there’s no need to feel shame about that!
You don’t have to go on a cleaning rampage and get your house spotless to feel an energy boost.
Doing something as simple as throwing away all the trash in the room you're in can make a huge impact.
Resource: Episode 108 of Motherhood in ADHD on Decluttering and Overcoming Distractions
9. Ask for Help
Sometimes your energy is so low you simply can’t give any more effort to a task.
And that’s when it’s time to ask for help.
Asking for help you can feel icky – like you’re failing or pushing your responsibilities off on someone else.
But remember it's impossible to do everything by yourself, and asking for help is actually taking care of your responsibility (vs just giving up and not getting it done at all).
What does it look like to ask for help? Here are some examples:
Coming home after an especially draining day at work, and asking your partner to make dinner while you rest
Asking a co-worker for their input on a project because your brain feels fried
Outsourcing your laundry to a professional wash and fold service
Asking for support doesn’t mean you're weak – it means you’re smart enough to utilize the power of family and community.
10. Create Routines
Creating some routines in your life helps conserve your energy.
And if you’re thinking: Routines? Sounds boring and monotonous!
Just hear me out.
Yes, ADHDers are known for seeking novelty, and that’s a pretty cool trait.
But when you struggle with distraction, working memory issues and time blindness, routines can be a life-saver for your stress levels.
Remember the story at the beginning of this post about running late for work and frantically ransacking your house for your lost phone?
A routine helps avoid those energy-draining situations by creating a familiar rhythm to your day. It's also a way of “batching” decision-making – routines eliminate the need to make dozens of little “micro-decisions” about how you spend your time. (Decision-making is super draining!)
Your routine doesn’t have to be complicated. A simple morning routine might look like:
6:00am: First alarm goes off
6:30am: Get out of bed
6:45: Eat breakfast while you journal
7:00: Shower and get dressed
Your nightly routine can support your morning routine - for example, you could pick out your clothes the night before, prep some overnight oats for breakfast, and pack up your work bag.
When your brain’s neurons get used to firing in the same patterns, you’re less likely to forget something, get off track or run late, causing those panicky, energy-sucking incidents.
And think of all the cool new stuff you can do with the energy you saved!
11. Track Your Cycle (If you Menstruate) & Plan Accordingly
If you have a period, your hormonal cycle has a huge impact on your energy levels.
Some hormones (usually estrogen) give you energy and lift your mood.
Other hormones (like progesterone) can make you feel depressed and unmotivated.
Some women also struggle with PMDD – a severe form of PMS that can cause intense anger, depression and even suicidal thoughts in the weeks prior to your period. (And the incidence of PMDD is higher in women with ADHD!).
While you can’t control how your hormones affect your energy levels, you can track your cycle and plan your activities with your hormones in mind.
For example, if you know progesterone makes you feel tired and unmotivated, try to schedule less-strenuous projects and activities during the last half of your cycle (Called your “luteal phase”).
And if you find estrogen energizes you? Save projects that require intense focus and energy for your follicular and ovulation phase.
Looking for a good cycle tracking app? Try Glow.
And if you want to go a step further and harness the power of cycle synching to replenish your energy levels, consider watching the ADHD Energy Recharge Workshop, where I cover this in detail.
12. Consider ADHD Medication
If you’re not already on medication for your ADHD, consider doing some research and seeing if it might be worth trying.
Medication can help in 2 main ways:
1- It can help manage energy-draining symptoms.
2- It can help you emotionally regulate, avoiding the ups and downs and meltdowns that leave you exhausted all the time.
Taking medication for ADHD is a very personal choice, and you have to weigh the benefits with the risks and potential side effects.
Your primary doctor or psychiatrist can talk to you about the different types of ADHD meds, including stimulants like Adderall and antidepressants like Wellbutrin.
13. Focus on One Task at a Time
Have you ever tried doing too many things at once and found yourself completely frustrated and burned out?
That’s because multitasking takes up a lot of mental energy.
And sometimes you’re not even trying to multitask – you just keep getting distracted and moving from one task to the next and back again (This is super common in people with ADHD).
Remind yourself frequently to focus on one task at a time, and complete before you move on to the next thing.
You’ll save quite a bit of energy, (and sanity)!
Energy Management is Possible (Even With ADHD!)
There’s no denying you’re fighting an uphill battle with your energy when you have ADHD.
But ADHD doesn’t have to mean feeling exhausted all the time.
Take the first step to energy management by creating an energy journal and writing in it every day.
Identify your triggers and then pick a few strategies from the list above to start conserving and boosting your energy.
And while you’re at it, make sure you’re taking care of your ADHD! If you need a little extra support, check out my helpful (and free!) resource: How to Manage ADHD Beyond Medication.