Energy Warrior: Daily Health Habits for ADHDers to Create Energizing Routines
Are you struggling to maintain your ADHD energy? Discover energizing habits and routines you want to stick to and transform your life one day at a time! In this guide, we'll explore types of ADHD energy and strategies and healthy habits for fostering energy with real world examples from my client’s successes.
Why Healthy Routines Matter for People with ADHD
Living with ADHD often feels like a whirlwind. The constant buzz of thoughts, the difficulty in focusing, and the perpetual forgetfulness can make maintaining a healthy lifestyle seem like a distant dream. But healthy routines are essential for everyone, especially for those with ADHD. Fostering and maintaining energy throughout the day is VERY important to us! We need energy to get through what we need to do and have the energy to get to what we want to do! (Who among us doesn’t have a long list of inspired ideas we want to get to?!) Maintaining routines provides structure, reduces stress, and improves both physical and mental health. When your routines include activities you want to do because you feel good being energized doing them or afterwards, you can create routines you want to stick to! (It took me way too long to figure this out! #ADHDFACEPALM)
How to Identify Common ADHD Challenges
People with ADHD face unique challenges when trying to establish routines. Impulsivity, distractibility, and difficulty with time management can derail even the best-laid plans. You might start the day with good intentions, only to find yourself overwhelmed and off-track by midday. Part of finding success is working to recognize when, where and why you become distracted.
PAUSE, whenever you can, to reflect on a few grounding questions:
What am I doing?
Why am I doing this?
What is the outcome?
How does this align to what I want or need to be doing?
These simple questions (And plenty more you can come up with!) can help you identify the moments these common ADHD challenges show up in your life. Once you’ve recognized them occurring, you can shift directions and get back to those habits you’re working to build. Remember, success happens when you notice. It can happen anytime.!
Difficulty tracking and understanding time can also be mitigated using planners, calendars, alarms, reminders, etc. We’re looking to externalize the support structure our brains struggle with internally! While this article does not go into specific strategies I can very confidently say this is about what works for you! Just because everyone else uses stickies doesn’t mean you have to. Additionally, doubling up or even tripling up on your reminders and alarms can help you avoid forgetting what you need to do, even in that five minutes before you need to walk out the door!
ADHD Coach Perspective: When I began my coaching business using my home office I had a full calendar set up and ready to go with the default, single reminders. Unfortunately, my ADHD brain would still get distracted within the ten minutes before my meetings. One time I actually found myself outside talking to my neighbor getting pinged my client was in my zoom call! The first thing I did to mitigate this happening again was to add a two minute reminder to every event on my calendar on top of the 1 hour and 10 minute ones. Accepting you need an extra layer of external help can be rough and bring up some negative feelings. Once you move through that you can actually create the external support your ADHD brain needs!
Why is energy is important for ADHDers?
Time out! Hold up! Let’s take a beat here to really pay attention to the idea of energy. If you’re going to be developing new habits you’re going to need the energy to do so. A very common issue I see with many of my clients is a lack of energy. Us ADHDers tend to be very active, exuberant,, and engaging individuals. For those of us on the quiet side we are highly observant with a constant flutter of internal thoughts and emotions that need attention and active sorting. On either side of this (You’re probably both at different times?!) we’re basically expending a lot of energy to just manage ourselves on top of the actual activities like work, friends, family, and hobbies we engage in throughout the day. A lot of what people without ADHD do subconsciously, we must do consciously. These cognitive (thinking) abilities are your Executive Function skills and the Brain’s Self-Management System. An example might be running a thought through your head so you don’t forget, “Meeting in two minutes, meeting in two minutes.”
So what’s with the inconsistent energy? You’re not crazy. You actually are going through irregular shifts in energy throughout the day and the week. What we sometimes forget is the energy needed is often determined by what the day throws at us. This is why you’re exhausted one day and full of energy the next despite getting the same amount of sleep! Add in Time Blindness and you might forget that yesterday you stayed at the office later or over celebrated a birthday. All of this can lead to that crazy feeling of inconsistent energy. Find a deeper explanation of time blindness here.
What I have learned as a successful, and ever learning, person with ADHD is that putting energy in the tank is the most fundamental need for us. Especially if we’re working to improve ourselves! But the type of energy is VERY IMPORTANT!
THE GREATER THE CHANGE DESIRED, THE GREATER THE ENERGY NEEDED TO ESCAPE CURRENT HABITS OF THOUGHT FEELING AND ACTION.
What’s the difference between positive and negative energy for people with adhd?
But Coach Tyler I hear you ask. Isn’t it all just energy in the end? Yes and no. For positive energy think of it like types of gas so we can define the quality or “power” of the energy. For the negative types of energy we’ll go with diesel fuel. Now I’m going to classify a bunch of things here under these gas types. Your experiences may vary. (They probably will! We’re all pretty darn unique.)
”Regular Energy:” What do I need to feel capable with ADHD?
Think of this like your basic energy needs. This is what you need to function on a basic level in the day. Sleep, healthy and light food, a cup of coffee or tea, and anything you tend to regularly use for energy to assist in functioning. This might even be a type of music when you need to focus on work.
When you don’t get this fuel you are below your basic functioning. Your brain is gonna be sluggish or foggy and you might struggle with activation. AKA “Doing the thing.” We tend to mostly be in a thinking focus when we’re low energy. Emotions may be a slight struggle to wrangle. And, WARNING, this is also the low energy state where anxiety, stress, fear, or negative self talk find their way in!
Mid-Grade Energy: Feeling good in your body with ADHD
Okay this is the sweet spot we want to be hitting consistently. This assumes you’ve gotten decent sleep, maybe had that cup of coffee, and you’re ready for more. What I mean by, “ready for more,” is you know what you need to fulfill your energy requirements in the day to work on your goals. You’re aware of what puts energy in the tank and what will pull energy from you.
Finding these energizing activities requires a lot of presence into what you’re doing, thinking, and feeling. This is also where an ADHD Coach can come in handy! I personally love this part of Coaching my clients where we find activities they can engage in that feel fulfilling each day!
Do you feel fulfilled or enlivened when you’re creative during the day? How do you feel afterwards when you get 20 minutes on a creative project? Are you a social person? How do you feel with a 20min phone call in the middle of the work day with family or friends? Does some meditation or journaling help clarify and calm you? These activities are often expressions of WHO you are that begins from a deep sense of your self. In the field of Positive Psychology these have been defined as actions utilizing your character strengths. When you use one of the 24 Character Strengths such as fairness, you may feel energized debating a topic about equality with someone. People who understand what gives them energy often purposefully put these activities into their days, maybe even subconsciously. The end result tends to be a day full of energy and capability that can be looked back upon with a sense of satisfaction. This is why I use the concept of these character strengths in my practice as sort of a cheat sheet to help my client and I find what puts some fuel in their tanks.
Are there any small activities you engage in during the day that puts fuel in the tank? For me it’s coaching! I get a serious high after a session and I tend to use that energy to propel me into things I may be struggling with such as paying bills or tidying the house.
Client Success Story: I noticed how one of my clients lit up every time he talked about going out with friends. It was clear this was something he looked forward to. One week I noticed he seemed more “forlorn” and I asked if he’d gotten out to be with friends? He had not. In fact, when we began to talk more about it we both realized how much he not only enjoyed social activities, but also how much energy it put back into his day. From that point on we made sure he was scheduling fun, social activities with his friends to keep him fueled and fulfilled throughout his week!
Exercise as fuel: This is often “mid-grade to premium energy for many people.” Think of that bump you feel during and after working out, doing 20minutes of yoga, going outside for a walk? You may also find you sustain this for hours at a time in the gym or on longer walks. After exercising this energy seems to carry you forward into difficult tasks like my aforementioned paying bills example. The neurochemistry on this is pretty well studied. Lots of ADHDers use even small bursts of exercise to get over a low energy hump. I’ve got a couple of weights on the floor in my office. If I’m feeling a little low I can spend a couple minutes working with them, feel pumped, and pay those credit cards! We’re gaming our brain here folks!
ACTUALIZATION EXISTS IN THE REALIZATION YOU INHABIT A MACHINE THAT CAN BE ‘GAMED’ TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF YOUR GOALS, DREAMS, AND PURPOSE.
Premium Energy: The extremes of bursts or prolonged energy and ADHD focus with a possible crash afterwards
Okay we all hopefully know what I’m talking about here? This is the intense excitement you may feel when you’re really engaged over something challenging, new, or really all about your interest. This is the energy where you’re really on, maybe talking a bit too fast, as you explain your new gardening project to your neighbor. In these energy states you may also be very still, intently reading, focusing, coding, drawing, or creating. This is the area where my clients often relate “overdoing it” to me. What ends up happening is you follow this big energy a bit too far and lose some control in what you’re doing. You probably should have stopped stage diving an hour ago? Or maybe you should have left the office three hours ago? “How is it 10pm!” The problem here is all of this usually feels really great and you may have struggled to find that feeling all week. So why stop when there’s a clear benefit in the moment or immediate future?
People with ADHD tend to be very focused on the moment and the short term gains with very little awareness of the cost of expending too much energy. Managing these energy states can be difficult as we often live a life where these high, intense, and focused, periods of time can be life saving! You may suddenly create magic in your art which pulls you out of the depressive state you’ve been in all week. You might stay late at work and get accolades the next day for what you’ve done. Or you may be able to power through studying or preparing for a test or meeting when previously you were anxious and overwhelmed. The trick here is to understand that the benefits of these high energy states don’t always equal the fatigue you may feel later. This can and, in my own life, had created a life lived swinging wildly back and forth from inability to intense bursts of capability. My own realization of the consequences of this behavior, after 18 years working in the video game industry with undiagnosed ADHD, led me to write the post Your Value is not Your Suffering. In that post I explain my realization that the benefits of my intense and focused work came at the cost of my physical, mental, and emotional health. Twenty years of undiagnosed ADHD capability in a tough career had consequences.
How do I keep myself from overdoing it with ADHD?
I’m going to throw that whole “PAUSE” mechanic back at you here with a set of questions. These questions are going to vary for everyone but will always help pull your focus back to broaden it. Once you become more aware of life outside of your intense focus you will be better able to rebalance yourself and then attenuate your next actions.
What am I doing?
Why am I doing it?
What’s the outcome of what I’m doing?
What don’t I see?
What usually happens when I do this?
How do I feel afterwards when I do this?
What other responsibilities do I have ahead of me?
Does what I’m doing align with my goal, mission, purpose?
Diesel / Negative Energy: Drive and focus that loses power over time
When I say “negative” energy I’m talking about the stress and anxiety that happens when the focus of your goal is avoidance of a negative outcome. This could be getting bills paid so you have heat and water. This may be meeting a deadline at work so you keep your job and have the cash moneys!
This is the energy and focus you receive as a byproduct of the stress and anxiety you are feeling. This actually creates more dopamine in our system which is what we need to help us focus. (If you’re into chemistry here’s an Explanation of the Catecholamine Cycle showing how it creates that dopamine!) We generally refer to this energy as negative because it tends to feel uncomfortable, draining over time, and less effective over time as well. We don’t actively want to be stressed or anxious do we?
These types of negative energies may fuel us temporarily but the affect wanes over time. This energy tends to be fairly depleting. Think back on anything you’ve done for several hours that was stressful. You tend to be much more tired after doing that vs something you love doing, but also stressful. This stress can be useful in short bursts, like you’re late for a meeting and you get your ideas, suddenly in focus, down real quick. Or you’ve got a test tomorrow and suddenly you are CAPABLE of studying where the whole week you couldn’t. (We’ve all been there.) For some of us we can become subconsciously addicted to stress because it’s how we “get things done.” The overall affect over time can cause long term negative impacts on our health. I’m not going to go into the details here but you can find more info about The Effects of Stress on Your Body here.
ADHD Coach Side Tangent: I actually put myself in the hospital due to the long term affects of these wild swings into capability from years of stress and anxiety. At the time I was managing, or not really managing, a lot of work and relationship stress. I also did not yet know I had ADHD! On the other side of this experience I can clearly see how my lack of awareness of my energy needs and the routines to support that need created an inability to meet the day’s requirements until it was almost too late…..over and over and over again.
Now that we have a better idea about types of energy for us ADHDers let’s move onto some ways we can cultivate that energy to pull us forward!
POSITIVE ENERGY FUELS THE ADHD BRAIN.
NEGATIVE ENERGY IMMOBILIZES US.
Morning Rituals to Kickstart Your Day
Starting your day with a consistent morning routine sets a positive tone. If you can be aware of how you feel that good energy here you can possibly notice when, where and why it wanes later. This can help you identify how to maintain it better. Here are some steps you can incorporate throughout the day to stay energized:
Wake Up at the Same Time, or close to the same time, Every Day: Consistency helps regulate your internal clock, making it easier to wake up and fall asleep..
ADHD Coach Pro Tip: You may have a different schedule than others. Be aware of whether you are trying to fit into a schedule that is not your natural rhythm and adjust accordingly. For example, I give myself a range of three hours to get up in the morning to compensate for needing more or less sleep day to day.
Exercise: Even a short “workout” can boost your mood and focus at the start of the day and be something you feel great having achieved at the end of the day.
ADHD Coach Pro Tip: If you’re short on time or motivation go out and “greet the day.” Go outside, get some sun and fresh, maybe cold air. Say hello to the world! This is a great way to help your sense of time as you see each day as a new one so they don’t meld into, “Where did the week go!?” I had a conversation with a Native American Fire Keeper who helped me develop a relationship with the cold. Now I go out in my sweats and t-shirt on cold mornings to greet the day and be enlivened by the cold!
Healthy Breakfast: Fuel your body with nutritious food to maintain energy levels throughout the day.
ADHD Coach Pro Tip: Or don’t eat breakfast! This isn’t about fitting a mold. This is about what works for you! Know what your body needs and what keeps it running. I’ve never eaten breakfast. It has always felt like it weighed me down. However this makes lunch very important in my world. We are unique, listen to your body and tune accordingly.
Plan Your Day: Spend a few minutes reviewing your to-do list and setting priorities. This can give you a sense of calm by turning the chaos in your head into something you can visualize. When you forget something in that day you can remind yourself you have it on the list. You’re safe!
Eat Dinner at the same time and not too late: We ADHDers often have trouble with sleep. Eating too late in the day can affect your ability to stay asleep. I’ve got two reminders on my phone. “Cook Dinner,” and “EAT!” The second one happens about 45 minutes after the first because I can forget to actually eat what I’ve prepared for my family.
Nutrition and ADHD: Eating for Optimal Brain Function and Lasting Energy
Diet plays a crucial role in managing ADHD symptoms. and keeping your energy up and balanced. We’re not going too in depth here as much of the research continues to be ongoing. Some studies suggest kids with ADHD are “turned on” by lots of sugar or struggle with inattention. Keep in mind that a healthy diet for all us people works for ADHD as a baseline.
Balanced Diet: Incorporate a mix of protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates to maintain steady energy levels.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Found in fish, flaxseeds, and walnuts, these can help improve brain function.
Stay Hydrated: Dehydration can exacerbate symptoms of ADHD, so make sure to drink plenty of water. Let’s really double down on this one okay? We ADHDers forget to drink water because we may be going through caffeinated beverages all day. These will dehydrate you over time! Adding a reminder to your phone might even help get the job done?
Reduce Sugars: Too much sugar can throw our already taxed regulation system out of whack. We’re looking to even out energy and reduce that flux of highs and lows. Your emotions and mental capacities will follow those fluxes!
ADHD Coach Pro Tip: Be aware of what happens to you with sugars. Some people, depending on age, report that it does nothing. However, it’s ADHD so our awareness of ourselves can be off or non-existent at times. Ask your friends or partner if sugars or really anything you eat changes your behaviors. Personally, I keep a cup of dark chocolate chips with me when I’m up late working. A couple at a time feels like the small bits of fuel I need to stay focused!
You can read more on Diet and Nutrition for ADHD here.
The Power of Exercise and Physical Activity for ADHD Energy
Regular physical activity is beneficial for everyone, especially those with ADHD. It helps reduce stress, improves mood, and enhances focus. For the pro ADHDers out there remember that you can do bursts of activity to maintain yourself. One of my coaching teachers who founded ADDCA for ADHD Coaching has a punching bag, if I remember correctly, in his office. Getting his energy out helps him focus. Here are some tips:
Find an Activity You Enjoy: Whether it's running, dancing, or yoga. Choose something you look forward to. If you don’t enjoy the activity you’re not going to want to do it.
ADHD Coach Pro Tip: Have a list of exercising activities you like to do that have varying amounts of time required to do them. This way, when you get bored of one item you can jump to a different one. Or if time doesn’t allow one item you can cut to something shorter.
Incorporate Movement into Your Day: Take short breaks to stretch or walk around. This is especially important if you’re hyper-focusing in a singular position like sitting at a desk.
Consistency is Key: Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week. Go at your own pace and reward yourself for doing it, when you’re doing it. Remember, the struggle is to do the thing, not to reach your larger goal right away. Being present with the fact you are doing “the thing” that you struggle with, like getting out for a walk, will remind you “I am doing it!” This will allow you to feel some positive energy now vs waiting until you’re done!
Be Present: Our ADHD minds are great at daydreaming which means we often perseverate (over focus) on the past and the future. Not only does this breed regret and worry but it takes us out of simply enjoying what we are doing. If you’ve ever gone for a walk but were anxious or upset afterwards I’m betting you spent the whole time lost in that worry or stress. The key to getting more from exercise is to let everything go and enjoy the workout, the sun, the walk, the fresh air, or simply the fact you’re doing something to take care of yourself!
The Role of Sleep in Managing ADHD
Quality sleep is often elusive for those with ADHD, but it’s vital for overall well-being. Sleep is SUPER important. If you’re not getting enough sleep you’re going to feel like poop. If you feel like poop, your brain is going to struggle to activate. Then you’re going to end up bored or stressed because nothing is happening. This is where most of our regular energy will come from. Get some sleep! Here’s how to improve your sleep:
Establish a Bedtime Routine: Consistency helps signal your body that it's time to wind down. When I say routine I really mean more than just “go to bed.”
ADHD Coach Pro Tip: Sometimes we have trouble transitioning from state to state. Try giving yourself a “wind down” reminder that lets you know it’s getting close to “time for bed.” This can help you bring that internal energy level down so we CAN fall asleep faster. Small things like getting pajamas on, getting a cup of decaf tea, or grabbing a book can give your brain time to acknowledge the shift and actually wind down.
Create a Sleep-Friendly Environment: Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. Surround yourself with some “stuff” you like. Do you have a lightsaber night light? Does a white noise speaker help you rest? Be creative. You want to feel safe and calm to help you wind down.
ADHD Coach Pro Tip: Don’t put stimulating items in your bedroom that get your brain or body going. Keep work items out as well. We want you winding down not up!
Limit Screen Time Before Bed: Blue light from screens can interfere with your ability to fall asleep. I think we all know this now. Additionally, what you are looking at on your phone can be stimulating as well. If you get in bed and you’re looking for stimuli that may mean you are having trouble winding down.
Small ways to calm down at night with ADHD:
Breathing exercises to ground yourself in your bed and focus your intention on calming your body. Find something to say internally or externally like, “Time to go to bed, calm down.” Repeat as needed to help focus your intent.
Keep a note pad by your bed to write down any sudden ideas or worries. I call this the “not now” list. That helps ADHD'ers let any coupled feelings of the thought go as well and know you’re not going to forget it.
Calm stretching on the floor. Be in your body.
Add a little spirituality to the evening! Bring intent to a process of putting down your fear, your worries, or your stress. Then decide what you’re going to hold on to. Here’s a shortened example of this that I have used in my life when I can’t get to sleep because of some big feelings. First, I kneel down on the floor and face the universe, God, or whatever oneness you want to focus on that isn’t yourself. Then I say to myself, “I’m laying down my fear for my family. I’m laying down the stress I have in my job. I do a good job. I’ll be okay. I lay down my worry that my daughter will have trouble in school.” Then, I hold onto my strength as a father. I hold onto my love for my family to guide me in my decisions. Then I ask the universe to hold onto what I have laid down while I sleep. In the morning, I can actively decide what I want to pick back up.
Client Success Story: I focused part of this post on the importance of sleep as a basic, or regular energy need based on a conversation I had with one of my clients. We had been working on his energy levels because we were struggling, as a team, to get more follow through in his goals. He left each session pumped and excited to use the strategies we discovered. The next session he’d be deflated again, “I totally didn’t do it. I did it once. It worked, but then I just looked at my reminder and didn’t bother.” It was at this point, about four sessions in, I realized we weren’t getting what he was after because he consistently didn’t have the energy to change his habits. The “change” requires the most energy in the beginning and less later on.
I put my notes aside, leaned in, and said, “Buddy! I think we need to change our focus. Mind if I go with my gut and suggest something? What if we just focus on getting one good night’s sleep this week?” The next week he showed up alert, smiling profusely, excited to tell me how he cleaned his room and went to the gym with his brother and I asked, “What happened?” He said, “Oh I slept in a lot! I actually didn’t go to sleep early,” he said laughing. Regardless this was a big win because we had a moment to really have him FEEL what more sleep is like. With the awareness of how that felt he was far more enthusiastic, and thus capable, of getting more sleep as a step required to reach his goals.
How an ADHD Coach Can Help with Healthy Routines to Create and Maintain “GOOD” Energy
An ADHD coach can be a game-changer. They provide personalized strategies and support to help you establish and maintain healthy habits. Here’s what an ADHD coach can do for you:
Create custom routines: Tailored to your specific needs and lifestyle.
Accountability: Regular check-ins to keep you on track.
Skill development: Teaching you tools and techniques to manage your symptoms effectively.
Create a backup plan: When you fall out of your routine, what’s the best way to get back into it?
Help you see what you don’t: Notice patterns in your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, that may be holding you back or may need to be increased to help pull you forward.
Be a teammate: None of us were meant to do this whole “life” thing alone. Having someone to stand beside you as you do the work can greatly increase your chances of success!
How can an ADHD Coach help me keep to a routine?
Here’s the kicker that most people don’t realize about being a people and being a people with ADHD: You’re going to fail, falter, or forget sometimes. Any Coach knows this and any ADHD Coach knows this very well. Part of my own rebirth into “ADHD capability” was my acceptance that I will struggle with mundane things others take for granted. I will forget. I will interrupt. I will drift from my routines.
Accepting that fact into my own life allowed me to develop skills and strategies to pull myself back on track. The truth of the matter is we often feel better mentally and emotionally with the stability of routine. Unfortunately our ADHD brains don’t operate well with routine. It can often get boring. This awareness allowed me to develop strategies to get myself back to center, back into balance, and back to the most effective version of myself to reach my goals. Sometimes all I needed was the awareness I was off my routine and the CHALLENGE to get back to my routine, to spark my interest and therefore my capability. We are very dynamic and driven individuals and we often forget that.
An ADHD Coach, such as myself, knows you are going to struggle to maintain your routines and therefore can help you bring awareness to future problems before they occur. Working together, as a team, we work to develop possible strategies that work for you to avoid or recover from those future problems. My question to you is, “Would you be more effective in reaching your goals if you had a teammate?”
References and Additional Reading:
The ADHD Exercise Solution: A renowned ADHD expert explains how physical activity changes your brain for the better and how exercise can act as a supplemental treatment for patients managing their symptoms with medication, therapy, and/or nutrition.
"Seizing the Day: 10 5-Minute Productivity and Mindfulness Tips for Busy Fathers with ADHD" Here I go over some of the easy ways you can cultivate mindfulness in your life in very small moments and see an increase in your own productivity. If you struggle in these areas and feel like you “don’t have the time,” then this is the article for you!
Executive Function skills and the Brain’s Self-Management: Understand this concept better!
Causes and Symptoms of Time Blindness in us ADHDers: Get to know how your brain works!
The 24 Character Strengths that are ubiquitous amongst all of humanity! Exciting right? I use this research in my practice to help my clients better understand how to live more fulfilling and rewarding lives that also give back energy.
The Catecholamine Cycle: A great Wikipedia link showing how our brains produce dopamine (gives focus!) when we’re stressed.
The Effects of Stress on our Bodies: Read this if you want more reason to develop more awareness and routines in your ADHD day! Stress bad, ADHD balance good!
ADHD Diet, Nutrition, and SUGAR! Additional reading I reference about sugar’s possible affects on the ADHD brain.
The ADHD Exercise Solution: A great article from Additude Magazine.