10 Ways to Boost Your Energy with ADHD

Energy can be quite the hot topic when you have ADHD. Balancing it can be challenging, leading to peaks and troughs and, sometimes, full burnout.

But there are ways to soften the highs and lows, without feeling like you’re missing out on the fun and variety you may be craving.

A useful place to start is by asking:

Where is my energy coming from – and where is it going?

Here are ten areas to explore.

1. Notice when you feel most like yourself

Authenticity can be a powerful source of energy.

When we constantly adapt ourselves to become the person we think other people need or want us to be, it takes effort. By contrast, there are usually people, places and activities where we feel completely at home in ourselves.

Think about the moments when you feel most relaxed, natural and comfortable in your own skin.

Ask yourself: Who, what or where gives me that “at home” feeling? How could I bring a little more of it into my everyday life?

2. Spend time with people who support you

Strong people don’t necessarily do everything alone. Having people around us who can offer emotional or practical support can make an enormous difference.

Notice the relationships that leave you feeling encouraged, understood and energised. Make time for the people who champion you, celebrate your successes and are willing to lend a hand when you need one.

Ask yourself: Who are my supporters? Where could I ask for a little more help this week?

3. Make space for genuine rest

We aren’t designed to be switched “on” every waking hour.

Rest gives us an opportunity to stop constantly doing, solving and responding. It can also create the mental space we need for clearer and more creative thinking when wo do get back to our to-do list.

And rest doesn’t have to mean doing nothing. It can be active: gardening, walking, listening to music or another pastime that allows our mind to switch off.

Ask yourself: What genuinely leaves me feeling rested? What small amount of time could I make for it this week?

4. Identify your drainers and sustainers

Take a closer look at what you consume - physically and mentally.

Which foods and drinks leave you feeling good, and which seem to leave you sluggish? Then think beyond food. What are you consuming through television, social media, news and other forms of media?

If something repeatedly leaves you feeling worse, consider if you’re letting it feature too highly in your life.

Ask yourself: What regularly drains my energy? What could I choose instead?

Giving up habits isn’t easy though (understatement!) and this is where setting up our environment to make it easy to do the things that make us feel good and hard to do things that don’t can help. As an ADHDer, you’re more likely to do the things you can see and less likely to do the things you can’t so hide distractions and get temptations away from you or even better, out of your home.

5. Pay attention to where your energy is going

Your time, attention, thoughts, effort and money are all valuable resources.

Modern life provides almost endless opportunities for other people and organisations to compete for them. If we don’t consciously decide where our attention goes, it can quickly be decided for us.

Rather than only thinking about what you need to add to your life, consider what you could subtract or swap out.

This can be especially powerful with ADHD, when a pull towards novelty, new interests and growth can result in lots of additions – and a graveyard of guilt around all the things you’ve started but no longer want to do.

You’re allowed to let things go.

Ask yourself: If I could happily remove one thing from my life, what would it be? What is one small way I could reduce this now?

6. Notice what happens when you feel under pressure

Stress can pull us into rushing, overthinking and overdoing.

The next time you feel under pressure, try stopping briefly rather than automatically pushing harder. Notice what is happening physically. Where are you holding tension? What sensations can you feel?

Take a few slower, deeper breaths and give yourself a moment of compassion before deciding what to do next.

You may discover that the situation doesn’t require quite as much urgency or effort as it initially seemed.

Ask yourself: Which situations regularly make me tense? Where could I practise slowing down before reacting?

7. Stop operating at maximum capacity

Is there an area of your life where you’re continually striving for perfection or pushing yourself to do more?

(You may be thinking, “That’s everywhere!”)

Working at maximum capacity leaves little room for the unexpected. Life inevitably brings demands we haven’t planned for, and keeping something in reserve can make those periods easier to navigate.

Space is valuable for another reason, too: it gives creativity, spontaneity and enjoyment somewhere to appear.

You don’t have to give 110% to everything.

Ask yourself: Where am I pushing, forcing or over-efforting? What would stepping back slightly look like?

8. Clear some clutter

Our belongings require space, money, attention and maintenance. When clutter builds up, even simple everyday tasks can involve additional friction.

You don’t need to transform your entire home in a weekend.

Choose something tiny: your work bag, one desk drawer, the coat rack or that mysterious drawer where everything seems to end up.

Clear it, then pay attention to how you feel afterwards.

Ask yourself: What small decluttering job could I complete this week?

If getting started – or keeping going – is the difficult bit, check out the ADHD Declutter Club for drop-in sessions and support around decluttering.

9. Block out rest time

Look at your diary. When are you genuinely free to do whatever you want?

When every available space is filled, there’s little opportunity for rest, spontaneity or something unexpectedly enjoyable to appear.

Free time doesn’t automatically need to become available time for somebody else, either. Creating space in your schedule, and protecting it, can help you replenish your reserves.

Sometimes creating that space requires getting more comfortable with a simple word: no.

If saying no feels particularly difficult, check out my blog on saying no and people-pleasing. Constantly putting other people’s needs ahead of your own can become a significant energy drain.

Ask yourself: Where could I intentionally create some space this week? What could I say no to?

10. Find your happy habit

There are few things that energise us quite like doing something we genuinely love.

Do you know what makes you happy? And do you actually make time for it?

If the answer is no, it might be time to re-evaluate.

If you’re not sure what makes you happy, think back. Was there something you used to love? What was it about it that appealed to you?

Sometimes it’s the activity itself. Sometimes it’s the connection it gave you to other people. And sometimes it provided a channel for a broader part of what makes you you – perhaps a love of creativity, movement, nature, purpose, laughter...

You don’t necessarily need to recreate the activity itself. Your life circumstances may not allow it. But perhaps there’s a small way to recreate some of those feelings without adding pressure.

Ask yourself: What could I do this week for the sheer enjoyment of it?

Where do I start?

If you’re wondering where to start with boosting your energy, choose the one thing that appeals to you most.

Then do it in a way that makes you feel curious or excited to try it – not as another addition to the self-care list.

Give yourself permission to experiment.

Do it for a few minutes. Do it well or badly. Do it once and never again, or discover that you want to keep coming back to it.

The point isn’t to create another set of rules you have to follow.

The key is learning to follow your own spark. That means noticing what works for you on any given day rather than trying to create a lifelong plan. What fuels you now may change, and that’s OK.